The Family Mission Trip has begun. Everyone made it to our destination with no incidents. (Last year we had a wreck.) Those traveling by car or van and those traveling by air all made it to the La Vista Hotel in La Joya. The group on Southwest flight 25 were on the first SW flight to land in Harlingen since Hurricane Dolly. By 6pm on Sunday the 27th everyone was at the hotel.
Our first full day was Monday the 28th. Though Hurricane Dolly's impact on this part of the Rio Grande Valley seemed neglible to us, we quickly learned that in other parts of the Valley, damage was significant. Our plans to go to South Padre Island on Monday were out because there was still no power on most of the island. Plus we are sharing the La Vista with many Red Cross volunteers who have come from all over the United States to assist in a variety of ways. They told us that in a number of locations power and basic services remain unavailable. We see them often, particularly at breakfast. The room for breakfast is a bit tight so we are at close quarters with these folks. While it maybe inconvenient, we are here for a similar purpose; to serve the people of the Valley. The difference is that our team is doing it in Jesus name.
Because our plans on Monday were changed, the construction team spent the day at Pastor Omar Chavarria's house. The team is helping Pastor Omar and his family get closer to being able to move into their house. Pastor Omar and his family live in a small trailer behind the church, Iglesia Bautista Manantial de Vida. They have lived there for at least 2 years.
At lunch (we are eating each day a wonderful meal provided by the church) he told us that 4 years ago he had no money, his church had no real place to meet, and so he cried to God. One late night after Omar poured his heart out to the Lord, God spoke one word to him. The word was Ibrahim or Abraham. From that word, he believed that God had destined him to be like the biblical Abraham. God would bless him by using Omar to bring many people to Christ and by meeting the material needs of his church and his family. And the blessings have occured. His church now has a building that is 2 years old and they are building a family life type structure. And soon his family will have a new home to move into. The church is flourishing growing from about 30 to 140-160 on Sundays and many are coming to know the Lord. Omar's faith challenged and encouraged all of us.
The VBS team spent the morning and afternoon preparing for Bible School. Part of the group handed out flyers in the afternoon along with some of the people from the church. They are praying that by the end of the week they will have 100 children and adults.
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