God at Work! Part II: Nico's Story

In the last post, I mentioned our new friend, Nico. With his permission, I am sharing his amazing testimony of God's work in his life.

Nico grew up in Panama City in a very rough part. Probably what Americans would consider "inner city." He said most of his friends were dead by 18 or 20 years old because of the rough lifestyle they lived in. Nico was an artist, and one day a man saw his art work and told Nico (when he was about 17 years old), "God has blessed you with this incredible talent. He will use that talent to get you out of here." Nico, having grown up with a Catholic background, believed in God, but God was not truly part of his life. So, he took that information and liked the idea of the hope it provided, but wasn't sure he really believed it.

In the meantime, life for Nico went on. Surviving and living this rough life in Panama City. Several years went by, and Nico's mom had moved to El Valle. One weekend, he came to visit her and brought a couple of his paintings with him. He quickly sold his paintings and made a decent amount of money from them. He began thinking that he should look into coming to El Valle more often. Slowly, he was able to save money from selling his artwork, and he was able to move to El Valle. This was 10 years after the man had told him that God would use his talent to get him out of that bad place in Panama City.

Once in El Valle, Nico met Bianca. They began their life together, but still, Nico says, "Something was missing." He was learning English, but was always looking for opportunities to learn more. He was also searching spiritually and longing for a personal connection to God.

Time passed, and one day a man came into Nico's shop at the market. Nico says, "I don't know how we began a 'God conversation' but we did. And this man, gave him the name and phone number of a lady from the city who would come and study the Bible and English with Nico through the Let's Start Talking program. Nico was excited about that possibility to combine two things he was wanting to do. He kept the scrap of paper with her phone number and name on it, but didn't do anything with it.

About 2 weeks later, Lisa Carter was visiting El Valle. As she walked through the market, she stopped in Nico's corner shop and looked around. Again, Nico and Lisa "coincidentally" started up a 'God conversation.' Nico excitedly mentioned that a lady from the city would be coming to study the Bible with him. He scrambled to find the scrap of paper with her information on it. He handed it to Lisa and her jaw dropped. It was her own name and phone number she was looking at.

Through the Let's Start Talking program and studying with Lisa, Nico made the decision to give his life to God and be baptized. But still, he says, "Something was missing. I wanted my family to know Jesus." He decided not to say anything to Bianca to try to push her, but he would just let his light shine. About 9 months later, Bianca came to that same decision, and Nico got to baptize his wife!

To hear Nico tell this story is incredible. He has such a passion and zeal for Jesus. He doesn't know why God waited 10 years to take him out of Panama City and why he searched for so long before really finding God, but he trusts God with all of his heart. It truly is an amazing story about an amazing man being led by our amazing God!

May we all seek God with all of our hearts. For when we do, we will find him.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.