Just Cry--Part Two

One week ago (last Sunday)....

I had stayed the night with the girls in the BHC, and we went to church together, along with the team. At the end of the service, the team and I stood in the front, telling the congregation we would pray for them if they had any needs.

Over half the church came to the front with us wanting prayer.

Language was not a barrier. They prayed for their needs while we laid hands on them, praying for whatever needs they were declaring.

I walked up to two of the girls that lived in the BHC. While I was praying for them, I couldn't help but wonder what it was like to be them. So, I asked God to show me. I asked Him to allow me to feel what they feel for just a moment.

He let me.

For as long as my hands were on them, there was a weight on my shoulders and my heart. I couldn't control my tears. Everything was heavy, and there was an inward pain and anger burning inside of me. I felt ugly. I felt so ugly. Physically, mentally, and spiritually--ugly.

I let go.

My hands dropped to my sides, and I was haunted. All I could think was, "This is not fair."

The prayer time ended, and I was still crying. I argued with God in my mind. Why do these children have to live in a prison and experience that life?

The answer came a few days later, when Jonathan, a seventeen-year-old boy living in the BHC shared his testimony (first time ever) with our team.

He was in gangs. Drugs. Fights. Stealing. Demon-possessed. Then, he said something I will never forget.

"Thanks be to God because my mom went to prison."

That is when I realized, things that look so horrific to me could all be part of God's plan to capture us and save us. Had his mom not gone to prison, he would have never been part of the Bolivian Hope Center.

Jonathan will now be traveling with Missionary Rich Farthing to share his testimony within Bolivia. He is a different young man, and he's now attending a Bible school. You can see his passion and love for God in his eyes.

I want to be like Jonathan.

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Stay tuned; final post this week.

Thanks for reading.