Calvary Baptist, Winter Haven, Florida...

During the week of September 23 - 30, Iglesia del Camino hosted a team from Calvary Baptist in Winter Haven, Florida.

This team of 6 people were each strategic individuals coming to evaluate just what might happen in the future. They anticipate as many as two trips a year, starting with one trip this coming year. Their focus was to experience as much we (IDC) could offer in the category of a mission experience. They worked in construction, toured Hermano Pedro hospital, worked the street evangelism, helped sift gravel and sand for water filters and bolstered a Childen's Ministry in San Luis.

A landmark experience of experiences for this team was with the Childen's Ministry in San Luis. Before this team arrived, the ministry had an outreach of as many as 30 children three times a week; Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. God blessed this event. Of the two days we were able to help, there were 225 children day one, then 275 children day two. These numbers have seen a degree of drop off but it is holding at 80-90 children in regular attendance. While these numbers are very much the blessing, the thing that did not exist before the events are now the direct involvement of several moms assisting. God is good.

A little girl named Marleni...

I was in my Spanish class in San Luis. A neighbor came to the door. She said she had heard there was a Pastor here in this house and wanted to know if he could come and pray for a neighbors child. My Spanish teacher and I went to this house as requested.

Let me better explain this situation. San Luis is a small pueblo of about 1,000 people. Very agricultural. It is just over a mountain ridge from Pastores. And is considered rural relative to Pastores. Upon leaving leaving the border of San Luis I was taken back by the stunning landscape of the mountains. Approximately 1/2 a mile from the edge of town I could see this corn farm.

This house we went to was on the outskirts of San Luis and is better described as one of the prettiest equipment compounds that I have ever seen. As we entered the compound there was the finest parking gargage for the farms truck; another bay for equipment; both of which had cement on the floor; a covered shop space and then an enclosed tin wall shed. This is where the family living; in the tin shed with dirt floors, two beds, 7 family members in total.

Upon entering the living area we found a young girl of 1.5 - 2 years of age. She had been very ill for the past week and had been vomiting worms. Her name is Marleni. This was one of the most dis-heartening sites I have ever seen. We prayed for the girl and asked God to heal her. My spanish teacher had some medicine recommended in situation far less extreme, she gave her some.

With in a couple of days she had recovered to complete health. Was it the medicine, maybe. Was it the prayer, I would like to think so. In any event it was God doing His thing and letting me witness his handy work.

In subsequent conversations we found out that the family has no water or power in the home. They retrieve their drinking water from the community pila (laundry mat), in San Luis. They carry the water every other day or so the 1 mile as the pila is in the center of town. In these rural areas the water is proned to bugs and disease. This is what caused the worms for Marleni.

We have since been able to get a water filter to the family through one of our partnering ministries, Servants 4 Him. Ledy and her husband help in the training of how to use them and such.

Marleni's parents are young christians and they continue to have regular contact with my spanish teacher Ledy and her husband Marco Tulio. They have expressed their appreciation for how God kept their little girl from dying.