In The Business of Miracles

Juany, before and after knowing Jesus.

God is in the business of doing miracles. It's like Him to show himself in situations where the only way something could have happened is through Him. Where nothing else would have made it work.

This weekend, God came through in such a beautiful way.

About four months ago, my dear friend Cristina, started helping Juany put papers together for a visa to the US. With a grueling application process and high price, the US makes it next to impossible for lower class Mexicans to come to the US to visit. Cristina decided it was worth the risk. Throughout the next few months, we started realizing how impossible it was going to be for Juany to get a visa. She's an orphan. She doesn't have a stable job. She didn't have a bank account. She has no money in her name. She doesn't have a family. The list goes on. I had people straight up tell me to save the money and not even try.

This past Friday, Juany walked into her appointment at the US consulate and went up to the consulate window. This was their conversation

Consulate Worker: Why do you want to go the United States?

Juany: I want to go to a wedding this summer and also go a Christian Institute in Indianopolis.

Consulate Worker: Okay, what do your parents do for work?

Juany: I'm actually an orphan, I don't have parents. I grew up at an orphanage near Santiago.

Consulate Worker: Oh okay. What do you do for work Juany?

Juany: Well right now I don't exactly have a job. I've been selling churros on the streets downtown though.

Consulate: You sell churros? Where at?

Juany: Yep, right downtown. But, I've been working since I was 15.

Consualte Worker: Okay, give me a minute

( consulate worker leaves for five minutes and comes back)

Thinking it was a dead end, Juany just sat there and started to pray.

Consulate Worker: Juany, here you go... enjoy your time in the United States. Your 10 year visa will be ready in six weeks.

Speechless, she looks at the man and says "Muchas gracias."

There is no way Juany could have gotten that visa without God. No way. She had everything against her. Everything. Yet God, in all his wonder and blessing, handed her, not just a 6 month visa, but a 10 year one. He wants her there.

The thing is, this came at a time when Juany and I were having a hard time in our friendship. Conflict, the language barrier, the cultural differences, Juany's background, my own flaws...all of them came together at once. I kept praying last week that God could fix our situation, that he could turn it around, that He would "show up" in a big way.

He did that and more. He showed me that He has her. He is the one that is responsible for her, the one that can change her, the one that loves her like a father. He showed me that I'm not the one that is suppose to "save" her. When I tried to do that, I only felt burnt out. He brought me to the end of myself, just to show me how powerful He is. He brought out my weaknesses to show me that I wasn't the one to fix this situation, He would. I'm human, not Him.

I can't even began to explain the opportunities this will bring for her. She can learn English, grown in Jesus, be around families that love her and will show her consistancy, she can rest, be taken care of the way she should have been when she was younger, and not have to be alone here.

I've never seen God work so clearly before. There's just no other way this would have happened. No other way!

God uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise.

Thank you Jesus for showing yourself so clearly and being the amazing God you are.