Last Friday the group from the week before left the City of Children at 7:30 and we had to meet this group at 8:30. Needless to say we did not have any sort of a break but we made it through the week just fine. We left for San Quintin Saturday morning and got to the church around 3. We spent some time getting the medical clinic set up and the stuff for the kids classes organized. Then we went back to the hotel and had dinner and some time to get settled. Before we left that morning we had received some heartbreaking news. One of the kids in San Quintin had been killed Friday night. He was riding his bike and got hit by a car. His name was Isaac and he was 13. After hearing that news I knew this would be a very difficult but special week with the church there in San Quintin. God had given us the opportunity to be with a family and a church family in a time of pain and sorrow. Most of the time when groups are with a church its all happy and good times. And that is a wonderful thing. But truly being a family means being able to be there in the difficult times as well and that is what we were able to do for Isaac's family and the church family there. We prayed a lot for God to give us this right things to do/say to bring some comfort to the people in San Quintin.
Sunday morning we worshipped with our brothers and sisters in San Quintin. Then we had lunch with everyone. The group had brought BBQ from the states and served that to the entire congregation. Sunday afternoon we started the clinic. The group brought 4 doctors, 2 dentists, and an eye doctor. We were all kept very busy in the clinic. Sunday night we had service and after service the funeral started for Isaac. Something really special that happened was that preachers from all over Baja and members from their churches all came to be with the family in San Quintin. Some of them didn't know this family in particular but said they just wanted to be with their brothers and sisters while they were hurting. We stayed for a little bit and then headed back to the hotel.
Monday we got up and headed back to the church. The funeral was still going on so I sat in there with some of the members of the church. They had a service and then went to the gravesite. After they left we started with the clinic. We worked at the clinic until 3 and then headed back to the hotel for a little break and dinner. Then we came back for class. I translated for the ladies class. I did that for the first time the week before in El Zorrillo and I was terrified to do it. It just seems so much more intimidating than the kids or teens class. But I have really come to enjoy it. The ladies of churches here are a very special group of people and I love getting to spend time with them.
Tuesday was much more of a "regular" day, if there is such a thing in Baja. I went to visit houses in the morning and then translated the clinic in the afternoon. That afternoon I met a girl named Kayla. I had seen her around all week but had never met her. She came and introduced herself to me. She was Isaac's older sister. Their family had come directly from the graveyard on Monday back to the church and had been there ever since. It was cool to see that in their time of pain the place they wanted to be was at the church. I spent a lot of time talking to Kayla and she seemed to be doing very well.
Wednesday morning a lot of the medical team left to go to San Vicente to do a medical clinic there. This included a ton of the translators. So those of us that stayed were kept very busy. I went to do visits during the morning. That afternoon there was a soccer game between the Americans and the Mexicans. Before we left, the preacher from the group asked me if I could go with them to translate a visit. I love visits so I was completely willing to do that. We were at the house for well over an hour. It was the house of a young mother named Maria and her son Aaron. Maria is right at the point of wanting to be baptized but she says she gets discouraged a lot and doesn't think she is good enough to be baptized. We tried to encourage her and tell her that there is no such thing as being good enough to be baptized. That all we have to do is be willing to give our lives to God, to commit to serve him. I think our time spent there was very encouraging to her. Please continue to pray for her that she will make the decision to become a Christian soon. Wednesday night I translated the women's class again. Then we said goodbye to everyone. That was harder for me than I thought. Kayla came up and just hugged me for a long time. I didn't expect to get close to her like I did but I guess God had different plans. We swapped emails and I hope we are able to stay in touch.
Thursday we got up and headed to San Vicente. We got there and had lunch. Then some of us went to El Rancho. El Rancho is a home of migrant workers. They are people who work in a field owned by someone. The owner provides a room for them to live in and food for them but doesn't pay them. It was a really cool experience. We went and had a clinic and kids activities. As soon as I got out of the van a little boy named Carlitos came up to me and I picked up him. He is 2 and stayed with me the whole 3 hours we were there. When I had to go translate in the clinic, I put him down. He ran in after me and sat in my lap while I translated. It was a great experience to be there with the workers for a few hours and they were appreciative of everything. Antonio, the preacher in San Vicente, is going to start doing a service there for the workers every Sunday. Please pray for the success of that work.
We won't have internet this week but we will be back Thursday evening so I will update you guys then. Hope everyone has a great week. Great things are being done here in Baja. :)
In His Service and For His Glory.
1 comment:
Great job, Siobhan! I know you are tired, but you can rest when you get back home. Keep up the good work!
In Him,
Aunt Sherri
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