I’m so excited to start a new Faith in Action blog series, sharing real, boots-on-the-ground testimonies from my own life and others about what happens when we actually put our faith into action. Following Jesus was never meant to be a spectator sport, so my hope is that these stories will put you in the game, light a fire in your spirit, inspiring you to grow in your own faith and boldly step out in your everyday life.

The idea of evangelism or praying for a stranger can feel intimidating at times, but you are going to discover the beautiful, freeing truth that God isn’t looking for professionals, just the available ones. In fact, as you’ll read in my very first story, you don’t need a theology degree or decades of experience to be used powerfully by God; if children can, so can you!

Outreach in Quepos Costa Rica (Wednesday, August 5)

Our team consisted of Sarah, myself, and two incredible kids: Jeremiah (12) and Clara (10). Before hitting the streets, we prayed as usual, asking the Lord to give us clues about who He wanted us to encounter that day.

Jeremiah got a very specific picture in his mind: a woman wearing jean shorts and white Nike shoes, and he heard she had knee problems. I saw an open-mouthed crocodile statue in my mind’s eye. I simply submitted the image to the team. Clara saw a sidewalk—so, naturally, we made her the chief directional leader!

The White Nikes

After walking for a few minutes toward the city’s central bus stop, I heard Jeremiah say from behind me, “I don’t think we are going to find this clue. It’s pretty specific.”

Before I could even finish my sentence to encourage him, we stopped in our tracks. “There she is.”

Waiting for her bus at a kiosk selling drinks and snacks stood a lady with her two daughters. She was wearing jean shorts. She was wearing white Nike shoes. We thought to ourselves, she must have knee pain. Let’s go ask!

We approached her, learned her name was Haley, and boldly relayed the clue Jesus had given Jeremiah. We asked if she had knee pain. She smiled but confessed that while she did have leg pain, it was actually throbbing in her heel, especially after a long day of walking. Because the Lord had been so undeniably specific about this lady’s knee, we took a risk. We told her we believed the root of the problem wasn’t her heel, but her knee, and we asked if we could pray for her.

She conceded and sat down on a nearby bench. I asked Jeremiah if he’d be willing to pray healing over her entire leg. As I translated, Sarah and Clara interceded. After a simple prayer of faith, we asked Haley to stand up and test it out. She stood, looked at us, and said her heel felt better, but her knee had a strange numbness to it—like the numbness you feel right after a surgery.

Whoa. We encouraged her, letting her know her heel was feeling better because Jesus was fixing the real issue in her knee, exactly as He had revealed to us. The buses started loading up, and sensing our time was short, I asked her about her relationship with Jesus. She admitted she had been far from Him. I shared a quick, thirty-second gospel message, assuring her: “Jesus sent us specifically to you today to tell you He sees you, He loves you, and He wants to walk with you so badly that He healed your leg as a reminder to do just that.”

The Crocodile

After Haley got on her bus, we turned our attention to the open-mouthed crocodile statue. This proved to be a bit more difficult to find.

After praying for a couple of people along the way, we came across a fishing store. We thought, surely there has to be something here. Outside the store were a few fish tanks. I almost walked right past them, but the kids suddenly exclaimed, “There it is!” Resting at the bottom of the fish tank was a stone, open-mouthed crocodile head. We knew we were in the right place, and someone inside needed a touch from the Lord.

Passing a customer on the way out, we approached the front desk and met a woman named Maritza. I tried to explain our clue, but I temporarily forgot the Spanish word for crocodile, which quickly devolved into a funny game of charades. (I now know the word is cocodrilo!)

Despite the language barrier, Maritza was deeply touched that the Lord had highlighted her. Through tears, she explained that her husband—who usually runs the store with her—had just had his leg amputated, and his eyesight was failing due to diabetes. We instantly knew why the Lord had sent us. Sarah prayed in bold faith for the healing of his eyes, for peace over Maritza, and for blessing and provision over their business. As if on cue, more customers began walking through the door. We left knowing the Lord was already answering our prayers to help her family financially through this incredibly hard season.

The Tire and the Cats

Stepping outside and having run out of clues, we decided to pray one more time. Jeremiah got a new picture: “A bike tire with a cat on it!” Sarah chimed in, “I got a tire, too!”

It was a strange combination, but we set out to find it. With Clara leading the way, we walked a couple of blocks and took a hard right. Right in front of us was a veterinary clinic with CATS painted on the window, sitting directly next to an auto mechanic shop with a stack of TIRES outside. And there, working on his motorcycle right between them, was a young man. The clue couldn’t have been clearer. The Lord wanted to speak to him.

We approached him and learned his name was Yeikel. Dressed in what looked like motocross gear, he was busy fixing his bike and seemed a bit distracted when we asked to talk to him. But then, we told him our clue.

His ears immediately perked up. He stopped what he was doing, looked at us, and said, “Qué curioso. I love cats. I have fifteen of them at home.”

From that moment on, he was all ears. I asked him about Jesus, and he opened up about experiencing severe church hurt and wanting nothing to do with religion. I asked him, gently, “Do you believe Jesus hurt you?” He said no, it was just the people at the church. I replied, “Then what does Jesus have to do with hypocritical people?”

I explained how much Jesus loves him, how Jesus is the one who will ultimately judge the hypocrites, and how He died to forgive Yeikel’s sins to restore relationship with him. When I asked if he felt like his own sins were forgiven, he shook his head no. We shared that if he confessed his sins, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive him.

Right there on the street, Yeikel began to pray and confess his sins to the Lord. As he did, the Holy Spirit highlighted the lingering unforgiveness from his church hurt. I felt prompted to ask if the hurt stemmed from a specific girl at his church. Startled, he clarified that it was actually her family.

We quickly discerned that we needed to lead him through the process of forgiving his offenders. We explained Jesus’s teaching: if we forgive others, our Heavenly Father forgives us, but if we withhold it, we hinder our own forgiveness. We instructed him to name his transgressors out loud and verbally forgive them. It was a beautiful, slightly humorous sight—Yeikel stood there, surrounded by a group of foreigners, making casual eye contact with his coworkers as they walked in and out of the shop, all while faithfully declaring forgiveness over the people who broke his heart.

When he finished, he let out a deep sigh, and a visible rush of peace washed over him. We took the opportunity to pray for the Holy Spirit to fill this young man with love and power. We exchanged contact info with Yeikel so we could follow up and encourage him as he begins this new walk with Christ.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Over and over again, Jesus, You showed up when we stepped out in faith on Your behalf. You never let us down once. You guided us exactly where we needed to be, at exactly the right time. We are so privileged and thankful to be a small but important part of Your redeeming work across the globe. We want more of You, Jesus; we want more opportunities to see You move in power and transform lives.

And Lord, thank You so much for using the kids today. Thank You for proving that the Kingdom of Heaven truly belongs to such as these. Please, help us adults to have more imagination, more childlike faith, and way more fun in this incredibly fun adventure of walking with You. Amen.