Victor Luis

Now that I caught you up with a recent story, I will go back to the times I missed. I think last Sunday we went with the Calvary team and had church out in the village of Neuvo Se Satul. This is a village that Calvary has been working with for 5 years. They have done many projects there, water catchment systems, latrine projects and stove projects. It is a very special village to me as when I was here in 2006 for 3 months we worked in this village once a week and got to know the kids and families very well. Since that time I have been back on several visits.

The young boy in the picture above was born 10 days prior to my first visit in the village, he was very sick as well as his mother. We prayed for them and here he is today almost 3 years old in August. His name is Victor Luis. Last year he was not to fond of Gringo's and this year his mom asked him to say Cindy and he did! It has been a blessing to watch him and the other children grow over the past 2 and a half years.

It took a few minutes for the word to get out that I was there and plus they did not recognize me with short brown hair, but as soon as they did they were very warm and happy to see that I had returned. Which in itself makes me happy!

I have to admit that sometimes being out here is just plain ol' discouraging. You prepare and pray and believe something spectacular is going to happen...I don't know like blind people seeing and deaf ears opening, arms and legs growing back. Thousands of people falling to their knees asking Jesus to help them. I don't know, you know something big! Like you see on TV or your see on the movies. What you read about in the Bible. Stuff Jesus did! It says we can and I still believe we can and it will happen but when?

I can drive myself crazy thinking about that and really get discouraged but now as I write I think of Victor Luis, now that is a huge miracle! A boy born in a village 2 hours from the nearest hospital, mom loosing so much blood she may not survive and a boy who can't survive without his mother. A boy who did not receive a name until he was 3 months old for fear he might not survive. And then...A team of missionaries and people from the local church show up, lay hands and pray for them and 2 and a half years later that same boy is sitting in a church service on his mom's lap being encouraged to say an American girls name. Now that is the stuff missions is made of!

Why can't I get past sitting here and just saying that? Why do I feel I have to say something spectacular when it is all spectacular? Sometimes it is just the same ol' hum drum stuff in a day, making concrete filters that crack before you get them out of the mold. Taking your vehicle to get a quick oil change that takes 3 hours and you get a car wash you did not ask for. Going to 3 stores to get all the items you need to cook for a week. The everyday mundane things you do to get to the spectacular things. Really the accomplishment of the mundane things are just as spectacular out of the country as Victor Luis.