I have been praying about what the Lord would have me write, knowing that I did not want to write about a construction project….which takes much of our time and energy…as it should. We know that it is what the Lord has asked of us but it is still just an “assignment.” Quite honestly we have a hard time keeping our priorities in right order these days. In the business of building a hospital, trying to hear amid the noise of so many voices of how we should do it., all the while trying to host the endless stream of visitors and trying to maintain the ministry that we already had going and trying to care for family….it is easy to just fall into bed at night without asking if this is how He wants it. I guess that is why I have not written.

There are constants though...the faces of sick children, of pregnant mamas, of old men telling of hurting knees and backs. These are the things that keep me steady, that keep me going. To be able to share a bit about the hope that we have in Jesus to people who find themselves in hopeless situations means everything. We have been seeing Wilson now for about a month. Katie and I go to his house every 12 hours to change the dressing on his very large and deep bedsores. He fell from a tree about 8 months ago and had a spinal cord injury which has left him paralyzed and in constant pain from a surgery to try and repair his injury. Jesus is his only hope. Raymunda, aged 10, lost her mama to leukemia a year ago. She is the oldest of 6 and had to move in with her aunt recently when her dad left. Her aunt has five of her own children and is pregnant. Pretty hard to feed that many mouths with just a little corn and a few beans. Raymunda cannot go to school as she shoulders most of the care of her  young brothers and sisters. Knowing her Heavenly Father’s love for her is her only hope.  Last week 14 year old Maria came in for an ultrasound. She was raped by her cousin when her family had to move in with her aunt. Her father left 11 years ago for the US and has not returned, nor paid his debt for his passage there. Mom lost their home and property. Maria’s baby was dead on ultrasound…. 

I could go on and on. But in each situation, Jesus is really the only answer. He is the only hope for this lost and dying world. So I pray that “the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13