Truth be told, my relationship and understanding of the Holy Spirit has been fairly nonexistent. Since beginning our Intake, we have made the development of this relationship a central focus in our spiritual lives.

We have learned that the Spirit is the principal agent of missionary activity. What a relief…I honestly have no clue as to how to evangelize or what I am going to do when we get to the mission field. This whole missionary idea is a terrifying prospect for someone who has as little experience as I do.

In Mexico, I was fortunate enough that God made it perfectly clear how the Spirit could work through me if I had an open heart.

Antonio is a resident of Allende, Mexico. I met him on the first night of a prayer meeting we were conducting in the town of Allende. He was one of only two men that attended the meeting that night, and I noticed that he was very apprehensive at the meeting. He stayed towards the back and didn’t participate fully. I felt an urge to go and at least try and communicate with him, which I knew full well I wouldn’t be able to do. The Lord was clearly asking me to humble myself, which is not an easy task for me! My Spanish consists of about 7 words. I decided that I couldn’t ignore the urging, so I went over and tried to communicate on the rudimentary level that I could. I figured out that he lived a couple blocks away and that his name was Antonio. That was all I could muster, besides smiling like a total idiot. I (I think) asked him to come tomorrow night and of course I did not understand his response. We packed up and left, with a newfound humbleness. There were many things I wanted to say and ask Antonio, but was unable to do so! It was extremely frustrating.

The next night we showed up to conduct a prayer service for healing, combined with a potluck, Mexican style! I was pleased to see that Antonio had returned and this time he had brought his wife and three children! He asked to be prayed over for healing of his back and his wife and marriage. He was significantly more engaged and had a giant smile on his face that night.

Of course, it wasn’t me who did anything over the course of the two nights. I couldn’t even carry on a conversation! Did the interactions make a difference in Antonio’s life? Would he have come that next night with his family if I had ignored the Holy Spirit and not gone and tried to interact with him? All I can do is reflect on the times God has put people in my life, and look at how these seemingly insignificant interactions have definitely been part of God’s plan for me.

Maybe it made a difference for Antonio and his family, maybe not. God is in charge of that. The beauty lies in the fact that it doesn’t matter, for all God requires us to do is show up and be a witness, even if we don’t know the language! He does the rest, and praise God for that.

(By Brad)

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