Tuesday in San Pedro

What an amazing day! The church filled quickly with those who needed to see the doctors and dentists; they sat so patiently, waiting for their turn. Mothers with babies, young people and old, they came. Catherine got to use her Spanish as she did the initial intake for the clinics. You could tell that it meant so much for her to be able to speak to them directly, ask them about their concerns, and prepare them for their visit. While they waited, we got to interact with the children and hold some of the babies; such treats! Their graciousness and gratitude is overwhelming. There was no hint of an attitude of entitlement, only prayers of praise and thanksgiving for how they were being blessed. Again, humbling. It is always exciting to see how the Lord designs each team and weaves the giftedness of each one together in His miraculous way. We certainly saw that today as everyone, from the youngest child on the team to the oldest, took part cheerfully in such a variety of ways, all of which were “outside the comfort zone.” We are being constantly reminded by our Guatemalan brothers and sisters that it is God-appointed that we are here and they He is blessing the people in eternal ways, and that they are thankful. What encouragement! A little girl, Ceci, came to know the Lord today! Three other girls had the gospel explained again clearly so that they could know that if they have accepted Jesus as their Savior, they are secure in Him and cannot lose their salvation. It was especially a privilege to pray with those coming to the clinics, old and young. To hold the hands of an elderly lady dying with cancer and pray with her was powerful. The power of the Holy Spirit was intense as we prayed with a woman overwhelmed with great fears and abuse at home. How we pray for true freedom and hope that can only be found in Jesus.

At the same time the clinics were held, many of the men and young men on the team worked hard constructing a second floor on a wing of the church that will provide more classroom space. When you see the pictures of the church, you will be amazed at the “open air” classrooms where the clinics are and on the rooftop where we will meet with the women. Matt shared tonight that he was so grateful that with each nail he nailed on the sub flooring, he was helping to build the foundation for more ministry and was praying over each inch of that flooring. Planting seeds!

Tonight is a particularly special night and the focus of much prayer. Our men and young men are having a meeting at the church with men from San Pedro. Right now, we have no idea how many are there, only that we are confident that the Lord is speaking through our men to touch the lives of the men here about what it means to be a Godly man, husband, and father. We know that the men on our team intend to be very transparent, sharing their struggles and failures as well as their victories, and how God has and is working in their lives and their families. We women have been praying for the men while they are meeting and eagerly waiting to hear about what God is doing right now in their hearts.

Prayers, hugs, smiles, loving touches, reassuring hand holding…. despite language barriers, God’s love was evident today. We asked the Lord to bond us together with the people here, and we certainly felt that today. Tomorrow morning we will have a special time just with the women, and we are praying that they will know Jesus, understand how God sees them, how much He loves them, and that they have true value and worth because of Who made them and the great price that He paid for them. In the afternoon, we will have VBS for the children. We are praying that each child will truly feel loved, affirmed, and feel “fearfully and wonderfully made.” The clinics and construction will also continue, so it will be quite an active day! Please continue to pray with us for many in San Pedro to come to know the Lord, and that the Holy Spirit will be poured out over this entire city.