Tuesday Update

In yesterday’s update we reported that things didn’t go according to our plan. The main “glitch” came from the fact that we had planned to work with half of the kids in the morning, while the other half stayed in their casas, and then switch in the afternoon. We quickly found out that the house parents didn’t want half of the kids to be in their casas all morning with nothing to do. So, we made changes to our plan and some of our team members went and played and talked with the kids while they were waiting to do our planned activities.

As we share stories with each other of how we see God working, most of the stories are coming from the time spent with the kids in their homes, and not necessarily in the things we had planned. While we didn’t have those interactions in our plan, clearly God did.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result. Genesis 50:20

Here are some pictures that represent just a few of the wonderful things that happened today:

Preparing for the worship rally:

Playing frisbee:

The guys continued to do really hard work on the school; they also took some time to repair one of the basketball goals. Dick obviously enjoyed this task:

The repaired goal:

The kids participated in a dress-up relay:

All dressed up:

Bible verse puzzle:

The college group taking a break for lunch:

Tracy hanging out with some of the girls:

Heather talking with some girls as they worked on their craft:

Donna getting a Spanish lesson - the girls were telling her the Spanish words for the stickers on their craft, and she was sharing the English words with them:

Finished feet - they say Sigue a Jesus (Follow Jesus):

We cannot say enough about what a gift God has given us in our translators! Carlos is with us 24/7, staying with us at the hotel and helping us in countless ways. He has a team of translators that join us during the day and they are all wonderful! Not only do they translate for those of us who don't speak Spanish, but they also jump right in and help with the kids - playing, crafting, singing - whatever we need them to do. They are also a lot of fun to be around. Several of them went to dinner with us this evening and we had such a good time - much laughter was shared around the table. Speaking of dinner - some of our group went to a Peruvian restaurant that had some unusual offerings - such as guinea pig and goat. None of us tried either of those, but we did try Alpaca and beef heart, as well as some other amazing dishes.

Here's a picture of one of our favorite Peruvians, Carlos:

God continues to bless us abundantly - it is such a priviledge to be here to witness and be a part of the work He is doing!