Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011

Sorry I missed last night, we were flying and driving from 2:00 pm (Cabo time) until 4:15 am (Bend time), I hope that qualifies for some slack.
Yesterday morning we took a little time by the pool before checking out of our hacienda. We had some time on the way to the airport, so we detoured to one of the kitchens we had worked at for some measurements and pictures.
Pastor Luis then took us by the home of one of his congregants. We had sat behind this family on Sunday in worship service; we had seen them singing, praising, and worshipping God with lifted hands; we had no idea of the state of their dwelling place. The five of them, husband, wife, 2 teenage girls and an 8 year old boy live in a 15 by 20 "dwelling." Their walls are pieced together scraps of lumber with a blue tarp pulled over for the roof. Electricity and water come from a neighbor with an extension cord and a hose. The outhouse is comprised of three old pieces of wafer board and a sheet. (They actually feel very blessed because they have a concrete floor rather than dirt.) They have been living there for three years and just three weeks ago finally got mattresses to sleep on. Do you want to hear the astounding part? They want to host a home group!!! We very humbly prayed for them before leaving. As we got back into our car, I believe all of us were fighting back tears. I think Ray was ready to leave everything he had in his wallet to help. It will be very hard for me to hear complaints about what we have or don't have after experiencing that so closely.
The motto "friendly skies" should be changed to "how many planes can we get you onto in one day? skies." We were supposed to get into PDX at 8:30pm, reality was 12:30am. After a snowy drive over the pass and relearning USA driving rules, we made it home--thanks, Clint, for turning on the heat for us cuz it's colder here than we remember. :)
It is so good to be back. I have much more to share; you'll hear it all in the coming weeks. Continue to stay tuned to this station. More happenings coming.