Me Siento Diferente

The man came out, weeping.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you here? Why would you do this for me? I have done nothing to deserve this!"

This was our first encounter with the family we were to build a house for. The father went on to tell us how his daughter was sleeping in the car because there was no room for her in the small house they lived in. He was very fearful for her safety and couldn't comprehend why we had come to help him.

"We are here because God has loved us, and He has asked us to love others."

Throughout the week, the man worked as hard as anyone else on the site, a growing curiosity in his eyes. Then, on Friday, he approached the site supervisor - "I've been having dreams. In my dreams, I see heaven and I see hell. Someone is telling me I have to choose. The Jehovah's Witnesses came to my house yesterday. I told them about my dreams. They say there is no hell. What do you say?"

The Supervisor told him, "There is a heaven and a hell. There is only one way to get to heaven, and that is by knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour." The supervisor went on to tell the man that God was speaking to him through his dreams, and asking him to make a decision. The man responded, saying "I want to become a Christian today!"

As we gathered around the man and his family to pray over them and to dedicate their new home, he stepped forward and accepted Jesus as his saviour. Weeping, he repeated over and over "me siento diferente! me siento diferente!" - I feel different! I feel different!

What a testimony - the only thing we did was show up. God had cultivated the seed, and brought it to bear. We were simply in the right place at the right time. We will continue to follow up with this family and to get them connected into the local Christian community and church. The amazing thing about this story is that Oaxacan men do not cry. They do not show emotion. They are stoic and reserved. But when God's spirit falls on us, we cannot help but to weep as we consider His great love for us.