Church Bells and Children's Homes

Today was scheduled to be another later morning for the team and not to have a wake up call till 7:30am (they've been woken up at 6am all week and their wake up tomorrow is at 4:45am). But this morning at 6:30am on the dot the church bells started ringing. Hello Sunday.




It has taken us two years....but Kenda has become Franco's favorite and has gotten coffee before breakfast in a real sized coffee mug. Today-I received this blessing as well and it deserved to be documented! Kenda is still the favorite and has her own special mug :)




This is our front porch that we have our quiet times on. The team is required to have a minimum of a 30 minute quiet time before they come to the breakfast table in the morning. Praying this takes root and this discipline will be continued when they return home...and just become hungry for more!




After breakfast we loaded up our bus with Diego and headed to worship at church at the Abraham Project. Such a beautiful treat to worship in another country. Reminds me that God doesn't only speak English and I love seeing His heart for His people. The entire service was in Spanish. It was awesome.




After worship we walked over to the Children's Homes at the Abraham Project and spent the afternoon with them. We had pizza for lunch, then Alyssa, Katy, and Sarah taught on being a Friend of God. We then spent the rest of the afternoon just having a lot of fun with them! We had prepared large group games along with lots and lots of "minute to win it" games. We had a lot of fun and we think the kids did too! We also did face painting and balloon animals! Our students are quite talented! We loved the time we got to spend with the children. It was so sweet and such a blessing to get to love on them. So thankful for this opportunity.
Teaching...so proud of these girls:




Noodling Around:












Face painting with sweet Isaac. Looks just like his Daddy:




Face the cookie... I'm really going to regret letting these pictures be posted....








Jonathan and Amy dominated three legged race!
















At the end of the afternoon it was time to wrap up our time at the Abraham Project....group pictures all around!
The team:




The team plus the Griffith Family and our beloved bus driver and friend Diego!




The team leaders:




We had a debrief meeting with Jonathan and a sweet time of prayer with him and Diego. Then it was back home. We took the team on an adventure walking to the local super market to get snacks for tomorrow and then it was time for our last meal with Franco. The team had no trouble abiding by the clean your plate rule tonight....and they wanted it documented....








Tonight was our last full team meeting. Sweet time of fellowship was had, then a time of writing out encouraging words for each other. We then served each other communion to finish out the team meeting. When we thought the meeting was over... the students asked if they could pray for us. They put us in the middle, tears came forth, and by far my favorite moment..,especially because I did not see that one coming! Sweet times have been had in this special place.




The night was still young....so card games all around after the team meeting.....












The team is now all snuggled into bed. A very early wake up call is coming....but for a very fun day. I told the team in the very beginning that I believe in rewards. They've worked very, very hard this week. Tomorrow we play. We'll see you soon!

Rest, Fellowship, and Outreach

This morning was a sweet morning of rest. We slept in for starters! Yay! The team deserved a day that a wake up call didn't come till 7:30am! After quiet times and breakfast we headed to the local market to purchase our souvenirs! Quite the local experience and lots of fun!


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After the market we loaded up for another restaurant favorite of ours... The Taco Bar! This is a new one in the city and we were excited to try it out! Sweet, sweet fellowship was had by everyone this morning! Not to mention amazing smoothies!





This afternoon took us to our Outreach that we have spent a lot of time praying for...yet having no idea what to expect! We drove into an area that the Abraham Project has been trying to partner with. The pastor spent time before we got there inviting people in the community to come to this event. The people that attended do not normally attend church and our rough estimate was about 85 people in attendance!








The Outreach started with worship, preaching done by the pastor, an alter call that people went up for prayer....2 received Jesus into their lives! Afterwards we served them a meal that we had actually provided for financially. Thank you to all of you that supported our team-you made this happen!











After the meal we had a special time just for the children... Crazy game time and teaching done by Josh and Nolan. I'm so incredibly proud of them for stepping out of their comfort zones and teaching in another country! They did awesome and they taught on being a friend of God.





A few shots from our crazy game time together....the outreach was incredible! Thank you all who prayed us through it!

















Our team meetings each evening have been especially sweet. Jesus has been so good to us and met us in our little room that we gather in. I've been so grateful to John and his willingness to lead us in worship and lead us into the presence of Jesus. I'm going to miss these sweet times with this team when we return home.








At tonight's meeting we talked about specific words that had been spoken to our team before we left. One in particular that I shared tonight was in Mark 6 where Jesus feeds the five thousand. As I shared this word and shared how I felt God fulfilled the word today in our outreach...it was incredible as people shared that they read that passage during their quiet times this morning. Love how Jesus moves. Love how Jesus loves this team and how He is moving. He is so, so good to us.

Last Day on the Worksite...& a Turn in Our Trip

Day four on the Abraham Project.....



Was spent finishing up our construction projects. Continuing our work on construction of new walls.....


Finishing up our paint job on the sanctuary...









Time was spent throughout the day cleaning up the Abraham Project!








Soccer was enjoyed for a fourth day in a row! Our students are becoming pros!








Some of us took a walk down the street to find the local bakery! Treats for the whole team thanks to Mama Kenda!


Today's Day Care lesson was about the fact that God desires to spend time with us...all the time! I'm so proud of our kids and the way they taught and led these lessons! Very thankful to Megan for all the prep work she put in ahead of time and the way she led our students during the trip. Today completed our time in the Day Care. The Abraham Project offers this incredible opportunity to the local neighborhood as a safe place for the kids to be while the parents are at work. For more info on what all the Abraham Project offers click here





Team members also spent time today with Steve and Georgiana Thomas--missionaries here at Abraham Project. We folded, labeled, addressed, stuffed, and stamped their most current newsletters. It was such a blessing to spend time with them. For their incredible story click here




Good fun has been had by everyone this week! :)



**With the completion of our construction work projects the trip takes a turn from here on out....to Children's Home Activities & Outreach! Please cover these times in prayer!!** We finished up on the worksite a little early today to head home to take showers and clean up. We then headed back to the Abraham Project--but for our first time at the Children's Home. (Click here for more info on the Children's Home and what they are all about). It was so sweet to see those kids again. We did a date night out for the parents of the homes---KFC all around. The kids loved it! We then watched a movie in each home and had popcorn. It was then time for brushing teeth, pj's, then heading to bed!

The parents returned--the team loaded the bus and came on home. Costa Rica is playing Honduras tonight...in Costa Rica. The streets are electric and cheers are still ringing as I type this! We had our team meeting tonight. Went around the room and share our favorite things from today, then sharing what we have had to trust the Lord with on this trip. Proverbs 5:3 was our verse for the evening, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." John then led us in a sweet worship time to close the meeting.

After the meeting we found the soccer game on tv....and then some prep work for tomorrow's outreach took place.....



This team....they have my heart.