We were pretty frustrated as the second Uber we confirmed cancelled on us. Sounds like I am home in the states, right? Given how normal everyday life has felt, sometimes it does feel like I am home, serving at my home church.
Bre & I were trying to get an Uber to go to the post office – they are cheaper, reliable, & you plug in the address of where you are going, so you are certain nothing gets lost in translation. With a big sigh, Bre & I walk out towards the street & jumped in the first legit cab we found {many cabs are not labeled or registered, but will give you rides & we have been advised against taking anything that isn’t registered}. Julio Cesar was our driver & to our great surprise – he spoke English!!
We don’t often run into people who know enough English to carry on a conversation {I am sure other people feel the same about us}. Anyway, as soon as we realized this were chatting away. Then I felt this small nudge. The Holy Spirit was nudging me to invite him to church. What a small, simple step. The past few months it has been difficult to explain to people why I am here & why I am doing what I am doing, without my teammate Katie {who knows A LOT of Spanish}. The second the language barrier was removed, I was like woah! I have so much freedom I didn’t know I was missing.
Julio graciously accepted our invitation. YAY!!!
Fast forward a few days. We were split up into teams & asked to hand out invitations to the church, telling people about the various activities they host throughout the week. It was a frigid & rainy day as we headed out to evangelize. Bre & I were a team, along with Katie, Alex & Luccio.
Do you remember when I mentioned in my last blog that I was going to tell you more about this family whose father passed away? Well Alex & Lucio are 2 of the 8 kids that this father left behind. They & their sister, Pamela, come to the church daily. They worship with us & sit in on teachings & bible studies. Their mother works & their older siblings are busy – probably either working or just consumed with their own lives. Sometimes they come to church in the afternoon, having eaten nothing but a piece of bread for breakfast. Each time they set foot in the church, they walk around & greet each person with a hug & a kiss, they help set up for Sunday morning services, they help us clean, they laugh & they eat our food (:
These kids could be anywhere, roaming the streets, causing trouble, harming themselves or others – as so many kids do – whose families are unable to provide or care for them. Instead, these three decide to come to church. During our evangelism that dreary afternoon, I was amazed to see the fervor & excitement these boys exhibited as they ran {literally} around, handing out invitations.
Along with their childlike faith, Alex & Lucio’s ability to evangelize is a bit easier because they first, speak the language, & second, they look like the people they are sharing with – they are locals! Brave Alex even stepped up to pray for a father & his son, when we expressed that we could only pray in English. Again, I am crying. What a beautiful picture of the gospel. Little 9-year-old Alex, instead of choosing to be mad or sad at the injustice of the world because his father died, chose instead, to step out in faith, praying for the father of another young child. I just can’t. Could you imagine coming face-to-face with something you don’t have & choosing to praise God for what someone else has?! This is childlike faith – Alex chooses to believe the Lord is good, despite what his life has held.
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Evangelizing this month has been very eye-opening for me. It has shed light on the importance of evangelism in my own country. When I get back to the states – I will have no barriers, except my own fear or hesitation. In the states, I look like a local, I speak the language & I know dozens, if not hundreds of people who don’t yet know the Lord. How simple is it for me to step out & offer to pray for someone, or ask them about their spiritual life. This is our imperative as followers of Jesus – we hold the invitation to eternity, all we need to do is hand it out.
This evening we are headed to La Paz, Bolivia. My team is serving a ministry called World Mission Pray League. We have no idea what to expect!
We would love if you chose to partner with us in prayer for our health & spiritual well-being. Heading into month four is exciting as we are officially more than half-way done with our time in South America. It is going to be another cold month & we will be living at 11,900 feet!
I can’t wait to share with you more stories about what God has done.
Love,
Maddie
