Mountains Moved

Amazonian Wednesdays 🌴

I’ll be sharing some more writing soon from my early missionary days. For today, though, here is a story from just about exactly a year ago:

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Floriza was brokenhearted. Something dark had taken ahold of her son Edinson’s heart. He would not speak to her. He would not even look at her.

Maybe it had been the hostile environment of the prison. He had just finished serving a year sentence there for failing to pay child support. Nothing was the same since he returned home. Hatred exuded from his face when she tried to interact with him. Glaring ominously, he would walk right past her as if she did not exist. Time dragged by, and Floriza’s heart ached. Having him incarcerated had been painful enough. This, now, just felt like too much to bear.

Floriza has been a part of our leadership team for years now. A seasoned prayer warrior, she knew what to do. She got on her knees and began to petition heaven. “This is not the Edinson I have always known and cherished! He was always so affectionate to me. How long, Lord, is this going to continue?” The anguished question poured forth from her soul as tears streamed down her cheeks.

She persevered in prayer for a long season. Then one night, she had a dream. In it, she felt the hand of the Lord pull her up from her bed. She heard His voice speaking to her. “Get up,” He instructed lovingly. “Go to the prayer vigil, and you will have your miracle.”

She obeyed, gathering with the group that was getting ready to pray all that night. We hold meetings like this every few weeks. Oftentimes over a hundred hungry believers participate. This vigil was no exception. Eager beseechers lifted their voices together in unison. Throughout the hours of the night watch, Floriza joined them, crying out to God for her son.

The next day, Edinson was at her door. “Mom!” he exclaimed joyfully. “C’mon, I want to take you shopping.” A brilliant smile lit up Floriza’s face and filled her whole being with warmth. “Right now?” she asked, stunned by the sudden radical change in his demeanor. “Yes!” he responded enthusiastically. “Let’s go!”

He took her out and bought her everything he could think of. Their time together was delightful. Floriza kept grinning in amazement. God had truly wrought her miracle, just as He promised. Tears of joy had replaced her tears of sadness. The Father had turned her weeping into dancing. Joy had truly come in the morning.