I was giving Bible studies in Aņasco, Puerto Rico, to 4 teens. At that time I
was assistant pastor and our turn to have family camp was approaching. Since I
wanted to give these youths and their families more exposure to the church
family that they were planning to join, I extended an invitation to them to
spend that weekend with us. These young people liked the idea of having a place
to play basketball and swim. They live in an area that is world- famous for the
big waves, so surfers from all over inundate the area in summer, but swimmers
don't have a break.
The day to head for camp finally came and all the cars were packed with all of
our needs and also with enthusiasm. We all had great expectations for those 3
days, and I was praying that God would find His way into these young people's
heart. The trip took about two hours with a beautiful country scenery. The
cabins were made of concrete and we had a section for ladies and the most far
away ones were for the guys.
After registering and unpacking, some of us started to walk around to relax
after being in the car for such a hard trip over and down hills, around curves
and through narrow roads. I was deep in my thoughts contemplating the mountains
(hills really, but that is all we got, so we take the freedom to promote them to
mountains), when suddenly I heard a screaming 12 or 13 year old girl calling me
"Martin, Martin..." She could hardly talk. I tried to calm her down and she kept
trying to explain what was wrong. After several attempts from my part, she
relaxed enough so I could understand clearly what she wanted to communicate.
Apparently her mother, not being used to travel far from her house, and probably
hungry, had a sudden migraine and was also vomiting. We did not have a doctor in
the premises and we would have to return the family to their home.
I do not know why, but I just smiled and told the girl to pray with me. She was
shocked when she realized that I was asking HER to be the one to offer the
prayer. I encouraged her to just tell Jesus what was in her heart like when she
speaks to a friend. Well she agreed to pray only if I did too. She went first
and then I prayed. Then I said something that I do not know why I said it. Well,
I am known for saying the first thing that comes to my mind. I told her : "now
go. When you get to the cabin, you will see that your mother is fine. God had
healed her." She looked at my face like if she made a big mistake in telling me
and that now I was making fun of her.
She returned to the cabin and I just prayed for her in my heart. I do not think
that 3 minutes went by when I heard my name again and it was the same girl
crying and running towards me. Did I speak too fast about her mother being OK
now? No. God had also an interest in this family. The girl, Sonia, found her
mother healed by the power of God when she went back to check on her. Now Sonia
was crying because she was so happy that God cared to listen to the prayer of a
young girl.
All those youth that so the love and power of God dedicated their lives to Jesus
and were baptized.
Martin Miranda
skypilgrim@earthlink.net (Received on Sunday July 21, 2002)
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