As we arrived at La Reina for our first day of building, I was almost immediately caught off guard by a surprise hug/tackle from behind. Not quite sure who to expect (half anticipating a team member and half expecting a herd of small children), I turned around and to my pleasant surprise saw Sylvia’s face beaming up at me! As you may recall from the last blog, Sylvia is a young single mother who has endured many hardships in her life, causing her to be very cold, closed off, and angry towards others…in the past. Now, after accepting Christ as her Lord and Savior just the week prior, she has transformed into a vibrant woman of God!!! She is happy and smiling all the time, and interacting with others! What a beautiful sight!
From that point on, this team, which was largely from Alamo City and San Antonio, had many opportunities to put their faith into action as various challenges faced us from that point on during the three days we spent building homes in La Reina. Although rain isn’t a common occurrence back home for this team, it was in Guatemala as it rained hard, EVERY DAY! The first building day, as the rains began to fall heavily and all of team members began scrambling to pick up the tools and materials that were scattered around the houses, one team member fell on the slippery mud and cut open her cheek on a slab of cement. We cleaned up the wound the best we could at the site, but once we got back to the base and had the chance to really look at the cut, we decided it best to bring this team member to the hospital in Antigua for stitches. Although we arrived back to the base at a late hour, we were able to rest up for our second day of building, which ended with the husband of this injured team member coming down with some type of bug that kept him up all night, and unable to work with the team for most of the week. To me, this was Satan’s way of trying to stop Christ’s servants from fulfilling the amazing works He had planned for them that week, but Satan failed miserably as God’s blessings were poured out to the point of OVERFLOWING in the hearts of both the team members and those they came in contact with.
This definitely proved to be true as we entered into dedication day. The morning was quite warm, especially as I spent my first full day running the roofing crew! Then, right as we were ready to break for lunch, the rain began to fall…HARD. We took a longer lunch break than usual, mainly for the purpose of trying to wait out the rain. Sometimes, when it rains that hard, it is almost impossible to hear one another talk inside the tin-roofed houses during the dedications, so we contemplated the idea of using the team’s free day to do the dedications…or at least some of them. But in the end, we went ahead with the dedications, starting at the house of Brenda and her two daughters. For awhile, Brenda had attended church with her parents, but once she had children of her own, they stopped attending. Lately, she had been thinking about returning back to the church, and that specific day, she felt that it was time. Her parents were waiting outside under the patio as the dedication took place, and it was a pleasure to invite them into the house to pray with their daughter and grandchildren as all the prayers they had poured out over the years were answered as all three of them went to their knees to accept Christ as their Savior.
As we made our way down to the second house, the house I had helped build for the week, I said a prayer with every step that I took. You see, this house was going to a young couple, whose parents/in-laws would also be receiving a house that same day. As we decorated the inside of the house, they asked for the same decorations as the parents had asked for – flowers and bunnies. At first, I was a little bummed that the houses would be similar and wouldn’t be special or unique for each family, but then I realized that they wouldn’t be EXACTLY the same because the couple didn’t ask for one thing that the other family did have in their house – Bible verses. In fact, they asked that we please NOT include ANY Bible verses AT ALL! The team and I were heart broken, and began trying to come up with ideas of maybe why they wouldn’t want Bible verses in their house, but we couldn’t find a logical reason - in our minds. So we went ahead and informed Dan of the situation, to which he proposed this great idea: writing Bible verses on the wall in pencil, and then covering them with the paint used to create the flowers and bunnies. This idea gave us new hope as we poured out our hearts and prayers into this secret project. In the end, Herman Jesus, our pastor, used many of these verses to lead this young couple to the Lord! Even though we were worried about what would take place that afternoon, God’s plan was greater as he had that emotional and life-changing experience planned for all of us since the beginning of time!
Next, we traveled the 50 yards or so across the street to where the parents of this young couple live. As the dedication began, distractions keep impacting different family members at various times – first the mother, then the three young boys, and finally, the teenage daughter. The signal was sent around the house to pray for each one of these individuals specifically, and one by one, God called each one of these individuals to either rededicate their lives to Him or to fully give their life over to Him for the first time. At one point, one of the youngest brothers turned to look at his older brother, his role model, as this older brother said “Yes” to Christ. What an awesome example of how we, too, like a child, should look up to seek God’s face as He longs to welcome us into His heavenly family, just as He welcomed this entire earthly family into His arms that day!
Our final house of the week, and of the summer, went to a special family who has touched many hearts throughout the summer. The mother of this family helped to prepare our lunch everyday, which we would then eat in the open space outside of her home. At the beginning of the summer, her and her family were quite shy, but by the time the last team rolled around, they were open and sharing laughs, smiles, and conversations with the team members; the father and his son also enjoyed helping the team with the construction of their home! On the day of dedication, it was our privilege to be blessed yet again by this family, this time by the words and tears of thankfulness that they shared with us. It is not often that you see a Guatemalan man brought to the point of tears, so when you do, you know that his heart has been touched! As the adults in this home renewed their lives to Christ, and as the children accepted, we also encouraged this church-going family to reach out and touch the lives of others by praying for them and inviting them to come to church with them. Sometimes, all it takes is that one light to be put on a lamp stand before the entire village is overcome by light – the light of Christ!
From La Reina, we headed out to conduct our two medical clinics in remote villages. The first clinic was in the region of Tecpan, in a village that we actually had done a medical clinic in 2 years before. At that time, the villagers were not very accepting of us coming into their village; in fact, it took almost an hour before the ruling committee even let us set up our tables. This time, the people were ready and waiting for us! The team battled the ever-grabbing hands of the kids and put on a puppet show for the villagers while we conducted the medical clinic long into the night. Although I wasn’t able to fully participate in the singing and testimony time due to the clinic, I could hear the words that God put in the mouths of the team members as He used their testimonies to speak to the villagers and draw many of them closer to Him – some for the first time and some for the second time! I believe a small church was even started in that village by the few individuals that had come to accept Christ 2 years ago, and now, the harvest is continuing to multiply!
The next day, we traveled to San Martin Jilotepeque to provide much needed medication to the village of El Perricon. Due to the location of this village, and the location of the closest school, we actually set up the clinic in a house! Although we were a little cramped, and became surrounded by mud once the rains began to fall on the tarps we set up to show the Jesus Film under, that didn’t stop many from coming forward to accept Christ that night. In addition, a few of us also had the opportunity to make a few home visits and witness to the ill and their families by providing them with medication and praying with them to the only One who can provide both physical and spiritual healing.
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On the team’s last night, we gathered together for one last powerful night of devotions. The presence of the Holy Spirit was definitely moving as it brought many to their knees, others to their feet, and even more to the foot of the cross. As I remained at the cross for awhile, reflecting on the blessings of the summer, I was moved by a young team member as he began praying for me, his prayers being profound well beyond his years. “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” – 1 Timothy 4:12.
I love and miss you all! Thanks again for all of your continued support and prayers. Some of you may be asking yourself, “What is Erin doing now that the summer teams are gone?!” Well, all I can say is…stay tuned for my next blog post to receive an answer to that question! =)
Blessings!
Erin
You inspire me.
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