Episode Transcript
Acts 1:8
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
CONSIDER THIS
Today, we welcome another witness to share with us a Holy Spirit story. If you are new to the Wake-Up Call, we share what we call Holy Spirit stories on most Saturdays here. They are simply real-live present-day stories from witnesses in our community about their experience of the ongoing work of Jesus in our world. Today's Holy Spirit story comes from Kathy Agee. Kathy and her husband, John, are witnesses in The Woodlands, Texas, and part of The Woodlands Methodist Church. They have been deeply involved in mission work around the world for many years now. This story comes from such work.
Below, you will read the story in her words, and, if you listen, you will hear it in her own voice.
During the summer of 2022, my small band read and discussed the book The Women of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream. We became acquainted with Sarah and Hagar, Tamar and Ruth, Esther and Rahab, and other strong women of the Bible. What I did not know was the Holy Spirit led me to this book and subsequent discussions to prepare for me what would occur in October 2022.
I was invited to help lead a women’s conference in a remote village in Honduras. I had been to Honduras on mission trips many times before, but for some reason, I was reluctant to attend. I shared my reluctance with my small band. But God had a different plan and He told me that I was going to the conference.
The theme of the conference was Mi Padre, El Rey, Cuida de Mi. Translated: My Father, the King, takes care of me. Many of the women in this rural, impoverished village are marginalized and receive limited or no financial or emotional support from their husbands or fathers of their children. Gang activity is a threat and dark forces are prevalent. The women rely on the Holy Spirit to literally provide their daily bread.
The day before the conference, our Honduran mission partner, Heidy, arranged for a beautician to come to the mission property and wash and style hair for the women. We wanted them to feel special, beautiful, and seen.
The morning of the conference the women dressed in their best dresses and gowns and walked up the rocky hill to the mission room. They looked beautiful. We worshipped, sang, prayed, had craft time, shared our painful experiences, and joyful experiences, laughed, and cried together. I shared a devotional from Genesis 16:13 about Hagar and how God saw her in the desert, and she gave God the name, El Roi. The God who sees.
At the end of the conference, each woman had a crown placed on her head symbolic that she was a daughter of the King. It was a beautiful special experience for everyone.
I returned home and the next week attended my women’s Bible study group. The group knew I was going to Honduras because each signed a copy of the Hagar devotional and prayer that was given to the women at the conference. We gathered in a circle and our leader shared a story. She said she was in Walmart and the Holy Spirit told her to buy a large canvas. She was reluctant because she already had a supply of canvases, but the feeling was insistent. When she got home the Holy Spirit guided her about what to paint. She then revealed the canvas to the group and tears sprang to my eyes.
The painting (below) was of four women, with gowns, beautifully styled hair, and crowns on their heads. The women had mouths so they could speak but did not have eyes as they felt like they were not seen. One of the women had a baby in her arms just like one of the women at the conference. When I shared this with our leader and the group there was a hushed silence. Only the Holy Spirit could orchestrate such an outcome. We had another Honduran women’s conference in 2023 and the image of the painting was used on the invitations and banners in the mission room. A Holy Spirit story.
THE PRAYER
Father, thank you for being our King who takes care of us. We delight in this powerful witness today of the faith and love of these Honduran women and the way you lavished your grace upon them through the work of our friend Kathy and her team. And thank you for the ways you work to demonstrate your glory through signs of art. Teach us to be obedient to your small prompts for we never know how it will bless others and how far the blessings will go—as they have reached us all here today. We pray for the kingdom-of-God solidarity among women near and far, ancient and present day. Where would we be without it? Praying in Jesus's name, amen.
