Friday, April 23, 2010

There's a Reason...

people behave the way they do, not an excuse, just a reason. Many times I forget that I don't know someone's STORY... everything that has contributed to the way they are behaving in the moment or the kind of person they are every day.

We have been frustrated with Mateo, Gerardo, Marcela, Maruca, and Choki's dad in the past for different things. The main thing is that the times we have hired one of his kids to do something for us, he usually takes their pay and drinks it away. The other day we got to hear some of his STORY... at least through the eyes of one of his sons (Mateo).
(Gerardo with his dad)
During the war Mateo's dad had an 18 acre farm. They lived in a nice house and had plenty of food to eat. One day the guerrillas showed up and explained that it was now going to be Mateo's family's responsibility to feed them. They stole his entire harvest and told him that if he fought with them, then after the war he would be farming again, but this time with tractors. He felt like he had no other option. Now he has 2 acres and not enough room to do crop rotation, so his land produces less and less every year. They live in New Horizon where they are greatly discriminated against because they are Kekchi (even though the guerrillas were supposedly fighting for indigenous rights.) Mateo said, "If it wasn't for us, they (meaning the guerrillas in NH) would have starved, look at how they treat us now." His father lost everything and without the Lord, no wonder he drinks.

Please pray for Mateo's dad. We are no longer "allowed" in New Horizon, but God still is working in there. We have remained very close with this family. Please pray that Mateo's dad will one day come to know the Lord.

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