I know that I already have a lot of posts flowing due to my Intro to Compassion Ministry class. But I figured I might as well post the rest of the things I've been writing for my classes. For Personal Evangelism we are challenged to share our faith with a non-believer at least once a week for ten weeks. Every week, we are to write about one instance in which we shared our faith. Here is my first written account... Background info: Romera House is a soup kitchen/ thrift store with completely free items....
For
our first Praxis trip, I got the opportunity to go to Romera House in St. John.
The first couple hours I helped in the thrift store, sorting donations and
writing down items that people were taking. That itself was a blessing. It is
mind blowing seeing the reality of people that live so close in proximity to us
that do not have basic necessities like clothes, blankets, and soap. Then we
got the chance to feed them. I stood behind the counter giving hungry people
cucumbers and cake. That in itself was also a blessing. But the biggest
blessing was being able to sit down and eat along side of them, people who are
so hungry in spirit.
I sat down at a table to eat, expecting
to have a simple conversation or two. An older man sat across from me. He was
friendly, eager to talk. But the conversation was surface level. I craved for
something more, depth, and wondered if any of them did too. Finally the man
left, and two women remained sitting by me. One of them, a younger woman, had
been completely checked out of any socializing. She seemed really out of it. I
asked her what her name was. She told me it was Cherie.
She slowly opened up, beginning with her
speaking into me. She told me to hold on to what I have now, taking care of
myself and not making the same mistakes she did. She then began to pour out her
story of past mistakes, how she got into drugs and prostitution. She felt like
God only gave her once chance in life, and she messed it up. In the midst of
hearing this, all of my fears, doubts and insecurities melted away. God showed
me that this is why I am here. She began to break down. I started to tear up
just listening to her, seeing her brokenness. Then she started to talk about
how much evil is in this world, recognizing that Satan has so much power on
earth. She said it seems like the bigger God gets, the bigger Satan gets. I
told her it is true that the closer we get to God, the more the enemy tries to
attack us, but God has a promise for us. I told her the verse, Romans 16:20,
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet.” She was blown
away and had me repeat the verse three times. She then looked over at the wall
next to us. There was a poster that simply said “Peace” on it. She teared up
again. She then continued to talk about God, saying that she had watched the
Passion of Christ. She explained that she gets angry at God for allowing His
son to go through so much pain. I had the chance to explain the gospel in full
to her. She was enthralled. She had me repeat it several times to her, longing
to understand. Finally she said “I get it now!”
I asked her if I could pray for her. She
said yes but did not let me even touch her hands. “You don’t want to touch me.”
She said. I said that was fine and prayed with her anyway. I don’t even
remember everything I prayed. The Holy Spirit was moving. Then when we were
done, she gave me a huge hug, even though she initially did not even want me to
touch her hands. Then she encouraged me. She told me that she wants me to have
the same things I prayed for her. She told me never to let go of my dreams. I
asked her if she remembered the verse I told her. She repeated it back to me. I
told her never to forget God’s promises to us. Then we parted ways.
It blew my mind how God worked that day.
The Holy Spirit allowed me to say things I could never say on my own. I pray
that those seeds planted in her will be watered. I pray that she will see God
more real than ever before. I pray that she will never forget that day and the
promises God has for her.
