Hope After a Hurricane

I firmly believe that God is using a hurricane to advance His Kingdom in Rio 3. Let me tell you how. Before the storm hit, when we would take a walk through the neighborhood, we would always keep our distance from men who might be outside their homes. Many of them would be drinking and would heckle us as we walked with an American group, near their homes. I remember this happening during a visit to Rio 3, the day the storm came. In the 5 weeks that have followed Hurricane Alex, we have served thousands of meals, passed out tons of clothing, shoveled mud from many houses and walked dozens of times through the neighborhood. Not once, since the hurricane, have we been mocked by anyone there.

When I was sharing this observation with Olga the other day, she added, "I know Jim! As a matter of fact, the other day, when a person from the government was talking to me in a strong way, (yes, the government has come to help, but they also tell us what we are doing wrong like no hairnets for food servers and no tile floor in our public restrooms) a lady who has never been a part of the church before, stood up for me. She said, 'Hey you can't talk to Olga that way!' This woman is new to the church and she was defending me!" Many of the men have also helped volunteering to unload food and clothing when we bring them.

I would like to share another story that Olga shared with us on Friday. She said that the long hours without rest have been hard and the other night she went outside alone just to talk with God. There was a little girl named LuLu that went outside with her. LuLu said, "I love you, Hermana." (what Christian women are called here...literally translated 'sister') Olga responded, "I love you too, LuLu." But this time the little girl said "No! Look at me! I love you!" Olga told us that she felt like God was using this little girl to speak His words of encouragement to her. It was like God was saying "Look at me!" He was affirming all that she was doing and encouraging her to be steadfast.

We believe there are many other stories like these where we can see the Kingdom of God advancing in Rio 3 during these days. We believe all of the work that hundreds have helped us with in the last 2 years, has been to prepare for this time. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to Rio 3 in any way. There is real Hope after the hurricane, because of what you have done! God bless everyone of you!