Feb 21, 2024 Exceeding Expectations

God did something amazing during our recent mission trip to Rivera, Uruguay. And I, a new Quiet Hour Ministries staff member, was grateful to be a part of God’s answers to our prayers.

During the trip, I had a conversation with Pastor Wily Cruz. This conversation was a great reminder to me of God’s goodness, how He answers prayers, and how He often exceeds our expectations, especially in the mission field.

Pastor Wily has a passion for service and love for people. He is the district pastor for the area, and he oversaw the three churches where our mission meetings were held: Rivera-Chico, Central, and Mandubi. Pr. Wily was the main coordinator for the churches and our team, providing assistance, transportation, and so many other forms of support. And, this was on top of his regular pastoral work preaching each Sabbath. The local churches also helped support our outreach impact.

Church members got involved with everything from children’s programs, music, food, transportation, visitations, Bible studies, and inviting friends and neighbors to the programs.

At the close of our meetings, several people made decisions for Jesus and were baptized. Praise God! There was joy in Heaven, in the churches, and of course in Pr. Wily.

I could tell Pr. Wily was touched, and I asked him to share his thoughts on our programs. Did things turn out according to his expectations? Were there less or more decisions than anticipated?

Pr. Wily answered, “the reality of our culture in Uruguay, is that most people aren’t interested in religion or spiritual things. I expected four baptisms, one for each church. That would be considered very good results.”

When I asked him why that would be considered good, Pr. Wily’s response shocked me.

“We just don’t have that many baptisms in one event,” explained Pr. Wily. “We’ll work the whole year to get baptisms. For example, we have some churches that didn’t have any baptisms at all last year. Now we’ve had 17 baptisms during this one event! So, for us, this was something unimaginable, but of course for God, nothing is impossible. We’re just full of joy to be a part of God’s miracle here in Rivera.”

Praise God! In addition to those precious souls, after we returned back from Uruguay, we heard more news from Pr. Wily. Three more individuals made decisions for baptism after the series, and, there were at least another 10 others who were having Bible studies in preparation for baptism.

From Pr. Wily’s expectation of 4 baptisms, God exceeded our expectations and prayers seven times more. God truly is amazing!

We are so thankful for testimonies like this, that even when prospects seem bleak or the road seems challenging, God can and often does find a way to exceed our expectations. If we are willing to partner with Him, He can give us opportunities to make history and have an eternal impact.

Written by Chris, team member and QHM staff.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7-8

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

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