Today was my last full day in the country for awhile, so of course I had a checklist of things that I wanted to do. It's Sunday, so one of the first things on the list was to go to church. I thought that it would be great to have one last time to worship with my friends in English, and was excited to see how much I would get out of the service. Here's a pic of the church we went to:
During one of the last songs the pastor asked everyone to stand up. The lights were dark, and the pastor said "If anyone out there is dealing with a hard struggle in your life, something that you can't understand or deal with on your own, please sit down and the people around you will pray with you." I looked around, and a few rows in front of me a woman was sitting by herself on the end seat. All of the adjacent chairs were empty and no one seemed to be moving in her direction. A few of us went to pray with Patty and as I put my hand on her shoulder the desperation with which she gripped my hand was staggering. I could feel her brokeness, her longing for support. As we continued to talk and pray with Patty she began to remember some of the positive things that were happening in her life. It was as if she only needed to know that she was not alone in order to see through her pain. Several minutes after we left Patty I looked back in her direction, only to see her standing, arms raised high.
It's humbling to know that the most important thing I did today wasn't on my checklist....
Chris that is amazing. You and Allie are such lights for Christ and I am thankful to call you freinds.
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