The harsh reality of our "job"

We have come to love many of the families and children that we work with in Armenia Bonito. With that comes the reality of what many of them have to live through. Many children are living in conditions we would consider unlivable. Some children go to bed hungry and alone every night. Many children do not have parents to hug them when they hurt. The majority of the families are single mothers trying to raise large families. Our "job" in all of this is to love them all, and show them what Christ's love is all about.

Recently our teams finished construction on a house for Argentina and her children. Sixteen year old Juan, her 2nd eldest son, worked diligently along-side our team and worked very hard to ensure the house was built well for his family. We just found our that Juan has been killed. Over a year ago Juan got in a fight with a boy and hurt the boy pretty badly. The brother of that boy showed up at Juan's new home early Sunday morning with a machete. He dragged Juan down to the river and killed him. The community of Armenia Bonito rallied together and held a vigil for Juan, and then had a service on Monday. We visited his body as it laid out at the family's newly completed house. We hugged and kissed his mother. It is very sad knowing Juan was not a Christian, and knowing that he had such a passion and love for life. Please be in prayer for his family.