This morning we visited the site of a mudslide that occurred here in San Pedro less than one month ago.  I have never seen anything like what I saw today.  When you stand on the shore of Lake Atitlan, you see the exquisite beauty of the mountains and the water, but when you turn around and face the land, all that meets your eyes is destruction.  People´s homes were destroyed, their crops obliterated.  Everything is covered in mud.  Debris littered the area–ruined clothes, shoes, dishes, toys, chairs.  We even saw a gift that a child had made for his mother with the words “Feliz dia Mama” written on it.

In the midst of the destruction, there stood a man chopping firewood for his family–wood that used to be the walls of his home…  He told us about the mudslide and explained that he and the others who had lived in the area had nothing left but the clothes on their backs.  They have no food, no money and no help.  Their own government is not even helping them because of some racial issues between the Latin people and the Myan people. 

As we prayed with the man, he wept and cried out to God fervently, yet we also heard him thank the Lord over and over again in his prayers.  It was so touching to see that he thanked the Lord for His goodness even despite all the devastation in his life.  To me, that is a huge testimony to the hope we find in Christ and the fact that, although there will be troubles in this world, the Lord takes care of His children and has a better place prepared for us in Heaven.