Some sisters in Christ back in the States wanted to do something nice for one of the churches we work with. They took up a collection and sent the funds, and we worked with the pastor and his wife to plan a year’s end celebration.
This church is in a community called Río Colorado, and it is hard to get to due to the condition of the unpaved road. This dirt road turns into a muddy quagmire during the rainy season, and the pastor and his wife have on occasion gotten marooned at the church and have been obliged to spend the night with a hospitable church member after being caught by an unexpected storm. After twenty years of serving in Río Colorado, they are used to the risky driving conditions. We got a taste during our latest trip to the church as you’ll see in the video. A car had gotten stuck in the mud trying to go up a hill we had to go down. Showing the community spirit so often encountered in Honduras, a group of guys dragged the truck out of the mud with ropes. Our concern was getting stuck in the same spot after the church service, at night, without anyone around to help pull us out. God was with us though, and the road actually seemed to have dried out a bit during the church service. Our slippery nocturnal ascent was less nerve-wracking than the descent we made during daylight.
We were told that this car got stuck because it didn’t have 4-wheel drive.
After the service, which I had the privilege of preaching in, we had a really special time. Due to the funds sent from the States and additional collaboration from people here in Honduras, there was a meal, accompanied by desert and an apple for all of the attendees. This may sound mundane, but the pastor’s wife said that it’s not every day that the people from this rural and impoverished community get an apple. On top of this, someone donated some clothing to distribute to the church members. Best of all, 51 pairs of new socks and shoes were obtained for the kids, and this afforded the opportunity to wash their feet (we actually used wet wipes in this instance), and to share with them the biblical significance of this act while helping them try on their shoes.
It was late by the time we wrapped up, and we were so moved to see what some thoughtful brother or sister had left on our dusty car windows.
Rather than writing the typical “wash me”, they took the opportunity to make us feel welcome and so grateful. Their messages said:
Servants of the Most High
Blessings
May God take care of you
And:
May God protect you with His blood
To everyone who collaborated in any way to making this event a possibility, thank you for participating in God’s kingdom. Looking at the faces of the children as they received their shoes and were ministered to, I could tell that they were touched by something beyond just the much appreciated physical gifts. God willing, seeds have been planted.
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