Wednesday, June 27, 2012

"A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." Psalm 68:5 The amplified version says that he is a judge and a protector to the widows. I like that. For some reason, there are so many widows in Chiminisijuan. And now, at this time of year, when crops have been planted but last year's harvest is gone, is when they begin to come. They are out of food for their children. And there is no way for them to earn money to buy corn....or anything else. Lucia came yesterday, heavy in her last month of pregnancy(see my last post). She asked to borrow Q100 (about $12) so that she could buy soap and a little corn. She brought all of her children so that they could help her carry the food that we loaded her up with. Maria's midwife came later. Maria gave birth about 3 weeks ago to a baby girl. Her husband died when she was in her 4th month of pregnancy, leaving her with 5 - and now 6 - young children to feed. She has no family to help her so her midwife fights for her - and we sent food for them as well. Rojelia came later in the day with 3 of her 5 children. Her husband died 5 years ago. Her oldest son is 12 and some days he works earning Q25/day (about $3) carrying loads of firewood for her neighbors. She buys corn daily to make tortillas for her children  - using all of the money that he earns just for corn. All of these women will pack up their families in the fall and take them to the coast where they will work, cooking for the men who cut sugarcane. They will earn a little money to sustain them for a few months. Their children will not be able to go to school and so the cycle of poverty continues.

But we know that there is hope in the God who defends and protects widows. He has placed such a burden upon us -and hopefully you - to pray each day for them. We  pray that He will provide for all of their needs - not just the physical but the spiritual and emotional needs as well. We do the very small part that we can but we trust that He will send help in their time of great need. And we know that He is a faithful God!  

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