Home. To me this word is significant in so many ways.
I used to think of home as my house in Spokane, WA. A little yellow Cape Cod with a brick walk way, beautiful perennial gardens, and a white picket fence that surrounds the entire yard; tiny rooms full of furniture; my little white dog, that reminds me of Todo, sitting on the couch looking out the window at randoms passing by; and my whole family doing random family things.
Each and every one of us has a different view point of what home means to us and what we think it should look like. After knowing Jesus, for me, my view point on a home has changed. I have always dreamt about owning my own house, remodeling it/making it the way I want, and raising a family in it; being all comfy cozy and doing family things that my family does.
With only one day in Guatemala, I can say that God has already broken my heart and changed my whole opinion on what a home has meant to me and many of us, compared to Christ’s home and his plans for us.
Today me and my team, went all over Guatemala City touring the area and the surroundings that we will be doing ministry in. While in one neighborhood our contact Nathan said that he wanted to show us some of the houses that his ministry had built in this neighborhood for families to show us what most people’s living conditions are like. We went into three houses, but out of all three, one I will never forget.
Walking into a grey brick house with a tin roof, we were lead by two little girls through a hallway, past two rooms the size of a walk in closet, a little bathroom, and then to God’s room.
In God’s room we came in contact with a grandmother named Maria, who was sitting in a single chair next to a little wooden table surrounded by some kitchen material and a little side room attached to the kitchen with some bags and other little items.
Nathan our contact began to talk with Maria to check in. He then began to tell us the story of how Maria had earlier had a smaller house right below the one she was living in that was sitting on top of a land fill. During a rainy time the water had washed out her old house, leaving her homeless and squatting on top of a land fill next to a sewage drain with little to no covering.
Maria is a faithful servant of God who attends Nathans church faithfully and was in need of a home but had no idea what to do so she decided to pray to God and ask for his will to be done, Maria had been praying faithfully for quite some time asking God to give her a home if she is deserving of it and a single room house is what she was praying for.
Nathan at the time one of the pastors at her church had felt God putting on his heart and mind to build Maria a house and after prayer Nathan decided to let Maria know that he was not only going to build her one home but two more as well for her other family members who’s houses had been washed away by the rains as well.
Maria who did not even know that the church she was attending could do that for her was overwhelmed and so Nathan with a team of construction workers began the building of the three houses.
When they were finished with all of the homes and Maria moved in she was overwhelmed to find out that God had not only answered her prayers but had out given anything she could have ever imagined.
Maria had only hoped and prayed for a house with one room because she said that’s all she would need, because of God and Nathan’s willingness to listen to God’s plan for him Maria was pleased to find not only a single room but a three bedroom house! WOW!!!
Maria decided that she was going to use the two first rooms for not only her but also many of her granddaughters to live in as well.
With Maria’s other room she had decided that, that room was to be God’s room.
With God’s room that acted as a living room/kitchen, Maria had decided to host a bible study once a week and have woman from the Guatemalan community, or her church join her in God’s room where they would meet to praise and celebrate God and water their seeds of faith so that they might grow more in their own faith.
While talking to Maria in God’s room another woman came in to visit Maria with her daughter, to me Maria’s home and God’s room seems like much more than a ministry opportunity to me God’s room seems like a community and Maria a very beautiful woman living out the plans God has for her and has called her to live.
While in Maria’s home that God had faithfully provided for her I could feel the presence of God and the overwhelming happiness that was associated with it.
While planning out my future plans for a home in America somewhere, Maria was faithfully praying to God for only a single room house that she could live in and share with others.
To many people Maria may seem poor hear on earth but I am starting to realize that looks are very deceiving and satan uses looks, money, and material things to deceive and trick us.
To me Maria is so wealthy and I strive to be more like her so much in spirit I can see the fire alive in her today while in her house.
While I was planning blueprints for my home hear on earth, Maria was planning her blueprints for her eternal life awaiting her in heaven.
Maria was not putting her hope and faith in money or people or things, Maria was putting her faith in Jesus knowing that he would bless her and build her a home hear on earth.
Because of Maria’s faithfulness in prayer ministry, love and so much more God has so much more for her in heaven and although life hear on earth is hard and Maria is currently battling a sickness, she is not giving up and falling into the lies of satan.
Every day Maria wakes up and her feet hit the floor I know that satan says oh crap Marias up because she is such a faithful and willing servant of the Lord.
I pray all of you who read this pray for Maria and get something out of this because I sure did.
I challenge you to stop being unhappy or ungrateful for what God has given you and be so thankful like Maria. It is so hard to not fall into the comforts we so love and seek in this world and instead to be uncomfortable living a life for Jesus.
If I am being honest with you all I would have to say that I felt pretty good about myself thinking I am going to be living a life of abandonment while on this trip, but if I am being honest with myself now I can say I am not living a life of abandonment at all I still have 5 to 6 outfits, food, a roof over my head, and warm showers and clean water.
Today going into Maria’s home and hearing her story I have realized what a fake I am thinking I am living a life of abandonment hear because the real person who is living a life of abandonment is Maria she has lost all and experienced all types of poverty and hardship but through it all has drawn even closer to God.
You see the real poverty of this world is not worldly the real poverty is of the spirit and the fruits you produce, Maria is sewing God’s seeds to so many and planting faith in many peoples lives including my own.
The room called God’s room got me thinking of my own home and the homes of many throughout the world.
I felt God making me think about every single person having a God’s room in their own home where a community could be formed and people could draw closer to God and start planning with him their own blueprints in heaven instead of the ones we already have planned hear on earth.
I challenge all of you to challenge yourself too seek more opportunities to make every person hear on earth and every community your ministry like Maria.
I challenge you to open not only your homes up to your communities but your hearts up to God because you can never out give God and his way and plans are higher than our own.
God bless and thank you so much please continue to keep Maria in your prayers for healing.
Your friend Sam!
