For the rest of this month our team is doing outreach in a small agricultural village called Las Charcas. It is not too far outside San Juan, about a 15 minute drive (in the back of an old pickup truck…island-style). There is a small church there, pastored by our ministry contact, Manuel.
Our first day we walked house to house, just getting to know members of the community and doing evangelism. People are very welcoming, brining out chairs so we could sit in the shade and offering coffee or fruit, even though they have very little.
Our second day we went to the homes of the sick to pray for them. There are two people that we met that I want you to get to know. The first is Felix.
Felix is in his 30s and, as described by our pastor “has had problems since he was born.” He lives with his parents and brother, who have a farm. He was shy and would not come out to meet with us, but we were invited into the kitchen area to meet him. The kitchen is a small shack made of sticks, with a dirt floor and a small fire in the middle.
Felix would repeat things over and over. He often laughed to himself and he did not want to be touched. His smile was so genuine and infectious, his brown eyes were shy and he would rarely look directly at us. His parents are elderly and take care of him in addition to the farm work. Pastor Manuel asked us are people who would work with someone like Felix in the US. We told him there are and explained that before coming on the World Race, me and my teammate, Colby, were those people.
This family made us corn roasted over the fire and were apologetic that they did not have meat. Pastor Manuel asked us what would be the best thing that we would offer him if he were to come to our home in the US. I said I would make him lasagna, others said steak and enchiladas. He explained to us that the corn the family gave us was the best of what they had.
Another man I want to introduce to you is Raphael. He was in an accident and hurt his legs. He is unable to stand or walk. His legs have atrophied from disuse. He lays on a mattress all day. He told us he desperately wants to be healed so that he can work. He has only a brother to care for him, but his brother also has to work on the farm.
Raphael says his knees are constantly in pain. He said that us coming to see him means that he is not a bad person, because if he was a bad person then we would not be there. We explained we were there to love him because God loves him. He used to go to church before his accident but is not able to go now.
For a few minutes I sat outside Raphael’s tiny hut, wondering WHAT we were supposed to be doing in the face of such despair. In the US Raphael would have physical therapy and, in all likelihood, would be able to walk again within a few months. And yet all we can offer him is prayer, company for a short while and some bread and peanut butter.
But I know that God’s plan, while I may not understand it, is great. My team, loving people in the name of God, being His hands in this world (small as that may seem) is what we are here for.
