As we pulled into the school parking area, we were greeted with a Recycling Fair – the students were encouraged to recycle and use the items for art. We saw mosaics made from bottle caps, a clock made out of a CD, jewelry boxes made from 2-liter soda bottles, paper mache flowers, and many other beautiful decorations. It was a ton of fun to see all of the creativity and to connect with the kids on the sports court as they showed off their art.
After a fun time connecting, we headed back into our schedule of English classes, lunch, Zumba, and traditional dancing with the teachers (which always follows a HUGE lunch meal made by the local church volunteers – not the best time to get your Zumba on) before heading off to paint. Once again, an hour or two into the painting, the clouds crept in and the thunder rolled. Off we went back to Teguc.
After devotional and dinner, we worked on “Every Beat” motions, prepping for tomorrow, and making birthday cards for Jorgito (Jorge’s (our translator) son who will join us tomorrow while we serve – it’s his 10th birthday!)
A few personal stories from our week so far:
Tonight Fonda shared that after the skit yesterday, when Natalie started praying in Spanish, the kids started repeating her prayer line by line. That wasn’t planned, Natalie was just going to pray, but as she took a breath to continue on, they jumped in and repeated what she said. As Fonda listened to the children lift their voices up in prayer in Spanish, she was moved to tears hearing so many children praying to the same God we love and pray to.
Ashlyn started losing her voice last night and woke up this morning only able to whisper. After starting the week with a stomach sickness, she was beginning to feel like she wasn’t able to contribute and questioned why she was here. As always, God works in mysterious ways and through us when things don’t go well just as much as when they do. Tonight she said (okay, whispered) that due to not being able to talk, she has had so many one-on-one genuine conversations with both the students and team members since she can’t be heard in a large group. She also remembered many words in Spanish she had forgotten and felt God working through her day deepening relationships and connecting with the kids of Juan Wesley.
Yes, we’ve helped the students with English, yes, we’ve painted walls and we’ve moved cement blocks, but the real story is told in the beauty of God’s love between brothers and sisters in Christ from two different countries building each other up, connecting, encouraging, dancing, singing, playing, and praying together.