Wind Report – Brownsville

God Stirs the Winds In Brownsville – Pat Neulist

I had the privilege of working in the evenings in nearby La Paloma in a mobile home community where the local church is wanting to start a mission church! A young couple living there, Noe and Araceli, are very excited about getting a church started. We were thrilled to have 48 men, women and children (and some dogs too) attend VBS the first night! Our youth were awesome in helping with the recreation and refreshments, leading the singing, playing with the kids, and helping with the Bible stories and activities.

While the wind and heat were a challenge at times (abandoned the idea of even trying to use the easy-up tents and had to stake down the tarps to keep them from blowing away), we had a great time getting to know the children and their parents. Araceli (or Shelly as we called her) was so excited about getting to know some of her neighbors, which had not happend before we walked their neighborhood and knocked on doors, inviting all to VBS. I especially enjoyed getting to know Shelly as we walked and hearing her stories about how she and Noe met and got married, where they lived before moving into this community, how the hurricane destroyed their first mobile home there, and all about their children: two girls and a boy, Junior, who is the oldest. He is one special young boy and I miss him already! On our last evening there, as we said our goodbyes, Junior asked if we would be back the next Sunday. When I said, no, not for a while, I could see tears welling up in his little eyes, and quickly added that I believed we would be back next summer. Meanwhile, Noe and Shelly are planning to start a Bible study in their home and keep in touch with their new friends in the neighborhood. Shelly has already been invited to join one of her neighbors for barbeque. I look forward to seeing how God has been at work with them in starting a new church, right there in their own back yard! Who knows, maybe we’ll get to visit them again before next summer!