Spanglish Scribblings: La Nariz

It is always so humbling to visit a place that has so little, but the people that live there still have smiles on their faces. This year’s mission trip to La Nariz in Sonora, Mexico was a wonderful experience. La Nariz is a small village in the middle of the desert. It is only about 20 miles from the Arizona border but feels as if it is a whole world away.
While we are in La Nariz we do a number of things for the people living there. We try to help with physical needs by going to the surrounding villages and passing out large bags of food and flour. We meet their spiritual needs by having church services every night and have Vacation Bible School for the children. I know that we all feel a blessing from their presence and our souls feels lifted every time we hug them, talk to them, and listen to their testimonies.
There are so many stories that I could tell you about how the Lord works while we are in La Nariz. One that truly touched my heart is when we were passing out groceries and a young lady was eagerly waiting for us. She very gratefully took the bag of groceries and explained to us that the day before they had run out of groceries. She had no milk or anything to feed her children. She said the Lord had sent us just in time and provided for their needs. Can you imagine sending your kids to bed hungry? Passing out the food is one of my favorite things that we do in La Nariz and now I realize how important it really is.
Every year that our church goes to La Nariz there is a man named Emmanuel and his family that likes to cook a goat or a sheep for the group. It is such a sacrifice for them to do this but they insist on feeding us this special meal. Their living conditions are some of the worst I have ever seen, but they humbly and proudly open their home to us. Emmanuel's health is quickly diminishing and we soak up every minute with him while visiting because we know that this could possibly be the last time we see him. Emmanuel's wife insisted that she wanted a picture of them on their prize horse. She said she wanted a picture of him before it was too late. They do not have a camera or very many pictures of them and their family because that is a luxury. So his sons lifted him up and sat him on this beautiful horse. He put on his chaps and Cowboy hat and rode around knowing that this would probably be his last time to ride. It brought tears to everyone's eyes as he rode around with a smile on his face. Pray that God will heal his body and that we can see his sweet face next year.
I could go on and on about the awesome things that happened in La Nariz. Needless to say, I am so thankful for the opportunity that we had and be blessed by the wonderful people in La Nariz.