Monday, 6 September 2010
Well, the cat and the dog are doing fine, but it has been raining a lot. The highway to Guatemala City was closed today, again. There were a couple of huge landslides on the main highway recently that took out some buses and killed some people. We made it to our clinic a little late today waiting for another truck to get out of the mud.
Despite the destruction that the rain and hail can cause, I never hear the Guatemalans complaining about it. Probably, because it causes the crops to grow, much better this year than last due to the drought.
Yesterday afternoon, there was big downpour with hail. We were in our temporary church building and just started singing when it hit. The roof is made of metal sheets and it was so loud that I couldn’t hear Areli banging on the drums right behind me. We finally paused to pray for those who were experiencing destruction in that moment due to rain. Interesting, we were singing the Spanish version of Mighty to Save:
“Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.”
The Spanish version translates to “Only God can Save.”
I’m not big into connecting physical events with God speaking specifically about something. But generally speaking such a torrential rain made me ask the question, “If God decides to move this mountain that I’m standing on right now, am I ready to be with Him?” My answer was an emphatic “Yes!” Not because I am so great but because He is and I have eternity to look forward to. Reader, can you say the same?
Thankfully, the roof held up. And thankfully, there was no major damage or landslides that we found on the way back home after the service. But somewhere nearby, somebody had something wash away and perhaps someone died.
This reminds me of something that happened during the first tropical storm Agatha that we heard about afterwards. A couple of months ago, I saw a lady for pregnancy at the ASELSI clinic. She had some pain in her legs. When we asked her what had happened, she described how she was with her family in her house during the rains when suddenly, a mudslide broke loose. She ran for her 3 year old daughter on the other side of the room when she was suddenly buried to the waist in mud. She watched her daughter being swept away in front of her. She then mentioned that her husband had been injured as well and he came into the office with his jaw wired shut. Apparently, he had been hit by something (he has no idea what) and knocked unconscious with a broken jaw. Thankfully, he had surgery in Guatemala City. During the same event the lady lost her mother, her grandmother, and a few other family members. I think the death toll was 7. When her daughter’s body was found the next day, neither parent could attend the burial since they were both in the hospital.
Sad but true story. But even sadder after my assistant told me about a key part to the story that I didn’t catch originally. Everyone had been warned to evacuate. But this family though that they were okay because they were high up above the river. If only that had been true I wouldn’t have had anything to write about. But it wasn’t true. Spiritually speaking, how many people today have been warned that there is a storm coming but for whatever reason, they think they will be okay in the situation that they are in? This earth won’t be destroyed by water like it was so many years ago, but this time by fire. Reader, will you be okay when the storm comes? Are you standing on the Solid Rock of Christ?
I don’t mean to talk so much about death and destruction. In fact, I’ve been studying a lot about heaven recently, which I have been learning will be even better than I thought. But, I hope this will make someone think about their situation and realize that he or she needs a Savior if he or she doesn’t already have One.
Well, the cat and the dog are doing fine, but it has been raining a lot. The highway to Guatemala City was closed today, again. There were a couple of huge landslides on the main highway recently that took out some buses and killed some people. We made it to our clinic a little late today waiting for another truck to get out of the mud.
Despite the destruction that the rain and hail can cause, I never hear the Guatemalans complaining about it. Probably, because it causes the crops to grow, much better this year than last due to the drought.
Yesterday afternoon, there was big downpour with hail. We were in our temporary church building and just started singing when it hit. The roof is made of metal sheets and it was so loud that I couldn’t hear Areli banging on the drums right behind me. We finally paused to pray for those who were experiencing destruction in that moment due to rain. Interesting, we were singing the Spanish version of Mighty to Save:
“Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.”
The Spanish version translates to “Only God can Save.”
I’m not big into connecting physical events with God speaking specifically about something. But generally speaking such a torrential rain made me ask the question, “If God decides to move this mountain that I’m standing on right now, am I ready to be with Him?” My answer was an emphatic “Yes!” Not because I am so great but because He is and I have eternity to look forward to. Reader, can you say the same?
Thankfully, the roof held up. And thankfully, there was no major damage or landslides that we found on the way back home after the service. But somewhere nearby, somebody had something wash away and perhaps someone died.
This reminds me of something that happened during the first tropical storm Agatha that we heard about afterwards. A couple of months ago, I saw a lady for pregnancy at the ASELSI clinic. She had some pain in her legs. When we asked her what had happened, she described how she was with her family in her house during the rains when suddenly, a mudslide broke loose. She ran for her 3 year old daughter on the other side of the room when she was suddenly buried to the waist in mud. She watched her daughter being swept away in front of her. She then mentioned that her husband had been injured as well and he came into the office with his jaw wired shut. Apparently, he had been hit by something (he has no idea what) and knocked unconscious with a broken jaw. Thankfully, he had surgery in Guatemala City. During the same event the lady lost her mother, her grandmother, and a few other family members. I think the death toll was 7. When her daughter’s body was found the next day, neither parent could attend the burial since they were both in the hospital.
Sad but true story. But even sadder after my assistant told me about a key part to the story that I didn’t catch originally. Everyone had been warned to evacuate. But this family though that they were okay because they were high up above the river. If only that had been true I wouldn’t have had anything to write about. But it wasn’t true. Spiritually speaking, how many people today have been warned that there is a storm coming but for whatever reason, they think they will be okay in the situation that they are in? This earth won’t be destroyed by water like it was so many years ago, but this time by fire. Reader, will you be okay when the storm comes? Are you standing on the Solid Rock of Christ?
I don’t mean to talk so much about death and destruction. In fact, I’ve been studying a lot about heaven recently, which I have been learning will be even better than I thought. But, I hope this will make someone think about their situation and realize that he or she needs a Savior if he or she doesn’t already have One.