Gifts from God

Being part of God's plan is a precious and humbling thing. Could the Lord really use a broken vessel like me?

Often I focus on how God is working in my life. I know that he is using other people to speak to me, to provide for my needs, to inspire me to continue in the path of Jesus Christ. However, I rarely think about how God might be using me to answer others' prayers. I ask him to make me a blessing to others, but I don't expect to know how he is carrying that out. Yesterday, I heard a story about God's provision and plan that still brings me to tears.

On Saturday, January 4, my friend and supervisor, Roberto, and his wife, Gricelda, knocked on the door of a beautiful orange house. The family was getting ready for their evening church service, and everyone was busily getting ready. Who could be knocking at this hour of the afternoon? Rebecca, the 9-year-old daughter, said, "Mom, I think that's Roberto's voice." "What could Roberto want with us? The student who was living with us left a month ago," thought Idalia, the mother. She went to the door and welcomed the couple. Roberto explained that a missionary girl was coming to Nicaragua for a year. She had come three years earlier as a student, but now she was returning to work, and she wanted a different type of experience. Idalia's family had not hosted a student when the missionary girl was in Nicaragua, so she didn't know them. "Don't worry about the room for her. This girl can handle anything," the couple told Idalia. The girl moved in on Monday, January 6.

Idalia's husband, Mario, owns a microbus which functions as a taxi for groups as well as transportation for the family. It was in the shop most of December, and the repairs cost a lot of money. When the micro needed more attention in January, the family didn't know how they would pay for it. But Idalia prayed to the Lord, asking him to provide. She trusted that her heavenly Father would take care of her family and give them what they needed. That week, the missionary girl moved into the house, and she paid the family for room and board. The amount of her payment was exactly what was needed for the repairs to the microbus.

I am the missionary girl, and Idalia is my host mother. She told me last night that I am the completion of God's promises to her family. The Lord provided for her through me. And we dreamed of other ways that God will use us together in the next months.

These past few weeks, I have been thinking that this family is God's gift to me. The house is comfortable, and I love the atmosphere of the family. They are respectful yet playful. There is a spirit of harmony and hard work in the house. The father, Mario, has worked on an American cruise line for over 20 years, and they understand a bit about cross-cultural relations between North Americans and Nicaraguans. I feel comfortable to be myself in this family, and even to argue about doctrine or teachings in the Bible. They are good at challenging me, and I feel comfortable challenging them and speaking from my experiences. I pray that instead of offending and damaging relations, we are building each other up in knowledge and wisdom of the Lord. All the while that I have been rejoicing in my placement with this family, they too have been thanking God for me. Incredible. What a gift!

P.S. Another gift from today: I visited a church called Promesa (Promise) that is only 3 blocks from my house. I met the pastor at a meeting of pastors with the Nehemiah Center, and I found out that he has a church close to my house. Wonder of wonders, they had a screen with the words for the songs so that I could follow along on the ones I didn't know. I was a visitor there, and I really liked it. Maybe I've found a regular Thursday night church service!