As I continue to process the week in Roatan, my heart swells with compassion for the people and love for the missionaries we left there. I thank you for your prayers for our family. We felt them everyday.
I am sure I will have more stories to tell you in the next weeks, but this one I want to share first.
"How Mary Met Jesus"
(Just so you know: Frances is wife to Henry and they are the missionaries we helped during the week. Tia is wife to Chuck and they own the Mission Inn where we stayed. Jeff is my wonderful husband and leader of the group.)
To her Honduran friends she is Maria, but to me she is Mary, God's special girl. Her purpose for coming to the Mission Inn on Saturday was to meet with Tia, the owner's wife, but soon found herself surrounded by a group of Americans who had come with a purpose of their own. Mary's eyes were filled with a longing; a need to have meaning in her life and soon a great curiosity about us. Her eyes caught mine and we were instantly friends. Through her broken English I found out that Mary was unhappy, but she was reluctant to tell me about it. She found comfort among our group and followed us through dinner, though not eating until we were all served, and into our team meeting afterwards. Jeff asked us to form small groups to pray. God arranged for Frances, Mary, and me to be a group. There is no other explanation; He wanted us to be there together. I asked if there were any specific needs that Frances or Mary had and Frances began to share Mary's story. Mary and her husband were having some problems in their marriage and just six months earlier Mary had lost her one month old baby, a little boy. She had found Frances and Henry and had been visiting with them for several months trying to find ways to solve her problems on her own. Frances had shared with Mary on more than one occasion that Jesus has the answers, but Mary would not accept that. Frances looked at me and said, "Mary needs Jesus." The Lord allowed me to look into Mary's heart that night and without hesitation, I said, "Well, let's take care of that right now." I told Mary the story of Jesus. I shared with her that He loves her so much that He died for her and lives again so that she can have life. I told her that God has plans for her and that she is special. Then I asked her if she wanted that life God had planned for her and without hesitation, she said yes. We prayed and Mary asked Jesus into her heart.
Mary became one of our best translators on this trip. As she and I met each morning, we shared scriptures, prayed, and marveled at what God taught us. I watched as God changed her countenance. I heard a sweet change in her voice and I saw a confidence emerge as she shared with the children in the Colonia all that she was learning herself. I take no glory or credit for anything I did. I saw God's hand in every step. You see, weeks ago I prayed and asked God to let me make a new friend in Roatan. I searched and found a song that I thought I would get to sing at some point during the week and began practicing the song. I concentrated on the chorus because that is where I thought the message was. But the opportunity to sing never came. I asked God why I didn't get to sing the song and just yesterday I realized why. The message was not in the chorus, but in the lyrics and the message was for me. The message was about a very special friend...Mary.
You'll Never Thirst by Annointed
You'll never find her story in a fairy tale
I am sure I will have more stories to tell you in the next weeks, but this one I want to share first.
"How Mary Met Jesus"
(Just so you know: Frances is wife to Henry and they are the missionaries we helped during the week. Tia is wife to Chuck and they own the Mission Inn where we stayed. Jeff is my wonderful husband and leader of the group.)
To her Honduran friends she is Maria, but to me she is Mary, God's special girl. Her purpose for coming to the Mission Inn on Saturday was to meet with Tia, the owner's wife, but soon found herself surrounded by a group of Americans who had come with a purpose of their own. Mary's eyes were filled with a longing; a need to have meaning in her life and soon a great curiosity about us. Her eyes caught mine and we were instantly friends. Through her broken English I found out that Mary was unhappy, but she was reluctant to tell me about it. She found comfort among our group and followed us through dinner, though not eating until we were all served, and into our team meeting afterwards. Jeff asked us to form small groups to pray. God arranged for Frances, Mary, and me to be a group. There is no other explanation; He wanted us to be there together. I asked if there were any specific needs that Frances or Mary had and Frances began to share Mary's story. Mary and her husband were having some problems in their marriage and just six months earlier Mary had lost her one month old baby, a little boy. She had found Frances and Henry and had been visiting with them for several months trying to find ways to solve her problems on her own. Frances had shared with Mary on more than one occasion that Jesus has the answers, but Mary would not accept that. Frances looked at me and said, "Mary needs Jesus." The Lord allowed me to look into Mary's heart that night and without hesitation, I said, "Well, let's take care of that right now." I told Mary the story of Jesus. I shared with her that He loves her so much that He died for her and lives again so that she can have life. I told her that God has plans for her and that she is special. Then I asked her if she wanted that life God had planned for her and without hesitation, she said yes. We prayed and Mary asked Jesus into her heart.
Mary became one of our best translators on this trip. As she and I met each morning, we shared scriptures, prayed, and marveled at what God taught us. I watched as God changed her countenance. I heard a sweet change in her voice and I saw a confidence emerge as she shared with the children in the Colonia all that she was learning herself. I take no glory or credit for anything I did. I saw God's hand in every step. You see, weeks ago I prayed and asked God to let me make a new friend in Roatan. I searched and found a song that I thought I would get to sing at some point during the week and began practicing the song. I concentrated on the chorus because that is where I thought the message was. But the opportunity to sing never came. I asked God why I didn't get to sing the song and just yesterday I realized why. The message was not in the chorus, but in the lyrics and the message was for me. The message was about a very special friend...Mary.
You'll Never Thirst by Annointed
You'll never find her story in a fairy tale
'Cause she wasn't like, the other women at the well
Her life was full of pain, hurt, rejection
Her loneliness she didn't want to show
But Jesus saw the desert in her soul
Chorus:Drink from this water
Chorus:Drink from this water
Drink from this water
And you will never, you'll never thirst again
Drink from this water
Drink from this water
You will never, you'll never thirst again
We all search for something
We all search for something
To fill us up inside
But it's only an illusion
You know a True Love's hard to find
But I'm here to tell you there's one place
Your thirst is quenched forever more
You will never leave disappointed
You will find what you are looking for
1 comment:
pretty cool
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