When we arrived in the village of Don Lorenzo, after traveling for many miles on several bumpy-dusty, dirt roads for 30 minutes at LEAST—we saw God’s opportunity.
A church, which began in a house, now needed room for growth. It can take many years for a church to reach the ability to have real walls, a roof and pews. Mainly because of the lack of adequate income.
They had a small piece of land, some pieces of wood and tree stumps for pews and a tarp for when it rained—and to keep the scorching sun off their head. But they needed help.
When we gathered in the place where the church now had a roof, but no walls, it was hard to imagine what 4 days of work would bring…but God already knew what those days would bring.
What unfolded the next few days was nothing short of a miracle.
A church was built.
With the combined effort of Grace A/G and New Life, Nueva Luz was built. “New Light”.
Many hands made the job easier.
This group of people—have amazing hearts.
Not one single genuine complaint was heard.
Not about the bathroom—it was accepted for just what it was.
No complaints about the children running in and out.
They are the reason we are here.
Yes the roads were dusty—yes it was difficult to breathe. Yes we had sinus headaches and problems of that nature—but I promise—there was no whining going on.
I wonder how long it will take us to fall back into the same ridiculous habits of Americans?
I wonder if the recliner and remote will have the same affect? I wonder our nice bathrooms with fresh clean water, and our quick drive thru’s for food—will they all be viewed the same?
Walk with me a minute.
Out the door your hear the beeping horns. Not out of anger, but to let you know “hey, I’m back here and coming through”. You will notice all the trash—everywhere. It lines the streets. And you may even catch a whiff of the trash as you walk by.
On almost every corner—there is an orange stand. The sweet smell of freshly peeled oranges are a nice treat, hidden in the dusty, busy, painfully crowded streets. (We didn’t eat any of these oranges, but the church folks blessed us each day at lunch with fresh oranges and bananas.)
The sidewalks are busy—the streets are crowded—and the air hangs heavy at times. But then the breeze will pick up and blow the hair back from your face—and you feel instant relief! This is home—to our new church family and friends—and it has it’s beauty…even among the problems and the not so pretty parts of life.
This tree was my gift of “purple” for the week. I smiled and said, “thank You” to my Father when I snapped the picture. What a great gift! And I thought of Wanda…and how she would have loved to see these little tanned faces with deep brown eyes. Dirty faces, many hearts washed clean last night during the invitation.
That’s what we came for.
To make a difference.
No matter what kind of difficulty we face in life…it is an opportunity for GOD to be the “I AM” of our life. That means—it’s all HIM. Nothing of us. Except our obedience.
Today—we are full. To the brim and running over. If you stand near…I promise some will spill.
There are many more pictures—many more stories to be shared. We will share at our church on Sunday night and New Life will share soon—of how we were all changed—just by giving up ourselves to make a change for others.
If you sponsored someone, prayed for someone, helped someone with the incidentals along this journey—thank you. Your name is recorded along with ours in the work that has been done this week. May God shine HIS light of love so deep into your life that you cannot find where it begins or ends.
I’ll write more shortly.
Stay tuned.
Jeff and Angie Knight 
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