Day Eight, August 2nd
Originally published on Facebook August 3rd, 12:30 am
Day 8, August 2nd
Today was filled with memory-making. Leaders started the day (like all other days) at 7 am by carefully considering each student's needs and planning to meet them. Travis, Joshua, Laura, Sarah, Andie, Wes, and Christine have beautiful hearts for these kids. They stay up late and get up early to make sure they are well cared for. (They even get up some nights in the middle of the night!)
By 7:30, we were all engaged in our morning team time. This morning, we heard Caleb Slofstra's testimony of perseverance and God's faithfulness, Zach's story of his return to a passion for following the Lord, and Lyda's story of God's faithfulness in her life. In addition, our translator and fan favorite is Mike M. (Back story: Mike is Mela's nephew and has been joining me on-site for youth trips for the past ten years; my boys call him brother, and he is his beloved). He shared his story of significant loss and "parodical son" living. We celebrated with him as he described God's strong voice in His life to return to Him. Mike's testimony and how so many of these students are opening up about their real-life struggles and joys are impacting the team. Our stories, when told remind us that we are not alone on this journey with Jesus.
That's a lot before breakfast!
Breakfast consisted of eggs and cereal, which were served quickly because we were off to the water slides! Agua Caliente is around an hour's drive away. (It's in Villa Corona, Jalisco, MX, if you want to look it up!)
At the Park we:
Swam
Slide - Travis still has his sense of adventure!
Sunscreened
Chased down runaway kids (Jacob is very fast!)
Taught swim lessons (thank you life guard Ashley!)
Splashed in the mall pool (Jordan and Kaitlyn were so patient!)
Laughed
Sunscreened again
Chased down more runaway away kids — go Sadie go!
Guarded kids lives in the water (Thank you life guard Ellie!)
Ate an absolute feast of freshly made Guacamole, Carne Asada, Chorizo Sausage, Fresh corn Tortillas, Quesadillas, Grilled onion, rice, beans, pico de Gallo. ("I wish I was still hungry, it's so good! — Wes Jones "Look Dad, I replaced the tortilla of my taco with a slab of carne Asada! double meat!" — Micah Slofstra)
Sunscreeened once more
Tough more swim lessons (Thank you life guard Caleb S.)
Chased more even more runaway kids
Had (long) warm showers
And slept hard on the way home!
From a distance you might be saying… "Really; water slides on a missions trip?"
Yes!
Limited staff at the foundation and the demand of supervision means that these kids rarely get off-site. For them to have a day like to day is highly unusual. I wish you could have seen them packing their supplies the day before — they were filled with giddy anticipation. I watched one 15-year-old girl who had never been to a pool before marvel as she wadded in the shallow end, all smiles. What's more, when talking with Mela at the end of the day, she said, "It was so nice to relax today; please say thank you to the team!" Our fine director Wes' goals for the day were (1) Get there and back safely, (2) No sunburns, and (3) have a blast. — Check marks all around!
Returning at 7 pm meant a quick sandwich dinner and off to team time with Worship dad by Ali. Bowdrie, Dawson, Rylin, Taylor, Caleb D, And Asher (who felt compelled to share more of his story after hearing other people's honesty). Each shared their testimonies. Some gave and overview of their lives with Christ staring at a young age and others dwelt more on the impact of this trip. 's experiences. Regardless, it was beautiful to hear how God is building a desiring in their hearts to prioritize him, worship him, and follow him. One story seems to spur on the next!
On of the great tragedies of this trip is that you parents, grandparents, and prayer warriors cannot look in from beyond the front row and behold your children willingly testify to their love for the Lord and their personal accounts of His goodness, grace, and glory in their lives. As a father to six (yes, Sarah counts!) I know the hours you've all spent praying and pleading with God to call your children to himself. He is answering those prayers! He has been and continues to make himself know to them in ways they will not soon forget. Oh won't you praise the Lord with me in that.
Tomorrow is our final full day of the trip. Highlights includes clean up (if you call that a highlight) completing work projects, a community church service complete with soup kitchen at 11 am where we will preform the drama and a farewell party that's sure to bring tears. Please pray we can ramain as faithful to our calling on this trip as Christ remains faithful to us!
As I write (12:31 am) everyone is healthy enough to fully participate in our plans and those not 100% are simple a little run down after a huge ten day stretch. We praise God for this — your pray matters!
Pray Requests:
Continued health
Great final day conversations with the kids
That the 11 am service would serve to point people to Jesus and a personal relationship with him!
Mike (on behalf of the team),
p.s. At approximately 9 pm tomorrow we will host our final team time. This is typically a critical time for students for process how the trip has impacted them and what life can look like with Jesus moving forward. Please pray for Wes as he leads and our team as we seek the Lord.
