More Adventures!

This past weekend Oscar and I went to Ciudad del Este for a baptism, a outdoor evangelistic campaign, and to get to know Rosa’s relatives that live there. It was a very HOT afternoon, but we saw storm clouds on the horizon. I would be cool soon after the rain. We saw Oscar’s sister. She looked wonderful! I have never seen her sober. Since May she has not had a single drink! She looks young and beautiful. Around Mother’s Day she prayed a prayer of faith and healing and she (and we) believes that THE LORD has healed her battered, alcoholic life. It was good to see her.
The rain came very strong at 8 in the morning, the exact time that the baptism service started. There were such strong winds and hard rains that the water poured through the closed windows! The lights went out right after the singing. Ciudad del Este is the worst place to be when it rains. Why? The red, mucky dirt turns into oily, red mud that sticks to your shoes and clothes. Our car almost got stuck in the church’s driveway. All the way home we saw signs, billboards, on the ground, trees broken and even uprooted. It was a wonderful adventure.
Oh, did I mention that we only took Edson (and Rosa, a lady from church). Brandon and Gaby stayed home with Ellen, Jason, Peter, Larissa, and with instructions to eat at Ben and Vivi’s for Sunday lunch. We left Oscar’s cell phone with Jason just in case they had any problems. Thankfully, there were no emergency calls.
As we were leaving Ciudad del Este, I decided to call Brandon and see how everyone was doing. I really started missing them. Little did I know, they were in the middle of another adventure! I called Brandon and asked if it stormed there like in Ciudad del Este. He said, “Yeah…blah, blah, blah…everything’s okay.” He was at the Cerro Lambaré with Peter, Ricardo, Nestor, etc. He climbed up the hill with the guys instead of taking the walkway with Jason and the other girls. Gaby stayed at Ben and Vivi’s. (As we were talking, I heard Ellen talking VERY LOUD in the background.) He assured me that he was fine so we hung up. But, for some silly reason, I called Brandon back about two minutes later and he said, “MOM, THEY JUST ROBBED ELLEN AND JASON!” I got a little more info out of him and hung up, praising God that he was safe along with the rest. (You can read the whole story on Ellen or Jason’s blog. The link is on the side.)
We later found out that Brandon took the cell phone from home even though Jason was in charge of it for the weekend. I wanted to get mad, but had he not done that, It would have been stolen! They guy asked Jason for his cell phone...and he didn't have one (Brandon had it) The cell phone came in handy by calling 911, Pastor Pedro, and the police since Brandon went up a different route. WOW!
I thank God for the constant protection He gives his children. I pray that these Adventures of a Lifetime will be molding Brandon’s tender life and bringing him, over and over again, to the throne of grace.
I thank God for the adventures. I thank Him for the lessons. I thank Him for life!