Almost two years ago I watched a man get shot. Yesterday I got to meet him.
In February 2017 I came to Guatemala on a mission trip with my church. During that trip we went to a restaurant to eat. As we were going through the menu we started hearing a “pop pop pop” well fireworks are legal all year so in my mind I was like oh it’s just fireworks. Until I realized that they were really close and I was in a restaurant. I looked up from my menu to see a man holding a gun and shooting what I later found out to be the owner of the restaurant. Everyone started yelling “get down, get down” we got under the tables and all I hear is crying and fear in everyone. The man who had gotten shot had now fallen to the ground in his chair and the shooter ran off on the back of a motorcycle. They then started to put everyone in the kitchen just in case. None of my mission team or anyone at the restaurant got touched besides the one man.
Yesterday I went back. I got to pray over the lady of the restaurant and hear her fears and the prayers she has for the restaurant to this day. Right as we were about to leave the man showed up. Yes, he is still alive. He told me that he had taken 9 shots to the chest and he is walking today, still in rehab because he is not fully back to full mobility. He and his girlfriend went on telling me that it just wasn’t his time and so he thinks there is a reason why but he wasn’t sure what that reason was. We went on telling him that the reason why was because God has a purpose for his life. I then got to pray for him in front of his daughter, grandkids and girlfriend.
I’m not telling this story to get sympathy, actually I just finally told my leader and whole team about it Wednesday when one of the staff members here started asking me questions about my life and just what God has taught me. So here’s what I’ve been learning. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. God knew two years ago I’d be back here again doing this, Satan also knew that. I believe that Satan was probably trying to scare me in that time but I’d never felt more at peace and in the presence of Jesus in that moment when I was sitting under a table praying for that mans life and my teams. God was guarding me and Satan had no place there. I believe a lot of people live out of fear and I don’t think that’s the way to live life. If we live that way then we are letting Satan win and I don’t know about you but I’m not going to let that happen. We are learning to live above our circumstances here and that we can choose joy everyday if it is rooted in us so far that no one or nothing can take it from us because it is rooted in the Lord and he is constant. Not death, sorrow, fear, loneliness. NOTHING. Yes it is harder then I say, but I know it’s the truth because I have seen it in my own life and the life’s of those around me. Also in the Bible! (Aka Paul, I’m learning about him and he is a cool dude lemme tell ya! Read Acts and all the others he wrote!)
So yes I got to go back to a place that had held some fear in my life and replaced that with joy and peace from the Lord. My prayer is that it becomes a place of peace for everyone who enters it and that the workers there unite and become a family.
Thank you for reading a big part of my heart today!
Much love, Sydney
P.S. if you are living in any kind of fear of anything that is not of the Lord and not apart of the kingdom and if you want prayers for it or want to talk email me or message me and I’d love to pray for you!
