First week in Central America was a big success! We started our Sabbath day by having a slow morning where we were able to catch up on our sleep. Our team had the opportunity to visit the city with Just One Staff. We saw the Spanish Colonial architecture and we climbed to the top of the city’s cathedral clock. This is a medieval clock considered the oldest in America and the oldest gear clock in the world still in operation which was built in late 11th century. Our team also got to hear the bells ringing at the hour. We explored another town and got to visit more beautiful churches there. We then ended the night with very delicious tacos.
Day 12 in country was one of our most relaxing days yet, but the morning and evening were packed full of activity. We started off the day bright and early by meeting up with the Youth Lab Jr. leaders at YMC (where we’re staying). This is a group of teenagers and young adults who are dedicated to reaching people for Jesus. Every Saturday they go out to different neighborhoods and put on different activities and feedings for the kids. It was inspiring to see the sacrifice they made for the Gospel and how joyfully they served. Since Brooks was gone today, we tagged along with them to a community closer to our home base for our final feeding of the trip. We usually do a song or two at feedings before we serve the champorado and lugaw, but today we did much more singing and dancing. The kids also played a variation of freeze tag through the streets, which were mostly steep hills. Afterwards they had a chance to write down prayer request and post them on prayer boards so that the YL Jrs could pray for them. Most of these prayers were for family or protection, although there was at least one request for a tv.
As fun as it was to connect with the kids, we agreed that this feeding was one of the most difficult for our team. Personally, there were a few sick animals that made me feel pretty uncomfortable and in desperate need of hand sanitizer. It was extremely hot and a few of us had left our waters in the van only to discover that we would be walking back. Thankfully, the YL team knew some shortcuts so the walk back was better than expected.
I did have a kid splash me with dirty bath water though, but he was super cute so I couldn’t be mad at him.
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing because all of our energy was sapped from the long week. Most of us spent the afternoon napping, journaling, watching videos, or talking to other teams at the base. Farmer also picked up all of our laundry, except his – because they forgot to wash it – and mine because it was hidden. But thankfully we were able to find it.
After dinner that night we joined the team from World Race and our new friend Kaitlyn to drive to Cloud Nine (we managed to squeeze 17 people into a 12 person van). Cloud Nine is a lookout spot where we’d be able to see the entirety of the city. What we weren’t told was that we would need to climb up a wobbly wire bridge five stories up through the air to reach the lookout point. But despite the height (and multiple people bouncing on the bridge) everyone made it to the top. The view was incredible! It was dark so the entire city was lit up, and there was lightning flashing in the distance every few seconds. We stayed for a bit to take pictures, and then we headed back to base.Â
After a quick 7/11 run for some snacks, some of us stayed back to enjoy some karaoke with the boys and girls homes while Graham, Alec, Khaycee and Keilah went on an adventure to get some boba and Dominos pizza. Then we all came back for a time of connecting. I got to talk with a few of the girls we went to dinner with the other night, and it was fun to hear more about their lives and their dreams. It really shows how God is working through people and through KIDS to spread the Kingdom of God in this country.
We ended the day relaxing in our rooms, and Lauren, Graham and I went out and spent some time worshiping and talking with a few people from World Race. I also learned a few guitar chords which was neat. It’s been really fun to connect with them over the past few days.
Thank you all for continuing to lift us and this country up in prayer. God has been so faithful to show up and sustain us. Tomorrow we head into our final full day here, so we will be seeing you all soon!
Our team to Southern Africa has officially gotten on a plane to head to their ministry partner for the next two weeks! They have some long flights and layovers ahead of them so please be praying for them to get rest on the flights and arrive in Southern Africa refreshed and ready to go for a full week of ministry! We will update again when they get settled in their destination! 🙂
Happy Friday everyone! Our day started with Rebekah doing a fun lesson for the scholars about “being persistent in prayer”. After a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo, we had the awesome opportunity to learn about Lenca Pottery. The Lenca people are an indigenous community near the Just One facility. They create traditional pottery that has been made the same way for hundreds of years. Each of us has the chance to try making a piece of pottery on the wheel. Then we headed back to Just One, where Erin and Bella taught a lesson about “discovering and celebrating each person’s unique identity”. Followed by worship and a devotional led by Ely. We then ended the day playing games with the scholars. Sadly we also had to say bye to Sarah, who needed to head back to the States. She has been an incredible ambassador for Just One and a wonderful help for us while we are here. We miss you Sarah!
hey everyone it’s keilah & welcome back to my blog 🙂
We just finished day 11 & i can’t believe we only got a few more days left here! Time has been flying by for real
We started off today with a feeding at a place called Dumpsite. Once we got there , the kids knew what we were there for and they started lining up for some champorado right away. We still had some left over so me & Brooks started to walk around the neighborhood to let more families know that we have a sweet treat for them. As we were walking, we were talking about how both Spanish & Tagalog have similar words like cuchara (spoon), tenedor (fork), para (stop), vacĂo (empty), reloj (watch). Some words are spelled the exact same and others just have similar pronunciation. It is so interesting to learn that multiple languages have similar dialects.
After the feeding we came back to eat lunch so we can get ready for a volleyball tournament! There was three different teams playing: us , Azuza & the boys home! Our team was perfect because we have Lauren & Khaycee who play volleyball for school and then Graham & Alec have experience in volleyball so they were crushing it too. Meanwhile, I haven’t played volleyball in 6 years so I was just kind of there but it’s okay we still had a lot of fun! It got intense tho! Our opponents were super good and they had some pretty good plays. Idk who ended up winning the tournament bc in the end all the teams were shuffled up but i’m just gonna say we did because we beat both of the teams!
We were all tuckered out from the tournament so we came back to eat dinner and then we went to church where they had a praise night! It was a nice way to spend our evening because it was out of the heat and we were able to praise the Lord with everyone! It was great worship and a great message
After church, we walked to 711 to get some ice cream to share with each other. We got ube cake, cookies & cream and strawberry. they were delicious but the ube cake one was the best! To end today, we all hung out by the pool with some of our new friends from Azuza! Alec & Graham also gave us an outstanding (like oscars award winning) show for us. It was about .. uh .. I can’t even tell you what happened honestly, you just had to be there but they slayed nonetheless
Now it is time to wind down and shower. My bed is looking so comfortable right now. Goodnight everyone, thanks for tuning in ! We miss you and we will be back soon !
Hey everyone! It’s Isabella. Thank you for all the prayers, love, and support! Today was our last full day in country #1, and it was filled with tons of fun.
The day started bright and early with breakfast at the hotel. Usually, there are eggs, toast, coffee, and some kind of protein and fruit. When we first got here, there were actually black beans served with breakfast too—which happened to be my favorite!
At home, I don’t like unsweetened coffee, but for some reason, the coffee here is amazing with or without milk and sugar. I’m definitely bringing some coffee beans home.
We headed out on the bus around 9 a.m. and drove two hours to the side of a volcano. From there, we rode horses up to a lookout point where we shared pizza that was cooked on the rocks of the volcano! It was like flatbread—and so, so amazing. There was also a gift shop with tons of cool jewelry made from lava. Apparently, in 2010 there was an eruption, and they decided to make jewelry from it.
On our way back, we stopped at an overlook above the city. There’s a giant cross in front of the lookout point. It’s so beautiful. I think it’s really interesting that most of the surrounding communities are strongly influenced by Catholicism. I love that the people here are already aware of God and already respect the Bible as the Word of God.
We spent the afternoon exploring the city and markets and picking up souvenirs. The exchange rate of USD to the local currency is 1:7, so there’s a little math involved everywhere we go—but it also makes it easier to get good quality items. I ended up getting coffee beans, chocolate, and some jewelry.
We ended the night with some team bonding at the Starbucks, which has a huge garden inside. This city actually reminds me a little of Carmel, California (near Monterey) because of all the little alleyways and courtyards.
Tomorrow, we leave bright and early at 3:00 a.m. for our flight to country #2, where we’ll continue distributing water filters and sharing the Gospel. I can’t wait to share all the amazing things God has done—and I’m so excited to see what more He will orchestrate!
Thursday we’re got the opportunity to help out with household cleaning items and painted a wall white. Then, in the afternoon, we helped with Treat Thursday and had amazing cinnamon rolls!!! And unfortunately had to say “see ya later” to our amazing friends we’ve met at canvas.
Thursday evening we got the amazing opportunity to go to the City Centre and go pray over the people of the city. We paired up and went out into the streets and prayed for the city and if the Lord tugged on our hearts we would go up to people and asked them if they wanted prayer. We got to share the gospel with people, and share stories of our life with people around the city.
Our Global Outreach trip to Central America has been an amazing experience. We are currently on our fifth day in country #1 and we have seen God working in so many ways. Our teams have been able to bless 97 families with clean water and 40 people have decided to commit their lives to Christ!
Our hearts have been broken seeing the need for clean water in this city. Many families have spoken about having to boil their water or buy bags of water, and the bags of water often have mold, worms, or insects. Families, especially children, get sick regularly from the water, so being able to see God change their lives has been inspiring to watch.
We have seen not just the lives of people in this country be changed, but also our own lives. We have seen our team step out and become increasingly bold for Christ, with many of us sharing the Gospel for the first time.
We have seen God work through personal testimonies that have deeply resonated with many people in this town who are going through or have gone through similar experiences. Often, we have gone into houses expecting to give, but have in turn received encouragement from the strength of the faith of many believers here.
We are serving with two other schools full of amazing people who are on fire for Christ. We have made dozens of friends and have built deep relationships with many of them.
We are excited for the next week and are eager to see what God has in store. Please keep praying for us, praying for safety and that God would move through the city in amazing ways.
This morning, we had the opportunity to visit a downtown market, where we bought fresh produce for Just One Cafe and practiced our Spanish. We then continued working alongside the organization on their library project. After eating the most amazing tacos for lunch, our team helped the staff with various service projects around the building. Several members of our team were invited to participate in leading worship tomorrow, and it was fun watching them rehearse, worship in multiple languages, and celebrate their artistic talents. Our team is made up of a few teachers, a library assistant, and several members who have experience working with youth. It’s been great to see each of our talents and passions be used to bless others. We ended our night with dinner at Douglas and his family’s home. Being a part of the fellowship that Just One, their staff, and their scholars have created has been an incredible blessing to witness. More serving and blessings to come tomorrow. Until then, Rebekah and Danielle
Today was our first full day working at the Courage house and interacting with the girls and staff. Each and every part of our trip so far has been such a blessing and leaves me in awe of all that God is doing!
When we first arrived (yesterday) we were able to get settled in our hotels then drove about 10 minutes to the Courage house. Once there we took at tour of the building, met the staff and finally got to meet the girls. Each and every one of them greeted us with such joy and genuine hospitality. When we first met the girls many of them came up to different team members and started calling us “rafiki” which means friend in Swahili. From there we got to chat with the girls and learn their names as they learned ours. After that we met with Stephanie (our fieldworker) and her husband and they shared with us all about Courage Worldwide and the work they are doing. At this point many of us were fighting the exhaustion from travel so we headed back to our hotel and got some good sleep to catch up from the jet lag.
That brings us to today! And wow! Today was so amazing! Despite all of us adjusting to the warmer humidity weather we got to enjoy team time early in the morning where Cole led our devotional and it was a great time for the team to reset and prepare for the day. When we arrived to the house, we got to hear a testimony from one of the Courage workers and the girls led us in songs of worship in Swahili. From there we learned our dance that Tarah and Ellie choreographed with the girls which they loved. Next, we went over the teaching for our VBS which was about the Fruit of the Spirit. We then went further in depth and talked more about what love, joy, and peace means. Once we finished the teaching we jumped into our stations where we played games and sports, made bracelets and colored. After that, we enjoyed a traditional lunch native to our area which consisted of corn and beans that were boiled together for hours topped with cabbage and fresh avocado. After that we hopped into stations again and really enjoyed getting to know all the girls and their beautiful personalities. Once stations were done Marilyn told the girls a Bible story and we did a free time where we played more games, did puzzles and my personal favorite part was when we all played outside and danced with everyone even the staff working. The girls taught us some of their songs and dances and then asked us to teach them some of ours which was so fun! Lastly, we ate dinner and had some more team time to talk about our day and we’re off to bed!
It was so amazing to see each and every team member connect with the girls in their own way and I can’t wait to see how God continues to use this team!
