DR installment two

day two

i discovered that you can sling dirt and cut rebar with anyone, regardless of similar language or similar theology. this must be remembered much beyond this trip. if i can build a house, or even teach vacation bible school, with people whose theology is different than mine, can i help build a church with people whose theology is different than mine?

day three

that morning, i was privileged to visit the homes of six families in las flores with another member of my team and the our fabulous translator. the purpose of the home visit is to support the families through prayer, trying to meet more than just the community's physical needs.

preventable tragedy that was the result of systemic poverty and a lack of clean water broke my heart. las flores now has access to clean water, but for so long did not. one of the women we visited had ten children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. one of the girls that we met suffered from a parasite, like heart worm with think, in her heart that kept her form doing anything. it was treated with medicine, treatment made possible by food for the hungry... but an illness that could be prevented.

one of the women also told us that she loves when we come because we bring such joy to the children, because we can love them better than they can. my teammate said it was the love of God we bring. i said it is easier to love for a week than a lifetime... something that feels increasingly true as i return home.

another woman noted that the women on the work teams inspire them to do jobs they didn't think women could do. and still there is not enough work for the community, and injuries and illness have kept some who used to work from being able to support their family. one man we met had an accident two years ago, survived a three month coma, and spent a year trying to learn to walk again (which he still does with great difficulty).

some people look at some of the situations and see miracles of God's healing. that may be true, but i (am i a pessimist? a realist? a cynic?) also see needless and preventable suffering that we shoudl work to combat as a part of building God's kingdom. that is our part of the covenant.