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A Stranger Walked Up to Me and Said, “I Want to Receive Jesus.”

Angela Aston, a long term missionary to Guatemala, and a friend were hanging out in the Central Plaza of Antigua, Guatemala, discussing a program for reaching the teens of the city, when they heard worship music.

Curious, they followed the music and discovered a group of men from churches all over the city, who were worshipping God in the town square. Angela and her friend decided to join in, and what happened next is amazing. 


Sometimes I forget that there is literally ministry all around us, that Jesus has called us to love our neighbors, and that does not stop just because we have a busy schedule. We are called to love all the time, everywhere.

On Sunday, I meet up with a friend at the Plaza Central in Antigua, Guatemala, as we were talking about ways to reach the youth of Guatemala, we hearing some beautiful music.

After listening for a moment, we realized it was worship music coming from a group of guys with guitars.

My friend and I went over to join in by listening and worshiping. After a while, we got to talk with one of the guys from the group. They were all friends from different churches in the city, and that night they decided to get together in the Plaza to worship the Lord and invite others into join them.

That’s it. It’s wasn’t anything official, no church planned outreach or program. Just some Christians who felt God calling them to worship Him in the town square.

After a while, they started singing again and we joined in. My friend and I decided, “Why not hang out and worship the Lord?” So we joined in.

After a few moments, I felt a tug on my arm.

A short woman stood there softly saying something. I leaned in to hear what she had to say, so she repeated it again: “I want to receive Jesus.”

I was shocked. This literally has never happened to me before. A woman I’ve never met literally just walked up to me and told me she wanted Jesus, all because she’d heard His children worshipping Him. 

We didn’t give an altar call. We didn’t preach. We were just praising His name.

Moments later I was joined by my new friend, one of the musicians from the group we just meet, together we talked with this woman and prayed with her to receive Christ as her Savior.

Through out the rest of the evening she would come up to me and ask if we could pray for other members of her family to receive Christ. We’d pray together and she would go on her way again; then come back with another request.

Some days I get so caught up in the tasks that I have to do that I forget that the reason I am here in Guatemala is for the people. The Lord has really been speaking to me the last few days that it is always about the person more than the program. Programs are great, but we have programs for reaching the people. In the end, it’s always about the person.

It was such a blessing and honor to pray with this amazing sister to be welcomed into the Kingdom. I was not planning to do “ministry” that day, but ministry happens when you say, “Yes!” to the Lord.

I am thankful for little moments like these. They are a beautiful picture of the Lord’s heart for His children!


Angela was reminded of a powerful truth—the Kingdom of God isn’t about a program, and while God can and does use programs, what’s more important are His people. Because Angela and her friend stopped planning and started worshipping, they were able to pray with someone to receive Christ!

The majority of Guatemalans practice a form of Catholicism that is a mixture of tribal religions and cultural tradition. They are hungry for the abundant life that comes from knowing God’s love. Will you share the freedom of a relationship with Jesus in Guatemala?

CLICK HERE for 2017 Adult mission trips to Guatemala, HERE for youth group trips, and HERE for family trips!