We went into the barrios for the second time yesterday. We visited many homes and prayed over many people, but one family in particular stands out in my mind. We were invited by a woman into her home to pray, and our group stepped into a one room house, no bigger than my living room. I counted nine people inside, including a couple of young children, and for these nine people were two beds, two chairs, and a small fire in the corner of the room holding a medium sized pot of simmering soup. Sitting on one if the beds was a baby, probably about 18 months old, and the woman told us that she was ill, troubled with a fever and some sort of stomach bug. So our group joined hands with her and her family, and we prayed for healing for the baby and for God’s love and mercy to extend over that home. When we finished, I opened my eyes and saw the woman was crying, she was so touched. One of the team asked permission to give her a hug, and then we all took turns giving this woman a hug. When I hugged her, I said in her ear, “Dios Esta con usted,” which means “God is with you”. When I pulled back, she replied, “Siempre.”. Always. Then she started crying again, and started talking to me in a flurry of Spanish, most of which I couldn’t understand. What I did understand though was that God was the only thing holding this woman’s life together.
How often at home do we rely on God on God like that? This family had practically nothing but Him, and that was enough. I have more in my suitcase then this family had, and I am still discontent, often looking to God only as a last resort Jesus said that it was harder for the rich to enter heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Just remember, we in America are the rich of this world. And right now I would rather be one if the poorest people in this world and be close to my Savior, then have my wealth get in the way of my relationship with God.
