In Place of Angels

And just like that, we are nearing the end of our time in Chile. 

It has been a month of rest, a month of growth, a month of learning Spanish, and a month of allowing ourselves to be poured into just as much as, if not more than what we are pouring into the people we came here to minister to.

One thing has really struck me about the culture here in Chile, and that is the sense of intimacy. First of all you greet everyone by kissing them on the cheek (men, women, children, everyone). One day we were about to start church and Kim turns to me and says “you know, its funny, I’ve kissed everyone in this room except for you guys.” The funniest thing was that it was completely true. A church full of people and you’ve kissed every single one.  

You can also see the Chilean’s sense of openness and intimacy in the PDA you see whenever you simply walk around the neighborhood. It’s especially striking after spending 4 months in Asia where people tend to be very reserved about physical affection in public. Not the case here in South America. 

But it’s not just the physical in which Chileans have a strong sense of intimacy, it’s also the emotional. I am constantly amazed by the readiness people have to share the deepest parts of their lives with those around them. This month I have seen many people allow themselves to cry in a room full of people while they pour out their hearts to their community. And not just a couple of tears and a voice crack or two (which is about as far as we tend to let ourselves get in the States), but open sobbing. 

It’s such a beautiful thing to see and I always feel so honored to be invited into that space, even with my limited understanding of the language and what is being said.

One thing we did a lot of this month was to visit people from the church community. We would sit and talk with them, share our testimonies or a Bible story, and pray for them in whatever they needed. We would sit in people’s living rooms or around their dining room table and they would often feed us bread or cake with coffee (never with milk though), or soda and chips and cookies, something like that. On days when we visited a few houses we often didn’t even need to eat dinner when we got home because of the generous hospitality we encountered everywhere. 

As I said, people are very open here, so on these visits we sat around little dining room tables as people freely shared both their food and their burdens with us. 

One such evening, we walked from our church to a nearby neighborhood. Evening was approaching and the sky was pink and cloudy. As we passed the small gated front patios with little gardens inside, sleeping dogs awoke to bark at us. A very sweet woman welcomed us into her home, where we were also greeted by her husband and her mother, who is dealing with chronic arthritis. 

We talked and listened and sat with this woman who was feeling the weight of caring for her mother and her children, while also worrying about the well-being of her siblings and other family members who weren’t living their lives responsibly. We encouraged her and prayed for her and sat with her as she cried. 

Shortly before we left she shared that she had been feeling overwhelmed and alone. She said our visit was an answer to her prayers. She had prayed that the Lord would show her He was with her, and our presence alone was him saying to her, “here are my messengers.” 

A little later, we said goodbye and gave hugs and kisses all around. As we walked out into the brisk evening air, this phrase rang in my head. 

“Here are my messengers.”

I should keep a list of all the times that people have said that us coming to them has been an answer to their prayers. 

Even so, it’s not something I will ever get used to hearing. 

We are all on this trip because God told us to go.. And I think often about the things that he is doing through us this year, and the people he has designed encounters with.

A year ago, when I was prepping for the Race- trying to figure out what to pack and whether or not I should cancel my Amazon Prime account- God knew about this woman. He was with her a year ago, and he knew where she would be in September of 2019, what she would be dealing with, and what she would need. He knew what her prayers would be before she even asked them. And he sent me and my team to show her His presence and encouragement. 

I’m struggling to find words that would accurately convey how beautiful it feels to be able to be this for someone. 

God’s love is vast and immeasurable. He pursues hearts and comforts those who weep. He cares so deeply for us- he cares so deeply for you. 

He has given me the great honor of inviting me into his pursuit of people. He has allowed me to be a part of the love that He wants to pour out on the world. 

“Here are my messengers.” 

Maybe God is calling you to something and you’re holding back on it. You’re not quite sure, and/or you have other things going on, etc.  And to you I would like to say this: God doesn’t need us to do anything for him. He’s God! He spoke the world into existence! He doesn’t need us to help accomplish the things he is doing in this world. 

But here’s the beautiful thing. He wants to invite us into the things he is doing in this world anyways. He chooses to honor us by inviting us to be a part of the love that he is pouring out on people. 

God could have sent a couple of angels to that woman’s house (like he did in Genesis 18), but instead he sent me and my team. I recently heard the analogy of asking a 3 year old to help you bake cookies. You can actually bake the cookies much faster and more efficiently without the help of a 3 year old, but you do it for them- so they can learn and have fun and so that you can spend time with them. God wants to include us in his plans because he delights in us and he wants us to be a part of the things he is doing. 

If God is asking you to do something, it’s because he wants to show you something beautiful. 

Saying yes is worth it. 

Much love and God Bless, 

-Hattie