Mike and Donna´s Blog

What a great day it has been. We are so very blessed. Today the team worked very hard to pour the cement floor and begin building the walls of the home. By this afternoon, the floor was completed, three walls were up, and all the timber had been coated with creosote. Our expectations for the day were not grand, they were simply to build alongside our Dominican friends and minister to the neighborhood.  But God had many things in store for a few of us that we of course were not expecting. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20. After today, as so many times before, we can rejoice and claim this promise as personally our own. This afternoon, C., the father of the woman we are building the house for and I (Donna) had a great conversation. He is so thankful that we are here. He told me that he had worked very hard all his life, starting at the age of 13. He said that he had many opportunities to go to other countries and work, but he made a choice to stay with his family. He said that when his daughter's husband died, he asked God to help him take care of her and her children. Finding work is very hard in Montellano and therefore, staying with his family meant choosing to be poor. C. said that God provided for his family and that the Lord is doing what he was not able to do himself. He gives all the glory to God for providing a home for his daughter and is giving testimony to the Lord's goodness in his neighbourhood. We are all impacted by this powerful example of God's provision to those who truly believe He can answer prayer.
If this was not enough, God had another wonderful thing in store for us. In collaboration with our partners, we decided we would scope out another home in great need of repair. It turned out to be our sponsor child's home, Angelina. What a surprise for both of us. When she saw us, she couldn't wait to use the door and jumped out of the window running to us. She is so beautiful and has grown so much. She is actually taller than me (Donna).  She wants to be an engineer and will start English lessons soon.
The Lord's final surprise for us was that Angelina asked if she could pray to accept Christ as her personal saviour. Our hearts were overflowing, more than we could have asked or imagined. There in a back alley, amongst the clutter and stark odour, our beautiful Angelina became a follower of Jesus. The contrast between the impoverished surroundings in which we stood and the Eternal beauty of a new person in Christ is for us this day the ultimate example of God's amazing grace and love. We are humbled beyond words. 

Today was a great day. The community surrrounding the house building project is emabracing us like part of their family. We have lots of children coming to play with us when we are not working. The work is going fast and on schedule.Everyone has something to do but we will also be able to do a few other small jobs in the neighbourhood.  God is working among us and through us.