Word for Word

You know this because you've felt the impact yourself. You've experienced the nerves before your next gospel conversation, or the joy of watching someone hear the Good News for the first time. And on one recent GO Trip to Nicaragua, 19 other believers felt it too, but this time, it came with a twist.

When challenges led the team to change their plans at the last minute, God opened a door nobody saw coming. They received permission to visit a high school that was never on the schedule.

Before stepping into a single classroom, the team stopped to pray for God's guidance. Then they split into small groups and set off down the school's open-air hallways, room by room. In front of these students, they opened up about how God had changed their lives. They shared how much they loved Him, and how He had saved them from the punishment of their sins. Through their personal testimonies, they shared the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In one classroom, two students were so excited about the visit that they jumped in to translate the gospel presentation themselves. Around them, classmates listened attentively, hanging on every word spoken by the visiting team.

But in the back corner, a 14-year-old named Fernando** wasn't looking up.

Instead, he was writing something down in his notebook. Fast.

When the presentation ended, Kevin, who led this particular GO team small group, prayed for the students and said goodbye. But on the way out, some of the teenagers wanted to see the team's English copies of the Hope magazine, a Scripture resource packed with uplifting Bible verses and culturally relevant images. Kevin happily handed his copy to a student who had helped translate. He encouraged her to keep learning English and to keep learning about God.

But among the crowd of students was Fernando, the boy who was scribbling away in the corner, and he wanted one too. He kept asking members of the GO team until one of them gave him a copy of the Hope magazine in English.

Fernando held the magazine close to his chest like a treasure, smiling from ear to ear.

When the team asked why one magazine meant so much to him, his answer shocked them.

Fernando was a believer. But his mother had married a Canadian who didn't believe in God. That stepfather was the only Canadian Fernando knew. So, while just over half of Canadians call themselves Christian, in Fernando's mind, the number was zero.

The thought of this often weighed on his heart. He felt there was no way his stepfather would ever know Jesus or understand God's great love. So, he had been praying to God about it.

But who would have imagined that God was already working on an answer? Through a last-minute change of plans, a team of 19 believers showed up at his school to talk about Jesus.

Most of them were Canadian.

Canadians who loved Jesus.

That’s what the notebook was for.

While Kevin shared the gospel, Fernando had been copying down everything he said. Word for word. Every line of the message of salvation, written with one goal in his heart—to share it with his stepfather.

Because if there were believers in Canada, his stepfather could know Jesus and be saved too.

In a single classroom visit, Fernando had learned how to share the gospel and had written his own guide for how to do it. The GO team had come ready to share the gospel, and without realizing it, they had unleashed another believer to carry it further.

That very afternoon, Fernando planned to share the gospel with his stepfather. He left equipped with his handwritten guide, the Hope magazine, and the encouragement of the GO team.

You may remember standing where Kevin stood, pouring out your testimony and wondering if anyone was really listening.

Fernando is proof that someone was. And somewhere, someone may still be carrying the words you shared, scribbled in a notebook, or tucked away in their heart, all the way home to someone they love. Maybe it's time to share them again. Word for word.

*Source: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htm

**Name changed for security reasons.