Joshua 24:15
“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” -Joshua 24:15
Today, our third building day in the village and the day we dedicated the fours homes built this week, four households (for a total of more than 25 people) accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts and into their homes. What a miracle!
We wish we could have updated this yesterday, because there was so much to pray for, but we know that you who were praying were moved to pray for what was needed. And the Lord answered our abundant requests!!
We’ll start at the beginning. Yesterday, we rose earlier than day one (5 am this time) and traveled again to the village, where we drywalled, sanded and applied the famous Paradise Bound salmon-colored stucco to the outsides of the homes. While some were installing windows, doors and patios on the houses, others were spending time with the families who will now be living in the homes. And what a blessing this time was.
In one home alone, we learned that the husband was abusing the wife and that the wife had a desire in her heart for her family to live their lives in Christ (to make a long story short). So often, the machismo cultural norms here in Guatemala make it so easy for the husbands and fathers to become hardened in their hearts to the love their families truly need and desire. But for this family, we were able to begin praying for a softened heart in Esteban, the husband and father, and for a change to occur in his life.
The true blessing is that knowing this about Virginia’s and Esteban’s family opened our eyes (and broke our hearts) to see that every family has a story. Every family has challenges, every family has secrets–and every family needs Jesus Christ to come in our brokenness and give us life everlasting.
When we arrived back at the base yesterday, several hours later than planned, we were tired. One of the vans broke down in the village, then the van that Estuardo drove to pick us upin broke down on the way back to the base. Looking back, we can see that it was only the enemy trying to get under our skin, trying to deter us from focusing on the prayer and preparation necessary to enter the spiritual battles we encountered today. So we worshipped, prayed and slept in the peace that God would be present to take care of the rest.
This morning, seeing the clouds settled low in the valley next to the base, the mountains peaking effortlessly above, we were reminded of the splendor and power of our king. All our fears and concerns and hopes and prayers- we gave them to the Lord before we got in the vans to travel once more to the village we’ve come to love and care so much for.
After another eventful drive (some of the group rode in the back of a cattle truck carrying new beds for the homes), we saw the enemy try to get to us again with another van incident. With rough roads and chaotic traffic, it’s so easy for us to become distracted by something we don’t even think about back home.
But today, there was no room for distraction. Today was the day for us to paint the interiors of the homes and later give gifts to the families, dedicate the homes and present the gospel of Jesus Christ to each family.
Tomorrow, we will write more about the miracles that happened in the homes today, the answers to prayer, the power of CHRIST that was present throughout every second of the day. For now, we will rest knowing that the families in the village are sleeping peacefully in their new beds in their homes, with Christ in their hearts and a new life abundant with His love on tomorrow’s horizon.
