A Neighborhood Called Blessing (Chapel Project 10/2014)

On the edge of the dump is a barrio, a neighborhood, called Cienfuegos (a hundred fires). That name is applicable not only because it was founded years ago by a hundred families whose homes had burned down, but also because the acrid smell of smoke lingers in the air almost all the time. When it's not smoke, it reeks of garbage.





Cienfuegos isn't known for being a nice neighborhood. Neither is Bendición, the neighborhood on its outskirts. But last week the Casa Grande team linked arms with Don and Joyce McCauley, Wayne and Liz Duley, and the rest of the group from Chapel Project, to complete a church building and grow the church body there in Bendición.

That's what Chapel Project does, about five times a year. Don comes in and scouts out a pastor who's got a church just waiting to be built, and he gets the balls rolling so that by the time the team arrives, they can complete the roof, the wiring, the painting, etc.

I got to serve as an interpreter for the week, in addition to leading worship for a couple church services we attended-- going out with the evangelism teams as we prayer-walked our way through the dirt streets and sub-neighborhoods, talking to the neighbors and telling them about Jesus. Gonna be honest: I hadn't had much experience with that before. But this was a good one! And now, by the end of the week, after translating those verses and those words so many times, I feel like I could probably do something similar myself sometime.

Always some time to hang out and hug some neighborhood kids, too.

Pants are optional, right?

I called this guy, Frailin, "Gorila" because he was climbing all over EVERYTHING. What'd he do? Call me "Gorila" right back. He hung out with us all week long... and this is his  trumpet. AKA his tool for troublemaking. Seriously. Just think about what you could do with a piece of pipe!

And seeing a guy get to actually read the Bible for the first time-- he's learning how to read now, and we gave him reading glasses to help-- was an incredible experience.

We got hot, we got dusty (should've seen my sneakers before I threw them in the washing machine last Friday), and probably a little dehydrated from time to time (though that wasn't the fault of Debbie, who kept the Gatorade stocked and the water flowing!).

By the end of the week, it looked like a real and true church building, a little orange oasis in the middle of that dusty community. More than 97 people packed inside the building for the dedication, and probably the same number gathered outside to listen and peek through the windows.

 Busy week. We were all pretty exhausted by the time it was over, though I think we're all looking forward to next month's chapel, too. Our prayer is that through Pastor Modesto and his church's faithful service to Bendición, the area will truly become una bendición, a blessing.

Also, I shamelessly borrowed this last photo and about four of the others (the ones I'm actually IN) from Justin Claeys, a team member from Virginia. Thanks for your fantastic photography, Justin!