Urraco Pueblo, Honduras was tough to leave. I developed many relationships there through the Lord. Admittedly, it took a little bit longer for me to step out of myself than I had hoped. Regardless, by the end of my time there, the Lord had already grown me in huge ways. My teammate Zach and I, encouraged by our incredible leaders and inspired by the Spirit, began pressing more deeply into the Lord together. This looked like seeking total freedom within ourselves, intercessory prayer, prayer walks, and tuning our hearts to the pull of the Spirit to pray healing over the broken. This became a daily occurrence. We began to walk differently. Every man, woman and child that we passed on the street became someone to pursue either in prayer or in conversation. Often times both. We were learning what it meant to walk in step with the Spirit.
There was a strange pattern with men in this small community. The men were far and few between by day and extremely prevalent by night. Many of us could feel the spirit of lust and pride intoxicating the air, and the men of the community were living in it. One of our most prevalent prayers was that the men would step out of the darkness and become the spiritual leaders they were meant to be. Every day from about 3PM-6PM, a group of 8-12 men ranging anywhere from 20 years old to 70 years old would gather at retired bus station and play cards. Each day we passed them, we would faithfully see these same men playing, smoking and yelling. I know Holy Spirit wanted me to approach them since day one, but I was still making excuses. It wasn’t until we had about 2 weeks left that I finally decided to stop “waiting” for what God wants to do and to start walking in it.
With only the basics of Spanish, and relying solely on the Holy Spirit as my translator, I simply walked on over and inserted myself into their group. Uncomfortable, awkward, out-of-place, nervous. These words only begin to explain how I felt in the middle of this rowdy group as they stared at me, knowing that I didn’t speak the language. They had seen me and my team walking by them every day, so they knew why I was there. Despite all those jarring feelings, I felt total peace amongst them in the Spirit. It seems contradictory, but I felt I belonged right there. So, there I stayed, conversing in very short sentences, simply trying to get to know some of them. My goal was that they would all know Christ’s love for them, and my approach was through relationship-building. After about an hour, they invited me to play the game with them, and they quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing, so they proceeded to teach me in Spanish. Yikes. These men were gracious to say the least. I realized that the men in this community are incredibly kindhearted and hospitable but they carry a lot of sin and guilt for their sin that poisons their hearts. I had to head out mid-game to go do ministry at the church, but I knew without a doubt that I would be returning to this crowd.
The next day, people in Urraco started to look different. They started to look like family, and they started pursuing me as such. I saw those card-playing men everywhere I went, and the thing about small towns is that word spreads quickly. All kinds of people started walking up to me and telling me their stories and needs as if they had known me for years. Plus, people who I had already met suddenly seemed so excited to see me walking by every day. I know this was God’s doing. After stepping out in obedience, which He patiently waited on me for since day one, He opened several new doors for relationships. One of my biggest excuses for being hesitant was the language barrier, yet the next time I went to the bus stop, I met 4 different men who spoke English. They had all spent several years in the states, so we were able to have full conversations. I could hear more details of their stories and share more details about the Lord.
The Lord in all His kindness even provided some awesome segues into building these relationships. He didn’t have to do that! He just wanted me to have some fun doing His work. One of the men I met had seen me walking around with my guitar, so he asked me to teach him. After talking with him for some time about how he had walked away from the Lord but was eager to return to Him, this man took me to his house where we sat and worshipped the Lord with guitar and YouTube for 2-3 hours. Also, turns out this man was blind in one eye. God is so good. So, the Lord had me pray healing over this man. Though I didn’t see his eye healed, Holy Spirit revealed healing that needed to happen in his heart before it would manifest in his body, and I know this man’s heart immediately stepped into that healing process.
What I have found about many of the people in Urraco is that they all know the name Jesus, but they didn’t know the love of Jesus, and I mean the true depth of it. The men were entrapped in smoking, drinking, sexual impurity, pride and shame. It was like these spirits of lust and pride just hovered around Urraco. It was so intense that it was even felt by my team. With that being said, our battle in Urraco was to see the veil torn in the hearts of these people. We wanted them to experience the Truth and to walk in total freedom, and that is what we aimed to do through the ministries we were given.
It still blows my mind how far the Lord will take one step of obedience. Among many things, the Lord had showed me a gap in my relationship with Him. I so deeply loved Jesus and walked with Him as my friend, but I had long forgotten that He is also God who is holy, mighty and exalted. After receiving that revelation, I began to revere the Lord in all aspects of my life, and I began to fight to stay in His presence. The fight wasn’t against Him because He obviously wanted me there. The fight was against my flesh and the spirits of evil that didn’t want me in His presence. Holy Spirit revealed to me that I needed a total change in my heart posture. I had to walk with my heart on its knees in reverent fear and awe of the Lord. This looked like daily setting my mind on His throne room. I had to remember where I am, and that is in His throne room. I had to remember that where He is, that ground is holy. I fought to focus on walking with the Lord in His dwelling place, rather than trying to bring Him down to my presence.
With all that being said, I have never felt so in step with the Lord as I do now. I am on the cusp of a deeper understanding of His love for me, which will propel me forward into all that He wants for me. I know this blog post is jumbled and disorganized, but it’s been quite a messy journey. I’m just out here becoming the man of God the Lord called me to be from the start. Walls are collapsing, chains are breaking, freedom is singing and all I had to do was bow down. God is so good. When you give Him your life, I mean your entire being and reason for living, your very presence will open the doors for freedom in the hearts of those who don’t know Jesus. You are so deeply loved beyond words can say. I almost get frustrated just saying it because those are words I’ve heard all my life, but sometimes words just don’t connect. Once this truth sinks from your head to your heart, which can only happen through revelation from the Lord, your walk in life will shift, and I am living in that shift right now. Let me tell you, the people around you need the real you, and the real you is a beloved child of God. So, by faith, just walk in His love for you and watch all the lives that will be changed because of it.
Next stop, Nicaragua! My team will be living just outside of Granada, Nicaragua for the month. We are partnering with an organization called “REAP Granada” for our ministry. They place huge emphasis on discipleship, so that is what our focus will be, though I don’t have all the details yet. You can check out their website right here for more details about their organization.
Lastly, there have been a few updates to our route due to COVID changes. As of now, we will no longer be going to Colombia, Ecuador or Kenya. Instead, we will be going to Dominican Republic and Panama, then we will be spending an extra month in Peru. Here’s the order again (probably tentative): Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Please just keep praying for health, safety, and a deeper understanding of the Lord’s love. I appreciate all of your support, truly. Thank you for everything you all do for me. The next post will be about our ministry and experiences in Nicaragua. Stay tuned!
I have chills reading your awesome post. I’m so happy that you are feeling so in step with the Lord. You are making such a huge difference in the lives of others. I love hearing about your growth with God. Always praying for you!
Thanks for your comments,
I do enjoyed reading your experiences. You are a great writer. I am glad you are happy with the program. Angie
You walk on holy ground wherever you are. You carry holy light wherever you go. Continue in His radical Love 🙂
Zachary, your message was deeply felt. Thank you for sharing your journey with us so openly. I feel inspired and at peace. Many blessings for your next experience.
Zachary, this is such an incredible testimony of the power of walking in step with the Spirit and stepping boldly into what He calls us into even when we don’t have all the details or know what the next step will be. Thank you for sharing your story! Keep walking in confidence and obedience!
Wow Zachary! Isn’t God so GOOD! This testimony is truly beautiful. We are so proud of you for stepping out in faith. That kind of faith will change the world! It was so awesome to see you in El Salvador! We love you and miss you already!