This morning John did the sermon in church and talked about his struggles during the time he was here, and he referenced James 1:3-4 which says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Either I did not know or I did not remember (because John was here over a decade ago) that his church had denied sponsoring his time here, and his parents were not Christians, so did not support him financially either. He came down here all on his own accord (much like Noah) with his own money and that was it...when it ran out, it ran out and he was down here with no financials. He talked about marrying his wife (who is from Emmanuel) and their trip to Costa Rica, which due to a misunderstanding with his visa, left him with NO MONEY as they traveled towards Costa Rica. But through the power of prayer, which his wife encouraged, God can be faithful. And not only did they do okay in Costa Rica, prior to coming back to Emmanuel, he got 3 sponsors through email all in one day! John is now a youth pastor back in the States and his sermon was absolutely energetic and impactful.
After church, Noah wanted me to take a bunch of pictures with 2 boys here that he grew up with ever since his first trip when he was 11 years old, Olvin and Maycol. There were also 2 girls (sisters) that he wanted to bring along and get into the pictures as well (Lorena and Erika)...he now calls these 4 his family. So we took a few pictures on the small bridge to the farm area, in front of the greenhouse, and out on the huge soccer field out in the campo. There were many photos where Noah's eyes were almost closed, I have noticed this about him in the past few years and had to say something to him about it to see if we could get a picture with his eyes a little more open, but with the bright sun that was difficult. I actually got sunburned while out in the campo taking pictures of them. I am hoping through all of those pictures, he has some he really likes.
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| Lorena looking at Noah's closed eyes after I mentioned something |
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| Noah trying to pick the boys up like he did the girls |
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| This worked better |
On our walk back, Nora and I decided since it was so close to lunch time, we would just hang out at the store. There were quite a few team members with kids at the store (it tends to be a busy place when teams are here), so we chose to head to the other side where there were 3 tables, but no one seated there for a little more peaceful setting. And then we just chatted til lunch. After lunch, I began a load of laundry and then put the lighter clothing in the dryer and hung my jeans and towel on the gate in the living room area to dry. I took time in the afternoon to also upload the blog from yesterday and get the pictures. My phone is still registering that the inside has moisture in it from yesterday's torrential rains, so it was down to 4% and unfortunately still wouldn't charge. I really hope that it does dry out at some point. In the meantime, I had moved the Honduran SIM card from that phone to the phone I use in the U.S. so that I could get internet and the blog taken care of.
Around 3pm, Noah messaged me to let me know that the team was hosting a dinner for staff and volunteers at 6pm. Since supper in the Comedor was at 3:50ish, I needed to head to the Comedor to chat with Oscar and let him know I wouldn't be eating supper this evening because that would just be too much, to eat supper twice. From the Comedor, I headed over to the Tienda because Graciela and her big girls were over there. Graciela let me know that the team was buying the girls each a soda and chips. That Tienda is going to be sold out before they can get the truck here to replenish them!!! It's all good though, definitely helps support the efforts of Emmanuel.
When I saw the toddlers walk by towards the Comedor, I headed in with them and sat by them. I fed Sara (she will eat extremely slow otherwise) and chatted with a few of the girls that live with the toddlers. Clara came over by me and asked me when her mom (Evelin) would get her sucker and chips. She was not there yesterday, so I had set them aside for her to give when I saw her. I reassured Clara that I had her mom's treats and let her know I would bring it to breakfast for her tomorrow.
At the team dinner, chicken, rice, refried beans, a tortilla, salad and a brownie were served. Two team members sat with Nora, LaShawn and I, as well as Wade's 2 older daughters. We had some good conversation about some of the kids here at Emmanuel and how long each of us has been coming here. At some point, Wade came over to talk to his 2 daughters and we all had a really quick conversation with him before he turned in for the night. Shortly after he left, we got up from the table and Nora and I walked back to our house with Elsa. She asked if I wanted to walk her to her house, and I asked why...she said that she didn't care to walk in the dark, so I gave her my flashlight and told her to keep it for those walks home after team dinners. I still have one more flashlight back in my room, so it was completely okay. She was pretty excited about that, so we all said our goodbyes for the night and hugged before heading in and calling it an evening.
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