A few weeks ago we shared with you about the house fire that destroyed the house of the Perez family.  We are writing now to tell you that within 2 weeks the Lord restored almost everything they had lost!

The church quickly went to work when they found out about the fire.  People showed up that very afternoon to help them sort through everything and take anything that might be salvageable to the church building which is where the Perez family stayed for a few weeks.  By the end of the day they had beds donated for them to sleep in, clothing for them to wear and food for them to eat.

Then a few days later the leaders of the church decided that instead of having regular church service that Sunday the congregation would use that time to build them a new house on some land that the pastors own.  So for the next 2 Sundays that was how City of Refuge did church.  They would meet in the morning for prayer and fasting and then work on the house until lunch time.

The church also shared a list of needs the family had and many people from the community donated.  One girl from the church shared with her class at college so that they could be praying for the family and all the students pulled together donations and gave almost $100 to help the family replace things they needed and buy materials for the house.

We talked to Pedro a few days after the fire and he said “I can’t say I’m not sad that we lost the house in a fire but I can say that I see God doing great things through it so how can I be unhappy?  My son was falling away from the Lord and he has now rededicated his life, my wife and daughters only came to church sporadically but now they are here every Sunday by my side so I can’t say I don’t see good in what God is doing.”  He also told us: “I have been asking God for a long time ‘How can I be a pastor if my own family isn’t even in right relationship with the Lord?’ but now the Lord is drawing them back to him and drawing us to him as a family.  God is good!”

It has been so encouraging for us to see the church family come together and care for this family.  We feel the same as Pedro does: we’re not happy that this happened to the Perez family but we are so thankful for all that the Lord is doing through this difficult time.

In addition to Pedro and Juanita’s son, Jacinto, reconciling with the Lord he and his girlfriend of 2 years have decided it is time to get married and move forwarded in the life that God has for them.  So on April 15 the family will be heading to their hometown of Nebaj, Guatemala for the wedding.  After the wedding Jacinto and his wife will be moving in with Juanita and Pedro until they can afford a place of their own.  They will not be staying in Nebaj because Jacinto has a job here and it is very hard to make a living in Nebaj.  Pedro and Juanita originally moved from Nebaj because they could not find work to support their family.  Please join us in praying for the newly weds and for the entire family during this time of transition.

We also want to share that Juanita now has her own tortilla business.  She has set it up at the pastor’s house because he has an area in the back of his house that is perfect for her to cook tortillas.  She has not been selling a lot but we keep encouraging her to stick with it because word will spread.  We have tried her tortillas and can attest they are some of the best tortillas around!

Please keep praying for physical restoration for this family but most importantly for spiritual restoration and that they would all grow individually and as a family in their relationship with the Lord!

Here are some pictures of the new house and Juanita’s tortilla stand: