In getting to the church, we joined in with them in incredible, spirit-filled worship where every voice could be heard, continuing with what Pastor Victor called an encouraging and uplifting message from Joe, and concluding with prayer for their youth leader and the youth of the church. What was most eye-opening for us during the service was their hearts for worship. The voices sounded like 200 people when there were only about 25, and the kids shout, clap, dance, and so obviously express incredible love for our Lord. After the service, while we talked with the youth, their youth leader told us how they meet EVERY morning at 3:45 am to pray for themselves, their family, their church, and their country. They began to beg us to join them and all three of us felt led to sacrifice the sleep to join them early in the morning. We arrived at the church at about 4 am to a circle of youth on their hands and knees crying out in their own prayers. We happily joined their circle of prayer and all felt God's spirit working on each person in the room. After about a half hour, we continued in prayer for the church itself, praying over the chairs, the offering basket, the foundation, and the musical instruments. We concluded the prayer time with emotional messages from some of the youth to us, and some messages from us to the youth; as well as the youth gathering around the 3 of us and Pastor Jerson to pray over us and our mission. What an incredible way to start our sunday!
As for our divine appointment...On our saturday night youth meeting, following the service, we were approached by Pastor Victor who introduced us to a 16 year old young lady named Carelia. This young lady simply looked broken spirited. Pastor Victor asked if we could pray for her, so Karla asked what it was she needed prayer for. She was very hesitant to tell us what she needed prayer for, so we talked to her and prayed uplifting words for God's spirit to fill her. The language barrier was non-existent as both Joe and Karla did not need to wait one moment for the other. After about 10 minutes of intense prayer for this girl, we came to realize what was tearing her apart. She had lost her father a while ago, and just recently lost her mother. She has no one left! She was left some property, but does not have enough funds to keep it. Now, she is between locations and feels all alone, and has nowhere to call "home". We reminded her of the promises Joe talked about in his message, and gave her many other scriptures to encourage and lift her up. One scripture in particular that we reminded her of is when Lazarus had died and the book of John says that "Jesus wept." This verse was perfect for her to hear in this instance because it showed her that Jesus knows the struggles we go through in losing those we care about. Most importantly about this divine appointment is that we were told she was contemplating suicide that exact night, and in her coming to church that night, God was able to remind her of His promise of ALWAYS being with us, and that He has an incredible plan for her life. She is a beautiful young lady with a beautiful heart. She is the one who choreographs all of the children's dance performances, and we were able to show her how much she means to the kids and the way the kids smile when they see her. Also, she did not have a bible of her own, and it just so happened that we had 1 bible in Spanish with us that night that we were able to give to her! Normally, she does not go to the 3:45 am prayer meeting, but we persistently asked her to come. When we walked in the doors at 4 am and saw the circle of youth, the only space to kneel was right next to Carelia! We were so blessed to continue to get to know her this morning! God be with you Carelia! We all love you so much, and are now a part of our family!
Joe, Karla, and Sarah
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