We headed out early TUESDAY morning for a painting project. We were told that the benefactor of our labor, Ms. Carmen was the widow of a former pastor. She greeted each of us with so much grace and told us she was happy that we came. She pampered us with a wonderful breakfast of omelets and then prepared freshly made tamales and fish for lunch. She kept us hydrated by making mango, papaya, and guava smoothies as she watched us go about our task of painting the exterior of her modest home. She even cut sugar cane for us to munch on and pulled avocados from a tree in her yard for us to take home.
Ms. Carmen posted the following comment on social media, “God worked miracles. Yesterday there were Angels in my yard, with rollers and brushes in their hands. They painted and laughed. They made jokes, got up if they fell and laughed. Yesterday the Glory of God manifested in my life once again. Thank you Alfred Street mission Team. A team of Angels for sure. Love you”. By days end not only had we completed our task but we gained a friend and loved-one in the process.
WEDNESDAY our team split into two groups so that we could tackle separate projects. Both involved painting but one was an indoor project and the other required scraping and painting the exterior of a home. It was always obvious to us just how grateful people were. They not only fed us well but they were very hospitable hosts who made us feel like we were family.
Below are pictures of the group working on the outside of Ms. Antonia’s home. We always took the opportunity to pray with and for the people we served. In the picture on the lower left Ms. Antonia spoke a word of prayer and praise to one of our missionaries. She really did not want to let us go!
The pictures below depict the group working on the interior Ms. Josephine’s home. We laid hands on her and prayed for her before we departed. She cried and thanked us for taking the time to come and serve.
THURSDAY morning we visited a senior citizen daycare center. We were told we would participate in their scheduled activities and were warned they were very competitive and didn’t like to loose. Most of their activities were games designed to engage them physically and mentally. We had a ball and, for the most part, they beat us each time fairly. By far this was the most fun we had.
The sign over this missionary’s head below translates, “I’m old, so what?”.
We ended our day finishing up the painting projects for Ms. Antonia and Ms. Josephine we began on Wednesday. What a blessing it was to serve.