The Rains Came

Yesterday morning went well. Work at Casa Grande, the girls' home, moved along nicely with screens repaired and window frames varnished. We had established a routine that was working. Meanwhile, team members prepared for our second feeding station trip, which this time would include handing out clothing along with food and medicine. When the time came, the entire team arrived at the feeding station and carried out that project successfully. By lunchtime our plans had gone quite well.

"The rains came and the wind blew..." according to one New Testament parable. For us, the rain and wind came suddenly just as we had finished lunch and we're thinking about starting our afternoon. Lots of heavy and prolonged rain and more wind than anything we'd experienced here. Unlike the house in the parable that was built on sand ("and great was its fall!"), buildings in Tocoa are built of solid concrete blocks that withstand storms. We stayed safe in the cocina and connected church, although the wind howled on the metal roofs.

We waited out the storm safely, but our plans for the afternoon had come to an abrupt change in direction. No more sanding, varnishing, and installing new window screens at the girls' home. As it turned out, the new directions our plans took were just as good or better. Indoor activities and games with the children, work on a previously-unplanned project to improve the water tank and sink at one of the feeding stations, and--once the ground was only somewhat saturated--an improvised baseball game using bats, balls, and gloves we had brought from the USA. (Who knew that Doris could still throw a ball so well?) More time with the children.

Our evening devotion focused on St. Paul's abrupt change in direction, brought about by a sudden flash of light, booming voice, and three days of blindness. We discussed how God changed him, and how He has sometimes changed our lives, directing us into ways unforeseen and paths we didn't think we'd ever follow.

Blinding flashes of light, wind and rain, mission trips. Who knows what means God uses to open our eyes?

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