Always Expect More than What You Ask For

The Lord has shown me so many times that I can trust in His promises, in particular this one: “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Ephesians 3:20

In preparation for my trip to El Salvador, I prayed for abilities that I so badly needed to perform my duties as an evangelist. I prayed for my audience with an imaginary picture of them in my mind; I prayed for my team and for the campaign in general. In addition to this, I decided to visit Sister White’s house in Elmshaven, California. I always dreamed of getting to know this place before dying, and since the occasion involved taking that risk, I decided to do it right away. I wanted to be able to pray in that room where she used to write, so early in the morning these precious books that we now use to strengthen our faith and increase our knowledge of the Bible. I prayed in that very room for all the things that I had prayed before, but in my prayer, I was inspired to ask for something not yet thought before. I asked the Lord that since He was willing to come to this Earth for me alone, to let me experience the joy of bringing at least one soul to Him as a result of my effort and the power of this message through my mouth.

Here is what happened there: On March 13, we arranged with the local pastors the site’s inspection to be able to setup and to test the equipment and make any necessary adjustments. Mine was a multiple site in a rural area controlled by gangs and very difficult to access. It took approximately an hour and a quarter to make it there. That night, I barely had time to inspect one of the sites, the main one, because the pastor wanted me to preach to a congregation at a different place. This was a very unpleasant surprise for me because I was not ready to preach that night. The place was an open field, and he introduced me to the people as a math teacher, which I knew this was not appropriate, for they don’t value these things as urban people do. I also was overdressed, and all this made feel very out of place. Then my mission came into my mind, and I prayed for what to say in that very moment. I started talking about my experience in my walk with God since my conversion. I never had the opportunity to give my personal testimony before, and I did not know how impacting it could be. When I finished they praised the Lord and opened their hearts to me.

On March 14, the hour of truth came on. More than 120 adults were gathered in the regular site, a very compact church. I have, so far, good information about this congregation. The pastor assured me that they had been praying and fasting, starting at 5:00 am. So I have great confidence that everything would be fine.

The first sermon is going so well; I had the undivided attention of the congregation, until a horrible sound is heard. At first, I could not tell what it was or where it came from. All I know is that it disrupted my sermon, and the people wanted to find out what was going on. I noticed that some were scared. I don’t know why, but although the blasting sound was so loud I kept on preaching as if nothing had happened. It was about to create a commotion, and as I saw the distraction, I invited the congregation to stand up and pray. As we were praying, a second loud noise was heard, but we continued praying. After we said amen, a peace like a river came into the place. The awful noises continued for the next four nights, but we continued praying.

Later we found out that the campaign was being boycotted by a group of a different denomination. When the matter was discovered, I invited the people to come forward to listen and join us in our battle against the forces of evil. As the stoning of the roof stopped, my sermons were getting more intense. We were having baptisms every night; however,the water became so dirty that we had to stall baptisms until the pool was refilled. The attacks continued. They only changed in form, and came from a different group. The next day, after the stoning stopped, one of the elders complained that the sermons were too long and that we were beginning too late. He was right in the latter statement--I admit that we were starting late-- however, the way in which it was exposed irritated the pastor, and the situation was not pleasant at all.

There was a problem with the transportation. I never knew who would come to pick me or drop me off at the hotel. The time was not fixed either. Fortunately, prayer is always the answer.

I was preaching in Spanish, and I wanted, at first, to be rigid about not making changes to the sermons, besides I had already rehearsed them the way they were. Anyway, I knew I needed to make some adjustments, and I began editing my sermons so that we could finish them earlier.

I said that we were having baptisms almost every night, but somehow I felt that my prayer at Sister White’s house had not yet been answered. The people being baptized had already some knowledge of the topics through prior Bible studies. Hence, one night, during my appeal, I invited all sorts sinners to come forward. I told them about my prayer at Sister White’s writing spot. I magnified the redeeming grace and the transforming power of Jesus in a way that I myself was impressed by its power. I told them I knew that that person was there, and I was waiting for him to come out. After some time, that person came to the front, dropped to his knees, and bowed his head very reverently, showing a deep contrition of heart. That scene inspired me with both compassion and joy. I had not seen this man before, yet I knew that he was the soul for whom I had prayed that day at Sister White's house.

That night was very significant to me. I knew then that the Lord is faithful to His promises, and that we just need to trust and wait, because in His time He will act.

That special occasion was motivating, and I was inspired to put more emphasis in my work of preparation. Somehow, the group had planned a trip to a lake that week. Initially I did not want to go for fear of losing inspiration, and also because I had begun feeling tired. My daily duties with my site covered more than five hours, since I was one of the first leaving the hotel and the last to come back.

Two things began giving me problems, and I was concerned. My lower back started hurting, and I commenced to have problems praying while standing on my feet. I felt dizzy to the point that I knew I could fall if I didn’t open my eyes. Since I know these things could get complicated, I asked the pastors during a devotional to anoint me and pray that the Lord would take the dizziness away. I was frightened with the idea of not being able to finish the campaign. After the anointing service, I decided that I might need a little time for recreation, and so I changed my mind about not going to the lake.

In the lake, I did not know that we could take a dip. We did not have time. Eventually, I saw that many people were getting in the water, and I could not resist the temptation to jump in. I got rid of everything except my glasses. I lost them for good. There was no way of recovering them. As I got out of the water I knew then that my campaign was in jeopardy due to my ambivalent character. I felt guilty for what happened, but I still had the certainty that God has everything under control. When we went back to the bus, there was one of our team, Terry, who offered me to try his glasses on. He said: “put them on and try to read something.”

I did, and I was amazed. The glasses fit perfectly, and what is more important, I could see. The dizziness that I was experiencing was due to my glasses. They were bifocals and the switching from the computer to the public was causing me to get dizzy. Anyway, Terry ended up giving me his glasses, for which I am very thankful. Thanks to this I could finish my campaign in good standing, and with new glasses. My back problem did not bother me until we came back from El Salvador. That same week I could not move from my bed for a long time. I am still having some pain from my lower back all the way down my left leg to my heel. Please pray that I may regain my health for the next trip.

Regarding the verse cited above, the Lord gave abundant evidence of His divine guidance throughout the whole campaign. The last day in El Salvador on Sunday, March 30, I had the opportunity to visit the Mariana's Prison. There is an SDA church in this place with about 70 members. Again, I was not ready to preach, but I believe I have never talked about Jesus the way I did there. I saw tears of joy for the hope that was being restored in their hearts. At first they were skeptical for my appearance, but as I opened my mouth I was given grace and power to touch the core of souls. I am so grateful to God for giving me this experience. Praise the Lord when you read this, and take courage to do His work, for great is the reward!