The Story of Raul

Christ has no body but mine!

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Picture this! It’s October 2nd, a sunny Sunday and our team’s Sabbath day for that week. We have the freedom to ask the Lord what to do with our time, so my friend Aaron and I ATL and decide to spend the day in Chimaltenango. Traveling to Chimal requires descending our mountain, waiting on a van to take us on the 15-minute drive to Parramos, where we find a chicken bus or van to bring us to the little city. As we waited for a van, I taught Aaron how to take 0.5’s and we talked about the ways that we wanted to spend time with the Lord while in Chimaltenango. We arrived around noon and decided to try a local recommendation for lunch before settling into our favorite coffee shop for the afternoon. We weaved through the traffic and around pedestrians as we made our way to the restaurant. When we walk through cities and towns, we stop to talk and pray with people sitting on the sides of the streets who are asking for money or have physical disabilities. Aaron recently wrote a blog about his experience in a marketplace simulation, where his role was to play a beggar, and God used it to impact his heart and stir up conversations on our team about our role in ministering to people in need (read it here!). But today, that looked different than either of us had anticipated.
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As we made our way toward the restaurant, we walked past a man who looked homeless. He was holding a plate of noodles in one hand and a snack in the other. When we passed him, he asked us for food. We stopped, a little confused, and told him that he already had food. As we briefly stood there, I asked the Lord what we should do, but I didn’t hear any response. Aaron and I said, “Dios te bendiga! (God bless you!)” and walked away. Immediately as we moved away, I felt conviction. It wasn’t until we sat down for lunch and talked about the interaction that we realized we had both felt convicted about the way we left the man. Aaron said that those situations can be difficult for him to discern what to do. Similarly, I explained that those situations are hard for me because I don’t always hear from God about what he wants me to do. As we talked about it, the Holy Spirit highlighted a few different verses.
Proverbs 3:27: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it”
Matthew 10:7-8: “And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
Isaiah 58: 6-7, 10: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hid yourself from your own flesh?…if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”
So, maybe I didn’t hear from God and we had a hard time discerning his will because He’s already given us the answers? Don’t withhold good if you have the power to do it. Heal the sick. Feed the hungry. Give freely. Yep, maybe it’s not as complicated as I make it out to be.
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Aaron and I decided to return to the man to bring him tortillas and half a sandwich from our lunch. We eagerly made our way back to the spot where we had met, but he was nowhere to be found. With a little disappointment (and some regret in my mind for not pursuing him earlier), we headed to Monkey’s for the best dirty chai in town. I spent time reading, made a few FaceTime calls to family, and listened to a podcast. All of the sudden, Aaron pointed out the window and we saw the man out on the sidewalk. We left everything, ran downstairs, and walked outside to meet him! We gave him the food and learned that his name is Raul. I asked him if he knew that God loved him. With tears in his eyes, he asked us how God could love him. He’s 50 years old, homeless, without a wife or children, he has no job, and he’s traveled from place to place. How could God love him? My heart broke. For the next 30-40 minutes we listened to Raul, asked questions, and did our best to tell him about the love of God. He was surprised that God could love him and that He wants to know him. He was surprised that we were here to be his friends, that we cared deeply and wanted to spend time with him. The conversation felt a little bit like whiplash. There were moments when I believed Raul was understanding what we were saying, but the next moment he was questioning and changing topics. He told us he was struggling with his mind, and kept saying, “mi cabeza es mal (my head is bad)”. He asked when we would return, and we promised that we’d be back tomorrow. It felt like we were making progress, talking about the love of God and inviting him to church, but all of the sudden Raul began to beg us to buy him alcohol. He begged and begged. We refused. Alcoholism is a prominent stronghold in Guatemala, and I began to internally pray for freedom from alcohol addiction in Raul’s life. Aaron told him that we wouldn’t buy him alcohol but that he had the liberty to buy it. We told him that alcohol would not give him life, and that life and freedom were found in Jesus. Eventually, while we were still talking, he moved around us and walked away. As he did, we reminded him that we’d return to see him tomorrow.
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That night, I was heartbroken to think that Raul didn’t understand God’s love for him. I spent time praying for Raul and asking the Lord to let us see him again. We were able to return to Chimaltenango the next afternoon, but we couldn’t find him. We walked the blocks surrounding the area but did not see him. Each time we visit Chimal, we look around for him. We haven’t seen him since our conversation. Though the story feels unfinished, I am confident that the Lord is pursuing him and is revealing himself to Raul. The encounter with Raul changed my perspective in a lot of ways. It challenged me to walk in the Spirit with greater urgency to do what the Lord has commanded. It encouraged me to be diligent in prayer for the lost (This story sparked a couple weeks of mourning and lamenting sin in my life, in those around me, and in this world. It sparked a deep longing for the lost to come to know Christ.). It has reminded me how the Lord pursues people and does not wish that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. His love is deep, wide, high, and long. Why else would he send two gringos across many borders to tell Raul that he is loved by the living God?
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I’m grateful for this testimony of God’s love and His pursuit of people. I am reminded that I am called to the same deep and radical love. The Spirit of the Living God dwells in me. Christ has no body but mine. Jesus no longer walks on this earth, but his Spirit is living in me. He comforts me, helps me, convicts me, teaches me, and leads me. I want to steward His Spirit in me well! With diligence, integrity, urgency, and trust, I get to operate as a living sacrifice to God. He has no body but mine, so may Christ be glorified in me! May I be the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth. May I walk in the authority of Christ, healing the sick, cleansing the leper, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and setting the captives free. Because Christ has no body but mine!