Helping Our Sister’s Family
Five minutes ago I answered the door to a mother of two squirrely boys and two grandmother types who came with her. Mom spoke very limited English and it took a while to figure out what she was looking for. “I have appointment for a week,” she kept repeating. I finally understood that she was looking for Sea Mar Medical Clinic, even though she somehow had the church address. I pointed her in the right direction and went back to this note.
My 10-minute interaction with her freshened my awareness of what a struggle it can be for non-English speakers simply to navigate everyday life. That is one of the reasons I am so thankful that part of our church ministers in Spanish. This opens up gospel opportunities in an increasingly large portion of our community. Today, the Spanish-speaking part of our church body is a busy and growing family.
Last Sunday, however, was a terribly difficult day for our family as one of our dear sisters passed away. Sandra Ríos joined our Evergreen Spanish family a little over a year ago. Her sister Isabel had already been attending for about six years. Despite many treatments and fighting with all she had, cancer took Sandra’s life last Sunday, July 28. Her family leaves at 6:00am on Thursday to go back home, so there will be a brief service Wednesday evening, 7:00pm at EBC. All are welcome to attend a celebration of life to honor her and to show love to her mother, husband and children before they return home. Please pray for the grieving family. As disability has kept Sandra’s husband from work, a great financial burden has fallen on Isabel’s shoulders, now including funeral costs and transporting Sandra back home for burial. If you feel called to help the family, please contact contact Jose or Ruth Alvarez, or you may bring a gift to the memorial service.
Thank you for continuing to pray for the family.
Pastor Toby
Categories: Evergreen Connection