Hola again!
Sorry for not being better about updating... there's just so much going on here and in my mind and processing is a slow progression! God is teaching me so many things and I am amazed by what He is doing down here. I'll keep this fairly short because I'm pretty wiped out, but here's a little update...
Yesterday, we had a rainy day, so it was a little bit more low key in terms of construction work, but a blessing in that it was a little more relationally focused. Mandy and Katie shared a great conversation with some of our friends here about what it means to be a Christian in different cultures, which led to some deeper and greater conversations to think about for the future. Thinking about how we as a team are coming down and respecting that culture, and also how we address our differences between cultures as Christians but still share a deep love for Christ that connects us all. We spent most of the morning at a couple of our construction sites, and over the afternoon we split off, as some of us taught a lesson at the school, and the boys went off to play basketball. Mandy did a beautiful job of coming up with a lesson last minute, and the other team members worked together well as we tried our best to manage 60 children under the age of 7 in a classroom to teach them the story of creation through numbers and colors! An hour and a half of craziness and fun! :)
Today was another day of heavy rain. My roommate, Pami and I, woke up to a bathroom that was full of water from the rain coming through the roof. Good way to start the day :) We started the day by going to Sondra's son, Daniel's, private school, to meet the students and see what kind of work needed to be done there. A few good lessons... we asked some of the students if they could have more in the school, what they would want... a few of their comments:
"A volleyball court"
"A computer lab"
"A library"
"Basketball"
"Air Conditioning"
"Windows so that rain won't come in"
It amazed me the things we take for granted in our schools back home! These kids just want a library and basketball court, and many schools in the US already have all of these things. It put me in a very humbling place to hear this, little things that I've always taken advantage of.
After going to the school, we came back and had a little down time, since it was still raining. Four of us found a quiet room and spent that down time in prayer. We prayed for the community- the school, the children, the families, the leaders, and that God would work through them. It was pretty awesome that I was able to share this with a few others, because at the moment I was feeling a little frustrated that we weren't able to work, and was asking God for an opportunity to serve in other ways. Almost immediately after that prayer, one of my teammates told me she felt led to pray for the community, so she, myself, and two others found a room to do this in, which ended up being some pretty awesome time.
After we were finished, it was time for lunch. Once we finished lunch, we helped move all the sewing machines and materials from one building to another, and then I spent the remainder of the day painting the old building, which is now going to be a cafeteria for missionaries that come in. It was a fun afternoon-- I painted with two other teammates, along with some of our teenagers-- Suzanna, Henry, and Kelvin. I ended up getting a little paint on my face, and laughed a lot. Kelvin kept saying I was his girlfriend... Kelvin is 18, and I kept saying "Muy Joven, Muy Joven!" (very young, very young)! He kept blowing me kisses and winking, and I kept rolling my eyes... the other kids were picking on him for it, too. It was sort of funny... all the kids seem to think I'm like 18 too... I guess I'll take that as a compliment in a few years...
After painting, we took a bunch of the teen girls out for pizza. The pizza place was pretty cool... it had a little park inside, with swings, teeter totters, monkey bars, etc. I think the girls enjoyed getting out of the community, enjoying some good food, and some time to play.
I'm pretty tired right now... it was a busy day, and I'm still trying to process what it all means and what God is trying to show me through all of this. He's been teaching me some big lessons this week, and I'm excited to see how He will continue to work through the rest of the trip. Thank you as always, for your continued prayers and support!
Blessings,
Erin
No comments:
Post a Comment