Tomorrow Isn’t Promised
What if today was your last day on earth, what would you do? Would you spend time with your loved ones? Would you share the gospel with the lost?
Hi family and friends,
We recently sent out a newsletter, but we feel led to share all the open doors and opportunities God put before us in a family vacation we took a few weeks ago. Our heart in sharing this is that it will glorify Him and remind all of us that there is always kingdom work right in front of us.
Praying for the Harvest
Two weeks prior to our vacation, the LORD put it on my (Araceli’s) heart to pray specific prayers. I had a list of 5 things and one of them was for God to open doors in sharing about Him and the gospel, to not only my family who we were going to see at the end of the trip, but also to any person we encountered along the way. I didn’t want this to be a vacation of just having fun. I wanted to make it about God and for it to have a deeper purpose. It has been heavy on my mind lately that tomorrow isn’t promised, so I want to share the gospel at every chance I get. Also, I have been going through the book of Revelation and knowing that there will be people who will reject God and go to hell is something that breaks my heart. Both Barek and I have felt this urgency from the heart of God, like a clock ticking to share the gospel with the lost.
Weathering a Storm
Both Araceli and I (Barek) were excited for the opportunity to see Ara’s family, and although we didn’t yet know what amazing things the Lord had in store, we also didn’t know that the start of the vacation would be as difficult as it turned out. I have dealt on and off with vertigo symptoms for over 2 years now, and sure enough, when we least would’ve preferred it (while in Santa Barbara) my symptoms came on very strong. Not knowing whether or not this would last the entirety of our planned weekl ong getaway, it was disappointing to say the least. Time off from work and life responsibilities is rare.
I (Araceli), on the other hand, was getting anxious and stressed about seeing my family. The enemy was planting seeds of fear and doubt especially as the time was drawing near to see them.
By God’s grace, as we prayed and prayed, we both felt that there was a purpose for this, and we had faith that this ‘opposition’ was only a sign that God had good things in store for this trip. Although Barek symptoms never fully went away, He was able to manage them (through prayer/vitamins) and we were able to see, very quickly, just what amazing things God had prepared for us to walk in.
A Woman in Search of Peace
We went to four locations as we made our way up north. Our first stop was Santa Barbara, then Pismo Beach, then Monterey, and lastly Watsonville (Araceli’s hometown). When we got to the hotel in Pismo, we were greeted by a friendly hotel manager (Leah). She was very talkative and took time to chat about life, outside of usual customer service pleasantries. We took this as an opportunity. I (Araceli) took the opportunity to ask her if there was anything I could pray for. She then looked at her employee and said, jokingly, “Did they overhear our conversation?… I have been dealing with a lot of stress and I’ve been searching for inner peace.” I shared with her that God is the God of peace, and then led us in prayer for her. She expressed gratitude, and although we didn’t see her again, as we’d hoped to share more, we trust that the seed was planted. We knew then that God was moving.
Santa Barbara
A Special Kind of High-School Reunion
When we got to Watsonville, I (Araceli) was checking us in and recognized the receptionist. I went to high school with her, and in that moment I knew it was another opportunity. Together we recalled going to school together, as she checked us in. I asked her if she went to church and she said she used to but not anymore. I then asked her, “if you died tonight would you go to heaven or hell?” Surprisingly, she responded back saying “hell.” So I asked her, “doesn’t that scare you?” To which she said, “yes.” I then began to share with her my testimony. There were guests behind me waiting for her, so I did have to stop the conversation. As Barek and I went to the room I told him I needed to go back to share the gospel with her and he encouraged me to do so and gave me a gospel of John. I then went back to the front desk and began to share the gospel with her. I told her nothing in this world would satisfy her but Jesus. Then she said, “after 10 years you’re here.” I also was amazed that God had brought this divine appointment with her, at just the right time. She was trying to hold back her tears. I waited for her to get off work so that we could talk more and she opened up to me about what had been going on in her life. I was able to pray for her and get her number. Her name is Esperanza, if you could join us in praying for her!
Monterey
Hope for a Hurting Man
When we finally got to see our family, my mom invited us to come with her to visit my uncle (Rafael) at his home, as he wanted to meet Moses. My uncle has been dealing with type two diabetes, and due to an unexpected but necessary procedure on his foot, he has been unable to freely walk or leave the house. He has already been out of work for some time due to the diabetes. As we sat with him, the spiritual heaviness upon him was evident. When I asked him how he was doing, he shared that he’s been struggling with massive depression and suicidal thoughts. We prayed for him that evening, and hoped that we would see him at Moses’ birthday party the next day at my Mom’s.
It was here that I found an opportunity with him, as he sat alone in a corner. He opened up more about his own understanding of faith throughout his recent sufferings. I asked him, “If you died today, would you go to heaven or hell?” He said he wasn’t sure, explaining how he’s worse than some people, but better than others. At this point, in the middle of the party, I called Barek over. I (Barek) was able to share with Rafael a quote that, “when a man is on his back, he has nowhere else to look but up,” as I shared some of my own testimony. He shared that he did view his suffering as a test from God. From here, by the leading of the Spirit, Ara and I began to share the pure gospel with him, using the 10 commandments to explain universal guilt, and the guilt of all three of us before a holy God. We then explained the grace of the cross, our purchased freedom from punishment and hopeless, works-based religion, and the evidence that God loves and sees him. We could see his heart, humble and lowly from his trials, hearing and receiving as we shared. In the end, we got to pray for him once again; he thanked us and shared how grateful he was to be able to talk to us about these unseen struggles and spiritual things, sharing that no one around him seems to understand or acknowledge them. We were blown away by this opportunity, and are so grateful that the Lord loves him so deeply.
Celebrating Moses’ 1st birthday
An Unexpected Text
After Moses’ birthday party (which was great!) we dropped off Araceli’s nephew David (who is 15 yrs old). During the drive, I (Araceli) asked him where he thinks he would go when he dies, heaven or hell. It didn’t result in much of an opportunity, and I doubted if it was worth asking. But late that night, David texted me and asked if he could come to church with us the next morning. He has had no exposure to Christianity, so when we saw the text we began to pray knowing that if he came to church, Barek and I would share the gospel with him. The Lord answered our prayers and he went to church with us! The day before, I (Barek) had asked him if he knew his name was in the Bible, which he didn’t. During the sermon, the pastor mentioned David multiple times, which proved I wasn’t lying! After church, we ended up being able to spend the whole afternoon wth David along with Araceli’s mom. I have never had a chance to connect with him, so this was an exciting opportunity. As we talked about his first church experience, I got to share the gospel with him, give him a gospel of John, and got his number. I’m hoping to stay in touch with him, and have him come visit us in the future, Lord willing!
We went on a train ride through the redwoods with Araceli’s mom and David, her nephew.
Ended the vacation celebrating Barek’s birthday!
We are so grateful for God’s faithfulness. He did more than we could’ve asked or imagined, as these stories we share are not even all the opportunities/connections we got to make. Ultimately, our desire is to live with this level of dependence on God in everyday life, and to encourage others to as well. We are flawed/weak and incapable in ourselves; but God has gospel opportunities waiting to happen for all of us, and eternity is closer everyday than when we first believed.
Praise Reports
Praise God for the endless opportunities in sharing the gospel. Even coming back from vacation we have been able to share with more people.
Praise God for reaching the lost, the broken and the hurting.
Praise God for a restful vacation.
Prayer Request
Please pray for all the people we got to share with!
Please pray for Rafael (Araceli’s) uncle, as he is currently in the hospital due to an emergency surgery he had to have on his foot because of an infection.
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