The retreat was nice. It wasn't too far from home, which was convenient. For the first time ever, I was separated into the "older" group. The younger group was 20's and 30's. I really didn't like that I have made my way into the "old" group, but in the end I enjoyed being with women who had more life experience. Some of the women in my group have been missionaries for over 10 years. That is a lot of experience and wisdom for me to glean from.
A side benefit of being in the older group was that I got my own room because everyone else snored. Then I slept until almost 9 a.m. with all of the women cooking breakfast, laughing, talking and eating right outside my door. Normally I could never sleep through all of that noise, but I woke up sick with a sore throat. I was pretty out of it all morning.
Last night I had nightmares all night because I was sick. Waking up from nightmares every few hours gave me lots of opportunities to pray about our time in Los Pinos today. Maybe that's why it was extra good!
Everything was calm again in Los Pinos. I think they have extra military patrol there. As we walked out onto the road there was a pickup full of military police going one way and another pickup going the opposite direction.
Things worked out so perfectly there was no doubt God was involved. There is no possible way we could have done what we did today on our own. We finally found Osiris's house! At the last house we visited the woman said that she knows Osiris and told our "body guard" where her house is.
Turns out we've been walking right above Osiris's house every time we go into Los Pinos. We decided to stop there on our way to the car, just to figure out exactly which one it was. The houses in that area are really crowded together. One house could fall on top of Osiris's if it rains too hard. There are two more houses built pretty close on what appears to be the same property. They are one room and made of smooth cement.
I walked down to meet Osiris's grandfather, knowing Osiris was still at school and would not be home for hours. There were quite a few watch dogs to get past on the tiny path to get to her house. Our body guard took care of those for us, although that seems to be his least favorite part of the job.
At each house we asked for Osiris and the people kept saying "down" until we came to three cement shacks that seemed empty except for a man in a tree. Then a boy appeared. He was putting on a school uniform and washing his face as he headed out for afternoon classes. I asked if he knew Osiris. He said yes, this is where she lives. I asked if her grandfather was at home. The grandfather came from behind the house and right away said he is 80 years old. He never said his name or gave us any sort of regular greeting.
I told him I was there because Osiris's teacher thought it would be a good idea for me to come by and meet him so that I could ask his permission to spend time with Osiris. He immediately told me he would like a new roof. I explained that I was not there to buy him anything, but if we could work out a time, I would like to spend time with Osiris. He said she gets home around 3 p.m. That means it takes her 2 hours to walk home from eating at the church after school every day. I bet it takes a good hour for her to walk to school in the morning. That is a lot of walking for a hungry little girl.
We decided that I would stop by the next time there is a holiday and meet Osiris at home. The grandfather didn't stop about the new roof. He said their beds are getting wet. I told him I am sorry, but I am visiting with hopes of getting to know Osiris better. It may be hard for me to work with her. Clearly for her grandfather, North American = money. I don't think he ever understood, no matter times I told him, that I was there to build a relationship, not a roof.
Later I was talking to Ana and she told me that all he has to do is put his name on a list with the mayor and he will get a free roof. Maybe I will help him get his name on that list. I wonder why he hasn't done that already?
Speaking of Ana, Isabela has not gotten any better. She has stopped eating and is worse. Ana hasn't slept since Thursday. Tomorrow Ana is going to go to the good clinic to get more tests done. Isabela has all sorts of strange symptoms. I have no idea what is going on with her. I am going to call Ana at noon and find out what the clinic said. Usually they prescribe meds that they are supposed to give away for free, but they never have the prescriptions on hand. So I will go pick up meds for Ana, who is still sick with the bug bite disease, chikungunya, and get whatever they have prescribed for Isa at the same time.
Besides finding Osiris's house (Which is really a miracle. It is almost literally like finding a needle in a haystack.) we also found the house of the lady, Mirabel, whose daughters were killed two weeks ago. Neighbors told us Mirabel was at work so we decided we were done for the day and started walking back to the church where I park my car. As we were walking along the dirt trail, guess who was headed up the mountain toward us? Mirabel! God's timing is so perfect!
We told her we had just come from her house. She said she had been working. Molly asked how she is doing. Mirabel said she is sad. She was still dressed all in black. We said we would like to come by on a different day to visit and pray with her if that would be alright. She said that would be fine. I am glad that she is not trying to pretend that she feels fine. It is healthy that she said she is sad, I think.
We reminded her about the women's group on Wednesday and told her we hope she will come. We reminded her what a great support system it could be for her. But to be honest, just for this one week, a part of me hopes she doesn't come. We are going to invite the ladies to a Mother's Day Celebration that we are hosting on Friday. Mirabel already made it through Mother's Day on Sunday. It seems like it might be easier for her not to have to think about Mother's Day again this year.
Molly and I ended the day grateful, once again, for the way God continues to put certain people in our path - literally sometimes. It was great to find Osiris's house and to come upon Mirabel as she walked home today. Those things seem to confirm that we are on the right path, ourselves. Right where He wants us to be.
