SO, to continue where I left off…
These past days have been hectic! Ness and I arrived from
Santiago on Monday the 7th, and in that first week we had the chance to get situated,
visit with Tio Emilio and Tia Monica (who are leading outreach to
Espinillo), and head out for our first visit to Espinillo. And
as I said earlier, things truly have changed in Espinillo!
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| Paved road & new homes |
It’s amazing to drive in to the village and see paved roads
throughout, to see nicely rebuilt homes scattered across the landscape, and it is
especially amazing to see the people meeting together and being much more
unified.
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| Inside of yellow house in previous pic we built |
When we were in Espinillo nearly two years ago, the roads
were unpaved, ruins of adobe houses were visible to the eye all around and the
people met us, as well as each other, with a wary eye. One couple, Don Francisco
and Senora Maria, used to be unsmiling and unhappy couple. Now they look you
straight in the eye and smile with pure joy. You can tell that Jesus has come
and changed their outlook on life completely. It’s absolutely amazing to see!
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| At the Women's Meeting |
I’m adding several pictures to show you what Espinillo looks
like now.
We attended a women’s meeting in Espinillo on Thursday,
where Ness shared a bit about her view on their chosen topic of ‘Relationships’,
and then the ladies shared with each other one happy and one sad moment in
their lives. The ladies were very shy at first, but by the end everyone was
smiling and we wrapped up by sharing a cup of tea and some cookies, sitting around
a table. Lovely! Incidently, these women hope to share some of their practical
talents with each other like sewing, weaving and pottery so that they can learn
and eventually go out and earn more money. It seems to be the beginning of a
little microenterprise.
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| Senora Isabel y Senora Teresa |
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| Their rebuilt kitchen |
On Sunday we went out again to go to the church service that’s
been started. It’s really just the people fellowshipping together, singing a
few songs, sharing a word, and then eating dinner together.
The ‘we’ this time included a group of 15 dentists, doctors
and their assistants. They had arrived the previous day to offer free care to
people in Pichilemu and Espinillo.
And that leads me to explain what we’ve been doing on the
days we haven’t gone to Espinillo.
Ness and I were asked to help translate for the doctor and
dentists for a few hours on several days during their stay here. A few hours
turned into 2 very full days! I’ve been rapidly immersed into the Spanish
language once again these past days, and have been going to bed at night and waking
up thinking of Spanish dental terminology! Talk about having a fried brain J.
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| Another rebuilt house, baby w/ club foot |
In fact, yesterday we went out Espinillo on our own, handing
out audio and children’s bibles, praying for people and visiting with a family
who had their kitchen rebuilt after the earthquake. And believe it or not, we
came home feel more refreshed and rested than any of the 3 previous days we’d
spent with the dental/medical team from the U.S.!
The dental/medical team has been a great blessing though,
and they work 10+ hours a day fixing people up. They even checked our teeth,
and took a huge splinter out of my foot. Yay!
Hopefully this gives you all a bit of glimpse of what we’ve
been busy with!
Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Loved it, Els. It was like a movie playing before my eyes. I already miss the people.
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