I’ve heard it said that there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more awesome, nothing more breath taking then to see the love and grace of God change someone’s life. When you witness someone have an encounter with their Creator, and you know that from that day on, they will never be the same, there is nothing better than that.
I was lucky enough to witness this first hand on a trip I took to Nicaragua one summer. At our team meetings before the trip I met a guy named Luke. Luke was about twenty four, average build, with obvious fashion sense. But throughout these meetings as we learned that Luke was unemployed and from a family of questionable faith, I began to see that he was in a place that I would like to call stuck. Unmotivated, lonely, unsure of where to go or what to do, this is stuck.
During our week-long trip towards the equator, however, I watched Luke dive into every circumstance with a curiosity and a desire to learn rivaling that of Simon Peter. Luke laughed, Luke wept, Luke questioned, Luke screamed, Luke got frustrated, Luke rejoiced, and on the last day of the trip, I had the pleasure of watching Luke get baptized in Lake Managua. I have seen many baptisms in my life but Luke’s baptism I will never forget, as he rose out of the water and pumped two fists in the air. All of his toil and all of his searching had not come in vein, and I knew right there that I had just witnessed the grace of God touch somebody’s life.
Luke is still one of my closest friends and brothers today, he encourages me, keeps me accountable, and pushes and pulls me towards God as we like to say. He lives his life with a faith and joy that most people only dream of. He is a living testament to the truth that there is nothing more beautiful, awesome, breath taking, or powerful than the grace and love of God changing someone’s life. These are the greatest stories.
-jon
I was lucky enough to witness this first hand on a trip I took to Nicaragua one summer. At our team meetings before the trip I met a guy named Luke. Luke was about twenty four, average build, with obvious fashion sense. But throughout these meetings as we learned that Luke was unemployed and from a family of questionable faith, I began to see that he was in a place that I would like to call stuck. Unmotivated, lonely, unsure of where to go or what to do, this is stuck.
During our week-long trip towards the equator, however, I watched Luke dive into every circumstance with a curiosity and a desire to learn rivaling that of Simon Peter. Luke laughed, Luke wept, Luke questioned, Luke screamed, Luke got frustrated, Luke rejoiced, and on the last day of the trip, I had the pleasure of watching Luke get baptized in Lake Managua. I have seen many baptisms in my life but Luke’s baptism I will never forget, as he rose out of the water and pumped two fists in the air. All of his toil and all of his searching had not come in vein, and I knew right there that I had just witnessed the grace of God touch somebody’s life.
Luke is still one of my closest friends and brothers today, he encourages me, keeps me accountable, and pushes and pulls me towards God as we like to say. He lives his life with a faith and joy that most people only dream of. He is a living testament to the truth that there is nothing more beautiful, awesome, breath taking, or powerful than the grace and love of God changing someone’s life. These are the greatest stories.
-jon
