Gimme, Gimme!

Phew!

What a whirlwind of a week. 

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is celebrated here in the Dominican Republic as the week leading up to Easter. Most have time off school and many businesses are even closed for a few days allowing many to travel and visit family. 

In our Sunday best :) HAPPY EASTER!!!

We had family down too! Robersy's mom and brother visited us from Bani on the Wednesday until Saturday. What a blessing to not cook or clean for a few days as Robersy's mom loooooves to do all of that :) Of course she enjoyed loving on her grandson too!

We ate our share of rice and beans with the added tradition of Habichuela con dulce - sweet beans - brought to us from neighbors and friends. Let's just say... we all got our fill of fiber!

It was a lovely week to relax and reflect on the death and resurrection of our precious Savior Jesus Christ!

Unfortunately though, the Thursday through Sunday are particularly dangerous as the vacations can quickly turn to partying, and the partying turns to drinking too much... such a celebrated week has turned to a very sad week for many, MANY families that have lost loved ones in accidents, drownings, fights, etc.

Because of the danger of this week our street outreach team decided to visit Boca Chica on Wednesday instead of Thursday. We also decided to try something new. Instead of stopping to talk to girls, we passed out slips of paper inviting them to the park close by in hopes that by taking them out of sight from club owners and peers the door might be opened to reach them on another level.

Needless to say, we got their attention... and they got ours!!! When we arrived to the park there were about 15-20 girls already waiting! 

Habichuela con dulce - sweet beans. This pot WAS full...

YAY!!!

They had come! 

They wanted help! 

They wanted to leave the streets!

They wanted Jesus!!!!! 

So we thought...

As Erica (founder of Lily House ministry) began to speak, one lady walked right up to her. 

"What are you going to give us? Don't tell me you've called us here and aren't going to give us anything!"

We were all caught a little off guard. 

"Well... What do you have to give us?" She repeated again.

By the look on our faces some girls realized we didn't have much to offer and within a few minutes some ladies took off.

Thankfully, for those who remained, Erica presented the ministry well and spoke clearly of all the benefits that come from leaving the streets. She also spoke to them about Jesus and the salvation that He offers.

We prayed with the ladies and traded phone numbers to keep in touch. Then... we walked back to the truck.

For the next few days those words haunted me. "What do you have to give us?"

In this time of celebration for the glorious resurrection of Jesus, I realized the words haunted me... because they were SO familiar!!!

We are so quick to sing about how His grace is enough and how all we need is Him. "You can have all this world, but give me Jesus!" 

But what if that were REALLY all we received when coming to the foot of the cross.

Would it be enough? Would HE be enough?

Eternal life? We don't get to enjoy that now!

Grace and mercy? Tough to see sometimes!

"What do you have to give us?!?!?!" We want healing and blessings, health and wealth. 

What if we never saw one prayer answered?

What if we suffered until our dying day... rejected... unloved... forgotten. 

Would He still be enough?

Friend, I challenge you (and I'm challenging myself too!) to find my everything in Jesus. I'm so grateful to experience the LOVE and HOPE and MERCY and GRACE, because that is who HE IS!!! In a GIMME, GIMME world I pray that our desire isn't to GET... but to give our ALL to the one that gave Himself for me.

On Friday we shouted "Sunday's a comin'" but now that Sunday has passed, I pray my heart still rejoices for the gift of His Salvation. HE IS ALIVE! And HE is certainly enough!!!