Prayer: God hears us and it is His delight to respond.
10:00 AM – SASSY BUN WEDNESDAY
My teammates Skate and Alex were headed off to the store to purchase some ingredients to make homemade chicken noodle soup (we all have colds, cause it’s CHILLY in Chile). “Do you need anything from the market?”
Those seven words triggered a
!CHOCOLATE
EMERGENCY!
(*I have approximately one said C.E. every month… ask any team I’ve spent time with!*)
I wrapped up a 1,000 peso bill in a note detailing my preferences and Skate slipped it into her pocket. While they were out, I finished up my morning quiet time and hopped upstairs for a quick power nap. Before I laid down, I prayed, “God… please don’t let Skate forget the chocolate. I know it’s silly…”
Soon after, Skate burst through the door…
“Paige, did you pray that I would remember the chocolate?”
WHAT?
HAHAHA!
HOW DID SHE KNOW?
“You must have prayed because I got side-tracked in the candy aisle and forgot about the chocolate. I was at the register and there was a miniature chocolate bar (the exact, obscure Chilean brand I desired) out of place, sitting on the conveyor belt.”
We burst into laugher.
Sweet Papa God. He knows I don’t neeeeed chocolate. But He delights in me and my whimsical “chocolate emergencies”. He enjoys surprising me by answering my simplest of prayers. The day gets even better…
Skate whipped up an amazing stew and we sat around the tables for a working lunch to get organized for the evening community English classes. Once we cleaned up, we entered into prayer for the day. We prayed boldly and specifically that God would show us people to invite to the class, to ultimately connect them to His Church. AMEN!
Then our friends picked us up for ministry.
4:00 PM
It was cold and wet outside from the afternoon showers. We were given the option to stay inside until the class started, or go out into the neighborhood and invite.
(Of course we went out to invite…)
As we were walking around, my new best friend Allisson
(the sassiest ten year old I’ve ever met) ran out of her house to join us. She was extra goofy at first…. jumping on our backs, kicking us, teasing us… the usual. But then something sparked in her. She decided she was going to help us recruit.
She tore the papelitos from my hands (small papers with information for the house church) and started RUNNING towards people.
“TIA! TIA! TIA! CLASES DE INGLES! HOY! A LAS SIETE!
TODOS MIERCOLES! EN LA SEDE!…”
It was seriously the most beautiful thing to unfold before my eyes. She would not let a single person pass by without being engaged with an invitation.
An hour passed and most of the team was getting cold and tired, so they went back to the house. Skate and I stayed with Allisson, blown away by her boldness, desiring to learn from her. We turned a corner and a young woman tried blazing past us.
Allisson stopped her.
We started talking to her about the English classes and the house church. She was interested. She asked many questions (our Spanish is improving!) and took a card.
7:00 PM
English classes in the community center.
Alex and I took the children to a separate room, and the others began the adult class. 50 minutes into our one hour session, the woman (Allisson invited!) walked in… with her husband and little girl. My jaw dropped. After the class, we introduced the couple to the other young people in the church and they talked for over 30 minutes.
Guess who’s coming to house church on Sunday?
8:30 to 10:00PM
Alyson came over to the house for dinner and youth bible study. She didn’t do her homework because she doesn’t have a bible. (Update: WE JUST GOT HER ONE!) We sat together and moved slowly through the lesson, which was mostly over her head. So this week we are going to start with the basics and crack open that new children’s bible. The Holy Spirit is already using this girl… so we are confident she will receive the gospel.
What a day!?!
(…and every day gets better & better…)
Please join us in prayer for our community!
God really does hear us and it is His delight to respond.
UPDATE 6/15/17: ALLISSON LOVES HER BIBLE! We went through the creation story and Noah’s Ark! We talked about sin and the need for Jesus. She didn’t want to stop reading. She was so excited! We’ll be picking her up for church on Sunday!
{A M E N}
