Every Saturday, our team at LTC goes out into a nearby community and visits new believers that are members of a local church. Every week, we are left with impressions of their hospitality and warmth toward us. We are always treated with potatoes, cassava or bananas, and always some type of soda.
Today was probably the most encouraging day for me with community home visits.
Our first visit today was to a widow in Baliok (a community in Davao). She has six children who all live in Manila. She has a sari sari in the front of her home.
After introducing ourselves and listening to her sweet testimony, we began a Bible study looking at Genesis 22 when Abraham offers Isaac to God as a sacrifice. Our team was discussing this passage the other day, what an incredible display of faithfulness and obedience to God. Man, even now thinking of it I am amazed. No wonder Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness.
Anyway, so here we are sitting around her table in her dining area. And as Jeffrey, our friend and supervisor at the orphanage, interprets all of our questions and comments, I wonder to myself if this woman thinks these four Americanas are simply full of it – as if we could have anything to teach her about faith.
I shared with her how much it means to me that Abraham always knew God would provide the sacrifice, yet he acted on what God requested of him anyway (Genesis 22:8). I told her how significant I thought this was – that no matter what we are going through; God always is the one who provides strength or whatever it is we need to get through our situations. Not confident that what I was saying was making any sense, I asked her what the Scripture meant to her. I looked down at my Scriptures. I looked up.
She was wiping tears from her eyes.
She began to share just about the grace of God in her life through many trials and how he has always seen her through. She shared about the strength God has given her. I sensed that this widow, who now lives alone and looks forward to visits on the weekends from children, experiences much loneliness.
We gathered around her to pray, and as I put my hand on her back I felt her quiet sobs. After our time of prayer, she joyfully served us pansit and sweet macaroni (not sure how used to that Filipino dish I will get).
Just before we began reading Scripture I felt led to just pray for the blessing of God’s word. We had already spent time praying, but I felt I should pray again.
The Lord just gently reminded me today that I need not rely on anything – any sort of planning or preconceived ideas about what he will do – but to allow his Spirit to have freedom and authority to reign and lead us. When I though surely this woman could get nothing from this awkward conversation because of all the translation, God was at work. And I left with the peace that we had accomplished what we were supposed to accomplish. May I never limit when or how he will move. To him be the glory!
The team with a family from home visits