What a great day it has been today! I am always in awe in how our Lord works to direct our steps!! He IS our front and rear guard..."opening doors" and networking in ways unimaginable!
Our morning started out a little different that what we had originally plan. Imagine that!! ;) Due to the heavy rains making the roads up to the mountains impassible, God redirected us to a different village near Carrefour..."Villa Alpha". Shortly after our arrival to the villa we discovered the van had a flat tire. Once again God provided our every need while at the same time covered us with His divine protection.
Originally, we thought we were going to an orphanage. What we discovered is that this village was a community that had been "rebuilt" near the ocean's edge after the earthquake. From what we were able to assess, the population is predominantly women and children and the "housing" has been constructed on top of and next to the cities' landfill. Most dwellings are constructed of tents and tarps with the more fortunate having some cardboard and metal sheeting.
This village has no water source with the exception of a nearby leather manufacturing plant. The plant has one main faucet that expels unfiltered water out from the plant thru the outer wall of the building. The owner/operator of this plant has given the community permission to access this as their main (one and only) water supply. While the community is extremely grateful to have this source of water, there is great concern regarding the safety in drinking the water. The water is not purified and in all likelihood has many toxins in it (along with bugs and insects). Also, in this community, there are no restrooms...public or private...the ocean's edge serves this purpose. Needless to say this was a bit overwhelming for us. It was something my eyes had never seen! :'(
What is absolutely THRILLING to me is that God, in His sovereignty, has raised up a Pastor (Pastor Senat Jean Wesner) out of this villa and has placed a pressing desire in his heart to lead this community to a personal relationship with the Most High, ALL powerful God!
Right on the out skirts this community they have constructed a small church. This national pastor and his wife not only run the church but they also have a "boy's and girl's club" every Saturday. Previously, they had tried holding "school" for the children yet did not have the resources to run or maintain it. To our knowledge, the children in this community are unschooled. What is so exciting about this is that God lead us to this isolated pastor and his wife BEFORE our conference! ODF has extended a special invitation to him, his wife, and "youth leader" to come to the conference. This will be a significant way for Pastor Wesner to connect with local pastors!
Originally our plan had been to go up into the mountain to do VBS with aprox 50 children and to teach general hygiene and nutrition to 50 adults. Now that we were on "plan B" Glynda along with most of the team went into the "boys club" and interacted with the children while I went to the church and taught the women on handwashing and general hygiene. Keby, our lead interpreter, was over filled with joy in how the day went!! I was right there with him!!! I could not be more proud of our team!! Glynda was definitely in her element with the children. The love ( HIS love) she pours out over those kids is amazing as well as inspiring! Jennifer and Dez jumped in with both feet and you'd thought by the end of the day they had been doing this kind of stuff for years!! Another highlight of the morning was when John presented the "Good News" with the salvation dolls! WOM, thank YOU!!! During the adult session the ladies asked many questions and were very open in discussing multiple health issues.
After we had concluded the teaching sessions, Pastor Wesner took us on a guided tour of the community. Of course each team member had their own personal escorts ranging from 3-10 yrs old! ;) Travis, I do want to warn you that you may have a surprise in Jenn's luggage when she gets home! Getting her to say bye to one baby was about all she could stand!
Our afternoon was spent getting ready for conference...sorting supplies, looking for supplies, and delivering supplies. Keby has done an EXCELLENT job in tending the the logistics. It is a HUGE task! Thank you Jesus! We concluded the days activities with a nice dinner at a local restaurant. As much as the day was emotionally taxing, it was filled with much joy and laughter!!
Now to praises and prayers concerns...
We praise God for the privilege of having a new "opened door".
We praise Him for His sovereign guidance and protection.
We praise Him that all the team members got a good night's sleep and they are all healthy
We pray for the upcoming conference... specifically John and Todd doing the opening sessions.
We pray for Pastor Todd as he brings the morning message.
We ask for divine wisdom and insight for any follow up that needs to be done in Villa Alpha.
Remember, prayer moves mountain! Thank you for interceding!
For His Glory! ~ Cindy
"Jesus replied, 'Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.' John 4:13-14