Today God connected us. He connected us to a community, He connected us to Himself, and He connected us to each other.
As we were driving into town, the Holy Spirit caused me to notice a man sitting in front of his home with crutches. Interestingly, God first connected us to a man also named Steve. When we stopped our plans so we could listen to his story, God reminded me how encouraging it can be to myself and others to be seen and heard.
The next opportunity to connect came as we began to walk the streets of Murphy Town, where Many Hands is helping coordinate the rebuilding of a community center. We walked in groups of three down the streets and prayed over the buildings and people we met along the way. I have often seen prayer unite believers, but there was something special about today. As I was walking a van passed my group and a man named Abraham got out. We greeted him and he invited us into the home of his friend and shared bits and pieces of their struggles. When I asked to pray for him, he adamantly requested that I pray for him specifically by name. It again showed me how much people want to be known and seen in their hardships, but particularly in Abaco because many of these people feel forgotten. Hurricane Dorian took away so much from them and then Covid-19 kept the world from hearing and seeing their stories, so for 3 years they have suffered with only each other to share their hurt.
As my group continued our walk, the streets were quiet, yet as we went further we heard the laughter of children. It was a Christian preschool and when we approached the children came running, longing to be held and played with. Despite the deep hurts of the community, there was joy not only in the kids but also in the faces of the adults that were teaching them. I saw a great similarity to Haiti and the joy in the children there despite all their hardships. What a great glimpse of what only God can do – only He can bring joy in the midst of great messes.
At dinner the whole group connected as we sat together and shared all the stories we had encountered on our prayer walk. Stories that once again confirmed God is a God who sees and hears us in our struggles and one of the ways we can show His love to the people of Abaco is to stop, notice, and listen to their stories and remind them they are not forgotten.
