Motto: Work Hard, Play Hard! It has truly been one of the most miraculous weeks in my life! The Lord has shown up big time. Please allow me some time to tell and show you my week.
We are in a small, rural community called Arollo, Palenque. There are only about 700 natives in this village. Very few of them speak Spanish, but all of them speak a language called “Chol.” It is an Indian language stemming from the Mayan culture. When they speak, it sounds as if they begin a word and then cut it off right in the middle of it. It is too funny! They have tried to teach me some, but I told them that I would really rather just entertain them, for that was much easier. They just laughed at me. In fact, they laugh at me all the time.
Arollo lives quite the interesting life to say the least. There are pigs, chickens, and sickly dogs that run the streets EVERYWHERE. The funny thing is, is that they are all owned and they know by whom. Houses are built out of wood planks mostly, but there are some block ones too. It is a very non-discrete community. They bathe in open out houses or in the river. We bathe in the river too, but with our swim suits on.
There is a lot of oppression here. People walk around and hang there heads. They rarely smile, only if you make them. I do not know how often, if at all, they have seen actual live white people before. The kids were petrified at us at first, hollering “gringa,” which means white girl, but they have finally come around and now love us. They absolutely wear me out! They have recess at 10:30 from school, so we go there and play with them. We also go to the river and swim with them a lot.
We walked to a near by village to pray for Juana, the mother of one of our hosts. She has been lame and unable to walk for about five years now. Her legs were ice cold and very stiff. I rubbed and massaged her legs, and we prayed over her for an hour. By the time we were through, she had heat in her legs and could move them again, but still could not stand on them. The Lord told me to go back the next day and pamper her, so I did. I took my shampoo, lotion, and some fingernail polish. I just loved on her and treated her like the queen that she is. We laughed and had such a good time.
This is Heremias. The first day I met him, he was clearly in bondage and demon possessed. He could not open his eyes or talk and was clearly suffering from retardation. He could walk though. I prayed over him and called out the spirit of rebellion, and he responded immediately. I was prompted by God to go back the next day and pray some more. When I got there, he walked into his room and laid on his cot. His hands were bound with rope, for his family was scared of him saying that he often rips things apart. He even ripped his own teeth out of his mouth. I was broken for Heremias. I prayed and prayed and prayed over him, then the Lord said to call out the spirit of anger. When I did, he spit up and started to vomit a little. I knew that he was just delivered from a demon. I ended up praying over him and reading the Bible to him for more than two hours. God told me to go back again the next day, and to my surprise, Heremias was laughing, smiling, talking, and was not bound. His family said that he slept all through the night and did not stay up talking back to the voices in his head!!! Hallelujah!!! The Lord has told me very clearly to go back every day and pray over Heremias and speak positive words of affirmation over him. It is with great delight to see this precious young man being healed one day at a time. He gets the biggest smile as soon as I walk in the door, and so do I. I know that Heremias is the reason I am in Arollo, Palenque. He has won my heart over. I miss him today as we are in town taking care of errands and will not go back until tomorrow. I prayed and asked God if He would please send special angels to pray with Heremias, and He said yes.
Our off time is nice, not a lot of it, but nice just the same. It is exhausting to minister 24/7. We have kids that surround us all day long, literally from the time we get up to the time we go to bed. They wait at the door in the morning and they walk us home at night. We have all picked out our favorites…
We have been taking turns preaching and leading service. Last night was my night. I told my testimony and challenged them on digging into the Word of God and to find joy. For the most part, a lot of them know me as the “class clown” and responded with great delight. There were more people at this service than the other FIVE we had in one week. The bad part about that is the enemy showed up too. There was great resistance and a lot of distractions, but God got His point across anyway and people’s hearts were changed.
Living in community is such a new experience for me. I always considered myself a people person, but am discovering what that really means. I am learning what it means to put others (my team-mates) needs and wants before my own. Glory to God for the changes He is allowing to take place in me.
The countryside is absolutely breathtaking. We are encircled by mountains, rivers and waterfalls. It hardly seems like “work” when we stop to think about it. I believe it is what keeps us going when the days seem so long. My desire is that the Arollions would know and understand the beauty that surrounds them. I have a passion for others to know and experience beauty in Christ. That is my role here, and I carry it with great delight and anticipation.
I miss all of you very very much! Please know that I pray for you often. I do not know how often I will be able to write, but I will holler asap! HUGS AND KISSES!
OH Guess What… The Lord gave me a BOX FAN while at Arollo!!!!!!!!!!!
I have also lost about 5 to 7 pounds and my legs are getting very muscular! SWEET!!!
