I know the visit to Emilio's home has already been mentioned, but I wanted to comment on it again. The visit to this man and his family was a very humbling experience. By American standards Emilio's home is just a small shack. But for Emilio and his family it is a blessing. His old home along with his livelihood, "his accordian" was leveled by hurricane Felix, which hit Nicaragua last year. This occurred after the team built Emilio's new home. The visit to Emilio this year was paramount to the future of his family. Some of the Nic team not only visited Emilio last year, but they participated in the construction of his new house. To see Emilio and his family in their home a year later was a touching experience. The purpose of the visit was to say hello to Emilio and his family and to deliver the accordian that someone donated for Emilio. When Emilio lost his accordian, he no longer had a way to take care of his family, his livelihood was suddenly taken away from him and he had to resort to begging to feed his family.
To accompany the team to deliver the accordian was such a privilege. The accordian represented so much more than a gift. For Emilio and his family it was a blessing. No longer would he have to beg to take care of his family. Emilio was overcome with gratitude as he said, "The same church who gave me my house, also gave me this accordian." We all understood the significance of this moment to him. It was a very emotional moment as he played the accordian for the first time. Many tears were shed all around. We said our goodbyes to Emilio and his family. As we left we were greeted by neighborhood children. Upon seeing the cameras they became very animated and asked us to take their pictures. They also wanted to play with us. We took pictures and played with them for a moment before we had to leave. As we looked back we saw a few children chasing the bus and a few others climbing on the back of Pastor Earl's truck. I saw him scolding the children for jumping on his bumper as he was trying to back up. A few of the children managed to climb on the back bumper of the bus as we were pulling out of the driveway without being detected. We went to the back of the bus to look at the children chasing the bus and discovered we had a couple of stowaways. The translators made them get off, unwilling as they were to let go. What a joyful experience.
Earlier in the day we had bible study with Pastor Earl. He shared many things with us about the various local ministries Verbo participates in. He also explained how the government is attacking his ministry at the school by levying fines on him for some of his employees. Initially, when he started the school he asked about paying the employees salaries and the requirements and has paid what he was told to pay. Now years later, the government comes to him and tells him he owes 6000.00 in fees/fines for the employees at the school. They know he is on a budget and does not have this money, and they have told him if he does not come up with the money he faces additional fines and they will close the school. It seems they are jealous of his ministry and the things he is accomplishing. Since the governemnt does little to take care of their citizens they view him as a threat because of the success of his ministries. The Verbo school is one of the best in Puerto Cabezas and is open to the community as well as the children in the orphanage. I did not attend any of the classes at the school, but those who did enjoyed their time with the children. The visitors witnessed student presentations, along with regular subjects being taught to the students. Pastor Earl also shared with us about other areas in Nicaragua. He is truly a man called by God and a blessing to Puerto Cabezas, as well as other communities in the area. It takes a special person to do the work Pastor Earl has done in Nicaragua. The community is fortunate to have him.
Holly
God Bless,
Holly
0 comments:
Post a Comment