A divine encounter

“A coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous.”

Neena made a special friend last year in her Kinder (preschool) class. This little classmate didn't speak much due to disability, and the medicine she was taking her very sleepy. Neena looked after her, waking her up gently when she had fallen asleep, helping her get her snack ready, and playing with her. To those of you who know Neena, this was a perfect fit for her.

However, this year, her friend was not at school. We worried and wondered about where she was. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that God allowed us to meet up again. I was in downtown San Jose, spending the day with a friend. We entered a little store, and there was Neena's little friend with her grandma. This little girl didn't remember me or clue into my conversation until I began singing the school hymn. Then she broke out in a big smile!

Wow! How could I not believe that God orchestrated this? I have only been downtown about five times in the past five years of living here. I have never been into this store before. In fact, we would have been there an hour earlier if we hadn't got lost along the way. But God had it all planned. He knew we wanted to see her again!

To end the story, we invited the family to come to our house, and we had a refreshing, happy time. This little girl, although she speaks and interacts very little, has a very sweet spirit. Her mom said she rarely gets invitations to friends' homes. Yet, I have NO doubt that God allowed us to cross paths. God hears the cries of our hearts. He answered mine. It was such a blessing!

I hope she will come again.

Cuban missionaries?!

Our Cuban student told me that many of her fellow Cubans have a heart for missions. Wow! I had never thought of missionaries coming out of this country - mostly because it is very hard for them to even leave! She also mentioned that because of the deprivation that they face, they would make great missionaries in hard-to-reach, primitive cultures. They are used to living with little, and to not having the luxuries that the rest of us can't live without.

Wouldn't it be amazing if the next great missionary force comes out of Cuba? Let's pray that God would open doors for these believers to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth.

"Sara por fa no dejen de orar por nosotros."

"Sara, please don't stop praying for us." That is the message from our Cuban student who has gone back home to begin working full time with her church. (I mentioned her in a previous post). She is discouraged and feeling overwhelmed. Life is worse there than she remembered.

Another Cuban friend told us that to return to Cuba is like putting yourself back into prison. But God called our student back home…so she got on the plane and went back. HOW hard. I won't soon forget her face as she left, or her tears, or her petitions. So many times she said to me, "Don't forget me."

There is a lot of persecution there, and life in general is very hard. Please, don't stop praying for Cuba and for the believers there.

The future

Our students are heading home or to other destinations. Their time here is over, the scheduled months when they knew where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing. What comes next? Many of them don't quite know yet!

It's hard to not know what the future holds. Lots of our students are facing big-decision years, when they will choose a career, a home, and a spouse. I remember those days in my life, wondering, worrying, hoping! However, from my perspective now I can look back at the lives of these students and say to them, "You have no idea how many great and wonderful gifts God has for your future. They are like birthday presents waiting to be opened when the time is right!" Yes, there will be hard times, but we have a God who can use all things, and He is the giver of EVERY good gift in our lives.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." I Cor. 2:9

"We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know WHO holds tomorrow."
Be excited about the future! All of us!