The Schadt family left us for a little while this past week to spend some time as a family now that Sofia is with them. So Dan and I were left alone on the property for two days. Each night, it stormed incredibly, which is an INCREDIBLE blessing here. The wind gusted and the rain poured unbelievably. Being like we are, we went running around in the rain like crazy men. Since the storms moved so quickly from the mountains, the rain was cold and refreshing. We spent a lot of time around the property, since the rain canceled all the events we had planned in the evenings. There are no vehicles when the Schadts are gone, so we´re forced to stay in one place.
But like the storms outside, storms have been building here as well. In my heart, a battle´s been raging. I´m struggling here. I feel as though I´m wasting my time sometimes, because I´ve been doing a lot of waiting. I´m not entirely sure why the Lord has put me here, and I´d like to end that on a happy thought, but I can´t in clear conscience. So instead, I´ll ask you to pray for me. Pray that I´m used here, and that somehow my time will get used.
After the Schadts returned, we went and spent four hours at a local man´s house, speaking with him and urging him to salvation. His name´s Raoul. I liked him from the moment I met him. We talked about politics, life, and naturally, religion. He´s intelligent, and he seems to have a genuine concern for his family, but for some reason, he can´t make the final steps and accept Christ´s love for him. He acknowledges that what we are saying must be true, but he´s waiting. Pray that the Lord breaks through and convicts him of his dire need for Jesus. Still, things have changed in his life since his wife became a believer. He was a hard hearted, macho guy before his wife came to faith, and his heart´s been softening since then. So I pray the softening continues...
The next day, we climbed an extinct volcano that dominates the landscape around the church. It took about six hours to finish the whole trip, and it re-defines difficult... I guess I´ll finish this part later, we´ve got to head out.
While Mike was gone, I also found out from one of the kids who comes to English class, Carlos Alberto, that his sister got into an automobile accident and is in the hospital. It was only when Mike returned and started asking that we realized how bad her situation was...
Her name is Silvia. She was getting on a bus, and apparently the driver got tired of waiting and jerked the bus forward, sending her flying onto the pavement. She cracked her skull in three places and burned and bruised her arms. The doctors didn´t think she´d live, but she´s still fighting five days later. Mike and Alex, the local doctor, visited her along with her family. If you knew Alex, you´d know he never cries, but he broke down when he saw her condition. The hospital is like a tin oven. Each room is packed full of people with no privacy, and bugs and the smell of urine permeate the whole building. Five days later, Silvia is still bleeding from her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and her ears. She´s been in and out of a coma, but she did manage to sit up while Alex and Mike visited.
Mike and Alex were so moved by her condition that they went to the local store and bought supplies for her, like a small fan with a clip that can attach to the gurney. We also bought gatorade and water for the mom, who hasn´t left her side since she arrived. The mom wept tears of joy when she saw all they brought for her.
Please pray for this family. They do not know the Lord or the hope he provides, so pray that God will heal Silvia and use this tragedy to draw this precious family to Himself.
Thanks for your prayers...
Here´s to hoping the Lord works incredible things with my remaining time.
