…So I wasn’t very surprised when 9 ladies came filing in to the meeting house, but just breathed a ´thank you, Lord´. As I looked at the familiar faces, I wondered where each one was in their understanding of the gospel. An added blessing, was that Susana had just arrived the day before from a village where she was teaching children.
Yes, I could tell people prayed, because the Lord helped me to teach them the gospel message, in their own language, bringing out all the main points that Wayne had so carefully laid out in the lesson. How that because of our sin, handed down from Adam, God was true to His Word and sent a Redeemer, His own Son, the perfect lamb sacrifice to make the payment the Father required, dying in our place. And how the Father had to turn from His Son’s suffering, since all our sin was laid upon Him, causing the sky to darken for 3 hours.
Then at His death, it happened. The heavy curtain in the temple that kept the people from the Holiest of Places, was torn from top to bottom, showing mankind that Jesus was the Way to God the Father. No longer were sacrificial lambs required. The Father showed that He accepted the shedding of His Son’s blood, in order to forgive the sins of all who placed their faith in Jesus and His death for them, allowing them eternal life.
There is something about reading God’s Word in a different language that brings out the Truths that we sometimes take for granted. When I was preparing for teaching the lesson, in Piapoco, reading in Mark 15 and other passages, I almost wanted to cry. Jesus’ suffering and death once more had an impact on my own undeserving heart, and God’s grace to me spoke volumes. How I hoped it would have the same effect on the ladies. I believe it did, as their faces were serious upon hearing of His suffering for them.
Instead of waiting for next week´s resurrection story, I went ahead and asked if they were trusting in what Jesus did on the cross for them. Most all chimed in together, that, ‘ Yes, we believe this, we are trusting in Jesus.’
‘Are you really? You aren’t trusting in the good things you do for God?’ I asked. ‘No, we are trusting in Jesus!’ they reassured me.
The class ended on that happy note, but Susana and I planned to find out how well each one understand the gospel message. Thank you for standing with us in prayer for these dear ladies: For Alicia, Ruth, Isadora, Erlí, Noemí, Juanita, Maria Elena and Francy.
Note: Later, four of the ladies individually expressed faith in Christ: Alicia, Ruth, Maria Helena and young Erli.