God has continued to bless this trip by presenting us with another day full of wonderful opportunities to serve Him. We have finished up our second full day of work, and once again you can truly see the face of Jesus in all that we do here.
Once again, our Senior group along with the Sophomore girls went to Nueva Vida to continue to serve the needy at the hurricane refugee camp. What made this event so special was that the kids were so ready, eager, and experienced to serve that today they jumped right into the tasks they had ahead of them. Upon arrival, each student willingly threw themselves into service without having to be asked or told what to do. But the most special part was that the students were able to continue building relationships that they had started to build the day before. To be able to go back and continue sharing the love of Christ with these children was such a beautiful thing, and I know each and every kid enjoyed this special day to go back and continue building relationships with this wonderful group of children. To finish off the day, Andrew Cordasco and Nathaniel Darling played an impromptu worship session at the church, with the language barrier being no problem. Once again, you can see the face of Jesus everywhere you look, and the day at Nueva Vida with these great kids and the relationship building time that was had, the present of God was surely felt.
The Juniors and Sophomore guys continued several work projects that were began the day before. One group finished painting one of the rooms at Casa that was in much need of painting. It is in these times that teamwork is a must, and with each person sacrificing themselves to paint one area, you could truly see the team-bonding experience that this trip brings out. Another group went to the El Canyon orphanage and painted there, but the real fun began when they were able to play with the kids there and start building relationships of their own with the children, much like Group 1 has been doing at Nueva Vida. The third group went back into VeraCruz to continue helping the church in their construction efforts. Several of the guys were able to help the people go pick up 400 cinder blocks that will eventually be the walls. Once they got back, they had to move all 400 blocks off the truck and into the storage area that they will be kept in until a later time. Once again, the theme of this task was teamwork, and our team was able to come together like they had been in Nicaragua for a month.
In the afternoon, the day was further brightened by the distribution of 150 "School Pax" to the children in Veracruz. To see the excitement on their face as they opened their box of school supplies is something I wish every person associated with the Chapel could have witnessed. Again, we can not thank you enough for your contributions in terms of the "School Pax." Before the distribution there was fun shared by the breaking of 2 pinatas where the kids had a great time wrestling around for the candy.
Finally, to finish day, we came to Verbo Church to throw the children of the Casa Bernabe orphanage a birthday party in honor of all of the children. We gave out toys or backpacks to each kid after enjoying a night of playing in a moonwalk, an inflatable jousting pit, and music that we could all enjoy. This was a special night for the kids, and for us to have a small part in bringing joy to their lives was so special to each person here.
It was a very busy day, but one that was filled with great things and a lot of fun. Once again, to have the smallest impact in these kids lives truly shows the face of Jesus and the work that God is doing down here. We have another special day planned for tomorrow, and we look forward to sharing those experiences with you tomorrow night. We ask for you continued prayers on this journey. Thank you and God bless!
