The "first official" day has come and gone!
The Reno Team got underway and cleaned out two of the small cabins near the Bible College so that they could be repaired. This meant hauling and clearing out a bunch of garbage from these areas. Once that was finished they re-constructed one of the cabins. Back at the main building at the Bible College they helped give more support to the roof. (Always a good thing.) They also fixed the outside cables that connect to the small cabins.
The Kitchen Team spoiled us with foods like rice wraps, beef, noodles, fruit-pasta (yes, fruit in pasta, so good!) and bitter melon galore! We had a delicious bitter melon soup as well as spiced bitter melon. We even had a surprise "M" meat. (Shhh.) This afternoon we were pleasantly surprised by one of the locals, Matthew, who brought us homemade donuts and fresh bread - both hot from the oven!
Team 1 of the Children's Team (Beka, Crystal, Xenia, Jonathan, Sophie and Eva) headed out to Ouje in the afternoon to hang out with the kids. The team and the kids played in the playground, went to the beach and picked blueberries. It was a very calm, chill and pleasant afternoon which allowed us to get to know a lot of the kids and even a puppy named Buddy!.
In the evening Team 1 and 2 had their first dose of mayhem with all the children! What an active bunch of children they are :D About 40 children attended the program and despite the "craziness" it was a successful night overall. Team 2 (Lydia, Carol, Coey, Bonnie, Ruby and Jonathan L. and Julie from Team 1) taught about how to overcome temptation and choose what is right - even when it's hard to. A great lesson for all of us.
Half the Teens Team (Kenneth, Isa, Carrie and Jeffrey) had a games night with the teens. The other half of the Teens Team (Warren, Ada, Ben and Keith) was involved with Worship at the Big Tent Meeting. The team met at the church at 7:30pm and had a gathering of about 15 teens. They played Ultimate Noodle (a variation of Ultimate Ninja) and a bunch of other games and the teens were really involved and enjoyed it. They'll meet again Tuesday night at 9:30 for their "official program" since the whole Teens Team will be there. It was great to see familiar faces, almost the whole group was recognized by the team. It's great to see repeats!
The Worship Team led once again at the Big Tent Meeting. (PM, Philip, Alan, Warren, Ada, Edwin, Keith and Ben). They found the people more receptive to the songs and saw their involvement, even though it's not the style or songs the locals are used to. They even invited Edwin to play drums with them and asked him to stay :) It was a beautiful thing that symbolizes the rapport that's been established over the years. The locals simplicity in praising God when they lead worship is genuinely touching. They're not perfectly planned but they don't have to be. It's very care-free and people enter into God's presence, it's a beautiful thing. It's a lesson for us that we don't have to have things "perfect" and we're not there to "perform." We're worshiping leaders.
The guest speaker spoke about being part of God's plan and how the old rugged cross teaches us to forgive because Jesus forgave. Joy comes from the inside and effects our whole disposition.
Pray that:
- the children will have a great time and go away learning new truths from God's word
- the children will settle and stay for the entire program and come back every night
- the Teens team will have real heart to heart sharing and connect on the needed levels with the teens as they begin their "official" program Tuesday night
- the Reno team will continue to stay safe and have the strength the finish their tasks
- God will continue to use the Worship Team to bring people into God's presence through song
Until next time,
JSTM Team
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