In John 4, there is a moment where Jesus talks to the Samaritan women. If you know this story in the gospels, it’s a crucial moment that brings forth a lot of beautiful transformation. But, what sticks out to me a lot is what happens after this encounter Jesus has. The disciples come and ask Jesus if he would like something to eat. And instead of accepting the food, he denies it…. saying how he is fueled by the work he is doing.
In El Salvador, I was feeling the same way as Jesus. My work was seeing the Salvadoran youth awaken to the power of Jesus. My goal through our service was to hear testimonies from the youth about how they encountered Jesus. I can feel my spirit not being fueled by food, sleep, or cravings I had. But I was being fueled by the goal I had set to see these youth transformed. And boy can I tell you, the work was accomplished.
Student after student was able to testify to how God revealed how they were chosen to do his work. As tears went down my face, I felt God’s resurrection power fill the room. Me and my friend Gabriela from El Sal… had similar feelings. We both had the goal of seeing these youth come to a knowledge of the Lord. For her, she ministers to these youth every single week through the youth group she offers on campus in Citio, El Salvador. This is her life, this is her work.
Gabriela and I got really close during our time in El Sal. People may think it’s because we spoke the same language, or because we share somewhat similar cultures. But the reality was, we were being fueled by the same work. Our goal was to serve these youth so Jesus can reveal himself to them. At the end of the week, we got to testify to how the Lord moved in the youth, we got to dream together about how the future can look and we got to thank the Lord together. This is how you become great friends. You serve with one another!!
Me and her were able to grow close to one another because we served. It wasn’t due to us having hours of time to hang out. It wasn’t due to us having similar hobbies. But it had to do with us being set on the mission God had for us. Praise the Lord. I miss her and love her so much!!