Saturday: The Grace of God

Saturday night was a ladies devotional as I stated in the previous blog and I enjoyed myself. Yes, it was ALL in Spanish, however I felt that I got 1/10 of what they were talking about and was able to contribute since Lisette volunteered as our translator for them and for us. A lady by the name of Patti was the leader of the bible devotional and the conversation was about what the grace of God is and if we deserve the grace of God.

As I observed these ladies I was impressed with the openness and the absence of pretense. These ladies have no qualms with sharing that they struggle with their flesh and from time to time has doubt but it is the grace of God that keeps them going.With the minimum amount of words that I picked up on (including the translation help of Lisette), the women seemed to have a better understanding of what the grace of God is compared to those in the states. Let me explain, it appears as if a lot of the people intellectually understands the grace of God, however it seems as if they are no longer convicted in their hearts about it, or the active grace that God bestows upon us has grown cold. These women seems as if they live it daily. therefore it seems as if they do not live it out daily, understanding not to sin again and again but when they fall it is easier to jump back up and continue this Christian race.

From left to right: (Gerina, Lisette, Megdalyn, and Kayla)

Initially, I thought the lack of pretense and conviction was due to most of these women being  new to the faith and that is why they are not so "churched trained" however I met Madelyn (the daughter of a preacher) and her faith is personal and strong, as well as Patti that has been a Christian for some years. As I sat there I felt the Holy Spirit in that place and felt that God was very pleased with what was taken place with the group of women. There was a spirit of trust, comfort, openness, willingness to learn and a sense of family among the women.

I guess due to the warmness of the environment it allowed a lady by the name of Martha to share her testimony with the group although she came late and was not a Christian. She learned about the devotional group from Patti, the devotional leader, through one of  CUDA's other initiatives, the Mirco Financing Loan. The Micro Financing loan program is a program that looks for entrepreneur borrowers and provides them with skills, tools and steps to improve their businesses along with about $300. Martha was one of the borrowers and through the relationship business Patti shared with her about the devotional group.

IT seems that the key to evangelism with Team Arequipa is building relationships. This reminds me of Kings Church of Christs mission statement when I was there which was something along the lines of building relationships with people, building people up and some other good stuff. (if you are a Kings's member and know what I am attempting to paraphrase please feel free to comment with the accurate statement).

On a lighter note, one aspect of the conversation that I got almost completely, without needing Lisette to translate, were the women talking about praying for a GOOD Christian man. (Chuckles) It seems like the Christian sisters here in Arequipa "struggles" with the same things that Christian sisters in the states struggle with and this is not even factoring if they are compatible.  I am guessing that this is an issue all over the world. Sigh.

Overall I appreciate the ladies group here in Arequipa and look forward to the other meetings to come.