On their second ministry day, two short-term trip participants visited a local believer’s friend—Lucia.
Lucia lost her five-year-old daughter to a brain tumor forty-seven years ago. Her pain and anguish remained despite the decades that had passed. She was angry and bitter … confessing that she had made a decision never to set foot in a church again to worship a God that she felt had treated her so cruelly and unjustly.
Identifying with her pain, one of the missionaries shared some of the tough seasons his family had gone through, specifically telling a story about his young daughter’s yearlong battle with a devastating illness.
He understood Lucia’s pain. The difference between the two was that the missionary found refuge and peace in God. He assured Lucia that God was more than able to handle her anger. They also talked about what her daughter must be experiencing in the presence of Jesus in Heaven.
Slowly Lucia softened toward the missionaries, and they began to share the gospel.
They explained how God the Father allowed His own beloved, sinless Son—Jesus—to go through great pain, anguish, suffering, and death because He loved us and wanted His wayward children to live joyfully with Him forever.
God had experienced the anguish of losing a Child, and could fully understand Lucia’s pain. Because of that, she could trust His plans and purposes. And she did.
Through tears, Lucia confessed her belief in Jesus Christ and decided to trust in Him for salvation. When Lucia walked the missionaries out of her home, she invited them to visit her when they returned to her country and hugged them.
Her distressed demeanor was replaced with hope evidenced by the smile gleaming on her face.