Today is Tuesday! However, I am still playing catch up on my blogging and updating of information. So what I’m saying is, today is actually “Sunday.” It was a very exciting day for us, “hermanos”, as they call us. We were asked to lead the church service at Monte Sion that morning. Leading the service meant we were going to lead them in worship, in the sermon, as well as a few other surprises. The worship went absolutely wonderful, we sang “Better is One day”, “Amazing Grace-My chains are gone”, & “Heart of Worship”. Their faces just lit up as we all went to the front and began singing altogether, even though we sang them all in English. After the first two songs Claire gave her testimony, and did splendidly. Following Claire I got the privilege and the opportunity to paint my picture from pageant along to the song “Beautiful Things” by the Gungor Band. Not everything was going my way that morning, including waking up late and FORGETTING the glitter to my painting. However after the response of the church congregation, and the fill in glitter from Carrie, I realized they didn’t care that it wasn’t exactly perfect, and that God had everything under control; including the Pastor-Helmer Chavez coming up to me to say that he understood what the painting symbolized. Bobby talked about how BIG God is in our lives, and the beauty of his magnitude. We were ever so lucky to have Ramon translate in Spanish for us, he truly has been a massive blessing for us all; including the people we come into contact with daily, on the streets or at Monte Sion. My only hope is that we will not take him for granted. A language barrier has to be one of the most frustrating feelings on the face of the planet. I know some Spanish, enough to get me by, but not being able to carry on an in depth conversation is very discouraging; so Ramon is a big help for all of us with that barrier. After we left the church, we came back and had a delicious lunch at Villa Milagro; which was waiting for us when we arrived. Lunch was chicken salad sandwich, chips, cheese crackers, and chocolate covered almonds, and this was delicious, but nothing in comparison to all of the meals we have been eating and will continue to eat. Then following we gathered up any and every ball or sports game to play with that we could take to the church that afternoon. We made plans that afternoon to meet up with the youth and play games and hangout, just one youth group with another. We had quite a few there to play with, most of the youth we had met and gotten to know through the Quincineria and the church service that morning. We played with the Frisbee, some played volleyball, but the biggest hit was soccer. Now let me tell you, soccer here is not a joke whatsoever. They play on concrete, on grass, on dirt, on gravel; it doesn’t matter as long as you have a ball and a goal. Rules don’t really apply, other than if you seriously injure someone, or the ball goes out of bounds. No one was seriously injured, or as far as I can tell. Others who didn’t play, sat and talked on the sidelines or played another game, but no one person was alone in that entire courtyard. It was a lot of fun and a good way to end the evening. Whenever leaving the church or any other place we go to, it never fails that they ask, “When will we see you next?” or “Do you want to come back tonight or tomorrow or whenever?” It’s a good feeling to know that they want more of you, or more time to hang out with you. When we returned back to Villa Milagro, we had a moment to breathe and then had yet another fantastic meal prepared by the kitchen staff. To keep this from rolling on and on, we closed the night out with debriefing the day, and giving out “gold” stars, as well as planning the first day of VBS. Yet another successful day!
Please continue to keep everyone in your prayers, maybe not necessarily for safety or for supernatural energy, but that God would continue to open our eyes to the needs of those around us, and for humble hearts to serve no matter the circumstance. However safety and energy are always positive, but that’s understood already.
God continues to remind me that he is in control, that he has a plan and that we are all a part of it; all we have to do is just listen.
Dios de Bendiga, Love,
Mare
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