Visiting Katherine's House

Last week, January 6-13, a dental team from Kansas City, Missouri came to Herrera to work with our school. The team did everything from cleaning teeth to extracting them! It was a really awesome week, so watch for more details on the team in my coming soon February Newsletter.

A very profound experience that I had last week that I would like to share with you now, has to do with visiting one of my students’ home. The dentist I translated for, Dr. Brent, sponsors one of our 4th graders here at Grace School. He had the privilege of checking her teeth, and asked her if he could meet her parents and visit her home over the lunch hour. I had the awesome blessing to go with him as his translator, and what I saw impacted me very deeply. This girl, Katherine, who is in my English class every week, lives in a house the size of my kitchen. It is about 6 feet wide and 12 feet long. It was divided by a single curtain into two rooms: the kitchen and the bedroom (where all 4 family members sleep). In order to make room for us to enter the kitchen, Katherine had to remove a large plastic basin, which she told us they use for bathing. While we toured their humble home, the mother began to cry, a little embarrassed of her situation. But God used it to bring hugs and words of encouragement between the 7 of us, and I hope I never forget it.

This experience made me once again so very grateful for the many blessings and opportunities that God has given me and continues to give me each day. It motivated me greatly, seeing the life Katherine lives, to teach all the kids at Grace School with a little more patience, love, and care and, of course, to teach them about the hope that Jesus offers us through His awesome gift of salvation. It made me excited to make learning fun for them, so that they would dream of becoming someone great, and know they can realize those dreams by serving God and submitting to the wonderful plans that God has for each one of them.
“’For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11

God bless you all.
Casey