I love God. Have I mentioned that lately? I am sitting here in the middle of Nohemy’s house with my laptop. It is late and I didn’t want to keep the family awake by leaving the light on, so I turned it off. Genius move on my part, because now I am being attacked by bugs of all sizes and shapes. I have a story I want to tell you even though the bugs are being drawn to my light. Yesterday, a church actually broke my heart.
This church was different than the rest we have been to so far. It was deep into the jungle. I don’t think it is actually called a jungle, but it is more than any jungle we have in Kansas. I know that we will travel deeper into rough terrain over the next five weeks, but this was my first experience, so stay with me here. We left the town of Nandasmo and drove for a good hour on a dirt road into the ‘jungle’. The farther we went, the narrower the road got and the more potholes and trenches the road had. With each minute along the journey, the trees and brush crept in closer to the vehicle until we were surrounded by a canopy of vegetation. Finally, we arrived at our destination: a small town which was carved into the forest. I felt as if no one in the world new this little hub of activity existed except us, as if it were a hidden treasure. Within this little town was a little church. This little church has overcome many huge obstacles.
Right now the church is without a pastor, because the last took off one day. The congregation said the reason the pastor left was because they couldn’t afford good housing conditions for a parsonage for the pastor to live. They have been through several pastors which has been a major struggle for them. The families in the church can hardly support themselves and their families on their low income, so the burden of supporting a pastor and his family as well is a large burden. They desire to help, but circumstances do not make it possible. The denomination also would like to help, but the funds are dependant upon donations be other people. The church desires to spread the word of God to people. They have a thriving children’s program every week aimed to reach children with the goal of reaching the parents in the process. They have no resources for the program whatsoever. They have no books. They have no paper. They have no crayons. I can only imagine how much more successful their program would be with some resources.
The parsonage would cost $1200 to build. We can’t even buy a car for $1200 in the U.S., and the thought of buying a house for that price is out of the question. You see, $1200 dollars is impossible to these people. One man shared his testimony with me and I want to pass part of it on to you as a demonstration of their financial challenges. He is currently the main leader of the church, because there is no pastor. Several years ago his fourteen year old daughter was ill with a parasite. They knew she had the disease, but she could not get any treatment for it until she had a special test done in the hospital. The problem was that the test alone was $350 dollars. The man, Andres, whose wife died after their second child was born, could not even imagine how he would get this money. The thought of knowing his daughter was so ill and not being able to help her was unbearable. He did the only thing he could and brought her to the church. The people prayed over her and God miraculously healed her. God is so awesome like that!
Tears came to my eyes as he told me this story, because I have never had to worry about not having enough money to go to the doctor’s office when I was sick. This church has the vision and the passion and the desire to grow, but they don’t have the resources to follow through.
When I left, one lady looked at me and said “Please, do not forget us. Don’t ever forget us.” I promised I wouldn’t and so I wanted to share a piece of their story with you.
Right now the church is without a pastor, because the last took off one day. The congregation said the reason the pastor left was because they couldn’t afford good housing conditions for a parsonage for the pastor to live. They have been through several pastors which has been a major struggle for them. The families in the church can hardly support themselves and their families on their low income, so the burden of supporting a pastor and his family as well is a large burden. They desire to help, but circumstances do not make it possible. The denomination also would like to help, but the funds are dependant upon donations be other people. The church desires to spread the word of God to people. They have a thriving children’s program every week aimed to reach children with the goal of reaching the parents in the process. They have no resources for the program whatsoever. They have no books. They have no paper. They have no crayons. I can only imagine how much more successful their program would be with some resources.
The parsonage would cost $1200 to build. We can’t even buy a car for $1200 in the U.S., and the thought of buying a house for that price is out of the question. You see, $1200 dollars is impossible to these people. One man shared his testimony with me and I want to pass part of it on to you as a demonstration of their financial challenges. He is currently the main leader of the church, because there is no pastor. Several years ago his fourteen year old daughter was ill with a parasite. They knew she had the disease, but she could not get any treatment for it until she had a special test done in the hospital. The problem was that the test alone was $350 dollars. The man, Andres, whose wife died after their second child was born, could not even imagine how he would get this money. The thought of knowing his daughter was so ill and not being able to help her was unbearable. He did the only thing he could and brought her to the church. The people prayed over her and God miraculously healed her. God is so awesome like that!
Tears came to my eyes as he told me this story, because I have never had to worry about not having enough money to go to the doctor’s office when I was sick. This church has the vision and the passion and the desire to grow, but they don’t have the resources to follow through.
When I left, one lady looked at me and said “Please, do not forget us. Don’t ever forget us.” I promised I wouldn’t and so I wanted to share a piece of their story with you.
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