Beginning the Year with Blessings in Refugio
Guest written by: Jeanette and Lori Lewis
Today we traveled to the remote mountain village of Refugio, with a population of 73. Lori and I have been here twice before and we could not ask for a better welcome. The people here are warm and genuine, and were truly happy to spend the first day of 2019 worshipping with us.
Upon arrival, the local Pastor, Seldonia, and his wife ushered us into their wooden home to a wonderful lunch of chicken, beans, and rice. Church services were then held under the cedar thatch roof, with a car battery powering the speakers and microphones. Evangelist Ramiro preached a moving sermon about how all things in life are a gift from God.
The children enjoyed a separate church service about the birth of Christ, complete with a worksheet and crafts. Afterwards, the children nearly exploded with excitement to receive their donated boxes filled with Christmas gifts. We gave out close to 50 gift boxes!
The women of the group went through donated clothing to provide their family what they needed for the coming winter months. Afterwards, Pastor Rey and his wife, LuLu, handed out donated blankets to each family. The blankets were a huge hit. It gets extremely cold at night in the mountains surrounding Refugio and all the families were so grateful to receive them.
I know that the families of Refugio received the blessings of worship, friendship, and warmth…but the number of blessings that they bestowed upon us with the smiles of the children and the repeated, “Thank You” from the adults filled our hearts as well. There were blessings all around for the New Year…and I hope you have a blessed New Year too.
Entire families spent the first day of the New Year 2019 with us (click on a photo to see it larger)
The church service was under a brush ceiling
The kids enjoyed their own service outside
We were all together to sing praises to the Lord
Lulu sang a beautiful, spirit-filled song
Pastor Reynaldo also spoke
Pastor Seldonia welcomed us warmly
Ramiro delivered a powerful sermon
Pastor Charo encouraged us all to praise Christ
The kids were grateful for the gifts (click on a photo to see it larger)
The Pastors received blessing bags
The blankets were especially well received
Many of the people walked miles to attend the service
They cook on a simple wood stove
They fed us before the service and others after
The clothing we brought for them went fast
A special gift for us
Jeanette tries out their homemade broom.
The only electricity was from a small solar panel system
We transported the gifts and other items in heavy boxes.
The road was challenging but beautiful
Lori and Jeanette from Texas enjoyed the scenery
