Monday, March 12, 2012

Audrey and baby are bonding

"I have no greater joy than to know my children walk in Truth."
I loved watching my girls stand shoulder to shoulder with their daddy
praying for these people that have come to mean so much to our family.

We've had a little trouble getting on the Blog, but we finally got the "bugs" worked out. I'm going to post a little, but I'm also going to copy a blog Ned wrote yesterday on here.

The very first thing I want to do is thank Sue Elliott and the many other precious ladies from our church who pray continually for our health, and for our knees. There is no way we could take on the climbing and walking that we do with our bad knees without prayer warriors at home praying us through it. It amazes me how every time God places His hands on my knees and gives me just what I need to get through this trip. Things I do here would put me in bed for weeks back home!

As always, I'm often speechless when trying to describe this place. The people in the villages are so welcoming. They want us to come in to their homes and talk about Jesus. When we ask what they would like for us to pray about they always say the same things...health for their children, food for their families, the crops, and safety. I told Audrey today that I feel so humbled by these people. They never want MORE, they just want enough to get through another day. 

Monday we went to the village of La Cuchilla. I had never been there before. We stopped in the middle of the village, then split into two groups. Ned, Audrey, Marcia, and the kids (Brandon, Hayden, Kameran, and Jaclyn) went in one direction, and for some reason the "old people" (Mark, Valerie, Steve, Connie, Edgardo, and me) went STRAIGHT UP THE HILL---MOUNTAIN! Later I told Audrey I thought I saw Moses at the top! There were very few houses that had the husband AND the wife. Most homes had the mom and several children. Many didn't tell us where the dads were, they only said they were just not there. We stopped at one house where the mom was 19 and had two children. She told us first that her oldest boy was 3 1/2. Then she said she had been married 5 years. Later she told us she had a baby first and then got married. She looked so sad. The whole right side of her face was red from a birthmark. She wouldn't look in our eyes, and kept her face down most of the time. Her husband was working, but at least they were still together. Her prayer request was for a larger home because they did not have any more room for their family. I told Connie all I could see in her eyes was sadness. As always Valerie did a GREAT job translating.

I saw things in this village I don't think I've seen before. These people were very resourceful. They used the trash from the coffee harvest and cow manure to produce methane gas to use in their stoves. (Jase, I have so many things I could say right now!) Talk about going green! They also had lights from solar energy. One lady told us (through Valerie) that it produced enough light to last all night. I know as I say this that many of you are getting the wrong impression of this village. By American standards these people are well below the poverty mark. They have found a way to have light in their homes and gas in their stoves, but many times they have no food to eat or water to drink. They do what they can to survive, and oftentimes it is in ways we would never understand nor accept. The drive to the village is at times treacherous, and sometimes can't even be done. The climb to some of the houses are only for those who truly feel God calling them there. Please pray that these people will feel the love of Christ and long for His Salvation. The Catholic influence in this village was very strong.  

We love you and we covet your prayers!

In Christ,

Trisha, Mark, Ned, Valerie, Connie, Brandon, Hayden, Kameran, and Jaclyn