These first few months we have been working on building relationships with members of the church and community.  Our weekly schedule is filled with home visits and church services. You can find us in the village from noon time until 8 pm most days.  We eat meals with them and sit around the table or on chairs and talk about life. 

Sundays after church we get together with other members of the church and share a meal together.  Often times we head to our house or the pastors home.  We spend the entire afternoon and evening together enjoying each others fellowship. We’ve attended weddings, funerals, birthday parties, and anniversaries already in these few short months.  There is always something to do.  

The pastor’s wife, Vero, and I have been visiting different women in the community.  It’s not easy going to their homes, its heavy and hard to hear their reality.  Drugs and abuse are a common theme.  Pray for wisdom as we share with them, and for God to be made known to them.

Edgar and the Pastor, Camillo, visit the sick and those who are interested in hearing more about who God is. They both are talkers.

But it’s more than just a conversation. It’s about building a deep connection with the people. It’s about understanding their culture, their point of view, and their beliefs. It is living life with them. In the good and bad. It is spending time really getting to know them. Being vulnerable, honest and open. Sometimes it means getting out of my comfort zone.

It has taken us on a journey to learn how they do things. How to make tortillas, count cross stitch, how they make their clothes, how they grow crops and so much more.

I love just getting to know people. I might not be the most extraverted person, but you know what not every one is. And those introverts need someone who will listen and feel comfortable around. It’s not about being the most outspoken person, but building that relationship.

It is through the relationships that we build where we can share about who God is. They will see it is real through our example and that we have credability. That we live out what we say. It also allows us to speak into their life. It is through a safe and trusted relationship that people will ask questions and allow us to share without being obnoxious when we disagree.