Last week on Tuesday night my team & our squad leaders had the opportunity to partner with one of our ministry hosts in something new that they are beginning to cultivate with the homeless people in Antigua. In Guatemala homeless shelters do not exist like they do in the states, & at night in Antigua those without a home gather in the central square under pavilions or on park benches with the attempt to get some rest for the night. Though the vision that my host has for this ministry is really big, they started to make it come alive with the idea of making a small meal for them & getting to know their stories. Some day in the future they would like to have portable showers & toilets built in some type of trailer available for them as well as maybe even some sort of shelter some day. So we all gathered beforehand to make bean sandwiches to pass out & headed into the city expectant for what the Lord was going to do. When we arrived we split up into smaller groups & began walking around the square looking for people to talk to & give meals to. I was with my team mates Lise & Megan, my squad leader Taylor, & Chris who is one of our hosts. We came across a man named Felipe & started a conversation with him by offering him the sandwich. Chris then asked him about his story & what he shared with us was wild. He told us that he was addicted to alcohol & because of that he believed that no one loved or cared about him. He had a wife and child both of whom he hasn’t seen in over a year. He also told us that he had been in a lot of accidents that should have left him very injured or even dead, but that for some reason he was still alive. He reveled to us that he in fact did know God, but had one away from a relationship with Him. The Lord gave me a vision of the Felipe that was restored by God standing behind the Felipe that was sitting in front of me & as I shared that with him God was telling me that He was patiently waiting for Felipe to choose Him & that He would always have a spot prepared for him at the table. As we shared this word along with others that God was speaking over those that were with me, Felipe was brought to tears. I also told him that there was nothing he could ever do that would separate him from the Father no matter what it was, God’s love is faithful & constant. After weeping some more & sharing more of His heart with us, he told us that he wanted to reconcile with God. WHAT. So we got to pray with him & over him, leading him into it & it was so beautiful. After we left Him I was so encouraged because another one of God’s kids had went home to Him again.
Is there anything in your life that you think is too much for anyone to handle? Too messy? Too dirty? Too unforgivable? Well if you do, let me tell you the best news that there is. God sent His one & only son to die on a cross so that we could live a full & abundant life WITH Him. Every bit of sin & shame was nailed to the cross with Jesus. & there is nothing in this world that we can do that will EVER separate us from the love that the Father has for us.
It’s never too late to come home to Him.
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” -John 3:16
“For I am persuaded that neither death no life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39
all my love,
Nikki
