An Island Adventure

Post written by Jon and Christella Hudson (from Kentucky)

We will start by saying God is good. No, check that.... God is Awesome!!!!!! Today was an experience of multiple blessings that I will never forget as long as I live. We began our day on an island called La Calzada. We drove about an hour, then took a 30 minute boat ride to finish the journey.

We broke into small groups to deliver bags of beans, rice, and soup. Lilly, a 19 year old who was called to missions at age 7, and preached in Peru at age 9, escorted the Hudson familia and translated for us. Her love for Jesus and passion for telling others about him is so evident, and we learned so much from this young lady. We had 5 bags to deliver. We really did not know what to expect. This remote island community was filled with homes made of mud and sticks. If you can imagine your living room being your entire house, you might have an idea of the size. 

We met a man named Incarnacion in one of the homes.  He told us it had been many years since any gringos had come to the island and he was so surprised and happy to see us. The conversation quickly turned to God. He joked that he might believe in Jesus when he was starting to die, as his father had right before his death at age 45. We continued to talk about God, how temporal this world is, and that we never know when we will die. We told him we did not want him to make a decision just because we were there, but only if he truly believed. He accepted Christ at the end of our conversation!!! 

In our last home visit there were 12 people present, ranging in age from 5 to very old. We sang "Jesus loves me" with the children, and shared about God and his great love for each one of them. We began to pray, and there was lots of Spanish being spoken so there was a bit of a moment where we were unsure what was happening. Soon, everyone present was repeating after Lilly. When she said Amen, I asked if anyone accepted Christ while she was praying. Lilly said, "All of them!". Then each person told us a physical problem they would like us to pray about, so we prayed individually, laying our hands on each one of them.   We were so blessed to meet them all and witness God's miracles.

In the afternoon we had the privilege of giving good news to three families on the island. Kurt and a team will be returning very soon to build them new homes! All three families were surprised by the news. They were told that their new homes were a gift from God and God alone. Our team members prayed for them and Christella sang a song to bless the families. Our day was filled with story after story of hardship and pain but God was present and with us. Through the heat, the sweat and the tears he showed that where two or more are present and call on the name of Jesus he will be there. We are all so thankful and blessed to have this day to remember.