Many thanks to all of you who were praying for us on Sunday, July 11th! It was our first full day back at our mountain home, and our friends had a big party in honor of our return. They butchered one of the biggest pigs I have ever seen up here, and another small one just to make sure there was enough meat to go around! People began trickling in, until we were almost 100. While a few of the ladies worked hard cooking large pots of meat, plantains, yucca, and rice, the rest of the people gathered on our porch for a Sunday worship service. I was blessed to hear Sandra and Gilberto sing a new translation of a Spanish praise song that has always been a favorite of mine. Both Paulino and Milton shared and urged their many unsaved family members who had come for the big pig feed to listen to the Word of God. Then Doug shared a gospel message from the Word. It was a real blessing to be among our friends again.
Lunch went well, and everyone had plenty, but the enemy was not without his attacks on the day. One of the young boys was bitten by Brutus, the Outpost watch dog. There were lots of versions as to what happened and what provoked the dog (supposedly the boy had thrown the ball at the dog), but it did dampen the joy of the day. The Williams took the boy to the doctor and he will be fine. 
Then we were able to pass out the gifts we had brought up--many thanks to all who donated hats and handkerchiefs! I also used that opportunity to tell them that the reason we came back and left our friends and family was because God has given us an even greater gift than we could ever give them. And that's why we are here!
Our kids had been asking for a chance to go to swim at the river, so as the party began winding down, Keilah and Kimberly, along with their four Shaub cousins, Becky, and David (the 21 yr old young fellow staying with Shaubs to help with their house construction) headed off to the river for some fun. It had been raining upriver so I had warned some of them to watch out for high water. Well, to make a long story short, they were being careful not to get in too far and were out sitting on a rock with about 10 feet of waist-deep water between them and shore. The water had been clear but all of the sudden it turned muddy and began to rise. In a matter of a minute or so the river rose about 5 feet, over the rock, and then a log came down and pushed them off. Keilah said even though they knew to be careful, it all happened so suddenly. Praise the Lord that they were all able to make it to shore, one by one, with David helping Liana, the littlest. Quite a few of them lost their boots that they had left on the riverbank. All of them stopped on the shore and gave thanks to God for His protection. We were overwhelmed at God's mercy in our lives...to protect our precious children.
Thank you again for your prayers! It was quite the day.
In His Grip,
Kevin & Kathy, Keilah, and Kimberly