Ricardo and Estela were the happy couple on September 19 who followed through with their plans to be married. It is exciting to watch how the desire to obey God and establish a public marriage bond has become contagious among the believers in Arenillas. One more couple plans to be married yet this year!
Ricardo and Estela are the parents of Jennifer and Allison. Here Allison puts together a puzzle of Jesus the Good Shepherd that the Maple City Chapel prayer team gave to Jennifer after she prayed to accept Christ.
On Tuesday, October 6, we received the shocking news that two and a half year old Domenica, granddaughter of Josefina and Ivan Bravo of Arenillas, had been run over by a pick-up and killed. Josefina is a baptized believer -- her husband and two teenage children are not. Josefina and Ivan (mid 30's) had lovingly helped to raise this child of their unwed daughter. The tragic death of their granddaughter in front of their home was a terrible blow.
We joined the family and Arenillas believers, and together we grieved the loss of this little girl. Clayton walked with them through the process of a funeral. On Thursday afternoon many friends, neighbors and relatives gathered as the time to leave for the cemetery drew near. In a short meditation, Clayton challenged each one to choose the path that would assure their entrance into a heavenly home.
Later we left the cemetery, piling together into the back of a small truck for the ride back to the city. (The custom here is to walk to the cemetery for the burial, no matter how far away the cemetery is.) Josefa, another sister in Christ, rode with her young child in the cab of the truck. She told me later: The driver of the truck asked me what my relationship is to the family of the deceased, - a sister? cousin? friend? Josefa told me with a gleam in her eye, "I just told him I'm closer than a sister." The sad smile on her face and the gleam in her eyes expressed very well our connection as brothers and sisters in Christ. This death touched us all and drew us together.
The following pictures show little Domenica as we all knew her -- a tiny child: someone you wanted to protect and hold. She is the little girl dressed in gold in the wedding photo. The first two photos were taken in August. The last one was taken during a Christmas event for the children this past December.
Once again we are reminded: "Life is fragile - handle with love and prayer."What will the next challenges be for these young believers? They are learning to care for each other as Christ planned for His Body to do. Together they seek God in the Word. Together they pray. Please pray that they will grow strong and sturdy in their faith as life's experiences teach us all to lean harder into God and His strength.
