18 – Not Just a Number Anymore

Praying for the 18 families

New hope and a new beginning are starting for 18 families.  We had the opportunity to meet the families that we will be building homes for this week.  And there are 18 of them! And what struck me was – there’s a lot of kids.  As kids always do, they bring a lot of life to an event.  And there was a lot of life while gathering and meeting, with close to 40 children in these families!  As one of our teammates, Sonya, said “As we were planning for this trip, 18 was just a number. And now it’s not just a number, they are people and families.”  We have the privilege to get to know these families and work alongside them this week.

One of the families we met were Manuel and Maria with their two children, Hamilton (7 year old son), and Marjorie (2 month old daughter).  Manuel is a farmer who grows corn and beans, as most of the farmers from this community do, and Maria is home with the children.  I had a brief conversation with Maria, who was finding it difficult with a baby at home and a boy who needed to be active.  It’s a tough time for a family with young children, but how much more so with inadequate living conditions.  This week they will have a new home and a new start for their family!

It was amazing to hear the community leaders giving thanks to God that we would come to their community.  There was a spirit of unity amongst the community leaders and families that showed their desire to work together and help each other.  And it was also clear that they were eager to meet us and get to know us too.

Later in the afternoon, it was so great to worship at the local church.  Our hearts were lifted up by the passion in worship.  We heard a message of hope where we were reminded that all of us need to put our hope in God, and that He will never fail us.  The words of one of the worship songs (translated for us) were so fitting for this day: “God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the Kingdom that cannot be shaken.”  May God’s light shine brightly this week as we work together.