mujeres.

women are the backbone of the earth,

and it is no different here in chejje.

watching as they tred uphills in floppy sandals

heavy loads tied to their backs with brightly

colored blankets, stooped over & surrounded by children

and sheep and donkeys

every. single. day.

dusk. to. dawn.

i have felt a calling towards women’s ministry and this month had the opportunity to explore that a little more. originally we planned a small women’s conference, but it did not pan out because the women are working so hard all day. therefore, we took the conference on the road and had the opportunity to form relationships with various women and their families around chejje.

i prayed about what to share with the women here and felt like God led me to share the story about the samaritan woman at the well.  i’d like to share that with you and then show you some of the women we had the privilege to get to know.

john chapter 4 – essentially, in the story Jesus encounters a samaritan woman getting water and at the time samaritans and jewish people did not associate. however, he takes the time to talk to her. she questions Him and throughout their conversation He explains who He is and surprises her by being able to tell her about parts of her life and some of her sins despite never having met her. she comes to know Him and brings an entire community of samaritans to Christ.

what i love about this story is that even though

samaritans and jewish people did not associate at the time,

Jesus interrupted her life anyway,

He stopped, He spoke to her personally:

this woman mattered to Jesus

 her story was important

she was worth being seen

 He knew all of her sins

and still wanted to associate with her

 (we can’t hide our sins from God)

and we feel the same way: we believe that everyone is important to Jesus and needs to know that they are loved and important and worthy and that is why we left our homes to come to far away places and share this with people.

when Jesus tells her who He is

she believes him

she leads an entire community

to believe in Him

Jesus used her to share the gospel with many people

she is an every day woman like you and me

and Jesus used her for His glory

she was a woman of great influence

God wants to use us for His glory too,

our stories and who we are are important to Him

now i’d like to share with you some of the women’s stories from chejje. they are worth being told, worth being known, worth being loved.

j o s e p h i n e.

we sit and talk in the grass, where she and her dog sejo who she says“ loves me and i love him” sit and watch the chickens. every day she watches the chickens.

 78 years old. she never married but had one daughter, lydia, who passed away of epilepsy at age 30. she lives by herself, but close to family, including her sister and some nieces. she studied english in la paz and then came back and worked as a cook at kolaba farms (in the 1950s – 1960s when the missionaries were here running the orphanage). she still speaks excellent english to this day.

she tells me “men are bad.” they don’t work hard and sometimes they have “two women.” she says the women here must be very strong, and it is very difficult for them because they must take care of their entire family all on their own.

 she asks for prayer for her back, which hurts her, and her daughter lydia’s spirit.

l u c i a.

lucia sits under a little covering where they keep the wood. she insists on giving me her sweater to sit on so i don’t have to sit in the dirt, despite my protests. she always gives a big one toothed smile and lifts her hands up to praise God when she sees us.

she is 89 years old and is josephine’s sister. she has lived in chejje her whole life. she can hardly walk, she is completely hunched over and her right foot hurts her, but she can make it a little ways with the help of a cane and other people.

she loves the Lord and has never married, but also lives near some of her family. when we met her she asked us to read the Bible and she all ready knew exactly what verses she wanted to hear. she asks us to read the Bible to her everyday. when we told her we had to leave, she cried because she was “accustomed” to us being around, but said we would meet again in Heaven.

she tells us God is good, even when she doesn’t feel well.

 she asks for prayer for her health, her family, and her ability to walk.

.

i s a b e l l e.

she lives near the top of the hill, and when we come insists on putting out all the benches, footstools, and blankets she has for us. she is pastor lorenzo’s sister and says they grew up as orphans, and had a very difficult time surviving. she never went to school and she cannot read.

now, she grows crops with pastor lorenzo, and every sunday she takes things into la paz to sell. however, she tells us this year the rain has not come, and she is afraid many of her crops will die, though she prays this won’t happen. she also has asked us to read the Bible to her.

she tells us all about her grandson, who is first in his class in all subjects and especially good at math.

she asks for prayer for more rain this year.

i feel very blessed and inspired to have had the opportunity to meet so many strong women in chejje.