A few weeks ago God laid on my heart a message about holiness in Christ to share with the Rio women. I began sketching out the lesson with the help of my Spanish teacher and friend, Priscila. I wasn't sure when I would share the message until Priscila came up with the idea to have a women's day with the Rio ladies. We began working and planning and soon after went to the Rio with a group of college folks to host a spa day for the women.
The men in the group cared for the kids and did some work around the comedor while the group ladies helped the Rio women with the spa day. We brought with us various cleansers and makeup items for the ladies to use. Priscila led a class where she taught the ladies how to clean their faces, moisturize, and apply makeup all the while connecting what they were physically doing with what God is capable of doing spiritually in their hearts. After the makeup I shared with the women about how Christ sees them; about how they are called "holy" when Jesus dwells in their lives. After helping them understand that Christ calls them Temples of the Holy Spirit, clean, pure, and beautiful I challenged the ladies to begin treating themselves according to this truth... and along with that, to treat others according to this truth.
One big problem I have seen in the Rio community is a mentality that does not see value. Many of these ladies do not see themselves as worthy of being treated well or with honor. As a result they often let themselves be mistreated by husbands and boyfriends and even mistreat themselves. Often they cannot love their neighbors because they do not love themselves. The spa day turned out to be a great success!!! The ladies had TONS of fun putting on makeup, cracking jokes, and just being pampered. Having the kids entertained by the men in the group was also a welcomed break to these moms. Several of the group ladies shared testimonies about keeping their lives pure and holy... and I can only hope the Rio women were affected. I didn't see much response while I was teaching, but was encouraged by the way they listened and am praying that the truth of how Christ sees them continues to sink in. Please continue to pray for these Rio ladies.
The Rio ladies cleaning faces. 
Tere laughing as she scrubs and moisturizes her hands. 
One of the group gals helping to apply eye shadow. 
Here I am teaching!!! (Praise Jesus for sooo much grace with Spanish!!!)
No comments:
Post a Comment