28 Days... The Biggest Hug of My Life!

28 Days til the Mission Trip, I find myself reflecting on an event last year that still has me amazed. This story is about the biggest hug of my life. 

The biggest hug of my life happened on June 8, 2014.

We were about 5 days into our trip to Nuevo Laredo, and we all had seen God blow our expectations for what would happen on this trip out of the water. We had seen hundreds come to the Lord, healings, miracles, and just peace fall on a drug-war-torn city. Now it was time for church.

We were going to visit a church we had visited in 2013 and were excited for a time to just worship and spend time with the Lord. These church services have always proved to be a highlight of each trip we have taken.

As part of our time together, we were asked to come up and pray over any members of the congregation for whatever they were going through, physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. I just kind of fell in line with 10 yr old Benjamin and a student from the Bible Institute that was functioning as our translator. The women told us that she was dealing with pain in her back, caused by ovarian cysts pressing on her spine. 

We begin to pray over her, placing our hands on her stomach. The movement of the spirit was so powerful, the women was knocked off of her feet! I was there to catch her and gently lowered her to the ground, where we continued to pray for her.

When she regained her composure and was able to stand I helped her up. She began to hug me like I have never been hugged in my entire life. This tiny little lady was squeezing me with all her might. All I could do was just hug her back, and I could feel her sobbing, which me being a sympathetic cryer, began crying right with her. I was honestly confused. What just happened!? Was she healed? Why was she giving me such gratitude? Why not Stephanie or Benjamin?  This hug lasted a few minutes until the prayer time was winding down. When she released me she just kind of looked up at me and said thank you.

At this point the pastor asked if anyone wanted to share what God had done during this time. The lady was one of the first to go up there, and explained what had happened. She talked about us praying for her physical ailments, and she talked about being slain in the spirit, she talked about the pain subsiding from her body, but she also talked about me. She said that when she got up, I reminded her of her son who she hadn't seen in 7 years or something like that. So when this lady hugged me, this was the hug of a woman for a son she hadn't seen in so long. She said that when I hugged her back, she could feel the love of God.

What really surprised me about this, was my complete and total ignorance to what was really going on. In spite of having no clue what God was doing, He was accomplishing something for this lady that nobody but God could give her, using me as His instrument. God had given me a verse the previous day that applied more than ever:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that  Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So in the chaos of life, or in the heat of the Mexican desert, God can surprise you. You might not know what He is doing, who is watching you, or the difference you can be making in someone's life, no matter how small your role might seem! Just move forward with God, and let Him do the work!