One of the major parts of our ministry in Nicaragua has been going door-to-door with the pastors or different members of our churches to share the love of Christ with people within this community or to encourage fellow believers. There are moments where the language barrier gets frustrating, and Satan creeps in making us feel ineffective; but luckily there are more moments where God shows us His hand at work, and lets us in on the beauty that He is creating. Here is one of those moments.
We were going around a local neighborhood with one of the pastors and his wife when we entered this house that looked like any other we had been in. Immediately we were ushered into a second room and, as usual, given chairs to sit in while the occupants of the house stood around us with blank stares. There were probably around 10 women varying in all ages, and no men were present. Through the wonderful translation skills of Dre, we were able to find out that none of these women were Christians, but there was another women in the house who was a believer. All of the sudden this tiny, old woman named Vilma was being led by the arm into the room. Her hands waved in the air as she felt for the back of a chair and sat herself down. It was clear, this woman was blind. Out of all of the women standing before us, the only one who had her eyes spiritually wide open was physically blind; and all of those who could physically see were spiritually staring into darkness. The irony in this situation was almost beautiful. As I sat there listening to Dre read in Spanish from the Bible, it was undeniably evident to see where God was working. The joy on Vilmas face was a joy straight from Heaven, from knowing our Heavenly Father. Being able to briefly encourage this woman, and read to her the words she is no longer able to see was completely worth all the previous frustrations. Feeling her tiny hands clasp around mine as we said goodbye was a moment of the Lord that I feel so blessed to be able to experience.
It doesnt matter if our physical eyes are opened or closed, but spiritually staring into darkness only leads to death. Vilma knows who her heart belongs to and knows where her eternity lies, and I will continue to pray that the light that is inside of her is able to open the eyes of every other member of that household.
