We are all God's children

Betania

Today we were up earlier than normal as we took a 1 hour bus ride to a village called Betania. The road leading there was a dirt road and as it is rainy season full on pot holes and mud which made for yet a new adventure (none of us will likely complain about spring pot holes in Michiana again). Similar to yesterday we delivered about 150 bags of food (rice, beans, sugar, salt and oil). We went with with what we had and interpreters that assisted us in finding our way to those in need and communicating and most importantly assisting us in praying for them. We went with a heart to serve these people and let them know that Jesus loves them, we went to share our faith in God. Certainly we prayed for those that were sick, for provision etc... and they were blessed. But as much as we believe that they saw Jesus in us today we certainly saw Jesus in them as well. Story after story came from our teams of the people of Betania blessing us. God bless you a team member said..."No God bless you tenfold for bringing my family food today". A man takes coconuts off of his tree for team members to drink the milk in the heat to say thank you for what we had done for his family. And then the rain, seemingly endless at times but today at Betania it was so sweet. It began to rain heavily and team after team told of families inviting us into their homes as a shelter from the storm. One Lady thanked God for the rain as our team was able to spend more time with Her talking about her (and our God). The differences in this place and where we come from are undeniable but today, I am reminded of all of the ways we are just the same. We are all God's children.

Ice Cream and Basketball

In the afternoon we bought ice cream, cones and scooped our hearts out as we feed ice cream to all of the kids at the Verbo orphanage. After ice cream we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids. Volleyball, crafts, tag, etc... Several of us played basketball with the older boys (trying to redeem ourselves from the embarrassing 10-4 gringo loss from Tuesday). The court was basically underwater but with brooms, boards and a lot of effort we got most of the water and mud off and were ready to go (half court because a broken down bus was blocking the other rim). Again I am reminded as we eat ice cream together with our children and the kids from Verbo, playing basketball together that although we are seemingly worlds apart, We are all God's children.

Thursday Evening Church

We ended our night attending a church service at Verbo Church and worshiped together singing songs in English, Spanish, and Moskito. How Great Thou Art, How Great is our God, and other songs that have meant so much to many of us for years as we have worshiped together. God's presence was so powerful to me as once again I was struck with, We are all God's children.

I am so thankful for this week and especially for today, and I thank God for his faithfulness to all of his Children all over the world and that we have all been able to be his hands and feet this week in Puerto Cabazas.

Troy, Lori, Luke, Lainie and Landon Holland.