A family of life. A family of peace. A family of joy. A family that trusts in the Lord and abides in the Word. A family that desires so deeply to share His goodness. A family that I have a lot to learn from.
We met this family the other week while visiting some families that we had made relationships with. The boys were standing in the doorway, and they watched as we walked past their house. And then they watched as we came back to their house a few seconds later and asked if we could come in. Their faces lit up, as their parents hurried to grab stools for us.
We talked with the family for a while, learning about their lives and their needs, all while their sons stood in the windows taking pictures of us and hiding when we looked back. While my team spent time investing in the parents, I moved to talk to the boys that were there. The biggest smiles came across their faces and they began to giggle. Like really giggle. I don’t think I’ve ever met boys who live with such joy despite their circumstances.
Despite the fact that this family has no income because of an incident that had occurred a few months ago, and they struggle to provide food for the family, this family lives with immense, overflowing, overwhelming joy. A joy that I literally feel the moment I step into their house.
A week later, we took the family groceries, and took the boys to get ice cream at the tienda down the street as we had promised. We asked the father how he was feeling, and he said so much better. He told us that after we had prayed the first time, all pain due to the incident was relieved from his ear.
The other day, we went back to say our goodbyes. We took a translator so we could express our love for them and just encourage them a little more. One knock on the tin fence and an “hola”, and those boys are running to the door to let us in and find stools for us. We talked to the family a little more, as they shared their gratitude for us and how much the boys love us. The mom told us every since we took the boys to the field the one day, they were always so excited to go, and they’d always say they wish we could go to their house every day.
In an effort to share his gratitude for us, the father shared his testimony with us, about his incident that had occurred earlier this year. He told us of a job that he got, but how another man lost his job a little bit after. The man started harrassing the family, saying terrible things and threatening to do stuff to his children. Because of all the stress, the father had a stroke.
He was in the hospital for twenty days. His wife left the house, told the kids she didn’t know how long she’d be in the hospital with them, and she couldn’t leave any money or food. In the hospital, the man died once, but was revived and then entered a coma. After twenty days, they went back home, expecting him to die. When they got back home, the wife found food on the tables. The community had risen up and took care of the family while she was in the hospital with her husband. They had mothers take turns being in the house with the children every day, making meals for the family.
While at home, the husband died again, but was again revived. And within a month, he was walking and talking. Within a month of having a stroke, being in a coma for twenty days, and literally dying twice, this man was walking and talking, the only thing different being that he couldn’t hear out of his left ear. And seven months later, he can hear fully.
This family desires so deeply to share their testimony of healing and community. They long for others to know of God’s faithfulness. They have joy because they’ve seen God fulfill His promises. And in the two weeks that I had the privelege to know them, they’ve taught me so much.
So please pray for the Pocon Paiz family. Pray that a job would come up for the father. Pray that opportunities would arise for them to share their testimony. Pray that they can fulfill the leadership calling that God has placed on their lives. Pray that those boys can realize and run in their full potential, because they have so much. Pray that their light can show throughout all of San Lorenzo. Pray that they don’t have to worry about food, because God will abundantly bless them. I know that God has a lot coming their way.
