On my blog today, I thought I would share a story about miracles and miraculous events from the mission field. This excerpt also appears in my book, “Turning Mountains into Molehills.”
The Story
Do you believe miracles still happen? Sometimes, I think we forget that God can do miraculous things in our world today. We get so bogged down in our lives, we fail to see the marvels all around us. For example, I want to look at one such wonder that occurred on a mission trip to Argentina. The journey took the team up into the Andes mountains. We saw God’s hands at work among the poorest of the poor as we participated in an event for children at the church we helped to build.
The Mission
In Salta, Argentina, a “happy hour” occurs at churches in an area. It provides local children with snacks and stories of Christ. The houses of worship invite the local children to come. For instance, hot chocolate and bread or cookies are provided to fill their hungry bellies. The church hopes the moms will come along with their children and also hear about Jesus. Bibles stories get acted out for the children as they snack. Fun children’s songs allow the kids to dance along to the beat. Moreover, the happy hour plans include providing the family with a little nutrition and some knowledge of Christ. Each church within the community offered happy hour on different days of the week, Monday through Friday.
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Luke 18:27
The one we attended would be the first-ever provided at this new church; what an exciting opportunity. Therefore, the team activity for the afternoon included preparation to host the happy hour. We needed to write out the formal invitation to distribute to the families. Someone wrote the wording in Spanish on the new chalkboard we just painted for us to copy.
Preparations
The youth spent time decorating the pages to make them look beautiful. After lunch, the team broke into two groups to deliver the requests throughout the neighborhood. A thought occurred to me; How did I knock on the door of a home made out of cardboard boxes and plastic sheets? I felt perplexed. However, we got instructions for us to stand outside the house and clap our hands. I believed this was a joke, but I tried it. Guess what? In short, clapping my hands as a doorbell worked. One home included guard chickens, which loudly clucked as I approached, and that attracted the homeowner’s attention, and that made me laugh.
Happy Hour
I waited anxiously for the event to start. The pastor, Miguel, set a goal of fifty children to attend the happy hour. I prayed intensely for God to provide a miracle by blessing this affair. Meanwhile, several of us walked up to a nearby store to buy cookies, milk, and hot chocolate. The store offered most of the basic groceries on its overflowing shelves. But, I had no idea how much to buy for fifty kids and their parents. So, I decided to buy all they had in stock, which made the store owner smiled broadly and said, “Gracias.” Not long after returning from the store, the first children started to arrive. Anticipation flooded my soul, as I wanted to see what the Lord had planned. More children came, and more, and more.
The Miracles
Most importantly, the final count of people stood at 150 people. God powerfully answered the prayers. Then a thought hit me -Have I gotten enough food? The success of future events at this church depended on providing enough snacks for all in attendance. Therefore, I grabbed the team and headed to the kitchen to pray. We offered up prayers over the food. In addition, we asked God to bless those who received it. Also, we begged God to multiply the amount, so everyone received enough, recalling Jesus feeding 5,000 people with just two fishes and a loaf of bread.
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20
We needed God to perform a similar act for our little food supply. Meanwhile, the youth performed skits for the children while the adults handed out the goodies to waiting hands. Miraculously, the food stretched enough, so everyone ate, and many people received seconds. As a result, my heart danced for joy to see God’s hand providing for the poor children whom He loved. My heart overflowed with love and joy because God allowed me to participate in His miracle in Salta.
Miraculous
What miracles have you witnessed in your life? God remains active in our world. Most importantly, He still heals, restores, and repairs lives in miraculous ways. But, sometimes, it takes a mission trip to remind us of these incredible works. Take time today to look for God’s hand working in your life. Likewise, praise Him for all He does for us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father. Thank you for the miracles in our lives. Forgive me for the times I overlook them or take them for granted. Above all, please continue to show me Your real strength and power to change the situations in my life. Amen.
Blessings,
Yvonne M. Morgan, author, blogger, and speaker.
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
100% of the proceeds from sales of my book, Turning Mountains Into Molehills, help the orphans at Orphan Relief Effort, Inc.
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Amen. Miracles still happen every day. Thank you for sharing this story. I am thankful God gives us miracles and life lessons to draw closer to Him.
Me too. Thanks Melissa
Yvonne, our God is still in the miracle business! Oh yes! I love this story that proves the point so beautifully! And to those naysayers who claim they didn’t receive their miracle, even though they prayed for it, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t perform miracles today. It just means sometimes He choses not to for His greater glory and purpose somehow. Even though we won’t understand here on this earth.
Miracles occur around us all the time and they can be big or small. We ourselves are miracles and we forever praise His Holy Name. Thanks Karen and God bless
When I heard the sirens, I knew it was my girl. She had walked a few blocks to the store in our small town, and somehow I knew. Though largely pregnant, I ran toward the sirens, and sure enough. There she was, bloodied from the street with a car looking at if it had hit her. Policeman had arrived, and ambulance came wailing. The brakes had been applied by the driver, but the tread marks coupled with the speed of the car didn’t add up. She should have been hit, but she was not. The police were stumped. They met us at the ER to inform us that they had no other explanation than that it was a miracle. Somehow, an invisible hand had shoved her down – she had felt it, so that she slid under the car, rather than it hitting her, and somehow that car had stopped right over her body, the tire poised by her head but not running over it, when it shouldn’t have been able to stop and avoid her. That is but one of our “tangled with an auto accident” miracles. SO, SO thankful for God’s intervention.
I teared up as I read this. What a blessing for her and for your whole family. Thank you Jesus for such incredible miracles in our lives. Thanks Melinda and God bless
I have seen God work miraculously in many ways over the years. The biggest miracle I’ve personally experienced is freedom from alcohol and drugs.
What a wonderful miracle. Thanks for sharing Candice and God bless
Thank you for sharing this excerpt from your book and mission work, Yvonne. My heart filled with joy at this miraculous provision. We experienced miracles with God’s provision when we took our mission trips to Haiti, with money and supplies stretching farther than it should have.
But the biggest miracle we witnessed was when a neighbor’s car stopped in front of our house. The young adult jumped out screaming for help. I looked in the window and saw an older man not breathing, not moving, gray skinned, clearly dead. I screamed for my husband and neighbors to call 911. My husband and I reached in and placed our hands on his chest. We were not able to lift him or give CPR. Meanwhile the young man cried, “Dad don’t die. Please don’t die.” I couldn’t even think of words to pray, so I cried out the name of Jesus. At the sound of Jesus’ name the man quickly opened his eyes and began breathing. Later the ambulance came and reported to us that he also stopped breathing and would have died on the way to the hospital, but they had equipment to resuscitate him. We only had the name of Jesus and the laying on of hands. I will never forget that scene. I would not have believed that he came back to life except that I witnessed him before and after. God creates and re-creates life. He is a miracle worker!
Wow. What an experience to watch such a miracle. Our God is a real miracle worker and we are blessed to see them happen. Praise the Lord. Thanks Melissa and God bless