Antonia
Everyday our daughter, Anna, calls us from Nicaragua on Whatsapp so we can pray. Each week she does visitations. This past week I asked Anna if she would deliver messages from me to our friends. One of those who received a message was Antonia.
Antonia is the mother of four children. Her eldest son, Jeyson, is an alcoholic. He also sniffs glue and smokes marijuana. He can be violent at times. I developed a strong desire to pray for Antonia – to do something to help her. Antonia is very poor, single, shy, illiterate, and fearful. I looked forward to meeting Antonia, and felt I would be able to establish a relationship with her. Even though Jeyson did not attend the Thursday alcoholic support group, Antonia came to each one. She expressed the fear that her son would be murdered on the streets. She expressed fear that Jeyson would hurt her. One evening Jeyson came home drunk and violent. She couldn’t flee to the police because it was dark and she lives on the side of a rocky, pocked dirt road. She didn’t have a flashlight. She has talked with the police before about her son. The police have told her that the next time Jeyson is reported, they will take him to the rehabilitation center in La Dahlia, a city more than an hour away. It is the responsibility of the family of the inmate to bring them food and other necessary items. Antonia is too poor to provide for Jeyson while he is in the rehabilitation program.
My heart ached for Antonia. I tried to tell her of our Savior’s love – how He cares so much for mothers. I told her I would share stories from the Bible about Jesus and mothers. Since Antonia can’t read I sent her 4 Whatsapp audio messages to encourage her. I shared the story of the Syrophonecian mother.
Anna works for the salvation and sanctification of these men and women. She fitted up a computer tablet with a variety of quality material, like Pilgrim’s Progress and sermons from quality Spanish speakers. This week Anna downloaded several video clips from Nuevo Tiempo. In each 15 minute segment, the host reads one chapter from the Bible, providing commentary as he reads. Anna explained to Antonia how the tablet works and suggested that she watch one video per day. She told Anna she would watch the first installment the same day.
