Contagious Generosity

It's "group season" at LAMB!   We have people coming down almost non-stop through July.   What a blessing it is to be with old friends, and to make new ones, working side-by-side in the Name of Jesus!

Yesterday I was translating for Dr. Jim Warmbrod as Dr. Laurie Harrell's medical brigade was serving the people of Colonia Emanuel.   We were crowded into a small cement block house which had been divided into two "rooms" by a curtain of sheets pinned together.   The front part was the waiting room, and the back part was the consulting room (four doctors, their translators and patients!).    It was HOT.   I got a phone call from my friend, Engineer Elsa.   She had been to my house to see how the roof repairs were coming along:   "Suzy, I know you don't want to hear this, but you really need to change the whole roof."   Ugh.   My heart sank.   We were going to replace all the ceiling tiles, the wood supporting them, and treat the large beams with anti-termite stuff.   We weren't going to change the beams or the roof tiles.   But the beams are also rotten, and the roof is asbestos.    I told her to let me think about it.

I didn't really need to think about it.   It was a no-brainer:   replacing the ceiling under a rotten roof??   I just needed to accept it.   I needed to ask Jesus about how we were going to pay for it.   I felt sad and anxious.

The next morning, three friends emailed to say they wanted to help with our roof!   THREE.   A friend on the Atlanta team which had just left had already said he wanted to help, too.   FOUR.    Once again the Lord was showing me:  You are not alone.   You have family.   I know what you need.

Today I felt as if I had caught "the love bug."   I sat down on the bleachers up in Flor to watch Don Wilbur's soccer clinic, and three scruffy young boys sat down near me.  I was munching on something.   I said, "Are you hungry?"   They all nodded.   I gave them money for lunch.   While I was treating them to lunch, Amanda was taking off her tennis shoes (see photo above) because there was a girl playing soccer on the field barefoot!    Then we went to Lydia's to say goodbye to Diana Collins' group from Vermont.   A woman was digging in the garbage across the street.   I went over to her, greeted her with a smile and gave her some money, too.    



Although I can't be generous in as big a way as some people, I enjoy giving, and I know you do, too.   It is truly more blessed to GIVE, although when you are in need, it is also a huge blessing to RECEIVE.

Generosity is contagious.   Let's all catch "the love bug"!