I´m not gonna lie. I cried. I did not want to go to the park and find someone and tell them about Jesus. I just feel really weird talking to completely random people I don´t know in a language that I hardly know. While we prayed before going out, I asked God why he would ever want someone as weak as me to tell the Dominicans about his power and love. He reminded me that I am weak but he is strong, and that his power shines through the weak best.  A song came to my mind by Casting Crowns:

How refreshing to know you don´t need me. How amazing to find that you want me. So I´ll stand on your truth and fight with your strength til you the bring the victory, by the power of Christ in me.

It was just what I needed to hear. He also reminded me that I need to be stripped down to absolutely nothing in order to fully depend on him. And I was completely empty. I have no skill in this type of thing. My spanish isn´t even up to par to do this kind of thing. So I gave in and cried out saying I am so empty, you are the only thing reigning in me and it will be only through your power that I manage to do this task set out before me.

So we get to the park and Miguel takes me and Angelo aside and we pray and then are led to a young woman in a pink shirt. Her name was Ido and she had happened to arrive early that day for class when usually she arrives on time. She was killing time in the park. She was maybe 22 years old. Miguel and Angelo made some small talk and then launched right in saying that we´re missionaries and we´d like to talk spiritual things with you. He said later that that approach is not the best, but we got where we wanted to. He asked me to give a testimony about God´s character. I forgot everything about Spanish I´ve ever known. ...For like 3  minutes. Then God threw some words out of my mouth and they made sense! Only maybe 2 sentences of it was anything that I had prepared before hand. I talked about how I´ve been in the church my whole life but it wasn´t until the last 3 or 4 years that I really understood what it is to be a christian and to follow God. I said that I would be the first person to admit to being imperfect and that I sin a lot. But God continually calls me back from my sin and that he is always able to make good out of my bad. I vaguely wondered if this was too much for the girl. We didn´t know exactly where she was with God, but God had put those words in my mouth so I didn´t worry too much.

A bit later we found out that Ido has actually confessed that God is her savior and she believes it in her heart. So basically she is already a christian, but lacks a more personal relationship with God. Miguel asked me to talk to her about that. I said that we are able to talk to God as if he were out best friend sitting across from us and that he actually talks back. She wasn´t sure about that, but I told her how I´d talked to God that very day and I´d heard him answer back. I said that usually his answer comes as a thought in our head or from a passage in the bible, or in circumstances or even in an actual voice.

It was time for her to leave for class, so we asked if we could pray over her and we did and we went on our way. And it wasn´t the worst experience ever! It actually went pretty well. :)

Things are so much easier when you just give in and let God be God. When you empty yourself and let him take over. I feel like this will be something I´ll need to learn over and over again.

Here´s the mini conversation I had with God yesterday that I mentioned to Ido.

God, I feel so lost here. What on earth am I doing here in the DR? Why am I here?

-To Learn

Ok, so what happens when I go home? Why will I be at school then?

-To Practice

So, God does speak in words and thoughts and stuff. And I felt very encouraged to hear all that he had to say.

Please be praying for our health. And for Ido. that she would hear God´s voice and seek a personal relationship with him. Pray for my and Angelo´s english classes. And basically our work here in the DR.

my boyfriend´s 18th birthday is this friday, so if you happen to think of him, keep him in your prayers too. Oh and my newly wedded sister. :) Pray that God leads her to the perfect job :) love you anna!

thanks everyone!