Not sure if my last post worked so I will say a little about Monday and then move on. I went back to the leveling site with Liza Johnson. Instead of 10 people we had 5 people so the work went slower but we accomplished a lot. Liza worked so hard and was great with the children. I actually interacted a lot more with the kids today trying to teach and learn. It was a long, exhausting day but I am glad I went. Yesterday our whole group with the exception of Catherine, Alex, Lizzie and Colin went to the hospital. It was harder than anything I have done so far. Try to imagine a hospital with an armed guard out front (gun stuck in his pants) deciding who gets in the gate. We go in and it is full of people everywhere. It is about 40 years behind in looks besides the fact that there is no air conditioning and it is not clean. A huge shortage of nurses, medicine, bedding, furniture, etc. No clean water - warnings everywhere. There are about 5-6 children in a room with usually one parent with them. I saw everything from spina bifida to kids waiting for a heart surgery; a little boy who had gotten attacked by a dog, an infant maybe 2 months old with Down Syndrome, many infiltrated IV's, dirty bandages, etc. We went to the cancer unit. It actually had air conditioning but was soooooo cold and they patients had little to no blankets unless they brought them themselves. It was one big room with a few beds and the reclining chairs. Some were there for the day but one father that was with his daughter said that they come twice a month for 5 days. His daughter had hardly any covering and was shivering. I asked if they stay in that one spot for the 5 days and he said yes. The only place for him was a plastic patio chair beside her bed. That was so hard for me. I tried to pray with every person I could individually. One mother saw me praying with another and asked our translator if I could pray with her and her son. Wow - God is showing himself to me and how some things are universal. I prayed with several in English and had no interpreter with me and when we finished they would be crying and tell me Gracias as if they understood every word. I wasn't in the same group as our kids and when they came out they were crying and praying together. I talked to them about what they had seen and tried to comfort them. When I came out I got pretty emotional and those sweet teen girls in turn comforted me. We went last night to a little town on top of yet another mountain called Santa Lucia to have devo in the oldest church in the western hemisphere. It was built in the 1500's and has no nails in it. It was beautiful. They are doing some restoration on it and when they started to scrape the walls to repaint found old artwork on them so now they are trying to uncover it all. Shortly after we arrived the lady who let us in called Mark into her office. He came out as we were singing (how awesome it sounded) and said that the priest had called her and said he had a call that was a threat and that we needed to leave. Mark was very cautious and wise and we left rapido! He said that the Ctholic church stood by the uprising of the government last year and now is targeted a lot. I don't know what today holds but I do know our kids for now are happy, sweet, healthy and being changed just as I am. God keeps telling me "Do not fear, for I am with you."

running on faith,
Lee