Kiss the Face of God

 

      Tragedy would strike repeatedly against the people of Honduras as violence was sweeping across the nation. We were looking forward to returning to this beautiful country but news from some dear friends of ours made it a very difficult trip. Pastors Ladie and Omar's daughter, Loraine, had been shot and killed.

 

      I could not believe the report and was praying that it was not true. We prepared ourselves for the worst but were expecting the best to happen. Before we arrived, the Lord led me to the first chapter of the book of Joshua. Four times in the first chapter the Lord spoke to Joshua and told him to be strong and of good courage (Josh 1:6,7,9 and 18). God sent His presence with them as they faced insurmountable obstacles and, yet, they overcame them all. My heart went out to these pastors and I wanted to be there to comfort them. We had come to know them very well and they are like family to us.

 

      Their daughter, Loraine, had interpreted for us on many occasions and the thought of her being gone was hard for me to comprehend. Life in Honduras can be exciting but, at the same, time very dangerous. All kinds of thoughts can go through one's head and we needed to stay focused on God's Word to help us through these rough times.

 

      After arriving in the city of San Pedro Sula, we spent two days getting our bus ready for the four-hour ride to La Ceiba, a city along the coastal waters of the Caribbean. We were scheduled to speak in two churches that night so we didn't have time to contact our friends and let them know that we were in town until the next morning.

 

      We went to see Pastor Ladie at her home and spent several hours there with her and her children. Omar was at work so we had to wait to see him at a later time. She told us what had happened the day of her daughter's death. I originally understood that someone had come up to her car and shot her in the face, which is something that happens a lot there. If someone wants your car, you just give it to him or he will shoot you. However, we found out that wasn't what happened to her.

 

      Loraine was the worship leader and had left the church to get a guitar for the service. At the same time, a man was being shot at as he was running down the street. A stray bullet hit her in the face and she was killed instantly. She was 22 years old and very beautiful. Pastor Ladie said that you could hardly see where the bullet had entered. The wound looked like a mosquito bite; it was so small. In some strange way this was comforting to them and to us to know that her face was not destroyed.

 

      When I finally got to see Pastor Omar, he told me that just two weeks before this incident took place Loraine had asked him what it would be like to kiss the face of God. He said he really didn't know how to reply. Shortly after the funeral, the family received a phone call from a lady in the United States that had read the news report about their daughter's death. They did not know who this woman was but she said that she began to pray and went into intercession for them. She then told them that she had a vision and the Lord showed her that just before the bullet struck their daughter, she saw Loraine's spirit leave her body and that she didn't feel anything. The lady added that Loraine now knows what it's like to kiss the face of God. There is no way, other than God giving her divine insight, that she could have known the conversation that took place between Omar and Loraine.

 

      I wanted to think that this was an isolated incident; but I soon found out that this same kind of tragedy was taking place all across Honduras. The churches were petrified and desperately looking for a solution to this dilemma. They were closing down the services early and busing people home so that they would be safe from danger. Some churches were even locking the church doors during service and only letting people in that they knew for fear that someone coming to the church would cause trouble. But the people began crying out to God and the dunamis power came to their churches. Many people were saved, delivered, healed, and set free from fear as God openly showed His manifested presence on their behalf.

 

      When we arrived in Honduras, we found a church hiding behind closed doors. When we left three weeks later, we witnessed a triumphant church decked out with the glory of God, seated with Him in authority and power, and the peace that passes all understanding.

 

      Our friends still need our prayers and support, now more than ever; but they are continually strengthened by their faith in God and His undeniable love demonstrated through this terrible incident.

 

      The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus said that He have come to give you life and that much more abundantly. Just like in this awful situation, God will turn bad things toward the good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. His purpose is that we become children of God and have an everlasting life that was purchased by the blood of God's only Son. God was not the one that came to kill Loraine that night, but He paid for her life and she is with Him and, now, she knows what it is like to kiss the face of God.

 

Wayne