Water in Cofradia

On November 8, I sent out a plea of prayer for water in Cofradia through Facebook.  Many of you responded and we are very grateful!  

That day as many of you prayed with us while we went out to the well, we prayed that God would open up the water veins again and provide water for the town.  The well had gone dry during the three months we were without water.  We had to repair a number of water lines throughout the town and the pump was getting weak as well.

While we were out praying at the well, we sensed a need to go pray for the man in charge, Fermin.  From there, we went to his house and he was very appreciative of our visit.  We assured him that we knew and God knew that he was doing all he could to help the town get out of the problem it was in. With tears in his eyes, he mentioned to us that many townspeople had been ridiculing him and were placing the blame on him for no water.  He was under a lot of stress.  After visiting for a while and hearing his story of the pain he felt in his eye, we prayed for him and the town.

Since then, some men went out and dug the well a little deeper and said that "mucha agua" was flowing out of the veins.  What an answer to prayer!  The water lines are fixed and we have had water now for a couple of weeks.  As we heard the water pouring into the underground cistern at the house, it felt like Christmas when an excited little child anticipates the beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree.

There are still two issues that have not been resolved.  The first one is that the power company continued to charge the town for the use of the electricity for the pump at the well.  It was nearly the equivalent of $3,000 US Dollars.  The town leaders went to fight it and the authorities lowered it to just over  the equivalent of $1,000 US Dollars.  The townspeople are set back with what they have to pay and some are refusing to pay.  This is a heart issue and a perfect example of how one person's (many in this case) specific sin affects many others who have been obedient.  Now, the town has to pay that bill, plus the bill for November that will be here in a few days.  If we don't pay it, we go back to not having water again.  It's a sad situation, but this is a small town and it's how it is in towns like these.  The monthly water cooperation for each family is only about $3 dollars!  We can pay this, it's just a matter of the Lord softening the hearts that have been hardened.

The other unresolved issue is Fermin's sight.  When we were there he was able to see well, but had pain in his left eye.  That was a Friday, the next Tuesday I went to visit him again and he had gone completely blind in one eye and the other eye was fuzzy.  I have been visiting him from time to time and we even went out there with the group from Texas to pray for him.  This morning he still has pain as if a nail were scraping his eye as it moved back and forth.  He is still blind in his left eye and has blurred vision in the other.  I've been sharing with him about Jesus' love for us and how we can become His children.  Fermin has been taught that everyone is God's child.  We know from the Scriptures that everyone is His creation, but in order to become His child, we need to believe in Christ and receive him as our Savior as Genesis 1:26 and John 1:12 state (just to mention a couple of the many verses on this subject).

Please continue to pray for the town and for Fermin.  Fermin's doctor changed his appointment from November 28 to the end of January.  There is no one (within his insurance plan) that will see him.  Pray for his salvation as well.

Thank you for reading and praying.

Fermin and I

Texas group praying with Fermin