Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope this letter finds you all healthy and blessed.
We are feeling very blessed here in Krinkrin. Dad, Mom, Mary, Chris and I went to the States in March for my oldest brother’s wedding and the 4 younger ones stayed in Puerto Cabezas with some friends.
We are all very happy to be back in Krinkrin, “our home”. The whole village welcomed us back very warmly and with open arms. We have been very busy since arriving so I decided to give you a quick look at what life has been like this past week.
Wednesday morning we were at the river at 5:00 to start our long tedious ride upriver from Waspán to Krinkrin. A couple people told us that since it is dry season it will probably take at least a day and a half to reach Krinkrin. All us kids along with our luggage got on the boat but Mom and Dad had to take another boat because our boat was full. As the day went on the inch and a half board we sat on (the side of the boat) began to feel very thin and our behinds began to feel like a washboard. Needless to say we were very happy when we had to get out and walk because the river was to low. I was very proud of everyone because they all kept a good attitude and we were able to sing a lot because we all got to sit in one group.
As the day started coming to an end we saw that we would get home about 1 hour after sunset. What a blessing, just a little bit over 13 hours on the river!!!!! But Mom and Dad were not quite as fortunate, they got to spend the night on the boat by a community named Esperanza. They arrived home the next forenoon.
So many people came to welcome us back on Thursday that we didn’t get very far with unpacking and getting settled in. Already moms were bringing their sick little babies to get medicine for fever and diarrhea.
After the men from the community came back from the fields a father of a 6 week old baby came to the house asking us if we could loan him some money to take the baby to Waspán to the hospital the next morning because the baby was very sick, which seemed to be a birth defect in the intestines, and we couldn’t help with the medicine we had. He promised to pay us back with beans, rice, corn, and bananas. We prayed with him before he left that God hold the baby and take care of her and be with the family and draw them closer to Him.
The community bell rang like usual at 5:10 on Friday morning but 30 mins later the bell starting ringing again but this time in a code to let everyone know that someone died during the night. Right away we knew that God had chosen to take His sweet little angel home during the night and take care of her himself. We knew God had a plan in this and we prayed that God would draw them closer to Him in this time of sorrow.
Funerals are a community event here. Right after lunch us girls went over to help prepare food for the massive amount of people that show up and Dad and the boys gathered with the men where they were building the little coffin and digging the grave in the backyard. The kids carried water and most of the young adults got a turn to hull rice and sort beans to prepare food for the long night ahead. In their traditions it is very rude for the family to sleep before the body is buried so everyone from the community that wants to, can gather with the family and sing and pray all night.
At 11:00 they butchered a pig so they could feed the people at 2:00 in the morning. The funeral services were held the next morning at 8:00 and at 9:00 the community slipped back into its normal routine.
Almost all days are filled with people coming to the house for medical attention, one little boy came with a bad ear infection, a little girl with a broken jaw, an another little girl came with her baby sister asking for milk because the mom was sick and couldn’t feed her anymore.
One morning a man from the next community upriver came walking to the house with his little boy by the hand. His little boy had fallen from a tree the night before, down on his head an arm. They had the arm wrapped in and old T shirt and with a small piece of wood to hold the arm straight. Dad was able to set the bone and Chris made a splint out of wood then we wrapped it up good.
Right now they are all harvesting beans and one day this week some of us got to learn the process of harvesting them. We went a mile upriver with one of the families, to 6 acres they cut down in the jungle and had planted with beans. It is a very intelligent but very simple process.
The community found out that we are buying beans, so many people came to the house to sell and trade beans. Mom’s sent some of their kids over with their beans so they stay home and continue their work. Till six o’clock that evening we had to tell the people that we had all the beans that we needed for this year, 1100 lbs. and that we didn’t have money to buy anymore. We were all worn out and tired but were happy to be able to help so many people.
A lot of kids come to play here at our house and look at the few picture books that we have. A friend from the States sent John a Baseball so he has been playing a lot of baseball with his friends. Every afternoon after school they all gather in our yard and often play till dark.
Our days are always very busy and almost never go as planned, but it is such a joy to live here and be a part of Gods plan here in Krinkrin.
May God bless you and your family as you continue to pray for us and our community. Your sister in Christ, Eva Lee
Thank you for this wonderful view into your lives in Krinkrin. You are in our prayers and so are all the people there!
May God give you rest and strength, Some day soon we will be in heaven together with Jesus, No more sorrows! Love you much Terry Morrison! Thank you for your up date!
praise jesus for the love given to these people…..all blessing to you Eli and family
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