(She told me later that she knew I wouldn't be mad, because she had told me the truth, "the most important thing!", instead of lying and saying that someone else had peed my bed.)
The best part of yesterday was also NOT Lily's school calling me again, this time to tell me that she had just thrown up all over her lap.
No.
It also wasn't trying to talk with Matt while all three girls also tried to talk to Matt while the call got cut. and. cut. and. cut. Though they DID arrive and they ARE all good...so that's GOOD.
The best part of yesterday was the stories.
Instead of trying to cram one more thing into a crazy school year this year, I decided to interview all the first year students and get them into our scholarship program this summer. THAT was a fabulous thought.
And so yesterday, I made Lily wait in the nurses office with Gatorade while I finished talking to the three men who came yesterday.
I adore Fresnel, and his story was great, as sweet as he is. I'll share it with you soon! I'm still trying to get to know Edelin, and his story was great, too, as passionate as he is. I'll share it soon, too.
But Sundy is so shy, I wasn't sure WHAT I'd get out of him, and HIS story knocked my day out of the park. When you have a minute, read about Sundy's childhood, his amazing conversion, and how God brought him to Emmaus...it just might be the best part of your day, too.
BACKGROUND
They always tell me
that when my mom was pregnant, the whole pregnancy, every time she went to the
doctor, they said there was no sign of life.
The doctors told her I was dead, and everyone told her to have an
abortion. For some reason, she always says that she wouldn’t let me go. When the
time came for her to deliver, I was born feet first, and I was very sick and
weak, but I was alive.
Neither my mother or
my father served God, but they figured someone must have a plan for my life. When
I was four or five, my parents split up...they were always fighting.
I stayed with my
father and grew up with him. My whole
life I was raised in a Catholic family who practiced Voodoo, but I always heard
the Gospel being preached from a little church right next to my house.
My family says they
will never leave voodoo practices, because when my grandfather was a young boy,
an evil spirit came to him and asked my grandfather to serve him. My grandfather agreed, and that spirit became
the spirit of our family…he owns the family, the family serves him.
CONVERSION STORY
When I was 15, in
2008, my grandfather died. Only a few
days later, I was staying at my mom’s house for the weekend, and that night, I
had a terrifying and heavy dream. In my
dream, there was an evil, dark, heavy presence, and he said that he was my family’s
spirit. He told me that I would follow
in my grandfather’s footsteps, and now the role of my grandfather to serve him
was mine, for my family.
I was terrified at the
thought of being chained to this horrible spirit, and I told him NO. He showed me all of these things in my
dream…nice clothes, a nice house, a nice car, soccer equipment, and he told me
to follow him, and that he would bless me with all of this stuff. I told him NO. Now, he came at me with a spear-like weapon,
and said if I would not serve him, he would kill me. I shouted NO, and he stabbed me in the
side. I awoke suddenly, and there was a
sharp sharp pain in my side.
I had never
prayed before, but I called out to Whomever was the furthest away, to Whomever most
opposite from this dark and evil
spirit, and the pain was gone.
The church next door
was always reciting Psalm 46, “Our God is a refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble…” I thought through that
Psalm that I had heard them call out so many times, and saw how God had absolutely
been my very present help.
As I laid there, I
asked God not to let that spirit kill me.
God revealed to me that it wasn’t the spirit who was bringing death to
my life…but it was my sin.
I got up, I left my
mom’s house. I went home, I went to that
church, and I asked them to please show me how to repent, how to pray, how to
give my life to Jesus.
I was the only
believer in my house. A few years later,
my father died, and the whole family started arguing and fighting over who the
house belonged to. It became awful
living there, and finally I left. I
moved in with member of my church, and I still live with them to this day.
The ROAD to EMMAUS
I heard this message
when I was 16 or 17 that has always stuck with me. The pastor said that if we
are truly Christ-following young people, then when we finish high school, we
can’t just think about what we want and pursue that. He told us that it was GOD who had a plan for
our lives, and to ask God what He wanted us to do, and to follow in that path
alone.
So, as I finished high
school, I was always praying about that, and my church was, too. People kept telling they felt God wanted me
to study His Word, and there was even an elder in the church who told me God
showed him in a dream that I would study His Word. I prayed about that a lot, even spending
three days and nights fasting and praying about what God wanted.
I finally felt peace
that this was what God wanted me to do.
Everyone told me to go
to Limbay University, where they had a theology program, but I also really
wanted to make sure I was in the center of God’s will on WHERE I went,
too. I prayed and prayed about “Limbay”
and just never felt peace. While I was
praying one night, I was listening to Radio4VEH, and a man named Pastor Lucner
(the academic dean at EBS) was on, and he was talking about a place called
Emmaus. As soon as he said the words, "Emmaus Biblical Seminary," I
was flooded with peace. I prayed more
and asked more questions, and knew this was the right place for me to study
God’s Word.
I’ve only just started
at Emmaus, in September '16, but I am learning SO MUCH, and better, I am
learning how to take what I am learning and transmit it well for others. I loved the preaching class…and am looking
forward to studying more.
Pray for me, that I
will always stay right in the middle of His will for my life. Pray that He will help me persevere, and that
He’ll continue to provide for His calling on my life! Thank you!
- - -
YES, Sundy needs a sponsor!! If you are interested in partnering with Sundy, and/or students like him, jot me an email and I would love to hook you up!
Partnering with one of our students means that you commit to providing a scholarship in their name and to praying for them. It also means that you can be in contact with them through Emmaus if you want, visit them and get to know them as much as you'd like. You'll hear from your student throughout your partnership either way!
There are two ways to provide a scholarship (a full scholarship is $2000/year, but scholarships in ANY amount are greatly needed!) for one of our students...
http://ebs.edu.ht/give/
https://onemissionsociety.org/give/express-give
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