Considering that this time last week we didn’t know what this week was going to look like, we have somehow managed to do a lot!
After catching a glimpse of the eclipse (very cool, but slightly underwhelming!), some of us went with the Pastor to the abandoned church we discovered last week. A family from the area joined us in prayer, and we sang “Nothing But The Blood” in Spanish, which the Pastor absolutely loved. We continue to hold them in our prayers and hope to see a revived church in the future.
That evening we enjoyed our first football win against the locals, much to the delight of us all!
On Tuesday we held another of our English classes, with five kids attending as well as the Pastor. We taught a variety of basics including numbers, animals, and emotions. It was really cool seeing the kids learning and picking up words – we can really see their progress from the first week. The team was also fab at leading it, taking it in turns to lead different parts.
Some of us were able to join the Pastor on some prayer visits on Wedneday. First we prayer for a retired Pastor called Francisco – we chatted for a while, sang “This Is Amazing Grace” (Gracia Sublime Es) and read out Psalm 139 as an encouragement. Afterwards, we walked to a place overlooking the lake and joined another group of people. After a time of prayer and music we were asked to sing, so we sang “Abre Mis Ojos O Cristo” (Open The Eyes Of My Heart Lord) acapella! The Pastor did a sermon as well. It was encouraging to see how God moves in so many different ways and we were reminded of the power of prayer.
While they were out, Hannah, Charlotte, and Ella S went on a spontaneous trip with the Pastor, who had insisted on finding a mariachi band for Ben’s birthday the next day.
And so it was that we were woken up on Thursday morning to the sound of fire crackers going off at 6am, and suddenly the mariachi band began playing from behind a puff of smoke. They sang happy birthday songs for a whole hour, while we sat outside in pur PJs and clapped along. Then Ben opened some presents, and we had some chill time in the sun while Sara and her friend cooked an amazing roast chicken for lunch! Then came another football match against some locals….which we won!
Unfortunately, we did have a lot of sickness in the team that weekend. A few team members were quite ill which caused the general energy of the group to go down – prayer would be much appreciated! Depsite the difficulties, it made us pull together as a team and enabled us to grow closer.
At the end of the week, we started construction again, which is a massive answer to prayer! The church have found a couple of people to take on the work, and we started by smoothing down all the walls so that we could flick cement on them.
We had loads of fun in the afternoon leading a kids sports afternoon, even though it had been a really tiring day for us! We felt very grateful for the answered prayer that so many kids turned up, as we had been praying about it all day. At the end of the session, we asked three of the mums if they would consider continuing games afternoons for the kids when we leave. They were positive and wanted to carry on with it, so we have been very encouraged by that. The kids have brought us so much joy and one thing we have learnt, which we will take to our next project, is the importance of continuity for weekly events.
On Saturday, Maddie (our Short-Term Coordinator) came for a quick visit, and we had a lovely picnic with her and our host family.
This past week has been filled with highs and lows, but we continue to stand firm in whatever God has planned for us.
Prayer points
Give thanks:
- for the conversations with the mums at sports and the news that they are willing to continue hosting the sessions after we leave.
- that Theo is feeling better.
- that the turnout at activities was much better than last week.
- that we were able to resume construction at the church.
Please pray:
- that we’ll be able to see rapid progress with the construction.
- that God would continue to protect us.
- that we will be able to find people in the community who would be willing to continue the other groups that we have started.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Emily, Theo, Carrie, Hannah, Ben, Ella H, Ella S, Charlie F, Charlie P, Charlotte (written by Ella S, Charlotte, and Carrie)
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