One of the relationships my roommate and I made during our time in Antofagasta was particularly special. The three of us clicked pretty much right away, and we were able to spend a lot of time together at the beginning of our time in Antofagasta.
While talking with this friend about her past, she explained that she did not think she could be forgiven for some of her sins. I asked her, “Who says?” She replied, “Me.” This resonated with me because some of my past is similar to hers and I felt shame about it for a long time.
As we talked throughout the month, the book Redeeming Love came to my mind. This book is a modern-day story of the prophet Hosea, the prophet whom God told to marry a prostitute. Its central theme is the redeeming love of God towards sinners.
I read this book a couple years ago but I can still remember the impact the book had on me as I recognized the overwhelming love of God and his unrelenting pursuit of us no matter what we have done.
All my heart wanted was to be able to give my friend this book. But I had no idea how I would ever be able to get her a copy. I didn’t think it would be in Spanish. I thought about trying to find the book in English and giving that to her, but it would have just been a pain to translate an entire book. Plus, I couldn’t think of a way to get an English copy of the book. So as sad as it made my heart, I let that desire go.
Towards the end of our time in Antofagasta, my roommate and I wanted to get this friend a bible before we left. Both of us had many conversations with her about Jesus, but she didn’t have a bible. So we asked our host where we could get a bible in Spanish and she said she would take us.
The next day she took us to a Spanish Christian book store. (That was gift number one from God. I never would have thought to look for those here in Chile.) Once we got there, my roommate and I picked out a bible and went to go pay for it. While we were at the cash register, my roommate pointed out that the store had Francine Rivers’ books (she is the author of Redeeming Love). Not remembering who the author of the book was I said, “Who is Francine Rivers?”
At that moment, I looked over to where my roommate was looking and I saw the book Redeeming Love (Amor Redentor), IN SPANISH. It took me a few minutes to actually believe what I was seeing. I picked up the book and kept looking it over and tried to translate some of the summary to make sure it was the same book. I just could not believe it.
I was in awe. The Lord knew. I immediately realized that I did not even think to pray and ask God for a way to give her that book. I just threw the idea in the trash can. But in his goodness, the Lord still provided, because he knows my heart so well. Wow.
And just to add a cherry on top, our host had told the owner of the store that my roommate and I were missionaries. So when we went to go check out, he showed us the total and said he was going to give us a discount because we were missionaries. What an abundance of gifts from the Lord.
I’m thankful for a Father who knows our hearts better than we do, and who provides for our hearts even when we forget to ask or lean on him for those desires.
