Several of us had gone to visit Lálo & encourage him in his new walk with Christ. Lálo had only been saved a week & we were concerned that his past history with alcohol might be a struggle for him.
A Paraguayan preacher who had traveled 20 miles by bus went with us to share his testimony of being saved out of a life of alcoholism.
Unfortunately, Lálo was not home that day. Needless to say, we were disappointed. But, trusting that God always has a purpose in even our disappointments, we decided to stay & encourage Lálo’s mother, Nicasia.
Since her salvation almost a year ago, Nicasia had seen 8 other family members come to know Jesus as their personal Savior. She has much for which to be thankful and loves any opportunity to talk about what God has done in her life.
We were praising God with her for just how powerful He is, when we heard someone running along the sidewalk outside the patio area where we sat. As we looked in the direction of the commotion, a young lady ran past the doorway.
Seeing the open door, the young lady stopped running & returned to stick her head inside. Barely able to speak for lack of breath, she asked if she could have a drink of water.
As Nicasia quickly brought her some water, the young lady told us how someone had been chasing her for blocks. Unable to find anyone on the street or a house in which to run for help, she was trying to reach her home. Just when she was about to give up hope, she saw the refuge of our open door.
The young lady was visibly shaken and it took her awhile to calm down. As this stranger sat there, I couldn’t help but think of how she was no stranger to God. He knew her when she was in her mother’s womb. He’s known everything that has occurred in her life, including her present situation. He’s concerned for her trials on this earth & her future in eternity.
I couldn’t help but wonder, did the Lord have a purpose in our being in this place at the very moment she needed help? Was that purpose only to quench her physical thirst in sharing a cup of water, or did He also want us to share the Living Water with her, too?
As I was thinking on this, the preacher who had come so far must have been thinking the same thing. He began to tell her that we had been talking about God’s power just as she ran up to our door. He then began to witness to her of salvation through Jesus Christ. He told the beautiful story of how God so loved the world that he gave his only son to die for each of us.
The young lady sat attentively. Her eyes were wide with anticipation of what he would say next. He told her of mankind’s need for a Savior and of God’s great love in providing one through Jesus. He quoted scripture that made it clear that salvation is by faith alone.
After he had fully explained the free gift of salvation, he asked her if she wanted to accept Jesus as her Savior. To our joy, she said she did! We all bowed our heads as she prayed and asked Jesus to save her. Afterwards we told her that she could learn more about the Christian life by coming to our believers’ meeting next Sunday.
We gave her a New Testament and wanted to write her name inside the cover, but realized we still didn’t know her name! It was Nanci. Beside her name we wrote the date, which would now be the most important date of her life. She thanked us and said goodbye, walking back out into the world as a new creature in Christ!
We went to that house expecting only to encourage a new believer. Nanci came to the same house for safety and a drink of water. We all left getting more than what we expected. God has a purpose in all things that come our way, and it is always for our good.
I am sure that God’s hand was in Nanci finding our door of safety from the man pursuing her. But more importantly, God wanted her to find yet another door that leads to eternal safety and the Living Water that would satisfy her soul. She did!
Sherri Pryor
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