La Lanillal

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Billy led this morning’s devotional about seeking shelter in the Lord during life’s storms. After breakfast, we loaded up and were on our way to La Lanillal. After about two hours of travel, we were greeted by views of beautiful plants and smiling faces.

Today’s clinics were held in the home of a sweet, caring, and resilient woman named Doña Mary. Erin felt led to give her cross to her today. She was struck by Mary’s humbleness and kindness for opening up her home.

Billy bonded with the children and made lots of new friends. Lillie got to put her soccer skills to use, as well! Nancy found the community’s patience and gratefulness humbling. She was also impressed by and thankful for the care and planning that Friends of Barnabas provides from start to finish.

We shared highlights from the day during our evening discussion. We saw extremely impressive work in the dental clinic by Dr. Jamie, Dr. Ondina, and Frances. The line was out the door for extractions and cleanings, but the clinic erupted in giggles when a young girl receiving a cleaning was tickled by the suction wand. Reeves, our team Optometrist, got to use his Spanish skills consistently today, and was very impressed by his growth from last year. We even had a scorpion encounter! Thankfully, Arturo stepped in to kill it.

We concluded the night with an incredible devotional by Lillie about the importance of walking together, both with fellow team members and the communities we are partnering with. She handed out fun socks as a reminder! Afterward, Nancy read about the community we will visit tomorrow.

— Lillie and Alex