Motivation

We don’t have to look any farther than this picture to remember why we’re here…

This morning, I was sitting at the table figuring out how much lumber we will need for our house – how much of what size for the remaining walls and the roof.  Suddenly the phone rang.  It was one of the calls that changes everything.

The guys from our team made it out to the village yesterday and called us to let us know that Luciano had died.  It was a blow to the stomach, and I still haven’t recovered.  Luciano was one of the oldest men in the village and one of our biggest advocates.  He was instrumental in us being able to get permission to live in the village.  He was well respected in the area and we are building our houses next to his because he wanted us to live up by him.  He was part of the work team that is building Katie and my house.

He had been sick while we were out there in December.  We visited the family and took them some chicken soup for him to get some nutrition.  He seemed to be doing better the day we left and waved goodbye from their gate as we drove off.  Little did we know that was his final goodbye.

As far as we know, he entered a Christ-less eternity – the first casualty to sin’s price since we’ve been involved with this village.

What motivation to keep pressing forward to be able to live among them, learn their language and culture to be able to communicate God’s sin solution in a way that they understand.

Jesus is worth it!  And, I can’t imagine the joy of being able to introduce these people to Him!