I can remember as if it was today, the moment I received a phone call from Joe LoMonaco, the founder of Proyecto Fe.  I clearly remember the path I was walking when I stopped to answer the ringing “cell phone” in my pocket.  That is in quotes because when I left the United States, we DID have mobile phones and I was an owner of one!  It was a Motorola, wouldn’t fit in your pocket, nor would you want it there…it was relatively big and a bit heavy.  Instead, it was mounted in your car and like cell phones today, gave you the feeling of staying connected though you where away from home…Remember getting home and listening to the messages of all the people who called throughout the day?

Anyway, that call was an answer to prayer.  There was a time in San Pedro when, for many reasons I decided, with the help of a dear friend and his family, to run a taco stand along with two other little stores…a few months before the end of the first year of having the places open, as I would lay my head on my pillow to retire for the night, I would hear these words run through my head:  “I did not send you here to run a business.”  The very same week that I finally submitted and answered:  “Okay Lord, I trust that you will provide for me, and I will close all three of the businesses”; I received Joe LoMonaco’s phone call with these words:  Hi Pam, this is Joe LoMonaco, from Proyecto Fe.  We have made several trips to San Pedro and have watched you in your ministry.  Right now I cannot promise you anything, but we want to help support you in your ministry.   I am sure you can imagine what it was like when the call was ended…just in case you can’t, I will help you imagine it: …think about receiving something you have needed, but never having told anyone of your need; you simply drop it, your eyes well up and you run to that person with the biggest hug you have inside of you.  That was me before the Lord that day!  I can only imagine what the Lord felt knowing that a child of His obeyed His nudging to reach out to another child of His in need.  

God has provided for me for many years through the Proyecto Fe family (that family includes YOU, the one reading this right now.)  and my current stay in Anchorage has been no exception!   My trip here began on April 1^st. for the purpose of shoulder surgery and was to end on April 23^rd.    Before arriving in Anchorage nearly all the necessary arrangements had been made for my surgery and my three week stay.  By the grace of God, I had a place to live, a vehicle to drive and my surgery was fully covered!   There were things I had not considered but God put people in my path to help guide my thinking and provide what I needed.  I soon had someone to pick me up and a place to stay after surgery, some loose-fitting clothes, sweatpants, and button-down shirts (if you ever have shoulder surgery you will know why those become indispensable).  A women’s love group from one of the churches had already set up meals to be delivered, rides to and from doctor’s appointments, I even had an electric recliner delivered to the place I was staying by a loving fellow who already knew what I was in for!  And from another ex-shoulder surgery patient an electric cooling device for all the icing she already knew I would need.  I was greeted with baskets of treats and meaningful gifts…I was infused with love from every angle.  I was provided for by God through His sons and daughters whom He nudged, and they responded.

My planned three week stay in Anchorage needed to be extended and I am still here, and you are still loving me and providing for me!  It is the longest I have ever been away from San Pedro.  As a result, I have experienced many firsts in the United States in twenty-four years!  My first Easter, my first Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, 4^th of July…  At the same time, I experienced my first misses in 24 years at Colegio Bethel in San Pedro…I missed my first Easter celebration, my first Mother’s Day, Family Fun Festival,  Pancake Breakfast, and our annual Anniversary Celebration!!   I will also walk away with a different opinion of the beauty with which God made Alaska, at least in the summer!  The scenery in Anchorage, Alaska during the months I have been here went from pretty to absolutely gorgeous and it happened nearly overnight!  I like to think:  God did that “with me on His mind”!  He knew I was cold and bundled up every time I left the house!!  Even though I have remained in Anchorage much longer than expected, God has not gotten tired of providing for me and you have not tired of being nudged.  Through you He has provided visits, visitors, walks, activities, church services, drives… all of which provided great conversations, searching and learning moments, much joy, great moments of reminiscing and sometimes even eyes that saw tears and hearts that heard sadness.  I truly have no adequate words to express the thanks I hold in my heart for all that has been done for me, all the love that has been provided. 

As I write this, I am happy to share with all of you that I am now planning my return home.  I continue to ask for your prayers for my continued recovery especially for the nerve issues; may these next few months in San Pedro, before I return for the auction, be a time to calm and heal whatever is wreaking havoc with the nerves in my arm, hand, and wrist. 

Remember at the very beginning I mentioned something about cell phones?  It would have been so much harder to have been away from home without the technology that God allowed man to discover…wifi zones gave me a way to have some contact with my family in Guatemala while my Proyecto Fe family in Anchorage provided for me here.   Some days when I got to a wifi zone I had 20 to 30 messages waiting to be responded to.  Just like the olden days!  I just got to the end of my article, and these are the words that came into my mind:  “How great is our God, sing with me how great is our God, and all will see how great, how great is our God”.  

May we all know and trust how great is our God, so that all will see how great our God is. 

Pamela Chevalier