Grace and Hope

Our theme today is Restore (Hope) based on Romans 15:13. In our morning reading we focused on grace as the hope of a brighter tomorrow in spite of the darkness of the day. It was an auspicious day for focusing on grace and hope.  We spent the morning mixing cement as we have finished all of the necessary rebar!  The walkway around the school is now complete and we have almost completed the crown. Next we will begin finishing the top coat on the floors and walls. Our resident Dr. Mike also performed minor surgery this morning to relieve a painful ingrown toenail. This afternoon we visited El Triumfo, the village where SOL will commence building a park next Monday. The kids there were just as loving and friendly as in Villa Japon. We walked through the village and paused at the community well built by World Vision. It was amazing to actually see firsthand the kind of well we have contributed to building in Africa. We also explored a large local farm. The animals were a hit. This evening, Julian Guevara (the SOL leader for Managua area projects) shared his personal history of being born under dictatorship and over time realizing the need to work towards a better life   Julian talked about his work as a Sandanista in the Contra war. It is impossible to convey the emotions Julian evoked in each of us. He described unspeakable acts, but he moves forward iwith such grace. He finished by serenading us with a song of hope through Christ from his time in the war. Today showed that grace  is all around us.  We just need to choose to see it.