A glimmer of pale green light emanating from the dirt road caught Moises’ eye as he walked home under darkening skies.
Stooping down, he dusted off a silicone bracelet covered with a series of strange, glow-in-the-dark symbols.
“I thought it looked cool, so I put it on,” he later told his friends.
Impressed by the image of a cross on the bracelet—a common symbol in Catholic-majority Nicaragua—Moises began wearing it daily. Its unique design drew the admiration of other young men, known for being the rougher sort, in his neighborhood.
Moises, in his late 20s, had already lost both parents. With few personal resources, he had turned to alcoholism to battle a rising impression that life was empty and meaningless.
A glint of hope appeared eight months later, in spring 2024, when Moises heard about a one-day medical clinic happening in his town. ABWE missionary Traci Warner, working alongside national partners and a short-term medical team from US partnering church Chapel Pointe, had traveled to the remote, mountainous region to assist local church planters with evangelism through mobile medical care.
Moises left immediately for the clinic and requested a consultation for his ongoing health concerns. As he waited for the pharmacists to prepare his medications, a team of counselors initiated a conversation with him. One of the pastors noticed his bracelet and, recognizing the symbols, inquired if Moises knew what they meant.
“I have no idea,” he replied. The pastor then pointed sequentially to each symbol, using it to illustrate the gospel message.
The hope of the gospel resonated with the longings in Moises’ life.
“After sharing that his own life demonstrated the deadness he felt, Moises realized that he also wanted to rise from that grave and experience new life in Christ,” recalled Traci.
Moises placed his faith in Christ that day. After praying with the counselors, he told them, “You know, I have friends who thought this bracelet was cool and kept asking if they could have it. I kept saying ‘no, no.’ They kept pestering until I finally just told them it was a gift so they would stop asking me for it.”
“Now he knows that it was a gift,” summarized Andrew C., an ABWE executive director. “It was a gift from the One who was calling him.”
In addition to the clinic offered in Moises’ town, the medical team visited two other communities and treated over 550 patients, of whom 10 made professions of faith. These new believers, like Moises, are currently being discipled in church plants in their towns.
“The whole story makes me think of the Ethiopian eunuch’s response to Philip’s question in Acts 8:31: ‘How can I [understand], unless someone guides me?’” said Traci. “Will you pray for our Nicaraguan pastors and these new believers as they continue learning to understand this new life they’re walking?”
