Friday

What an amazing day!  We begin each day with awesome worship led by Caleb and devotions by a different team member each day.  Karis also provides us with a verse of the day.  We charge up our spiritual batteries first thing to get us ready for the day.

This was our final day of VBS and it was so memorable.  The children had a lot of fun having a water balloon toss, making a heart on a stick craft, listening to Cassie's children's lesson and getting their faces painted.  All of us were touched by the kids one way or another and will never forget them.

After lunch we had a wonderful experience in God's amazing creation.  We took a 45 minute bus ride to a small town in a very mountainous area.  From there we all rode horses down a path for about 20 minutes.  We had a great time and laughed a lot on our ride.  Once we got off the horses, we walked down a path and some stairs to a beautiful waterfall.  All of the students enjoyed the break for the afternoon and the refreshing cool water.  They climbed rocks, swam in the water, jumped into the water at the base of the waterfall.  It was a time for fun and laughter and a much-needed cool break.
Several students commented that their "God moment" of the day was just observing the beauty of our surroundings and the peace they felt in that setting.

In the evening we returned for an evening service at the church Asemblea de Dios El Testimonio where we have had VBS all week.  The children had learned the dance moves and words to two songs in the past 3 days - "Tomalo" or Take it all and "Jesus es mi Superheroe", Jesus is my superhero.  We encouraged the children to bring their families to the evening services so that they could watch them perform the songs.  We had a large crowd arrive of many children and some parents as well.  As the children of the church were in the front singing, the power went completely out.  Some of them were wearing the glow necklaces we had given them in the morning, but it was otherwise black for about 3 minutes.  (the pastor turned on a generator)  While we were in the darkness, we heard Cassie's voice (and many others) continue singing and dancing right along.  One of the students commented tonight that we showed the kids that we can worship God whenever, where ever, even without power.
We all felt God's presence in this church and the ending prayer time was incredible.  Several people accepted Christ into their hearts and many others requested prayer for healing, families, direction and many other things.  The students were passionate and eager to pray for people and kept finding more people to pray for around the room.  So many of the students appreciated what we had done for them and wrote us thank you notes.  It was very special to read them all.  Danielle had an emotional night as several young girls really bonded with her, but it was precious to see her kneeling with them all leading them in prayer.

At the end of the time there, we prayed with the pastor of the church.  He is such a humble man, who quickly learned all of our dance moves and danced along each time.  This church is serving such a needy area and Pastor Patricio seemed to have a heart of gold.  Our team surrounded him and his family and prayed blessings over them and their church.  The pastor was so touched and thankful for all that we had done, as their church doesn't have the resources to provide the children with the kinds of experiences that we brought them.
As we left we saw many children waving to us in the streets, proudly wearing their glow sticks.
Please continue to pray for our health and safety as we continue our trip.  Thank you for your continued support.