Brenda is a young woman who plays on
one of the women’s teams in our Brazilian soccer league, El Llano. Her
boyfriend also plays in the league. After every game they always pass by the
little stand where I tend to the players and fans to say hi and chat a bit. A
short while ago we were finishing the
construction of our second playing field and we were planning the
dedication service (as with our first field, we wanted to dedicate the playing
field and the league to God). On this night games were going on as usual on the
old field. Stephen, my children and the workers who were with us that night set
the time for the dedication to occur. When the time came, Brenda was there
talking to me and I told her that I needed to step away because we were going
to dedicate the new field to God. She didn’t understand what I was saying, so I
explained to her that everything we do and every resource we have we place in
the service of God, and before using anything for the first time, the pastor
would pray for God’s blessing and give a short message. Brenda asked me if she
could stay for the dedication, and of course I told her yes.
We
had the dedication ceremony and Stephen spoke about the importance of placing
everything we have at God’s feet for his use. Brenda was so caught up in what
Stephen was saying that she began to cry. When the short ceremony was over Brenda
came over to me and told me that when Stephen was speaking she felt something
unfamiliar but beautiful inside her, something she had never felt before. She
told me that Stephen’s words had touched the deepest part of her heart, and
this opened the doors for me to be able to speak to her of God’s love.
The
next day she and her boyfriend came to talk to me more in-depth. They confessed
their sins to me, thinking, as the Catholic church does, that I would forgive
them. I spoke to them again about God’s love and forgiveness and how God cleans
and purifies us and sets us free from condemnation when we give our lives to
him. They shared with me their desire to get married because Brenda was
pregnant, and they hadn’t yet told their parents. I was the first one to know
their “secret”. I encouraged them to go ahead with their plan and to put God
first in their lives. They asked me how much Stephen would charge them to
officiate at their wedding…”NOTHING”, I told them. Now they are happily married
and their baby is about to be born. They are still playing on their soccer
teams and each day we have the opportunity to share with them the love and
salvation of our Savior.
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