Yesterday and today have been very emotional/powerful days…we visited many families and these families have taken a special place in my heart. These were the parents of the students that are enrolled in the art school. The first family thatwe visited…the mother's name was Floridalma and she has 6 children (one of which is in the art school-His name is Herson). We talked with Floridalma and she told us about how her roof leaks every time it rains (right now is the rainy season, so it rains literally EVERY day). She showed us how the rain leaks into the house and onto the beds. She has 4 beds in the house (a very small, humble home made of blocks and a roof of metal). Because there are 8 of them in their family, 2 people sleep in each bed….2 of the beds are bunk beds and 2 are queen sized. While I was talking with Floridalma, she just began to talk about how sad she was that she could not provide for her family….she began to cry and I just hugged her while she continued to cry….we all cried with her. The second house we went to was Armando's family. His mother's name was Angela (pronounced An-hay-luh). They were very happy to have visitors to their home. This home was very similar to the first. Also, they had 2 bunk beds and one queen sized bed for a total of 6 people in their family (2 people in each bed). The father of Armando's family works 7 days a week to provide, while Angela works on Saturdays and Sundays, along with caring for her children every day of the week. The children go with her on Saturdays and Sundays to work. The last house we visited on this day was the house of Christian. This house was by far the smallest and most humble home. It was made completely of tin (they call it lamina here) and the room was about 8X8 for a family of 4 people. There was only one bed in the room (probably only one bed would fit in the room). Mom, dad, son, and daughter all sleep in this bed together. Dad is out of work, and has a large desire to work, but cannot find anything (which is common here). Thelma asked the father, whose name is also Christian, if he had ever asked God for help, and that God always provides for those who seek him first. When she asked him this, he broke out in tears. It was very powerful. We prayed with Christian and his family, and all of the families we visited. The next day, we bought these three families grocery packs (a big box full of all the basic necessities)…they were so grateful and overwhelmed with gladness. We explained to them that this food was not from us, but from the Lord. Although there are many, many needs here, the one thing that I am noticing is that because these people have next to nothing, they are very open to hearing about God. They have no choice but to rely on God to provide. It is very cool, and so easy to go into all of these houses and talk about God so much and pray with these families. It convicts me of how back in the states I am sometimes reluctant to talk about God. Back in the U.S., we have so much, and many people don't rely on God, but on their own power/money to provide for themselves. It challenges me to reach out to people back home and to share the love of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul says, “But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” This verse reminds me of how the people here are living and how the way that they live brings them closer to God and allows them to rely on him completely.
