Last thoughts

Holden and I with Jairon

I mentioned earlier this week that we had not spent as much time with children as in past years.  They spend all day in school and then most have chores to do at home after that.  In some ways this has been a relief allowing us to pay attention to other relationships and focus on training and adult interaction.However, some of my best connections in the community were with 2 young boys Jairon and Juan Armando. I was blessed to have some interaction with Juan Armando at the school when we were there, and then Thursday afternoon Jairon spent some time with us helping find our new sponsored child Angelo.  It was a blessing to see him.  He is more filled out than every before as are many of the other kids.  The improved nutrition from eggs, school lunch and increased income is evident on all their frames.


















Present with us for both days of the leaders training was Monica.  She and her husband, Wilson, were the first people we met and connected with in Sierra Prieta, thanks to Lori and her outgoing spirit. It was very exciting to see her taking in all of the theological concepts.  Her husband now works for a delivery company and was a work each day.  As she was describing her connection to Cornerstone she shared about that first time she met us and we had coffee and yuca in her home.  It's an event we've joked about many times as a team over the years because just after that we were told we should not eat food prepared in local houses unless people had been trained to keep things clean for us.  She wanted to pose for a picture with  us to show Lori her growing family(sorry you got the Wilson boys in the shot too)..  It was exciting to see that not only was she a part of the church, but was one of the leaders in her church and the mother's group.

Another new face in the Christian scene is Rosey.  She has been a help to us in the community before and has been a part of the community leadership.  Rosey also came to the training and was talking about how much it is going to help her in understanding the Bible.  God is working through the local churches and Christians to change lives in Sierra Prieta.

This is the end of the building where the new construction will be added.

Although we did not see the beginning of the building project Cornerstone is helping provide funds for we did get to see the plans.  The additions to the community center for the health clinic are going to be really nice.  They are planning to add a front entrance cover and the addition on the back will house 2 care rooms, a reception area, a office and a pharmacy.  They are going to build it with the plan to add a 2nd level at a later time when they can expand.  Below you can see the plan they have drawn up.  Upon completion the government will provide the medical staff a 2 or 3 days a week and stock the pharmacy.  The community is organizing the labor force and arranging for delivery of materials with the plan to start construction within the month.

This plan was drawn up based on community input by FH staffer Ceasar.  We trust it's going to serve them well.

A great sign of growing of hope and optimism in Seirra Prieta is the construction of new homes and the significant upgrades to a few more.  Before this people who had the opportunity to better themselves moved away to better neighborhoods rather than invest in new, nicer homes here. These are some pictures of the new houses under construction to close out our week.  God Bless.