When our family first started making plans to move to Paraguay, our daughter Bethany was only 5 years old. She was concerned about leaving her best friend behind and whether or not she would have a friend in this new country.
So, we began praying that once we arrived God would provide her with a friend. Soon after moving and finding a place to live, we heard the sounds of children coming from the house next door. Bethany, with the assurance of a child, hoped that one of those voices would become her friend.
So, we began praying that once we arrived God would provide her with a friend. Soon after moving and finding a place to live, we heard the sounds of children coming from the house next door. Bethany, with the assurance of a child, hoped that one of those voices would become her friend.
With time, we met the children and there WAS a little girl. Her name was Betania (or Bethany in English) and she was almost 4 years old. The two Bethanys became playmates. God had answered our prayers.
Betania’s mother, Norma, and I became friends too. She was actually the live-in maid from next door and she and Betania occupied the maid’s quarters at the rear of the property.
Norma’s days were filled with housework and cooking and so I found that I had more in common with her than I did with the lady of their house. Norma and Betania would come and visit whenever she had a break.
While the girls played, we would visit and swap recipes but more importantly these times gave me opportunities to share about the Lord. As we got to know Norma and Betania, we began to pray that they would be saved.
The Lord started working in Norma’s heart first. One day while she was visiting she was convicted of her lost state and need for a Savior. She prayed and accepted Jesus as her personal Savior. We kept praying for Betania, who was only four years old, that the Lord would bring her to salvation one day.
It has been 4 years since Norma got saved. We eventually moved from that neighborhood into the one we are at now.
However, we have stayed in contact with Norma and Betania. The girls are still friends and Betania comes over to play and spend the night. Norma and Betania also come to the house every Saturday for Kid’s Club and the Ladies Bible study.
As Norma began to grow under the teaching of God’s Word, she realized she should be praying for Betania’s salvation too. She started including Betania in her personal Bible study time at home. Betania was learning how Jesus died to save her from hell.
Recently, and after 5 years of prayer, Betania reached a point where she understood that she needed to be saved. After a recent Kids Club, she prayed and asked Jesus to
save her!
Then on Sunday, March 28th, 2004, after our first believers meeting in the neighborhood, Norma and Betania were baptized together.
It was a moving experience for us to see the mother and daughter that we met all those years ago come to know the Lord and be baptized. Bethany’s friend had become her sister in Christ!
Please pray for Norma and Betania because their life is not easy. Norma struggles to raise Betania without the help of a husband. In addition, She works as a cook for a religious family who don’t want her to attend our Bible studies or believer’s meetings.
Norma comes to them anyway, taking a chance on loosing her job, which is no small thing in this country where jobs are very hard to find. Her employer takes advantage of that fact and requires ridiculously long hours for a small amount of pay.
Even with all of this, Norma says that she is happy and encouraged because her eternity is settled. She also knows that the Christian life is full of blessings and she is excited to see what God is going to do in her & Betania’s lives.
Sherri Pryor
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