The Power In A Story

Stories. I love stories. And never have I realized how powerful a person’s story can be. The ministry for this month has exemplified to me how the Lord uses them to draw other people to himself & point to the incredible work of Christ. 

The ministry we’ve been working with this month (near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica), is a rehabilitation program where people who’ve lived on the streets are invited to live in a Christ-centered atmosphere, get sober from whatever they were addicted to & are given a second chance in life.

There are two centers: one for men & one for women. We are living at the women’s center & have loved getting to know the ladies here. The men’s center is the more established of the 2 programs & we’ve been able to spend a significant amount of time with them too. The best part of all of this has been hearing their stories. These men & women were broken, addicted to drugs, surrounded by the evil of this world, hopeless, living in the streets, operating out of fear & cut off from the people they loved. Truly lost. 

But, God. He changes people. He turns people from the world to Himself. He brings people out of darkness & into his marvelous light. 

One after the other, these men & women have shared where they came from, what they were trapped in, how hopeless they were & followed it with the hope they now have. The change in their lives is drastic, & the difference is stark.

Let me tell you the moment when the magnitude of how stories matter hit me. 

Our first week here, we drove all the way to San Jose for a few days & joined the missionary who runs this program & some of the recent graduates in a regular event — they go into the streets of Limon & San Jose in the middle of the night, when their target audience can be found and they share the gospel and they offer them a hope of escape. All a person has to do is show up at the bus station the next morning & they will be taken to this rehab program. 

The men with us who have recently graduated were pretty nervous. This was their first time going out on the streets since leaving them a year ago & it took a lot of prayer & preparation to get themselves there.

We went out into the night & stopped at every person we saw whether they be sleeping in a box or stumbling drunk down the dark sidewalks. Felipe, Jason & Cris approached each person we came across so gently. The way their heart went out to every person was evident in the way they knelt down & got on the same level, in the tone of their voice, in the way that nothing phased them. 

But the next part is what blew me away. It was the response of the men being addressed. They were completely & utterly engaged & soaking up every word that was said to them. The words were the stories of these men:

“I was on the streets, addicted to drugs, living exactly like you are right now & had no hope, but the Lord saved me. I went to this program & my life was transformed by the gospel. I’m no longer addicted to substances. I gained my weight back & I’m healthy. You can do the same.” 

It looked like the person listening was grasping every word & was maybe feeling an ounce of hope for the first time in years. 

After experiencing these couple of nights, being with those men & women at the centers was a whole different experience. Now, we knew where they’d come from and how their lives were changed. It is also amazing to see how eager they all are to complete the program & return to where they come from  — they want to share their stories with their family & friends who knew them before.

It isn’t just these people that have a story to tell. We all do. Each of us has a story. 

It could be that you suffered drug addiction & life on the street & are now sharing the gospel with drug addicts. 

It could be that you questioned the truth of the Bible or existence of God & now are convinced without a doubt that there is only one truth. 

It could be that you can’t remember a time when you didn’t believe in the Lord & he has revealed himself to you gradually over time in incredible ways.  

It could be so many things & you never know who you might come across that needs to hear how the Lord has changed you. 

Don’t forget to share it. You never know how another might relate or be encouraged or come to know the saving love of Christ through your story. 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 

1 Peter 2:9

Thanks for reading, friends. Another country recap coming soon 🙂