So much to do, so little time

So much has happened. I don’t know where to begin. We had a group from Indiana and a group from Alabama. They arrived Saturday, July 9^th and stayed through the 16^th. On Sunday we brought them to church and then the ladies of the church cooked for us. It was wonderful as always. Then we went to Santa Louisa to have church with them and the groups were able to see where they would be working all week. Monday through Thursday we were having breakfast by 6:15, left the hotel by 7, made our sandwiches at the church and were on the road by 8 a.m. It was a busy week but it was wonderful. We started digging the trenches for Pastor Charlie’s house, we finished pouring concrete in the bathrooms, we cut down two trees, and did VBS with the kids in the afternoon. The students were not hesitant at all but jumped in and stated loving on the kids and the community. On Monday we were able to prayer walk and we prayed over the new school that will hopefully be open in January when school reopens. (They have their break from October to December.) Since we were working on the bathrooms, we had no bathrooms. So on Monday we constructed an amazing work of art. It got the job done!

On Tuesday there was a terrible wreck so it took us about 3 hours to make the 1.5 hour trip. Many of the adults and students got sick but most of them were better by Friday. Friday morning we went to a day acre and loved on the kids. We sang songs for them and they sang songs for us. Then we gave them the beads and string to make salvation bracelets and we shared the gospel with them. Then we gave them cake and soda. They loved it! Friday afternoon we went to Antigua. We took pictures at a huge cross that overlooks the city.
We shopped at the markets. We walked around the town square. And we ate at Monoloco. Yummy! It was a nice relaxing day but I started to have a sore throat.
I am so glad I have met more brothers and sisters in Christ who are striving forward to share Christ. Special friendships are formed between people when we serve alongside each other, spurring one another on to share Christ with others. To my friends from Indiana and Alabama, I pray that you will take what you learned on this trip, apply it to your life and live on a higher standard while holding each other accountable.
On Saturday their flight to leave was at 11:30 and we had another group come in at 12. It was a quick turn around. I felt terrible so Autumn and Monica welcomed the teams and went grocery shopping with Efrain. Sunday we went to church and the ladies cooked for us again and then we brought them to the mall for a little bit. We were able to squeeze in Transformers 3 in 3d. It was in English and I still didn’t understand it. Haha.
Today, Monday, was our first day in the village with the new team. I went to Palencia with East Brent and 4 girls from Oklahoma and Monica and Autumn went with a group from OK and TN to Parramos. I still feel out of it but besides that we had a great day. We are building a retaining wall for a school. The guys worked hard on the wall and the ladies moved a pile of dirt up a huge hill and played with the children.
I know this has been a brief overview of the week but so much has happened I can’t possibly blog everything.
Please continue to pray for me, Autumn, Monica and the teams here this week. Please pray for strength, endurance and a positive attitude. We only have a couple more days and I want to make the most out of every opportunity.
Love You!