MISSION
On May 4, 2006 , I had an evangelical evening in a
Christian house in Deir El Kamar. The mother of the house said: "Father,
today we met a Druze woman. She opened her heart and told me that St. Rafqa had
done a miracle to her son." I said: "Go, and ask her if she likes to
have an evangelical evening at her house."
The OK
On May 22, 2006 , we got the OK from this woman,
her husband and 3 children. They want us to go and visit them in their village.
The twelve
On May 25, 2006 , it was the Ascension Day. We were ready for
the mission. Some of us prayed. Others fasted. I expected more than 20
Christian people to show up at my place before we go to that village, but I
prayed we would be less than that. We didn't want to draw attention in a
village that experienced massacres between Christians and Druze during the war.
This is very sensitive. 12 people showed up at my place. I was the thirteenth.
This
is symbolic: 12 = the apostles. The priest= Christ.
Jesus’ instructions
We
prayed in the chapel. I gave the instructions Jesus gave to his apostles:
"As
you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have
received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper
for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or
walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you
enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you
enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon
it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or
listen to your words--go outside that house or town and shake the dust from
your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom Gomorrah
Then,
I added: "Do not mention Baptism or Come be a Christian. We just want to
hear how God is working in their lives and we should be ready to give testimony
on how our Lord is working in our own lives."
The arrival
We
went in three cars. We arrived at 8:15
pm at this non-Christian village. The family of 5 welcomed us.
We
said to them: "we are not here to take you out of your beliefs. We are
here to listen to how God is working within your family and we can tell you how
our Lord is working in our lives."
The
family’s story
The
woman began her story: "Few years ago, my son has had problems in his
eyes. He was going to become a blind. One night, I saw in a dream a nun wearing
black. I didn't know who would be. I took my child to the hospital. There, he
had to do a small operation as a preparation for the biggest and longest one.
During the small operation, I saw a little girl wearing the same dress I saw in
my dream. After 15 minutes, I saw a man holding the statue of the same person I
saw in my dream. I asked who is she. They said this is St. Rafqa. I felt this
is a sign to ask her intercession. So, I prayed. After that, the doctors came
out amazed asking me: "were you praying? Your child does not need anymore
to go through the longest operation. Something happened." I told my
husband we should go immediately and visit the shrine of St. Rafqa. He said:
"we don't know where it is". I said, we can ask and people will lead
us. We arrived at Jrabta at the monastery of St. Rafqa. I entered the shrine
and prayed at her tomb. I said: "If you are the one who healed my son, let
me know, give me a sign." Then, I expected the candle would switched off
or the rosary would move. But I heard my son crying. He said there is heat in
his eyes. I understood that was the sign given by the Saint."
The thunder of the Word of God
Then,
we had a long spiritual discussion. Each one gave his testimony.
At
the end, I distributed the gospels for each one of them. We were 18 people.
Then,
I said to the woman: "Now, I want you to close your eyes, pray to the God
of Raqa who healed your son, and open this book to see what the Lord is going
to tell you."
The
woman closed her eyes, prayed for a minute and opened the book. It was Acts
22:14 and ff.
She
read: "And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then he
said, 'The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the
Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; for you will be his witness
before all to what you have seen and heard. Now, why delay? Get up and have
yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.' "
That
was like an thunder. Most of us cried. The woman had her voice shaking and she
began to cry. The men who came with me from Deir El Kamar had their tears on
the face. I remembered what I told them before we left the chapel: "Do not
mention Baptism..." and here is the Lord is doing it his own way.
A supernatural Presence
Then,
I asked the father of the house: "Now, it's your turn. Close your eyes,
pray, and open this book." He had another Holy Bible. All books were new.
The
man closed his eyes, prayed, and opened the book and here is a great shock: It
was the same passage. I asked him to re-read it again: "And at that very
moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors
designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the
sound of his voice; for you will be his witness 2 before all to what you have
seen and heard. Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins
washed away, calling upon his name.' "
Glorifying God
We
felt that there was no coincidence here. There was a supernatural power who did
that.
At
the end, I blessed their house with holy water. We prayed spontaneously and
left the village glorifying God.
I
stayed three days in silence meditating on this tremendous experience. It was
really powerful.
No comments:
Post a Comment