I spent the much needed hour just being quiet and soaking in Gods goodness. Tears often flowed from my eyes as I just allowed the Holy Spirit to quiet my heart. I hope you got to spend your hour in silence. It really refreshed me and refocused me. Yesterday I went to Mx alone as Paula worked around the house making it look alot like Christmas. Carmelo, Eliazar, Tommy and Inocencio had our tool warehouse completley emptied and had started taking it apart. In just a few hours, it was all gone and we took most of the wood down the road, where it will eventually be used for someones house.
It was getting colder and starting to sprinkle as the day wore on. We took all of the new wood that we had stored in the warehouse down to one of the houses we will build after Christmas. Pastor Antonio came to show us some families that were in desperate need of a new home. The first family has 4 children, the second was a 70 year old man that needs a smaller house because He lives in this harsh environment alone, and doesn't need a normal sized house. The third couple we visited on the other side of the canal, Francisco and Delores, has lived there for 20 years. They have been married for over 40 years and have several grandchildren stay with them from time to time. We had to bend over to get in the door that was hung on a wall only 5 feet high. It was leaky and cold and I was humbled by the fact that they had lived there 20 years. We rtied thinking of ways we could build around what was already there, but came to the conclusion that building a new home on a new foundation in front of the old house is the only way to go. You should have seen the smiles on their wrinkled old faces as we marked off where the new house would stand.
We were not done looking at families in need. A young couple named Isais and Brenda have a 2 year old and are expecting another baby in the next few months. They live with with His Mother and Father and we all know how stressful living with your parents can be. They have a lot that we could build on next door to His parents.
On our way back toward the bridge, we stopped by another family that we installed some supports inside of their house to keep it from falling down a few months back. Jose, his wife Jovana, and their two kids were all huddled in one bed watching t.v. trying to stay warm. Cold wind blowing through all the holes in the walls, no heat, and only three blankets to share. Can you imagine living like this? I told him to come to our house, and I would give them blankets and food. Today I'm going to buy more propane tanks and heaters and we'll go to Progresso Mexico and buy more blankets.
So, to sum up all of the issues that come our way everyday, and the pity parties we attend all to frequently, just thank God you live where you live, have a house, or at least a dwelling of some sort, have access to heat and electricity, food, blankets, a job and warm clothes a few bucks in your pocket and the opportunity to help people that have none of those things. So when does God show up? When we get involved in helping those in need and we get our eyes off of ourselves and do something for someone else. Thank you that you have given to our work here, so that when we see these many needs, we can actually do something about it an meet those needs. God Bless all of you that support our ministry.
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