Last week during Holy Week, I had the opportunity to go with several of the youth to a beach here called Jacó to do beach evangelism. I felt very bitter sweet about going A) because the beach is my favorite place in the world, and B) because it would mean I would have to walk up to random people and talk to them. Being an introvert, it’s hard for me to just walk up to people and introduce myself, nonetheless share something so important and personal about me. If I’ve learned anything about evangelism over the years, it’s that if you don’t share how the Good News has changed your life, and share your personal testimony, it makes it a lot harder for the people to see that it’s the real deal. Our personal testimonies are a huge part in evangelizing, and here I was about to share my personal life with random strangers. I was nervous and way out of my comfort zone, but of course God is sovereign and was at work. Just to give you a little bit of background information, here during Holy Week since it is a Catholic nation, all of the schools close, and so do a lot of businesses. What that means for the locals is that its time to head to the beach. A trip that would normally take 2 hours, took us twice as long due to the masses of people heading to the beach. It reminded me a lot of Spring Break in Alabama when college and high school students flock to Destin, Gulf Shores, etc. During this week, Jacó turns into a Panama City Beach scene; people are spilling out of bars every where, prostitute are found on every corner, drunk people share the streets with crazy drivers, etc. So you can image what we were up against. As we approached people I would get a lump in my throat, a lot like Moses did. But as soon as I spoke the first word God gave me peace and excitement to share something so wonderful. As I started speaking the words came so easily, and I even prayed in Spanish with every person I talked to. Its one thing to speak Spanish to people, but to speak it to the Heavenly Father is tough stuff! In the end God taught me that to truly show our obedience to His calling in our lives, we may have to do uncomfortable things, but if we follow His will we will be richly blessed.
At the end of the trip I was completely exhausted. Try spending three days with 10 youth at a beach that is 100 degrees. When I got back all I wanted to do was crawl into the cave that is my room and not talk to anybody for 2 days! However, to celebrate Easter, the church has a breakfast service. That meant I had to be at the church at 6 AM the next day. To be honest I was dreading it, but when I woke up God gave me a burst of energy so I could celebrate the resurrection of His son.
Over all these past 2 weeks, God has taught me a lot about obedience and what it means to truly follow him. When we submit to His will, we find out that he loves to richly bless His obedient children. During the trip I got to now several of the youth a lot better and God has really blessed my relationships with them. I also got to lead a prayer of salvation in Spanish with one of the women we talked to in Jacó! Then I got to celebrate Easter in a new way, without all the commercialism that is Easter bunnies, and candy eggs, and truly focus on what the day means. I know that my time here isn’t only how I can help the church. I know that it is also a growing time for myself. I’ve only been here for about 7 weeks and God has already stretched me in so many different directions. But like our body, stretching may make you sore for a day, but in the end you become a more flexible person. I pray that by the end of this trip I will be able to do spiritual splits from all the stretching I do J.
P.S. Stick around for another post that is purely pictures!
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