This past Wednesday, I had no idea what was going to happen. A week before, Damaso and I were about to go to our weekly Bible study in El Montaña and Damaso asked if we could first stop at a church in Jarabacoa. We did...Damaso was up to something and I was curious to see what. Arriving at the church, we found two men. It was obvious that Damaso was meeting them for the first time and after the typical greetings (which consists of trying to find out if we know the same people), he said them, "I want to have a time of praise in El Montaña and wonder if your worship leaders could come and help us with the music?"
Finally I knew what this was about. This past year we had seen a lot of growth among the believers in El Montaña. And Damaso wanted to have a time of celebration. A time of praise to God for what God has and was doing. A great idea! But to be honest, I was curious to see how this would happened. I know how things are planned in the United States but things work different here...I was ready to watch and learn.
In this first meeting, they decided that the praise service would be in one week and Damoso and I were on our way. I quietly noticed that there wasn't any talk about the time, length of service, or what would be needed to make this happen. I honestly wondered if it would really happen...or would just get forgotten like some other things that I have tried to plan.
On Sunday Damaso told me that he needed the sound system that we recently purchased with funds raised by the believers in El Montaña. The system hadn´t been installed yet because they needed to raise money for 2 speakers. This is another story for another time. I asked if he now had speakers for it. It seemed he did and he would like to pick them up on Monday.
Many times, this and that can cause that and this to not happen. It is life here and it drives us crazy at times...and other times it can be awfully convenient. Monday turned to Tuesday and Tuesday to Wednesday morning. Finally Damaso and I went to pick up some speakers that someone lent to us for the evening. All through this I had my doubts about what was going to happen but found myself chuckling as things just seemed to fall into place.
Damaso suggested we stop by the church again and talk with the worship leader. We did and within a few minutes I found myself loading equipment into the car. A drum set, a guitar amp, a speaker. I didn't expect this. I expected one or two singers with an acoustic guitar and well, now I was even more curious about what would happen. Leaving the church I mentioned this to Damaso and he shared that he was a little surprised too. I asked him if he knew what was going to happen tonight and he laughed and said that we would find out.
I agreed to be back at the church at 6 pm. Once again, I wasn't sure what to expect. We spent about 45 minutes load more equipment and waiting for praise team members. On the way, I was asked what time the event was planned for and having learned a little bit, I replied ¨It will start when we get there and are ready to start.¨
We arrived to the El Montaña church and people were there waiting for us. We weren´t late. Some members were decorating the front of the church. Others were sweeping and many were just there trying to see what was going on.
We setup, everyone arrived and Damaso begin the celebration. I had no idea of the joyful experience I was about to experience.
There were some obvious reasons to praise God. For the first time I can remember, you could stand anywhere in the church (it isn't big) and you can hear who is speaking from the front. The difference was amazing. And this small church had worked hard to make it happen. Months earlier they had started praying about their sound need and God had provided. I looked out and saw the people who had worked so hard to raise the money to buy a sound system and the smiles were HUGE. Even though they knew they still needed to borrow speakers...God had helped them greatly and now they were able to enjoy the blessings of their work.
As a result, this celebration drew people who didn't regularly come to church. For the first time, they could really hear that there is something going on at the church. From their houses they knew something new was going on and many came to see exactly what.
During the service Damaso asked for some testimonies of God's work this past year. Josefina shared how God is worthy of our trust. She talked about her struggles and how God really does meet needs. She was standing before her neighbors. These people knew her and knew her well. And as she proclaimed the greatness of God, I was brought to my knees. 7 adults and teens led the church in worship. Testimonies were given of God´s faithfulness. It was a special time. Sometimes in ministry, you find yourself questioning whether it is worth it or not. This was a time where I was able to say "Thank you God, it is worth it! You are working. Thank you!"
I had no idea how this would be pulled off. But it sure did. And what a blessing it was to me!
