I am trying to remember what life was like before 3:00 AM on
June 21st. I remember Manuel and Josué were working hard in their
studies and completed their finals week at the beginning of June. I remember
that Marvin finished a few welding projects. I remember that Joanna was rolling
to get to her brother’s toys and that Thomas was happy to share them with her.
I remember that I was struggling off and on with contentment and trusting the
Lord. I remember going to the funeral of the little 2 year old girl from our
church and wondering how her sweet family would be able to move on after such
tragic loss. I remember the morning that Marvin and I took off with Thomas and
Joanna to have a night in Puerto Cortes, and I remember leaving Manuel and Josué
to focus on a big school project about universities outside of Honduras. I
remember our sweet but short visit to Puerto Cortes. I remember seeing 3 of
Marvin’s sisters and other friends from Worldwide Heart to Heart Ministries. But
what I remember most is the phone call that Marvin received at 3:00 AM on June
21st.
He was told that his sister Amavilia was admitted to the
hospital. She was not doing well. Marvin left quick and made it to Puerto
Cortes to briefly see his sister before she was taken out of the ER and into
the ICU. She was in the ICU until July 1st. Then she was in a
regular hospital room until July 4th when she went to be with the
Lord. During the 2 weeks of illness, we were able to visit on the weekends and
have more time with Marvin’s family. The details of her illness are complicated
and not worth sharing here, but the details of who she was certainly are.
Amavilia was loving, kind, hard-working, multi-talented, and had a great laugh
to go with her beautiful smile. We loved her so much and will always miss her.
We pray for God’s comfort for Marvin, Josué, and the rest of her family.
(Captions below pictures explain relationship to Amavilia)
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| Sister Susana, sister Wendy, Joanna |
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| Father Orlando and Thomas |
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| Father Orlando, Manuel, sister Wendy, Thomas, Marvin, Josue |
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| Thomas, brother Yankel |
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| Joanna, sister Estefani, sister Leydi, brother Yankel |
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| Thomas, Karen, Marvin, Mother Maria, Joanna |
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| Josue, Thomas, sister Wendy, sister Susana, Oscar (Heart to Heart), Joanna |
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| Sister Telma, sister Susana, grandmother Marta, Joanna |
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| Marvin's grandmother Marta and mother Maria |
This scripture has encouraged me as I struggle with
Amavilia’s death and the reality that anything, anyone could be gone at
anytime.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow
over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are
distressed, it is for your comfort, and salvation; if we are comforted, it is
for your comfort, which produces patient endurance of the same sufferings we
suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in
our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Compassion, comfort, salvation, patient endurance, hope.
Thank you Lord for providing these things amidst the distress and suffering.
“I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing
of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your
faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let
your glory be over all the earth.” – Psalm 57:9-11
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| Amavilia with Joanna November 2016 |
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| Amavilia and Josue November 2016 |
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| Amavilia, sister Telma, brother Erlin, Marvin, 1992 |
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| sister Wendy, sister Susana, Thomas, Amavilia, Karen, Marvin October 2014 |
