If the day Jesus died was eventually called good, then maybe one day, our worst days may be called good too.

John and I visited Carlos and Jeanette on our own with seeking hearts and a search for our desires to be aligned with God’s desires for us.

As Jeanette gave me dates a while back, we prayed that the team that would be here with us would be the very one that God had designed for us. That His perfect and divine appointments would be made known and evident for His plan. Walking in, there was instant evidence of His works. We couldn’t help but smile.

On the first night of God sightings, the leader asked if John and I would mind sharing our testimony.

Of course, we will, we love to share our story with others about what God has done in our lives and the grace that He has shown to us- Pure hope and restoration. But to be completely honest- my own flesh had fears that as we shared some of our darkest days, that people would look at us differently or judge us because of past brokenness. But what a precious thing to know that those are only lies from the enemy.

So that night, in that God filled living room, we shared with tear filled eyes. As John opened up: “It is only by the grace of God that I am able to sit in this living room here today with you guys.”

We shared our stories that were full of hopelessness that have been turned into God’s restoring grace. A story that took two broken people and brought them into God’s redeeming mercies with a purpose and a plan, a story that only merely expressed the incredible things that he’s done in our lives. A story of how grateful we were to be sitting in that very place- because two years ago, we could have never dreamed of a moment and season as precious as this.

As vulnerability always brings about hope- we had others to open up about struggles with similar things. Broken human beings in one room sharing how God has redeemed them. And it is in those moments that you are captivated by the opportunities that God asks you to walk into. Even when the circumstance isn’t comfortable, they are always purposeful.

You never know who is listening to your vulnerability. One of the interpreters pulled us to the side the next day and wanted to ask us about an opportunity. He had a family member that had struggled with similar things and had been through a program here in Guayaquil that was still very dear to their hearts. And he asked if we would mind traveling to speak and share our story of hope. This is what we do in Tennessee, But to be able to share that hope in Ecuador!! ABSOLUTELY!!

Wow…. and there we are again- just when we think God has brought us to that mountain top, He climbs us higher.

So, Friday morning we woke up early and hopped on a local bus and rode 3 hours into the main city. Three interns came with us as the friends who would take us, met us at the bus station. Hearts were excited and anxious on the way. We all spent time in the word seeking the very things that God would speak into our lives that day.

We walked in the door with an iron gate and a buzzer with a tough looking man to let us in. Intimidating a little… but none the less, I could feel God moving already.

We held hands and prayed before walking into the unknown. We proceeded into a room of about 20 men. They had the seven of us sit up front as these Ecuadorian men stared back with eyes of brokenness but hearts craving hope. The same place and pain that John had once felt that he still empathizes with today. The same feeling that we have probably all felt at one time or another.

As John began to share his testimony, and as Cesar interpreted, hearts began to soften and walls began to come down. From a sense of hardness to a sense of hunger. We asked questions and let them share. So many grown men with tears streaming down their faces, you could feel the Holy Spirit beginning to work. Each and every one of us shared and in full confidence, I know that God spoke through us all. The vulnerability of grown people being real- sharing the very things that has ripped lives and families to pieces is where that healing begins.

I asked how many had lost someone to addiction and sadly, every hand went up in that room. John asked how many had children, and nearly every hand went up in that room. They were broken, the same way we all are. But God is never far. He is there, and He chose each and every one of them. He still leaves the 99 and chases that 1 down, and I believe that every man in that room, God is seeking. Statistically, they shouldn’t be here, but miraculously they are.

To watch my husband stand up and speak bold truth full of hope and restoration today set my heart on fire as if it wasn’t already. A huge manly man with crocodile tears in his eyes sharing his heart made me appreciate the miracle that God has given me that much more. But most importantly it reminded me that He is still working a pure and beautiful miracle in our lives. All the way in Ecuador, and He gave us the opportunity to help others fight the thing that He has freed John from. The very season that at one point we wish we would have never endured, we now find thanksgiving and understand that it was all for the glory of His good.

The Bible says that love has no language, and that is such truth that we experience down here. With a huge language barrier today, there were so many hearts set free. So many seeds planted that will indeed one day produce the most incredible fruit you have ever seen. All it takes is that one person… that could change a life, that could change the world.

We are all broken in one way or another. We all struggle in some way. But don’t ever forget that those very things could help to save someone else’s life. Don’t forget that your very battle could be someone else’s blessing. Be the person that you needed in the midst. Get out of our comfort zone and be vulnerable to the miracle that God has waiting- not only for you but for the one who needs you.

At the end, we met with the precious lady who runs the place. She and her husband ran it with their whole hearts until he passed away at an early age last year and now she is carrying on the legacy with the same heart. Her husband was a huge influence in the city and fought to help those who struggle and to get drugs off the streets. She told us that their doors are always open to us. She has been working with the American government and they are working together to bring awareness and help with this growing epedimic. We cannot help but wonder, with the desires of our heart for this country and for recovery, if God isn’t opening even more doors in this place. His reckless love is so, so precious. We will never forget the blessing of this opportunity and hope to visit again very soon!