I Have This Incredible Story

"I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2

"Take a photo of the whole team in a  shower with sunglasses"
Obviously we didn't have the sunglasses
(L to R, back: Riguell, JeanK, Jan Carlos
front: Me, Tito/Ethan, Paul, Andres)

Walking up to Capilla del Calvario with Janessa for youth group this evening I was surprised to see the entryway filled with new faces.. Familiar to me, yes, but to the scene of the youth group they were new. I said "hi" to the kids, giving them high-fives and hugs, when I passed by a young boy whom I knew I had seen before. I couldn't remember his name for the life of me.. I passed it off, thinking he must have been a kid from Bible Club that had blended into the sea of faces, after all there were around 60 kids that attended.



I sat down on the couch, still talking to others, when I overheard someone say "Paul"..

NO WAY.

I knew I had heard that name from before............

About a month ago, Janessa, Karlee and I sat in the plaza in Villarreal. We were there to witness.. but to whom, we had no idea. We decided to use the time to pray, and focus on God to put whoever needed to be reached that day into our midst.

Not much happened. We passed out a few of the church tracks, reading, "Do you know Christ?" with little gospel comics and such. We said "Hi" to familiar faces, and read Psalms 41 aloud in Spanish and English.

A couple of young boys passed by, looking about 8-9 years of age, and something within me was compelled to ask them, "Do you like to read"? They nodded yes, so we gave them a couple of the comics, and Karlee offered them gum. We watched the younger of the two as they walked into the distance, still reading the comic, until they disappeared around a corner.

They stayed in my mind the rest of the day, so I offered them up to the Lord in prayer.

A couple weeks later, us girls planned a day to play soccer with some of the kids from PFK in the plaza. Yoel, a joyful-spirited boy of 12 years, was one of the first ones to arrive. (You can read a bit about Yoel in the PFR newsletter) As we waited for others I saw a couple young boys walking through the field.. I asked Yoel if they were some from PFK or Bible Club, and he didn't know, so he went to find out. He came back with the two boys, neither attended Capilla del Calvario, but they were up for playing some soccer-their favorite sport. I recognized them as the same boys that we had handed tracks to. Incredible! A split second of sharing Christ with these boys, and God brought them back into our lives for more! I was ready to pour it out!

Sweaty and exhausted, a couple of hours later, we all sat in the shade for water and cookies. I asked the boys  their names, and ages. The older-Paul age 13, the younger-Alberto age 11. I was excited.. I told Paul about the youth group La Roca, telling him to come if he wanted to meet more kids and learn about Christ. The younger I told about Bible Club, and unfortunately had no way to give him more information about it, but told him if he saw me on the street to holler :)

Vanessa and Riguell paint a chicken's nail

So, once again, Christ brought these boys into my life. I was exhilarated. How good our God is! They both came to youth group tonight.. But Alberto left after not too long, I'm sure, feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the older kids. Paulwas in my group for the activity we did-a photo scavenger hunt. Together we completed all of the silly various tasks such as painting the nails of a chicken, all getting into a shower with sunglasses on, and eating a whole clove of garlic.

Paul handing out tracks -
just the way I met him to begin with, handing him a track!

I learned tonight of angels that God puts in each of our lives. Paul is one of those angels. He is a blessing straight fromabove, that was put into my life on such rare occasions that only God could have managed. He is a reserved, but sweet boy. Caring, and passionate. I pray tonight that God will reach his heart as Christ has reached mine through him. I pray that God will bring Alberto into the setting as Paul has found and the two boys will be touched by the love ofChrist and the incredible wonders of God. I pray the two will learn of the love of our Father, seek the redemption of a Savior, and find the truth He has given through His word. I also pray that God will continue to use me in His wondrous manners that send me into joyous song, and fills my soul the way only He can do.

"May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions." Psalm 20: 4-5