13 Birthdays

13 Birthdays

At first, it looked like a birthday party like any other… there were people laughing, food and drinks were being passed around, the “Happy Birthday” song was sung, and little gifts and cards were being given to me, the “Birthday Girl.”  

And then… the room fell silent.

The majority of you know that I’m not one who is normally at a loss for words. Give me a crowd full of people and a microphone and you’ll see that you’ve put me right in the middle of my sweet spot.  Nothing energizes me more than being able to spiritually motivate people from a stage.  But we all have our insecurities.

Here in Brazil, my top two insecurities are making coffee (without a coffee maker) and speaking the Portuguese language – two major things that an Amazon missionary (or anyone living in Brazil for that matter) MUST do.  The coffee thing, I’m getting better at; but mastering this foreign language has been, by far, my greatest struggle.  I tell myself that these things keep me humble and dependant on God.  Little did I know, He would put my dependency on Him, to the ultimate test:

The room fell silent.  In the middle of all the festivities, it was though someone had turned a switch – and all eyes were on me.  It was time to make a speech – In Portuguese!  One-on-one, and in our community church services, I normally do just fine with my Portuguese, but in spontaneous public speaking moments, my insecurity monster tends to show his ugly head.

I took a deep breath, looked out at all the eyes of those who I have lived among for the last 11 months, and screamed a silent prayer for help.  A unique love and compassion then began to rush through me.  Then, Mark 16:17 came to life. (“They will speak in new tongues.”)  From my mouth came the most beautiful Portuguese I have ever heard.  I spoke with words and phrases that I could have never put together on my own.  From my mouth, the Holy Spirit spoke about how one can “be saved” (Romans 10:9) and what it means to have eternal life (John 3:16).  

After speaking for a few minutes, I paused, and realized that this was no ordinary birthday party.  God was in the mist of divinely orchestrating something far beyond what I could have asked or imagined (Ephesians 13:2).  From my mouth then came Matthew 10:32-33: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”  With a boldness unlike ever before, I asked if there was anyone who wanted to put off their old way of living, publicly acknowledge their faith in Christ, and surrender their life to God in that moment.”  Twelve hands went up!  

I called on one of the spiritual leaders of the community, who is known for her faithful discipleship; and she led the twelve in a beautiful prayer, for salvation.

Applause filled the room after the prayer was finished.  A new reason for celebration was now on everyone’s lips.  We were now not only celebrating my physical birthday, but also the spiritual birthdays of 12 new members of the family of Christ.  THAT calls for celebration!  

John 3:3 – “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ”

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

John 1:12 – “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”

Let's CELEBRATE!  There are now new children of God in this Amazonian community!  

Stand Out today and share your testimony with someone.  

It may lead them to celebrate their first birthday, spiritually.