I had a neat conversation back in February (time flies!!) that I’ve been meaning to write about… but there’s always something “urgent” that diverts my attention… Today is a rainy day… I’m waiting to see if it clears up so I can get into jail… (I go to women’s jail every second Wednesday.)
When my parents were visiting, we went to the Sunday service at the church we used to attend years ago when we lived here… New people… old people… people I should remember their names but I don’t… A lady came up to Marco and I… (one of the ones I’ve seen before… but can’t remember her name!)… This is what she told me…
“Corina! Glad to see you… bla…bla…bla… I’m so glad you came because I told myself that whenever I saw you next I would tell you this…” Hmm… interesting…
“Do you remember Omar?” Hmm… I used to be so good at names… but as I’ve met more and more people… in jails, on the streets, in churches, at El Jordán, here and there… I’ve gotten quite terrible at names…. Omar… Omar… Omar???
“You remember!!! Omar!” She smiles, raises her eyebrows and nods a bit… I’m supposed to be remembering this person and I don’t…
I shake my head… and say sorry… I really don’t remember… She insisted that I should… “You know… Omar… he went to your center and was rehabilitated… Omar Lijeron.” I was sorry to disappoint her… but even the last name didn’t help… Nelly’s boyfriend’s name is Omar… but he’s not in any way rehabilitated. The lady finally gave up on me remembering who Omar was… and continued the story…
“Omar was from PosterValle. (about 8 hours away from here) He came to the city… and got into drinking… drugs…down to living in the canals of the city.” (where the cocaine paste addicts live… considered the most “down and out”) Omar was her husband’s brother in law or in some way related… Omar’s family was strict Catholic… when Omar fell so low, the family didn’t want anything to do with him… He was lost… no one had any hope in him any more…
“Then Omar met you and you taught him the Bible.” I did??? Still none of this rings a bell. “He went back to PosterValle completely changed. His prized possession was the Bible you had given him.” I had given him a Bible??? “Anybody he met.... anyone who would listen to him, he would get out his Bible to share with them.” Wow… my eyes kind of got a little teary. Any testimony of God’s grace, rescuing people from the darkness and placing them on the Rock, never ceases to amaze me…
“Omar didn’t have any money or job… His brother gave him a little adobe room… in exchange for looking after the land… His sister wouldn’t talk to him… thought he was crazier than ever… so Omar started singing choruses whenever his sister was in earshot. The words of the songs must have softened her heart… and the family was reconciled.”
I asked how old this Omar was… I really wanted to remember… Had I met him on the streets? …in jail? ….or in a rehab center? …it would be so neat to meet up with him and personally hear his testimony…
“He would have been about 35… he died about a year ago… from a heart attack. They found him dead, in his bed… with his Bible right there beside him, where it always was.”
Wow. …but the lady wasn’t done. “I went back to visit a while back… and I went to Omar’s room… It hadn’t changed at all… His Bible was still hanging there beside the bed. I told his brother that he should take the Bible and read it… That’s what Omar would have wanted.”
“…and I told myself, some day when I cross paths with Corina, I need to tell her this story… so when I saw you in church today, I told myself that I needed to talk to you afterwards… Do you remember him now?”
I had a knot in my throat… tears in my eyes. No, I still don’t remember Omar… but that’s okay… because this story isn’t about Corina. This story is about God and His mercy… It wasn’t Corina nor any “center” that changed Omar’s life… it was God and His word. The greatest gift we can give to someone is God’s word… share it… teach it… live it…
…because it can change your life.
…and that’s it for today!!! The rain is basically gone so I need to move along…
Oh… I also wanted to let you know that two people offered to support José Alejandro and Rolando… that started yesterday… and María Luisa and Saúl both were SO thankful… to God… and to you. You have taken a huge burden from their shoulders. Others have given a one time gift to help with a specific need that the family might have… and others have given towards our education fund… To each one of you… THANKS… One day there will be a lot of surprises… kind of like me in church that day… “Do you remember so and so???” We might never know or even imagine the results of a small action we do today… (we might not even remember our action!) nor what God can do with our small gift (I’m not talking about just money… I’m talking about a word… a bit of your time… a letter… something…)
Isn’t it amazing to be a part of God’s big picture???
Have a wonderful day…
Lots of love, Corina (for Marco too)