When You Have Just Enough, But Way More

     Faviola is a single mother of three. She is blind. Why? Because she has untreated diabetes which comes with a whole host of problems. One of them being that she has strange water pockets forming in some places in her body. They expect her to pass away soon. But, she has hope. This hope is greater than this life. She may often be in pain. She may not be able to get up by herself. She may rely on her twelve-year-old daughter to help with getting dressed and to do all the cooking. But despite all that, she has the hope of Christ.
     This is a greater hope, a greater joy. A joy she has passed on to all of her children: Arvi (12) Ebylin (10) and Denny (7). Though her daughter Arvi has been taking care of her mother the past 4 years she has no bitterness towards her. She cooks. She cleans. She shops. She attends school. She goes to the hospital and cares for her mother when she is there. She picks up her mother's medication. All this she does and never complains against her mother. She is not angry at her siblings and treats them with so much love. Though she has had a large burden placed upon her she does not see it that way. She sees it as a way she can bless others.
    Arvi said of her mother, “My mom is a hero, she endures so much pain and still smiles. She teaches us about Christ.”
     Every Sunday the entire family walks 6 blocks on a dirt road to church, including Faviola for whom walking is very difficult due to her condition. They walk there because these are the people who have become family for them. The church and after school program the kids attend funded by the church are at the same location. Because Faviola is unable to work the church takes an offering for their family once a month to supply them with the money they need for food. It’s not much. Ebylin said, “I’ve never been out to eat, even to a cafe for a drink.” But, they are able to live on it.
     With the meager supplies and the hard-living conditions due to Faviola's medical situation, you would expect this family to be very different. But they all love one another dearly. You see it lived out in their everyday life. Arvi gladly allows her brother to sit in her lap during church and often has her sister sitting beside her. This family is evidence of the hope we have in Christ. Our own circumstances might be very challenging, but they have chosen to build their foundation on the hope that Christ gives.

• Pray for Faviola’s health
• Pray that the local church will continue to grow and that many more would come to know Christ in this town.