WOW, what an amazing day! I love seeing God move and our students hearing and seeing Him move as well. My (P. Marv's) portion will be short because we have some great sharers who desired to give a full portion of their day...it's GREAT STUFF! Below after the post is a video form Melissa Karl who also has an amazing testimony! Thanks for your prayers, keep em coming!! Muchos Gracias!
Hola! Como estas?
And now that I've reached the extent of my knowledge of the Spanish language, I'll begin my actual blog post :P
Today has been a very awesome day (actually, it's been an awesome 19th birthday, to be more specific). A lot of us started our days really early (6:00) and climbed up one of the hills near our mission site. I didn't make it to the top of the hill, but the view from about 3/4 up was magnificent. Even as dry and dusty as Ensenada is, I still find the scenery beautiful. It's great to be in an area that is completely in contrast to Pittsburgh but has just as much beauty...God didn't leave Ensenada out when he made beautiful places (although I would have minded if he had made the paths to his viewpoints a little less steep)!
After the hike, breakfast, and chores, we were all off to our worksites. I was on one of the construction crews, where we began to build a purple house. Literally, the house is going to be purple. How cool is that? We almost finished an entire wall today, so we were very productive. There were also a lot of kids at the construction site, so a lot of us took small breaks to play with the children. There was a 5 year old girl who showed me her collection of things that have Dora the Explorer on them, and then handed me an adorable little kitten. A bunch of the boys in our group kicked around a soccer ball with the neighborhood kids as well. Playing around was a great way to break up the work. I'm looking forward to seeing how much we can finish on this house before the week is over!
After that, we came back to the center, quickly changed into our VBS clothes, and headed over to Renario's church to lead about 50 kids in worship. We sang songs with them (Cristo Me Ama, Jesus Ama a los Ninos, and Yo Tengo Gozo), performed a short puppet show (today's was Jesus Loves the Little Children), and helped them make a craft (a paper plate decorated with hearts and the phrase "Jesus me ama"). After all of the organized activities were finished, we were able to play with the kids with soccer balls, bubbles, jump ropes, badminton rackets, and whatever else we could find. I think this was my favorite part of the day. The kids had the brightest smiles on their faces, and you could tell how happy they were that we were playing with them. There were several kids who stuck to our students like glue, and many others who were very open to having little conversations with us.
I think one of the most surprising/exciting/miraculous things I've seen is how well we are able to communicate with those who don't speak the same language as us. I, for one, am severely limited in my Spanish, but I'm very excited that these kids are so open to listening and having small conversations, even if I sound/look ridiculous when trying to communicate. I keep remembering the part from The Little Mermaid where Ursula says "Don't underestimate the importance of body language." The difference a small smile, wave, or hug can make for these kids is obvious. I also think God is blessing me (and I would guess others on this trip) with allowing me to remember more Spanish than I thought I knew, so that I can ask the kids things like "What character is on your shirt?" or "Is this your Dora the Explorer doll?". It's little things like that that the kids seem to enjoy talking about, and I'm glad that I have the ability to do so.
I could probably go on for a lot longer about how amazing and inspiring everything else has been, but Marv is already making fun of me for writing a novel on this blog post, and dinner is in a few minutes, so I'll sign off for now. Love to all back home (thanks for the birthday wishes, family!) and hasta luego!
-Michayla
P.S. Mom and dad, if you're reading this, we're having mole for dinner. Bring back memories?
Who would have thought the days would pass by so fast. But in these pass two days, the heart of our children have been touch, changed and transformed. Audrey Luciana's group has started serving at a new soup kitchen called St. Francis Mission. It is run by two priests (brothers as they refer to themselves) John and Tim. Brother Tim was on location at a parish right in our area out by Allison Park a few years back. He is an avid Steelers fan!! On the otherhand, Brother John is a huge U2 fan and a old looking version of Marvin Nelson. (You can tell me your thought on this picture later.) I did not say that comment but a few student did mention he looked like Marvin..Sorry bro. But like the other soup kitchen we have come alongside them in serving food but in a very significant way. To preserve the dignity of some the less fortunate people who attend, each person pays a $1 for an amazing hand cooked meal and the waiting staff (ACAC volunteers) serve them restaurant style.
Gary Gazica and team stayed at the YouthWorks facility to provide a day camp for some of the wonderful children in the near community. You hear some of the comment from students, "These kids have too much energy" -Josh Dever "I can't handle these kids. They are nuts!!" - Joey Luciana With all of the craziness of kids, they made the children smile, have fun and learn that they are and once were like these kids. They have seen many of these kids come each day earlier and earlier just to hang out with the students leaders of camp. They are so anxious to spend time with people sharing time and love for them.
