Living Water International Report
By Mike & Georgann Gullickson
God is on His Throne and Evelina is finally in her house! In January, a group from Canada (Adventures in Missions) led by Florence Mayerle began work on what is now home to Evelina Rivas and her 9 children. The children range in age from 14 years to 3 months. The group worked hard during a late rainy season to get some of the basic structure started and walls up. The rain kept them from completing all they had intended but you could feel the excitement as the work was being accomplished.
God provides… Brookwood Community Church from Greenville, S. Carolina came in February. After a week of medical clinics, children’s ministry and well drilling they were able to take one day and complete the roof, doors and windows.
MidWest Missionair from Kansas arrived in March with four hard working men who worked inside hanging doors, making screens for the windows and even bunk beds for the kids to sleep.
Due to heavy rains during a visit from a group with Salem Lutheran Church from Tomball, Texas the well-drillers were not able to drill so… God provided just the right people to complete the electrical on her house.
We moved Evelina and children into the house last Sunday (amid a terrible rain storm) and what a blessing to see the smiles on her children’s faces and know that tonight they would sleep safe and sound in a dry place provided by these many volunteers. We pray God’s richest blessings on all of you that helped. You have invested in the future of 9 children here in Honduras. We’ve never considered building houses as part of our ministry here but we truly felt God wanted it done and so He did.
Alittle history… we met two of Evelina’s kids last March during a medical brigade. We sensed there was a need. To make a long story short we took the kids to their home and found that all of them lived in a small shack (as pictured) on the side of a dirt road. Evelina was "squatting" on some land. This began a wonderful relationship between Evelina’s family and ours. Georgann began taking a bag of food to her each week which enabled Evelina to stay home and take care of her children. She is a widow and God impressed on our hearts that she needed help. (James 1:27) Her older boys do odd jobs to help her out. She is now reaching out to a neighbor by inviting them to join her in Bible reading and singing songs in her new home every morning. We thank you all again for the great things He has done through you!!
Brookwood Community Church drilled two wells, held 5 days of medical clinics, ministered to who knows how many children daily AND worked on Evelina’s house. This was the first time we had all ministry teams work around the well drilling site. It was a fabulous week with much work being completed. Roland Bergeron (team leader) will be returning in May for a drill camp for some of our locals. He and Mike will also explore drilling possibilities in the Moskitia.
We had our first LWI/Honduras Board meeting in February. This meeting was basically to share our hearts for the wonderful work God is doing through the ministry here. In attendance were Dr. Hector Gomez, Dr. Dina Gomez, Mary Gale, Hans Brooks and Mike and Georgann Gullikson.
As you can see from the photo we work hard here but we have a lot of fun too. God is so good. I know you hear us say that a lot but it is true. We get tired and cranky (occasionally!) but the rewards are worth it.
The children’s ministry here is always full of surprises. The kids are so hungry for adult attention. We appreciate how all the groups are beginning to invest ministry time with these kids. I think many of our volunteers come thinking "what have I got myself into" but leave with a warm smile on their faces. Thank you for risking to do something different. The most rewarding times are those when we allow God to take us out of our comfort zones. He always equips us with what we need for the task He has called us to do. Many times we have revisited these communities and see many of the bracelets, pictures and crafts you left behind. What a blessing you are to so many little ones here. God has left His fingerprint in many of those places through your generous love.
On another note… our daughter Beth was accepted to Houston Baptist University. She is thrilled and so are we. This has been a very busy year for her. She has played on all the sport teams available this year and done very well. She began with volleyball (her first love), then soccer ("most valuable player") and now basketball. Needless to say Mike and I think God is preparing us for the empty nest as she is never home.
We look forward to seeing many of you this year. There is a lot of work to be done and we welcome your partnership here with us.
Greatfully yours,
Mike and Georgann