From Daniel, working with Spanish-speakers in Louisville
I work with a chaplaincy company called Marketplace. I call it a “volunteer” job because even though they do pay me a little, it’s something I don’t do to make a living, but because it pushes me to get out of my “Christian bubble.” One of the decisions-makers for me in taking this position was that I found out that the need for bilingual chaplains is growing because more and more companies are hiring Hispanics.
Marketplace gives us one or two companies that request our chaplain services and we go to those companies to serve them in a way that would allow us to share the Gospel with them.
“We Don’t Want You Here.”
One of my companies has both a very tough physical job and difficult employees to deal with. When I showed up for the first time to offer my chaplain services, the Hispanic employees said to me, “What are you doing here? We don’t want you here; we won’t talk to you. Don’t bother us; just let us work. The company should give us the money they’re giving to you!”
After a few weeks of visiting them, I was asking the Lord whether or not I was in the right place. One day, after wandering around with the same result, I prayed, “Ok Lord, what do you want me to do here, because in my mind, I’m just wasting my time.”
And the Spirit convicted me, “Have you noticed how hard this job is for those guys? Just go and offer to help, start working with them.”
So I went to a guy nearby and asked him if I could use his gloves. He kind of passed them to me in a reluctant way, wondering what in the world I was going to do. Once I started helping them, it was like something magical touched those rough guys. They started talking to me and asking me all kinds of questions as if I was one of their buddies.
Bubble Gum and Jesus
The next week I asked the Lord again, “What’s your strategy for today?” He reminded me they smoke and chew gum a lot and I felt like He was saying, “Buy some gum to share with them.” So I did and when I started passing out those packs of bubble gum, I’m telling you, it was like handing candy out to an elementary school class. They went for it like crazy!
Five of those guys started asking me that day about our church and my faith, and three of them expressed a desire for me to start a discipleship class with them! One of them already came to church this past Sunday!
Please continue to pray for me that I’ll keep hearing the Lord and His strategies to evangelize and make disciples in those companies who will in turn make more disciples for Christ.
