Sunday: Day 4
Matt was give the utmost honor to preach in a church in Merger. I cried the whole time he was presenting the Gospel. Such an incredible moment as a wife to watch my husband share the stage with an interpreter, talking to these precious people about trusting in the Lord at all times, even when they are afraid. The entire service was so moving. The people sing so loud with everything they have as they worship their Provider.
some ladies singing
the church building is a tarp held up with sticks off of the front porch of the Pastor's house
(next time you complain about the "comfort" of your church- think about this church building! Outside with NO breeze, dressed to the nines, cram-PACKED FULL of people full of JOY to see each other and EAGER to worship! Some things just. don't. matter.)
-the gates you see are the entrance to his home
Matt and the amazing Stanley
I love this pic :)
these were my sweet friends I was squished next to on the pew
-they LOVED looking through my pictures on my phone
here you can see the church structure
talking to a little girl outside the church property
After church, the Pastor and his wife provided a home cooked meal for us. It was like a buffet- lots of options to choose from!
circled up to pray for our lunch and pray blessings upon the family
When we finished up with lunch, we headed over to a village where our church had planted a water well in December. We were so excited to go check on it and check on the people! I knew it was a village that consisted of a church, school, and orphanage. I imagined that it would be like the orphanage where we were staying. And much to my surprise it was not. Completely caught me off guard. This village literally had nothing. My heart was so broken when I noticed bare footed babies and children.
Once we got inside and began talking to the people, we quickly learned that the water well had not been working in MONTHS. Wow, this was devastating for me. The baby that I picked up and was carrying seemed sick. When I made the connection that she was sick because she was severely dehydrated, I had to wear my sunglasses throughout our visit there to hide my constant flowing tears. My heart was broken and I was speechless. How many water bottles have I dumped out when I wasn't finished with them, wasting the water? I learned on this day just how precious and important water was. My friend Felecia and I began dumping our water bottles down these babies. They drank and drank and drank. They were so lethargic, I promise they would not have made it much longer had we not been there to intervene. Thank you Jesus for your perfect timing.
church
love this baby
school
these are the water packets that we pass out for them to drink
-clean water is a rare expensive thing for the people
my friend Felecia giving this little one water
-you can't tell in the picture, but her eyes were full of tears as well. She is such a beautiful example of Jesus and I am THANKFUL to call her friend. Such a tender heart.
-you can't tell in the picture, but her eyes were full of tears as well. She is such a beautiful example of Jesus and I am THANKFUL to call her friend. Such a tender heart.
classroom desk
-you can see just how lethargic they are
-notice-- no books, no stories, no colors, especially no iPads, nothing
putting some new shoes on their little feet!
getting some new shoes
Felecia giving another baby some water
Matt putting some shoes on this boy's feet
giving my little one some water
the water well
We circled up around the water well and asked their Pastor to pray, asking the Lord to provide water! When these people pray, they believe! They understand that when water comes, it is coming from the Lord!
Something I learned from this difficult experience (this was the hardest day), was that we don't need homes. We don't need shoes. We don't even need water. We need Jesus. He is all that we need and all that matters. Without Him, we are nothing.
We headed back to the Guest House after leaving here. It was a quiet ride home. I think there were several of us that needed a lot of time digesting and processing what we had just seen and experienced. Thank you, Lord, that I was able to be apart of this. You used me to put shoes on kid's feet! And water in their bellies! And to pray over them! What a day it was. I am so thankful I was chosen to be apart. May I never again take water for granted. Thank you Jesus for provided way beyond my needs.
to be continued... again :)
