A little boy named Christian

Normally Luis leads the medical brigades, but he is currently in the states so the director duty has fallen to me this week. The team this week consists of three churches, Lakewood from Texas, Gethsemane also from Texas, and All Nations Church from Chicago.

I realize that I need to eventually do a post describing what a typical brigade week looks like, but I just wanted to share a prayer for a family we met on Monday and Tuesday.

As part of our brigades we also try and bless a family in the community with a cement floor. (see the earlier post for some previous pictures) As it turns out this week we were working in a community that was built after Hurricane Mitch, which meant that all of the houses had a concrete slab already. On Monday, Mark Harden (our concrete coordinator) and I took the pastor and started driving up the road to find a house that we may be able to work at. As usual God led us to the perfect house. In honesty the actual concrete project we would do at the house was not that "big" of a project, but the opportunity to minister to the family was.

The family in the main part of the house consisted of an older lady and 4 chidren ranging from 26 yo. to 6 months. The "other" part of the house consisted of a add on section made out of sticks, boards, cardboard, plastic and tin. The entire area was probably 14x6 if that. In the front part was the earthen stove that they used, then there was a sheet hanging from the tin roof dividing the room in half. Behind that was the cot, that Christian and his mom Sandra slept on. When we first got there Christian, 6 years old, was hiding his face and hiding behind the sheet. Talking with his mother we discovered that he had skin cancer. At lunch time Mark and I went back to get the Honduran doctor, and a couple of nurses from the team. As the doctor examined Christian we could see the extent of this young man's cancer. Basically from the middle of his chest up to the top of his head was affected. The most severe areas were his nose which was almost completely gone and a large open abcess on his left cheek about the size of a silver dollar. He also could not see very well, if at all, because of the effects to his eyes. We went back to the brigade site and got medicines for the entire family and then the following day, Mark and some team members did the concrete floor, while others ministered to Christian by playing with him and giving him sunglasses. They also were "the hands of Christ" by applying lotion to his entire body and even washing his feet. As you might imagine, during this time, Christian also ministered to the team. Please lift this family up in your prayers.

As we shared the events of the day last night at the mission house, the ones that went to the house told of the impact in their lives that this brave young boy brought. It is so wonderful how God uses everything to His Glory.

And as bad as Christian's face and little body seems, we are assured that in Heaven his face will be unblemished and perfect,......................


just as it is right now in God's eyes.


--Alan

I hope to get the pictures of the young man from Hector (our doctor) and post them.