Stepping Out in Faith

Jeanne shared this story with my wife by email and it was forward on to me. After reading it we asked Jeanne if she would give us permission to post it on the MInistry Maven site as an encouragement to others. She graciously agreed. I believe that this is a perfect example of what God can do through us if we are willing to be open to his purpose and plan for our lives.

You can reach Jeanne with your encouraging comments at jeannemalone@ymail.com.

A new pilgrim’s journey of faith

“Cuál es tu nombre?”
(What is your name?)

By Jeanne Malone

Faith is a journey that wrests you from your comfort zone. It will drop you far afield into unfamiliar territory, testing you and encouraging you as it leads you. But at the end of the day, faith always teaches you just what you need to learn. Here’s what I learned from my own journey of faith deep into the heart of Nicaragua.

It all began in the little college town of San Marcos, high in the Nicaraguan mountains. It was July. It was the rainy season. And I was ankle-deep in mud knocking on doors for the Lord.

“What is your name?” our interpreter would ask in her lilting Spanish, followed by “Can we come in?” Those two phrases launched a conversation that covered both the divine and the mundane. And those two phrases opened the doors and the hearts of the Nicaraguan people.

I was a new recruit, so to speak, and knocking on doors to spread the Gospel just wasn’t my thing. In fact, I was only four months into my relationship with Christ, a mere child, at best. I had been private about my faith, respecting others’ squeamishness about talking about God and salvation. Content in that privacy, I rarely saw the need to share my faith even with those I loved.

Looking back on my previous life, I never could have imagined I would be crusading for Christ. I had believed in the American way: after all, both the culture of “self” and the currency of “materialism” were ingrained in my DNA. I believed that “good” people would always win regardless of their belief systems. I believed in good friends, good food and good jobs. Sure, God was a beautiful idea, nice to think about, but certainly not necessary for everyday life. By American standards, I had it all: a beautiful home, enough time and money to travel, a husband whom I loved, the cutest dog in the Universe and enough money in the bank to do what I wanted. Yet, even with my many material blessings, I often felt empty and out of touch.

Then without notice or expectation, God entered my world and everything changed. My relationship with God began in March 2008. At that time, I was in a business partnership when I had a dream of divine proportions that shook me to my core. The message couldn’t have been clearer: get out of that business relationship and do it NOW. I moved quickly to sever the ties, yet the spiritual battles were just beginning. Yet, even that dream didn’t totally convince me that God was speaking directly to me.

Later that week, my despair increased as the web of evil and deceit with which I was involved became more apparent. I began to think that I was trapped and had no way out. My very life was at risk. But later that day, I called out to God and He reached down and plucked me from the abyss. My thoughts of despair and death immediately changed to those of hope and life. God’s first message to me was clear and reassuring. He simply said that “goodness always wins.” In retrospect, I realize that I when I chose goodness over evil, God stepped in to help me win the battle.

Over the next three months, the spiritual battles intensified: I was the victim of identity theft; I was forced to close my business; our finances suddenly became shaky; I lost friends that I had for many years; and my 20-year-old marriage was suddenly troubled. All of a sudden, I was at war with the world and very much on my own.

But in that aloneness, I found a glorious and loving God. We communed and conversed daily. During that time, I was graced with the spiritual gifts of divine revelation, spiritual discernment, supernatural occurrences and the experience of being wrapped in the cocoon of God’s love. I was totally and absolutely hooked. One thing was certain: As God transported me to His spiritual realm, I was dead certain that I didn’t want to return to earth anytime soon.

During that time, I did what many new Christians do. I shared my faith. I fought with my husband about the reality of God. I cried. I sang. I prayed. I went to church. I took Holy Communion. I confessed my sins. I wrote letters to people I loved with the hope of restoring relationships, and answers slowly trickled in. It seemed to me that God spread out their responses so they reached me on those days when I most needed encouragement.

On one of those days in May as I was sitting at my computer, Aunt Pearl called me. Larger than life, she and her husband, Jack, have traveled the world for God for over 20 years. Her next trip was to Nicaragua with the Worldwide Evangelical Gospel Outreach organization (WEGO). She was leaving in July and asked me to join her. Thinking it would be interesting, I accepted her invitation.

That invitation came just as I was coming down from my spiritual high and the world had came rushing in. I was brought back down to a world full of minor annoyances. I needed a job. I had to pay the bills and balance the checkbook. I had worldly responsibilities. God gently reminded me that despite my spiritual experiences, I was still very much a part of this world.

My spiritual life waxed and waned over the next two months as I took up my worldly responsibilities. I still prayed and talked to God daily, yet it could no longer be a full-time vocation. So when I boarded the plane to Nicaragua in July, I was ready for a new spiritual adventure.

Our traveling party consisted of eight people, ranging in age from 15 to 91. We all came from different walks of life and were there for different reasons.

Ave Maria College in the town of San Marcos was to be our home for our week-long stay. There we connected with the rest of the 40-member team comprised of teachers, medical professionals, ministers and laypersons. As day one of our mission trip unfolded, the flow of our days and our week became apparent. The rhythm of our day was divided into morning devotions and evening worship and team meetings. The bulk of our day was spent in a remote village where we congregated at the local school.
There our group would divide to fulfill their individual team mission.

Although I was assigned to the evangelical team, I was certain that my role would be that of a mere observer. I was a new Christian, after all, so what did I really have to offer? Even so, I hedged my bets by teaming up with Hollie, who at 21 years of age had been coming to Nicaragua since she was 13. She was experienced, exuberant and loquacious, and I was confident that my role on the team would be minimal.

Our plan was simple: Our Spanish speaking interpreter, 21-year old Alicia from Ave Maria College, would make the initial contact and introductions. After she explained our mission, Hollie would take over and converse with our host or hostess about their faith. We would then pray and distribute Bibles, t-shirts and toys. Even though I was somewhat nervous, our mission seemed very doable.

What struck me first was not the mind-grinding poverty of our hosts’ living conditions, but how they overcame their circumstances and welcomed us with grace and hospitality. In fact, no one denied us entry during the entire week. Obviously, God had preceded us: He had prepared our way and opened doors for us wherever we went. As we spoke and prayed, we were listened to with interest and respect, and I felt that God was with us.

My plan to act as an observer went well for the first visit or two. Hollie was definitely in charge and she did most of the talking. But on the third visit, something strange happened. All of a sudden, I felt the urge to share my faith. With each word I said, I became more open and confident, and I began to see that true faith requires action. God had something to say through me; I just needed to let him say it. I also realized that God had planned all along to use me on this trip. He had looked at my resume, so to speak, and He put me where He needed me most. His timing was perfect and so was His plan.

Perhaps most exciting was seeing that our questions and prayers were working. People were hungry for the Word of God and they began accepting the Lord as their Savior. I was touched when Hollie led three young girls, ages 10, 11 and 12, to accept Christ. I also was moved by the joy of the children as they received our handmade teddy bears. For some of these children, it was obvious that this was their first toy.

Throughout the week, God put people in my path that encouraged me in my faith. I met believers who were in their 80s and 90s whose love for the Lord lit up their faces like beacons of light. I was drawn to them like steel is to a magnet. As the attraction took hold, I felt overwhelmed by the power of God’s love. My faith was strengthened and renewed with each prayer and each visit. Blessings flowed: I felt loved, appreciated and encouraged as they shared how important our visit was to them. Here, I learned that the light of faith will draw others to God; in fact, faith made visible will light up the whole world if we just let it shine.

God also showed me the joy of being part of the Body of Christ. When I first became a Christian, I spent weeks and months alone with God. Yet I lived in the world and was lonely for Christian friends. In Nicaragua, God richly blessed me with the fellowship of strong believers, with whom I could share and receive confirmation of my personal Christian experiences. We encouraged each other; we laughed; we cried. I drunk in the love of my fellow believers and felt richly blessed.

Throughout the week, God used every experience to teach me about faith. He taught me that the enemy was still hard at work…even though I was on a mission trip. Distractions happened. Misunderstandings occurred. So I should dress for battle daily with the armor of faith, and the helmet of salvation. I should pray without ceasing.

God also taught me that He thinks Big when He answers prayers, much bigger than most of us can ever imagine. Several weeks before my trip to Nicaragua, I began to pray for God to use me to enlarge His territory.

Then, three weeks later, I was in Nicaragua. As the days flowed together in my short week there, God began to answer my prayers. Wow, I thought, I wanted to enlarge His territory, and He put me on the evangelism team. That certainly was an answer to prayer. I asked Him to teach me how to share my faith, and He put me with Aunt Pearl, Hollie, Michael and Marc who had years of experience sharing their faith. God answered me yet again. I wanted more Christian friends and God set me in the midst of 40 strong Christians. There was no doubt that God answered prayers, but I realized that I had to be prepared to receive His blessings. God was totally and absolutely in charge: He saw the whole staircase; I only needed to see and be prepared to take the next step.

My last day in Nicaragua had arrived much too quickly. I felt like a petulant child, stomping my little foot in protest. I pleaded for God to let me stay, as I certainly wasn’t ready to return to the “real world.” But God wasn’t done with me yet.

As I traveled home, God had a few more surprises in store for me. From Managua to Miami, I sat next to a Catholic brother from Managua studying to be a priest. I shared my experiences of the mission trip with him, and then he shared his faith with me. We both learned from each other as we shared, and I felt God’s presence. That was blessing number one. As I was going through security in Orlando, I met a man on his way to Canada. He said I had a spiritual look about me, and I told him about the mission trip and how difficult it was for me to return to the world. He encouraged me by saying that God was alive and well in the United States, I just had to look for Him. That was blessing number two. On the final leg of my trip, as I shared my experiences with a minister I met, it became apparent that my story was not for him but for his friend. This friend happened to be a dentist, who had become cynical and depressed as he spent his entire career chasing after money. The minister thought that a spot on the dental team on the next trip to Nicaragua might just be the answer for him. Perhaps, God was using me yet again to expand His territory and help this man at the same time. That was blessing number three.

As God sent these fellow travelers my way, He lifted my spirits and gave me hope. Their messages were just what I needed to hear: share your faith; be encouraged, and continue to look for God wherever you are for God is always with you. So as the plane landed on the tarmac in Albuquerque, God had changed my sadness to joy. And once again, I await my next spiritual adventure with the eagerness and anticipation of a child on Christmas Eve; for as a child of God, I realize that I have much to look forward to.

I wrote this article to express my gratitude to the following people who prepared me, touched me, and taught me on this trip. I pray that God will continue to bless each of you abundantly with faith, love, divine protection and good health.

To my sister, Louise Harris, for praying for me for 27 years and never giving up on me, for interceding for me in prayer when I first became a Christian, and for being the linchpin that has kept our family together throughout the years. Thank you for your wisdom, your faith and your love.

To Aunt Pearl and Jack for making this trip possible with your generosity, for being role models and serving the Lord tirelessly and with love for the last 20 years. Aunt Pearl, thank you for showing me that age is a state of mind, and I, too, can always remain 39.

To my second cousin, Hollie Dolph, for sharing your faith and your enthusiasm for the Lord and showing me how it’s done. It was a blessing to get to know you, cousin.

To Cindy Crandall, my team member in evangelism, for sharing your concern, care and joy for the people we met and for sharing your faith journey with me.

To Jodi DeBevoise, for your quiet strength in the Lord and for overcoming your nervousness about evangelizing with such grace and enthusiasm. Thank you for sharing your time and your faith with me.

To Michael Ivanchak, for your devotion, dedication and unbelievable faith in the Lord that shines like a beacon of light. Thanks for sharing the many divine miracles you have experienced. Thanks for telling me that whenever we don’t get an immediate answer to a prayer, God is giving usinsight. I really needed to hear that. Thank you for showing me that age is a state of mind and 91 can be very young.

To Marc Ivanchak, for telling me that my supernatural experiences were an ordinary part of the Christian life, for living your faith by taking action, and for your strong belief that shines in your eyes and leads others to the Lord.

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