I worked with Jesus the other today! Jesus is a quiet 36
year old man who only speaks Castiano (South American Spanish). He has a very humble demeanor yet is
extremely firm as the Spirit speaks through him. When he prays, he is blunt and
the words come from the heart. There is no watering down what he wants to say.
He speaks truth, he speaks health, and he speaks love. He is a servant. He
spends time helping a neighboring church rebuild and also organizes
developments for his community. He is a carpenter by trade, so he is fervently
working in all he does. He serves with his hands, his mouth, his heart, and his time. After the day is done he goes home and continues to
plug away at rebuilding his own house. 2/3 of his house was destroyed yet he
continues to rebuild, block by block.
This Jesus I’m telling you is what I perceive to be the
example of what Christ was when he walked this earth 2000 years ago. His name
is Pastor Nestor and he is a Peruvian. I had the opportunity to spend last
Monday working alongside him for the day. I of course have basic Spanish language
skills and he knew no English. Our day consisted of inviting children to VBS,
seeing people from the community in their brokenness, praying for the sick,
rebuilding his home, working together to plan our bathroom building project for
his community and walking the market places for 3 hours to price out materials.
Like I said, I had limited Spanish and he had no English, so
as I spent most of the time observing him and walking alongside him that day I saw what it truly meant
to be a servant. Not once was he frustrated with circumstance. Not once was he
stressed. Not once was he impatient with me as I tried to communicate
something. I embrace Pastor Nestor as a brother and a true friend. His actions
showed me areas of pride, humility, and patience that I need to deal with. The
Holy Spirit was with him and in him. He was having a normal day and he was upbeat, energetic, and in love with his creator.
His church is 15 members strong and is literally a bunch of
tarps strung together. He loves his congregation, he loves his community, and
he loves those who he interacts with. In a world of “me first”, “I don’t like
it so I want nothing to do with it”, “I’ll do it my way”, and “I have freedoms
so I’ll do what I want” he has truly broken those walls down. He does this
everyday. I’m amazed at how much one person can make a difference in a desolate
place like Los Jardinas. The people are broken, lost, and hurting. Yet as we’ve
worked alongside Pastor Nestor we have seen a light get brighter and brighter
there. It’s not the garden we planted, nor the kids programs we ran, nor the
bathroom project we’re working on. It’s the fact that there are people that care
for them. There are people who flew around the world to help them! But most
importantly there is a man that puts everything else before himself and serves
ferverently. His name is Pastor Nestor and he is Jesus to these people!
Thank you Lord for reminding me what it means to be a servant!
