It is hard to put into words how this day impacted us. From burden and sorrow to pure joy this day was a rollercoaster of emotions for all of us. The day started back in Lantana where we were greeted once again by Estuardo, Juan, and Tina. The three of them led us to about 20 different homes where we had the privilege of delivering food bags and sharing the love of Jesus Christ. In the words of El Pastor Larry, it just felt right.
The conditions in which the families were living were extreme. No clean water, dirt floors, rusty metal roofs, lack of food, lack of work…we experienced their poverty. On one of the home visits we encountered a woman, her two children (one of whom has Down Syndrome) and the woman’s mother. When we walked through her gate she immediately greeted us and welcomed us into her home. Her children brought us chairs to sit down and we explained the reason for our visit. When we asked if we could pray for her and her family she told us to pray for her mothers’ leg. It was very painful to walk, and at nighttime when she goes to sleep, she often cries because the pain is so great. The week prior to our visit they spent 400 Q’s to take her mother to the doctor but the pain did not get better. So we prayed together for God to heal her mother’s leg and for God to pour out his blessings upon her. When we finished praying the woman was in tears. She explained to us that the night before she cried out to God for His provision. The 400 Q’s that were spent on at the doctor was nearly all they had. She didn’t have enough money to buy food for her family. God heard her prayer and answered…through us. It is not often in my life that God has used me to be a direct answer to prayer like that. Even as I type these words I am deeply moved by God and his goodness. That woman thought that she was receiving the blessing, when in reality we received the blessing of our father.
During the afternoon we held another Bible festival with the children. Those kiddos are amazing. Their energy and joy absolutely rocked me. Although they live such a poor life with sickness, pain, malnutrition or many who have parents that have given into alcoholism or abandoned them completely, they were so loving, welcoming and joyful. Their sweet faces are forever burned into my mind. One girl came to the Bible Festival with her friend and little brother. She had walked an hour through the mountains to get there. They had arrived a little late (due to the commute) and sat in the back. When it came to snack time we passed out cookies and juice and they just sat there quietly with the snacks in their lap. When Jamie went over to help them open the packages of cookies and juice the girl did not want them opened. Her reason - she wanted to take the snacks back with her to share with her family. This was a girl that we later found out lived with her 14 year-old sister and 2 brothers. Their parents had abandoned them. I cannot even imagine how difficult the lives of these children are; yet God has a plan, his love is for all, and it is our responsibility to take his love to all.
The closing ceremony for our trip – again words cannot adequately describe the experience. After the Bible Festival was over for the day we all gathered in the mission temple. They thanked us for coming to share God’s love with their people, prayed for us and praised God for his goodness, then gave us gifts. The Bible talks a lot about unity in Christ and in John 17 Jesus actually prays to God that we as believers would be united just as Jesus is united with God. Although all of us gringos live 1500 miles away, come from a completely different culture and as of last week did not know each other’s names, we have Christ in common. We experienced Jesus’ prayer lived out. As Christians we have one fight, one God and it was an honor for our team to serve side-by-side with our brothers and sisters in Christ.-Chris Cato, VRBC Guatemala Team
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