Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Week 2 of Women's Group

Today was awesome.  I got to see Erika.  You know, that girl never lets me down.  Last night I called her to say that I would pass by to pick her up around 12:45, but I would call when I was close so she would know exactly when to walk down to the road.  Then today when I tried her phone it said, "The caller you have reached is not available." (in Spanish)  I tried a few more times and got the same message.

My mind instantly went to the bad place.  I thought Erika didn't really want to be part of the women's group, so she just wasn't going to answer her phone.  I really need to STOP THAT!  Erika has never let me down and I need to stop assuming that she is going to.  It is not fair to her, and could even be impeding our relationship.  If my expectations of her are less than what she is capable and willing to do, she may not reach her full potential.

I figured I would pass by and see if she was there, even though we hadn't spoken as planned today.  You guessed it.  There she was, sitting on a step with Marjory.  Erika is great.

Marjory has a cold, like every other kid I know.  Erika said Carlos has Dengue.  Erika already took Marjory to the doctor, UNlike every other kid I know.  Marjory is fine.  It's just a cold.  I am proud of Erika for taking Marjory to the doctor for the little things.  She is a good mother.

When we arrived at the women's group nobody was there.  That gave us time to pray and settle in.  Then, just like last time, the women started coming and they kept coming in groups of two until just before we left.

I talked to the ladies about this being a group for them, not for Molly and me.  They have this week to think and next week we will discuss their goals for the group.

Molly did a really good job of engaging them in a conversation about what it is to be a woman of faith.  Everyone spoke up and participated.  There were some very interesting ladies there.  One of the women was the mother whose daughters were just senselessly and brutally killed for wearing leggings a week ago on Friday.

I told Molly, I believe that is God's sign to us that we are in the right place.  We are exactly where there is a great need. God is sending women to this group who need each other's support and who can benefit from special time with Him.  I think it is amazing that she is even coming out of her house a week after she lost her 16 and 19 year old daughters.  If you feel led, please pray for Maribel.  She seems to be doing well on the outside, but I am sure she could use your prayer.

Tomorrow after Molly puts the kids to bed we are going to plan for next week.  It's going to be a big one for us!  We plan to go to Los Pinos, if things seem safe and God gives us the green light, on Monday.  We would like to meet with several of the new women who came to the women's group today.  Two of them we both individually felt like we want to know better.  Since God gave us both the same feeling about those two ladies, we would like to spend some time with them in their homes next week.  And of course we feel called to meet with Maribel.  If she doesn't want to talk, we can pray for and with her.  I feel honored that God is giving me the opportunity to serve her and feel strongly called to do so.  I hope Molly and I can be a blessing to Maribel in this time that has to be so extremely difficult.  Praise Him for allowing us to meet her.  We pray we will serve her in the ways she needs.