Morning Devotion
I’m truly loving my devotional my son-in-law Parker gave me. It continues to be an encouragement and also prophetic for our days. This morning we read:
When we make another person’s progress our concern, giving them a listening ear and a caring heart and opening ourselves as a conduit for God’s grace, we find our own walk propelled to a whole new level. We are truly helped by helping, taught by teaching, and encouraged by encouraging.
The family we built for
Brenda is a single mom with two sweet daughters. Her husband recently had an affair with one of her sisters, and the family has shunned her and forced her to leave the house. One of her brothers offered some help until she could find another place. Bethel Ministries International changed her life forever today. You never completely know what to expect from the story we are given. Brenda and her daughters totally melted all of our hearts.
Angeli and Marleth
As we pulled up, a young girl walked up to greet us. It was nine year old Angeli coming to show us where she lived. When we got to the construction area, I gave Angeli one of the stuffed animals a friend’s daughter gave. When I told her the story of the young girl that gave it and how she wanted her to really enjoy the gift, Angeli totally broke down. Tony was standing next to her. She melted in his arms with tears of joy. Every person on our team was energized to bless this family. When I asked everyone tonight what was a highlight of the day, they all said Angeli and her emotional response.
Building the house
It was a very good building site. Thankfully Ben had the Bethel team go pour the foundation ahead of us arriving. I’m very thankful for that as pouring foundations is just about my least favorite thing.The winds were light, the sun was out and everyone worked so well together. We took our time and didn’t rush. Most of the team worked on the house while Noah, Tony and Brian the intern worked on the toilet (bano). We had to carry the wardrobe down from another location. It was a team effort but special thanks to everyone who helped, especially Noah.
Colocho
Colocho was an adorable dog that watched us work all day. You never fully trust the dogs as they have probably been through a lot. I was told Colocho meant “curly”. There wasn’t really anything curly about this dog. It was sweet though. He never tried to eat me, which is more than I can say for “Rambo” who many years ago DEFINITELY wanted to take a bite out of me.
The Dedication
We got the house completed, the stove going and had a wonderful house dedication. Angeli cried tears of joy again at the dedication. It totally melted our hearts. Noah has been amazing at playing with the kids. He has such a fun time with them. Little Marleth melts my heart. She appears to have a mild case of Cerebal Palsey. She has the sweetest personality. She suffers from seizures. Her mom cannot regularly afford the medicine. It’s around $270 per month. We plan on buying it for them. Thank you Bill and Maureen for all the supplies for the dedication. Bill got it all set up and the family loved it. They really loved opening their backpacks. So much joy and happiness. It’s the perfect ending to the building process.
Heading home
It truly was a special day. Such a sweet family. I’m thankful for each person on the team. Everyone is working hard and getting along great. We do two stove installs tomorrow. Looking forward to another good day in Guatemala.
