True Riches...

After being a month in Nicaragua (and spending way too much money), we were anxious to get to Guatemala where we knew our budget would shrink.  Instead of $1500 for the month, our rent here is $300.  However different our house in Nicaragua was to our house in the States, this house in Guatemala is so vastly different than our house in Nicaragua.  For the $1200 difference, we have no washer or dryer.  There is mold growing all over the walls, we have a tiny fridge the size of a hotel fridge (there’s still 8 of us), a camping stove that never really does boil water, water that only runs if you turn on a pump (no pressure tank), beams which are broken, three stories, big metal locks, bars on windows, and widow makers (water that goes through an electrical device that heats the water as it goes through it for showers), we have 7 plates (I broke one after 2 days), 8 forks, 8 knives, 8 bowls, one pan, one wok, one pot and a few serving bowls with two big spoons and three knives.  There are 3 volcanoes that surround us and as we walk the path to the children’s home, women are chopping wood in the forest for their cook fires.  This has really made us reflect on what our true needs are.  Even with so little, we are still rich because we have solid walls and a kitchen and bathroom that are located indoors. We have running water (even though we have to turn on a pump and have to fill a cistern with a hose).  However little material things we presently reside in, we are reminded that our true riches are in Christ. We have hope in Him and are blessed to be children of the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. 

-Heather