A Day that Began with Patience

Today our “Before Glow” session was about patience.  Our scripture reading was from Matthew 18:21-35.  Lyn pointed out that God’s patience stands between his wrath and his grace.  She also reminded us that God’s treatment of us is the standard for our treatment of others.

Joe, Dave, Johnny, Tom, Andy, and Theresa left at 6 a.m. to start painting the preschool building at the In His Will Learning Center.  By the time the rest of us arrived at 9:00, they had made substantial progress on the first coat.  Robin joined the painting team upon arrival.  With steady work throughout the day, the painters finished putting 2 coats on the building before sundown.

The rest of us assisted Lyn with the Women’s Bible Study where she delivered a lesson about Jeremiah 29:11 to 6 women from the Unitedville.  Kelley, Melissa, Natalie, Sue, and Whitney helped with the craft which involved making a cross and bead necklace. 

At the morning session, Tere took photographs of the women and their beautiful children and printed them on the spot.  Lyn offered the Bible Study a second time later in the day.  Andy took and printed the photos at the afternoon session.   A total of 8 women came to the sessions. 

Althea talked about fasting for 21 days, and Delverene talked about teaching a children’s class at their church.  They are both learning to play guitar so they can enhance music at their church.

Darby, Kelley, Jacque, Melissa, Tere, Theresa, and Tom accepted an invitation from the Martinez family to attend a lunchtime birthday celebration for their son Oseas who turned 13.  The hospitality of the Martinez family was amazing.  Upon our arrival, Abner, another son, was cooking barbeque chicken over a fire on the outdoor “oven/grill.”  His Mom was making flour tortillas over an open fire as well.  Odelia had made potato salad and slaw for us.  She and her Mom had also prepared a birthday cake.  The entire meal was absolutely delicious, and our hosts and hostesses made us feel entirely comfortable in their home.  Oseas seemed to enjoy our rendition of Happy Birthday in our broken Spanish. 

We learned that Mr. Martinez, who preaches at the local Pentecostal Church, spent several years in seminary.  We really enjoyed spending time with Alex, Odelia’s beautiful 2 year old son.  He entertained us by tossing pieces of chicken out the open door to the family dogs and by smearing icing on his face like kids at home.

After the birthday party, team members distributed rice and beans to 4 families, including the family of Fernando, the man who was paralyzed when he fell out of a tree 2 years ago.  We were thrilled to see him sitting in a wheelchair on the front porch and making decorations for a relative’s upcoming wedding.  He was wearing a shirt that had the words, "I'm needed" printed on them.  That shirt speaks volumes about his positive attitude.  He was also wearing the cross that Andy gave him last year.

In past visits, Fernando was laying in bed and barely moving his hands. Even though he is only able to sit up for about 2 hours each day, it is awesome to see how much he has improved.  Theresa, who is a Spanish speaking wonder, engaged Fernando in a great conversation that drew out his friendly smile and helped us learn more about him. He is very interested in learning about history and other subjects. His family has installed solar power and has a computer for him but they do not have a battery needed for power.