Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Mighty to Save

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Throughout our time here, the Lord has been continually reminding me that He is mighty to save and He doesn’t need me in order to work. It is purely a privilege that He chooses to use His children in advancing His kingdom. It has been truly humbling to see the Lord at work and participate in what He is doing here in Oaxaca, and particularly in the main village I’ve been working in.

The Lord has clearly shown himself to be at work in this village. He has opened the door wide open for us to have legitimate access into the village through our background as nurses and working in the clinic every week. So huge! But a few weeks ago, I began to feel a little discouraged that we hadn’t developed more relationships through our Community Transformation Training (CTT) visits. The goal is to use lessons of basic health care/prevention to help meet physical needs in the community. We pair the lesson with a Bible story to begin to meet spiritual needs. The idea is that this gets us access into homes, but it doesn’t stop there. The goal is to build relationships, make disciples, and form house churches over time. Well, we had been having some great conversations with people each week, but none that seemed to be leading to longer term, deeper relationships. I began to feel discouraged because I felt like our time here was rapidly dwindling and we weren’t seeing any deep relationships form that the nationals would be able to continue building on once we leave. During this time, the Lord reminded me that He is the one who saves and He works in His ways and in His timing. He showed me that my one job is to be obedient to him and that I have to trust Him to do the saving. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 says, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” The Lord has commanded us to proclaim the Truth. That’s it. He is the one that transforms hearts. And it makes sense..He is the one who breaths life into people who are dead in their sin and therefore He is the one who gets the glory! Praise Him!


I was also reminded that sometimes we don’t get to see the fruit of our labor. I long to see the Lord save these people and form house churches among them, but He doesn’t need me in order to do those things. He can and will continue working in the lives of these people after I leave here. He is mighty to save. 

The Lord has also been teaching me the power of prayer. I have learned to ask Him to do bigger things than we can imagine because He is capable! Last week a friend from my home church emailed me a picture of the church bulletin from Sunday. Everyday of the week, the church was praying for me and the people of Mexico. I go to a large church..maybe about 4,000 members. So, even if just 1/4 of the people were praying..that’s 1,000 people! Well, the Lord was listening and He did some big things during this last week! Here are 2 examples of how the Lord has been at work:
  1. On Thursday, Moi, Rosa, and I were able to meet with our friend D. and her husband M. in the village we have been working in. She was extremely open with us when we met with her a month ago and invited us back to her home but it just hasn't worked out until this past Thursday. We had a great conversation with them for 2 hours! They were completely open to talking about Spiritual things. M. seemed very familiar with the Word despite some mixed up beliefs. They invited us back to talk to them more about the Word! This is so HUGE! The Lord is clearly working in them! We hope to casually model house church with them through prayer, sharing of the Word, even singing, etc. PLEASE be praying that the Lord would continue moving in them and that He would save them for His glory and use them to save others in this village!! Please pray that they would both be available to talk when we go back this week.
  2. So, about 2 months ago when we were going from house to house in the village, we talked with an older lady named C. who suffers from anxiety/nerves. Think indigenous..like she didn't even understand Moi's Spanish because she only speaks indigenous tongue! Well, praise God, Rosa was able to speak to her in indigenous tongue even though they speak different dialects. We prayed with her and shared with her, but she was not interested in discussing spiritual things and did not invite us back. Well, a week ago at the clinic, I was able to share a Bible story in Spanish to a lady named K. She ended up inviting me to her house to practice English and to bring her a Bible. So, we were able to go and meet with her on Saturday. I had been praying that the Lord would allow us to find her house because her street was not on the map and there aren't always street signs or numbers on the houses. Well, (praise God again!), we were able to find her house and it was the same house where we talked to C. 2 months ago..so awesome!! C. is K.'s mother-in-law! We were able to talk to the whole family..we practiced some English and they taught me some indigenous tongue! And, then we shared with them from the Word. K. openly admitted that she doesn't go to church but that she does talk to God and that our conversation with her was helpful! They were eager to invite us back and so we will be going again in a week! Pray that the Lord would be working in them and transforming their hearts this week, that they would spend time reading the Word, and that the Lord would save them! 

I can’t express how amazing and encouraging these interactions were! This village is a hard place, but He is clearly working and He is mighty to save!


"To him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21