Make me a servant

This week we've been hard at work on Charlie and Inma's house. They are the couple who sewed with me during the children's English camp, and painting inside their apartment has been our main project these past two weeks (after helping rid them and their daughters of lice). I mentioned before that their 6 year old little girl is very sick and the doctors have given them almost no hope that she'll live much longer. Charlie has a bad heart and Inma has a physical limitation in her ability to walk. Charlie has been unemployed for 4 years and Inma cleans a business part time for a small income.

Nick has really taken the lead on this project and I'm so proud of the job he's doing. (Susanna, my hostess, said to me "Nick is special to you isn't he?" I said "Yeah, he is. Why do you mention it?" she said "You have affection for him and it shows when you talk to him-like a mother's.") He has identified needs around the house and has been almost completely in charge of the paint crew, working non-stop all morning every day and even going back in the evening on a couple of days

The team has filled in cracks in the plaster ceiling, spackled holes in the walls, moved furniture, painted every room in the house (walls and ceiling) and even added decorative stenciling, borders and lettering. We have tried hard to help them with the lice problem, but we're still not 100% sure that it's all cleared up so everyone who works there wears a bandanna tied around their head and shampoos with vinegar every night. I have been working at the church with some girls. We're using Carla's sewing machine to make curtains out of sheets for each of the bedrooms. The leftover pieces of sheets we had weren't quite big enough so we created somewhat of a patchwork effect to use small pieces to make full sized curtains.

Tomorrow we are sending the family to the beach (they haven't been able to afford to go in 5 years even though it's less than a half hour away) and while they're gone we're going to scrub the place and then put it all back together complete with new bedding and curtains. We can't wait to see their faces when we show them the finished product!
Some host families have been worried about the potential of us bringing lice into their house (understandably). It's a tough call for us to know how to deal with their concerns but overall the team has such servant hearts! I was reminded this morning that Jesus said, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me." Some may see Charlie's family with their health problems, poverty and lice as the "least of these", but we know that Jesus took on the job of the lowest servant when he washed his own followers' feet, and it is His example we want to follow. If we get our hands dirty in the process, well, I guess that's a small price to pay for the blessing Charlie's family is receiving.