Yesterday, July 20th, I had the privilege of leading a small group of people from Alabama into a village called "The New Alliance". Upon arrival to the village we were given a warm welcome by the people. After getting to know some of the people, we quickly unloaded our gear from the back of the truck and setup camp on the schools front lawn.
Although, it did not seem like it, we were told that there were approximately 80 homes in this village along with 1 Elementary School and 3 teachers. According to one of the teachers, they have a total of 111 students in attendance. We were shocked to learn that this village has many orphaned children. During our visit, we met and applauded a young lady who has taken on the responsibility of caring for 8 children who quickly became orphans after their father killed their mother. Shortly after they lost their mother, the father was also murdered, leaving them homeless. The reason why we applauded this lady was because she also has 3 young children of her own to feed. She and her husband, did not think twice to take on this great task of not only caring for these children but to also raise them.
While speaking with this lady, yet another case surfaced. This time it was an elderly women (grandmother), who was forced to take on the responsibility of caring for 4 children (1 girl / 3 boys) immediately after their father was killed and the mother abandoned them.
After spending a little time with the people of this village, we demonstrated our love by sharing food and clothing. Each child was given a spiral notebooks and a pencil. Such a small items in our eyes, but yet to them it was as if though it was Christmas morning. What a joy it was to watch their faces and smiles. We felt true compassion and rejoiced in their happiness. The last thing that we did prior to our departure was to administer de-worming pills to all adults and children over 2 years of age.
Soon, it was time for us to roll out, heading to our final destination. As we started climbing the mountain we became trapped in an extremely muddy area. In attempting to get out of this situation, the vehicle kept sinking deeper and deeper. After several attempts to break free for this mud, we had to vacate the vehicle. Although, an unexpected situation, we exercised our team's strength by working together to free the vehicle from the mud. What a site; we were covered in mud. Although a sad situation, we had some laughs. Once we broke free from the mud, we decided to leave the vehicle and hike the rest of the way up to the home we were en route to visit.
As soon as we arrived, we were allowed to wash up and then we where fed a delicious Chicken Soup with corn tortillas. It was their way of expressing their love for the work that took place at the school earlier.
Despite our hold up in the mud, it turned out to be a great day. It is truly and adventure to be remembered.
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