I continuously get the question asked of me, “What do you do when you are in Ubauna?”

There are so many things I could say, so many imagines I could describe.  But I think the best way to answer that question is to introduce you to Wesley.

Wesley is what happens in Ubaúna. Wesley is a 10-year old who is as smart as a whip. Shy and timid, he tends to pull back in a crowd and is very self conscious when he is single out. His answers are typically short and often a simple “yes” or “no.” His eyes speak volumes. He comes alive in Bible classes.

His father is involved in Macumba, the black magic voodoo-like religion that actively calls spirits and demons to incorporate the participant’s body. Wesley was traumatized when his father was possessed and literally ate a live chicken, feathers, bones, blood and all.

He became even more withdrawn after that.

Wesley is the reason I go to Ubaúna.

I could say that bringing the Light into an area of darkness is what I do; I could say that watching Wesley begin to fill out his skinny little body because he now has food on a regular basis is what I do; I could say that seeing him smile because he has what he calls his “nice” clothes that were donated by folks in the U.S. and doesn’t feel so self-conscious when he goes to school is what I do.

The truth is, what I do in Ubaúna is become Jesus to people who don’t know him. I see the Wesley’s as he sees them, I become his hands and feet and hug them like he does. I instill the impossible into the Wesley’s, helping them to be transformed by the Power that raised Jesus from the dead.

Wesley, and hundreds thousands just like him, is what I do in Ubaúna.