As the sun set over the southern tip of the Americas on Saturday night, many people left José “Cochocho” Vargas Stadium in Ushuaia, Argentina, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Hundreds had put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Local Christians had invited their friends and family to the event after months—even years—of praying for them to recognize their need for God. Esperanza Ushuaia with Franklin Graham provided a unique opportunity for them to hear the message of salvation.
One of those in attendance was Gaby. Her friend Roxana had been praying for her but didn’t know how to invite her to the event. One day, God gave Roxana peace of mind. She realized that all she needed to do was extend an invitation and then trust God with the rest.
To her surprise, Gaby accepted, and the two friends sat close to the stage.
After Christian artists filled the small arena with powerful praise in English and Spanish, Franklin Graham began to speak. He opened with a simple yet poignant question: “Are you running out of hope?”
Graham centered his message on the Biblical account of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who had lost all hope—until the day Jesus passed by. Bartimaeus called out to Him for healing, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47, NKJV).
Jesus stopped, spoke with Bartimaeus, and healed him.
“Bartimaeus had no hope,” Graham said. “He thought nobody could help him. There’s nothing he could do but sit on the side of the road … But he cried out to Jesus.
“In the same way, there’s nothing you can do to get rid of your sins. You cannot save yourself. Will you come to Christ tonight?” Franklin Graham asked the audience.
Gaby had never heard this before, but she knew she needed to respond. She didn’t hesitate when it was time to walk forward and publicly declare her decision to give her life to Christ.
“I came today because I felt it. I said, ‘I have to be there!’” Gaby shared after the event. “When I heard the music, there was a moment when I realized I was there with God. I can’t explain it, but I had never felt that before … and when pastor Franklin preached, I felt that the message was for me. I felt that God was calling me to look up.”
With tears of joy running down her face, Gaby said she knew this would be a turning point in her life. She also shared that she is eager to know Jesus better.
“Today I understood that you can have everything, but if you don’t have God, you have nothing,” she said. “Without Him, I am nothing.”
Standing beside Gaby, Roxana smiled and praised God as she listened to her friend. She was overjoyed to see how simply extending an invitation—and praying faithfully—brought forth such a plentiful harvest.
“So many times we are struggling, wondering how to call people to come to Jesus,” Roxana said. “I learned that we don’t have to struggle. We just need to say the invitation and God will open the doors He wants to open in His time.”
Hope for the Hopeless
When Walter reached the front of the stage, he closed his tear-filled eyes and folded his hands in prayer. Years of addiction, homelessness, and chronic health issues had left him feeling isolated and empty. More than once, he had come close to death.
“I just knew I needed to repent of my sins,” he said after he prayed to confess Jesus as his Saviour. “God has been so good to me. I know it’s because of Him that I’m not suffering cold or hunger. I know it’s time to give Him everything.”
Walter shared that the night before the event, he felt compelled to pour out his heart to God. He wept through the night and sensed that God was calling him to attend Saturday’s gathering.
He left the venue with a new Bible and plans to connect with a local church that will help him grow in his faith.
“I can feel His love,” Walter said. “I am convinced that Christ is my only hope.”
Will you lift up all these new believers like Gaby and Walter in Ushuaia? Pray for them to grow in their faith and join a Bible-teaching church. Also, please pray for the second and final night of Esperanza Ushuaia on Sunday.
