“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” -Matthew 18:3
On Thursdays we have activation which is a time set aside every week when the base staff here teaches us about a certain topic from scripture and then our teams go out and “activate” in whatever we were taught about.
Last week we learned about healing.
Healing is a topic I still struggle to grasp when I let my own human understanding become greater than my faith in what the Lord can do, but one of the staff members here said that the healing of our physical bodies here on earth is the lesser miracle compared to the salvation of our souls that we put our hope in, so why wouldn’t we believe in the lesser miracle?
After hearing testimony after testimony of the Lord’s miraculous healing of lives here in Guatemala, and even having the incredible opportunity to witness some myself, we set out to ministry expectant for what the Lord would do that day.
We set out to Cajagualten where we were immediately welcomed by our precious boys we’ve had the opportunity to love on these past three months in sports ministry and VBS. David, Oscar, and Yeison. No more than 10 years old, these boys chose to join us as we prayed over the day, seeking the Lord’s guidance for what he wanted us to do with our time in Cajagualten.
I’ll never forget what happened next as they stayed with us, following us throughout the streets of Cajagualten, eager to do ministry alongside us, hungry to see the Lord heal their neighbors, friends, and families.
They brought us to their friend who had a hernia that kept him from being able to help out around the home and at his father’s job. We asked him a few questions about how he had been feeling and talked with his family for a little bit.
“Do you guys want to pray for God to heal your friend?”
David, Oscar, and Jason looked up at our ministry host with wide-eyed wonder, grinning from ear to ear, realizing that they are valuable warriors for the kingdom too despite their age and background, that Jesus sees them as important warriors and leaders for his kingdom.
I will never forget what happened next as these three boys who just three months ago called us mean names and teased us during soccer and VBS were now choosing to pray over their friend for healing, believing wholeheartedly that God could work through them because of his love for them and their friend. They prayed persistently and with the kind of childlike faith Jesus challenges us all to have. Although their friend still had some pain when we left, I wholeheartedly believe that what the Lord did that day was far greater than physical healing as David began to tell him about the story of Jesus restoring sight to the blind man after rubbing mud on his eyes, and then he excitedly told story after story of Jesus’ miracles and healings.
I believe the Lord used David, Oscar, and Yeison to restore hope in their friend. Hope that he too can pray for miracles and healings, and he too can pray for his friends and family, and he too can tell others about Jesus and all that He’s done, and that he too can be a warrior for the kingdom because Jesus chooses to partner with us to bring his kingdom to earth. The veil between heaven and earth has been torn, and we’re all invited into the kingdom of heaven should we choose to accept it, what great news!!!
Children, adults, men, women, different backgrounds, languages, socioeconomic status, cultures, educations, and perspectives, all coming together to seek and love the Lord and then seek and love his people together, that’s the kingdom.
I got to partner with kids for ministry! That’s the kingdom! And I’ve learned far more from them than I’ve taught them these past two months.
I’m learning what childlike faith actually looks like. It’s staring at Abba with wide- eyed wonder, expectant that he won’t do anything less than he did in scripture, always believing in the miracle and saying yes every time. It’s letting go of doubts, fears, and reservations, and other people’s opinions and falling back into the arms of the father, resting on his promises and trusting that he will be faithful. Its relying on the Lord for my strength and not myself, and its choosing to pray for healing and loving people even though it may mean I look weird or different from this world.
I can only hope my faith grows into that of a child; a faith like David, Oscar, and Yeison. Just to simply let Abba love me, to live loved and to live to love is all we’re called to do, and the kingdom comes when we choose into the Lord and we choose into love.
Thank you so much for reading this today, I wouldn’t be able to have the opportunity to be a part of all God is doing here without my supporters and I cannot thank you enough! Please be in prayer over my team, squad, and our ministry, that we would always have open hands and open hearts and that the Lord would continue to move in Chirijuyu and Cajagualten and the lives of the people here in Guatemala. I’m also still about $3,000 away from being fully funded so if you feel led to support me financially to partner with me in ministry I would appreciate it so much, just click on the donate button at the top! Thanks so much for your support!
Til next time,
Mallory Sailer
