Laura, Face Painting, and Puppies
One of our
first committed disciples was Laura. I don’t know why it took me so long to
write her story, but I want to have it here. Junior and Jaci (our pastors) met
her at an ice cream shop. She’s a single mom and was there with her four-year-old
Sofi. While Sofi and Hadassa played, Jaci and Laura chatted about life and the
church. Jaci told me about her the next day, and we tried for weeks to get
ahold of her. We exchanged texts a couple times, but I was fairly convinced I
would never see her in person. Then she showed up at a house of prayer (Bible
study). She talked really fast, and I still didn’t understand Spanish very
well. All I kept thinking was how much she looked like an angry kitten. She’s a
small person, and she sat back a little ways from the table with her arms
crossed. She spoke barely above a whisper which made it sound like she was
spitting—spitting fire. I didn’t understand what it was that had evoked such
wrath, but I knew I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.
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| Laura and I at our house of prayer Apparently Rachel takes pictures during prayer |
And it’s not
because her life has gotten easier. If anything, her circumstances have become
more difficult. As the problems with her ex-husband and in-laws subsided,
problems with her brother (who she’s living with) began and her mother’s health
has declined. Work is difficult and raising a four-year-old is always a roller
coaster. She lives pretty close to us, so we like to go for walks together in
the evenings. I’ve seen her exhausted and seeking solutions for her problems,
but I’ve never again seen a hint of the rage that use to consume her. Her
favorite verse is Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not look
anxiously about you, for I am you God. I will strengthen you, surely I will
help you. Surely I will uphold you with y righteous right hand.” God has
certainly kept His promise to her.
It’s taken to raining here in the evenings, which has frustrated some of our evangelism plans. When we do have decent weather, we like to go to a nearby plaza and paint faces. It started with the question, “How can we attract people to us?” In a big city that’s been over-evangelized by Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the prosperity gospel, how can we attract people to us in a way where they feel comfortable having a full conversation with us. So now we paint kids’ faces for free. The only caveat is that they have to bring their parents to the table to give permission. Then we explain to the parents that we are Christians, and we’d like to pray for their child and their family while we paint. It’s been a great way to talk with people about prayer with the added bonus of being fun and giving the opportunity to pray for Cordoba’s children. Usually some of our regular church attenders come by to help or hang out. It’s starting to feel like a real church family.
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| Hadassa |
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| We did a lot of Elsa crowns. |
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| Emilce and her son Ignacio. We met them at the first face painting event. They came back for the second one and have been attending the church! |
Although Rachel and Ashley are in the States visiting their families, the house has not felt empty. Right before they left, Genna and Julianna got two Yorkshire puppies. If you’ve read my past posts or know me, you know how I feel about pets. Caspian and Aslan are very cute and friendly, but Rachel and Ashley are pretty cute and friendly too. Plus they know how to use a toilet. I can’t wait for them to come back.
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| I just wanted a selfie, but Caspian needed to pee. You might think, "Oh, how kind that he didn't want to pee in your lap!" but after I put him down he ran straight to my bedroom and peed in the hall outside my door. It's his spot. |
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