A report from Discovery Dominical:
A few weeks ago, Sam and I (Chloe) had the opportunity to do some outreach in a small community called Isla Damas. This town is technically not a town, at least not on paper. It is entirely a squatter’s town. No one owns the land they live on, and sadly there is a very heavy presence of the cartel, drugs and gangs in this area. We were in the middle of a week spent almost entirely devoted to outreach. A mission team had come down from the States to train the local believers in outreach and evangelism. And like any good training, it is followed by the opportunity to practice what you learn.
The group split into smaller teams and spread out in different areas. Our team headed over to Isla Damas. We planned to meet with a woman named Ruth who runs a small church on the island. To get to the church, we took a short ferry ride across a river, where Ruth met us on the other shore; from there, the church was just a short 5-minute walk down a muddy dirt road.
As the boat landed, we hopped off and began our short walk; as we walked, we spoke with those we passed, asking what they thought about Jesus and offering prayer. As we went, we noticed that part of our group had stopped to pray with a man who was sitting on the side of the road. Out of the corner of Sam’s eye, he saw a woman sitting nearby start to cry out. “Pray for me! Pray for me! For me too! Please!” So Sam grabbed me, as well as another member from the group who could help us translate. Our Spanish has come a long way but we still have a lot to learn. We walked over and asked her what she needed prayer for. She shared with us that her son was tangled up in drugs and gangs, and due to this, she was held at gunpoint that past week, with the gang members threatening her to get to her son.
Upon hearing this, we wanted to make sure she was connected with Ruth and the church so that she would have somewhere safe to go to. That was when she told us her eyesight was so bad that she could not walk to the church and that all we could do was pray for her. So we prayed, with a friend translating; we prayed for her son and that he would have a desire to and be able to find his way out of the gangs, we prayed for her and for peace and safety, and then we prayed for her sight. After we finished, we asked how she was doing, and she smiled and said, “I see clearer!” Sam had a few Spanish bibles in his bag, passing her one he asked if she was able to read it? She said “It’s better but I can’t make out all the words.” so we prayed again and asked the same question. Again, she exclaimed, “It’s clearer!!” We prayed a third time and held up the bible, but this time she cried out, “I can read it!!” With a smile we won’t forget anytime soon!
So along with our new friends we thanked God for this miracle. That means she will be able to find shelter in the church as well as begin to read God’s word again. She kept the Spanish bible since she was now able to read it! She did say she would have to get used to reading again since she hasn’t been able to for so long. So be praying for her comprehension as she starts to read again. It ended up taking us an hour and a half to reach that little church that was only five minutes away because of everyone who wanted to pray or to hear about Jesus as we walked. On our way back to the boat, we passed by her again and checked in. She was so joyous; we asked if she could still see… (forgive us for our skepticism here, it was the first time we’d seen someone recover their sight.) But guess what! She could still see! She was thanking God for restoring her sight! What an encouragement it is to know that God still heals the blind today; that is not just something we read about in Scripture, but a display of His glory that He still shows today!
