Update #3 South America B

Oi friends and family!

today was an amazing day! we started off the morning with reading our bibles, journaling, and eating breakfast at the hotel. South American breakfast here consists of eggs, hotdog sausage, cheese bread, and a ton of pastries (and obviously multiple cups of coffee!). On the way to Hope Mountain we pick up Anthony (our translator) who is adored by our team. He allows us to communicate with the kids and is such a joy to be around.

When we got to campus we first fueled up on more coffee and practiced our Portuguese as we are learning to become “true South Americans”. Next Philip (our field worker) told us some pretty incredible stories and testimonies of some of the kids and the fieldworkers at Hope. There is so much brokenness, sin, and pain surrounding each of the boys and yet each of their stories are extremely powerful. We are blessed to be able to learn about such a small part of their lives.

Next on the days agenda was Pine Box Derby assembly. We have a bunch of wooden boxes and cars that need to be built and decorated before Saturday where we will race the cars with all of the kids. Sadly we could not finish them today as we needed a specific saw to cut the wood so hopefully we will be able to finish them tomorrow. Next we spent most of the afternoon playing and spending time with the kids. We showed them how to play Ninja, make bracelets, and say phrases in English. They also got to show us how to get coconuts from the trees on Hope’s property. The whole team got to drink fresh coconut water which was very refreshing. It was so fun to watch the kids get excited about showing us how to drink and eat the coconuts as they got to share part of their home with us.

Next we got our hands dirty with some good old manual labor. Hope’s vision is to build a preschool so that the workers can have free childcare for their kids while they work. We cleared out an old storage room where the preschool will be located and tomorrow we will paint the room. Our team loved being able to give back and serve the ministry in such a tangible way.

Lastly, we finished off the day with a massive pool party and dinner in the boys homes. What an amazing experience these past two days have been. These kids are such lights regardless of their traumatic pasts and current life circumstances. It’s so encouraging to be around them as it reveals Gods goodness and faithfulness for all of his people.

Please continue to pray for rest and strength for our team (as we have a busy next couple of days) and for continued opportunities to share Gospel and the love of Jesus.

Thank you all for your prayers! Tchau!
~ Taylor