Juan & Sandra's Family

Sponsor:  Peter & Tanya Kobylarz - Charlotte, NC

Brock sent me (Chris) a note that there was a family that was on his heart that he had visited in the past that lived in a small cornstalk hut.  We found it pretty quickly and the cornstalk hut was still there.  

Once we found Sandra, the wife and mother, and her three year old son Jose Daniel we asked if we could come in and talk to her.  It was one of the cleanest little houses with a dirt floor I've seen.  We asked how they were doing and how the house was holding up. Seems like an odd question for someone living in a cornstalk shack but she answered that all was well and they were content.  We asked what happens when it rains there (the house sits in the middle of a steep incline) she said of course the rain and water runs right through the house..  

It's hard to imagine that "normal" is sleeping on a bed a few inches off of the ground and waking up to water running underneath you and over the floor of your entire house.  The rainy season here  means daily heavy downpours for several months.

We told her that we came with good news and bad news...  the good was that we wanted to build her a new home; the bad news was that she needed to move her things right away, because we needed to start today!  She looked at us as if to say "Are you serious?"  After a few quiet minutes I asked her if that sounded like a good thing.  She couldn't hide her smile any longer as she told us yes - this is very good!  

When we were leaving she hugged Brock and in tears she said, "we thought you had forgotten us".  He reassured her that God never forgets us and never leaves us.  It was a sweet moment with Sandra and her son.

When it was time to celebrate this home, we had no idea how special the day would become.  In God's sweet timing, the family that sponsored this home was in Guatemala on a one-week mission trip.  We were able to surprise Juan and Sandra with an introduction to Peter & Tanya, the ones we had been telling them about who sponsored their new home!  As soon as Juan and Sandra saw them, they could not hold back their emotion.  They hugged, cried, and cried some more.  An extra special connection was made between Sandra and Tanya.

It was a beautiful day.  Peter and Tanya shared their motivation to donate the house - as followers of Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself.  No doubt the love of Christ was shared on this day.