The morning after the incident the only thing on my mind was going to buy wood and start building that railing. The children's mother had already left to catch the bus and go to work when I saw the children that Friday morning. Rivaldo told me that his mother said it would be fine for me to fix up something at the back door. Praise God! The night before I had sketched up some plans so after I got the wood and nails I got right to work.
Once I entered their house I was able to take a better look around since the day before there was too much drama to take much in. Their living conditions saddened me, really. I had brought my camera to take a picture of my finished work, so I napped some pics while up there. They were down the road at a Bible club but said I was free to go in and work until they returned. I wouldn't have been able to get such pics otherwise since it would have made them feel awkward.
After the pics I got right to work pulling down the termite eaten boards. To my dismay these were attached to much thicker boards that also had termite damage. Thankfully not as much, but removing them would have required much more work at a level I'm not skilled at since they were attached to the concrete walls. So I was forced to nail the new boards into others that were less then adequate. As I hammered the long nails into the doorframe there was rotten wood debris falling on me from the top of the door and onto the only table in the house that was beside the door. It was as a 'catch all' table. Dishes, spices, forks, spoons, and one butane powered burner that served as their stove. On one side the burner was missing the prongs that hold the pot over the flame, so I noticed they put a rock on that side help hold up the pot. It was sad to see, along with the little butane tank that sat beside it, which could very well have been empty.
The children returned when I was just about done. They all said "Wow!" when they saw what I had done. Wanting to further connect with Rivaldo I let him hammer in the last few nails. He liked that and I think it made him feel like he had a part in it. He and I both checked it for strength and agreed it felt solid. It was good to see them excited about their new home improvement even if it was just a little something. It felt so good that later that day I took Samuel with me to buy them their own table and four chairs so they'd actually have a place to sit down and eat a meal as a family. The children loved it and were very surprised. I imagined what the look on their mother's face would be when she would arrive later that night. It made me smile.
All this reminded me afresh that being called to be a minister of the gospel is really a call to be a servant. When we're serving the poor in the name of Jesus we're fulfilling one more part of what the Lord has called us to. This is the "pure and undefiled religion" that James speaks of in 1:27.
A few days after this their mother came over one night. Originally from Guatemala she only speaks Spanish. Doing our best we explained it was all a gift from the Lord and we hoped she liked it. She said we was very pleased and very thankful. She then tried to pay us, bless her heart. We graciously declined, but we were very sure that we received an even deeper level of friendship with our neighbors.
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