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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A time of need

Yesterday seemed to be a day where we were visited by many needs. A woman we know from Petersville came all the way up here to tell us what a terrible time her and her family are having right now. She walked up our hill because she didn't have the money to pay for the ride ( about 85 cents US). Her leg was killing her by the time she got here and she cried as she told me all of what her family is going through. She said we were her last hope, but as we are also low on funds, all I could really do for her was give her a bag full of food and a few hundred dollars Jamaican, so she could get a ride down the hill and a taxi home.. We have had her in our prayers and on the sponsorship portion of our blog, but nothing seems to be working out for them. Her oldest daughter is starting to stray in the evenings and her husband has been diagnosed with skin cancer.
Mark and Jenni ran into town in the morning and , as usual, wound up buying some rice and corned beef for a homeless man we know there. Later that afternoon our friend Michelle came by. She's mentally handicapped, and so are her two sons, and she comes by almost daily to see us and especially Dontea. She just LOVES the baby and could spend hours playing with him. She often times helps us by shelling peas or emptying our trash, picking up Dontae's toys etc. I don't know how she manages to feed the boys, or send her youngest one to school, but we are always able to bless her with some rice or cooking oil or laundry soap. This time we were able to send her home with some Ackee and fruit that someone had brought us.
There is also a man here who they call one eye, because one of his eyes is gone.  He is either drunk or drunker most of his days, and he tries to make money by selling fruit, but I am sure he steals the fruit.  Anyway he came by today as well in need of food, so again the rice was pulled out and we gave him some.
It is so wonderful to live up here amongst all the Jamaicans, but its also VERY hard when the need is so great.    
We want to help them as much as we can, but we don't have much to give, so I feel sad.  There are people with headaches, and foot problems and leg problems and stomach problems, that are meds we brought for our own use are starting to get depleted.  We have good friends that say that they are giving till it hurts.  And so this is something that we have taken on as well.  We are not giving foolishly, but we are giving, and now it IS till it hurts.  It does hurt, but it also feels GREAT.  Thank you to everyone that has sponsored us to be able to help and do for these people that need it so greatly.  All our love
Blessings
PS.  Say a prayer for Anita and Sabrina, they do their GSATS this week starting thursday.  Sabrina will be staying with us for a few days while she goes back to school with Anita and take their tests.  Anita rocks at studying.  So I pray that Sabrina has been doing the same.

2 comments:

Pat Lau said...

So much need, and so little you can do: The missionary's complaint, right? Comfort yourself by knowing that you're doing all that you CAN do, and knowing that it will never be enough. The rest is in God's hands. Tell me about Dontae: Is he healing well? Will he have scars, or will his young skin regenerate completely?

Miss Linda said...

Sometimes when your heart is breaking for the people of Jamaica, remember..God's heart is breaking too. "One person can't change the world but you can change the world for one person".
It is aways going to be this way with the people and their needs in 3rd world countries but we just need to do what we can and sometimes that just means praying for them and incouraging them.
WHAT YOU DO UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE, YOU DO UNTO HIM. THANK YOU for being there and for having the heart God...He will bless you and keep you.