My unofficial summer intern

Meet Abby.

Abby is the daughter of one of our Colombian staff members, Daisy, who works at the women's social work site. I invited Abby to come and help me out this summer in my class. She was a huge blessing to me as she is a native Spanish speaker and was able to be a big help to me in my class. And the surprise blessing came when I realized that she was also very fluent in English! She integrated herself right in with the summer teams of Americans that came and went every two weeks. I am so thankful for Abby's willingness to give up her summer vacation to help me and my kids and serve the Lord with her talents and love for children.

Thanks Abby!!!

VBS

Summer is winding down here is Mata Gorda. Both the teachers and the kids were feeling like we needed to change things up here at the school So we decided to put on a VBS for the kids. It was pretty simple, but turned out to be so much fun. The kids split into three groups and rotated throughout the day doing art activities, playing sports and learning a Bible story.


The best part of each day was the end when we would quiz the kids on the memory verse of the day. We had a sound system set up and the kids loved talking in the microphone. It was very entertaining watching the kids stumble through the verses, but even sweeter hearing the Word of God come out of these kids' mouths. I was reminded of Psalm 119:11 that says "I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Essentially that is our goal: to teach these kids God's word so that they might choose to follow Him. It was a sweet reminder of the eternal impact of every little thing that we do.

Meri Payano

Meri is the assistant in my classroom. She lives in Mata Gorda right next to our little school. She has been living in the community of Mata Gorda for about 9 years. She came to know the Lord soon after she moved to the community through the work of the local church in Mata Gorda. She has grown into an amazing woman of God and a great mother. She has three children, Frankely, Frannis, and Melany who all attend our school (Frankely has graduated and moved onto the public school). She is an amazing help in my classroom as she works one on one with students who need special help. I am so tahnkful for Meri's hard work in my class and also for her friendship.

Please pray for Meri also when you think of me in prayer. Pray for her financial situation, as her family is one of the poorest in the community. Pray for her education, as she is currently taking classes in the University studying to be a teacher. And most importantly, pray for her husband, who has yet to come to know the Lord.

Sharing the gospel through Art

Two weeks ago we had a group of students come down to serve with us from Bakersfield Christian High School. One of the projects that we worked on while they were here was painting. We continued the project of painting the swingset and play house. This is still a work in progress...
They also added their own special touch by painting murals on our lunch tables. The first one is a picture of the world with the saying "God has the whole world in His hands". THe kids love looking at the map and pointing out the island of the DR on the map
The second table was painted with a scene of Noah's ark. This one was fun for the kids as they identified all of the different animals.
Thank you, Bakersfield Christian, for leaving a beautiful, lasting impression on the school. Thank you for showing love through Art.

Mountain Top

I recently took the kids and visiting students from Bakersfield Christian High School on a hike to the top of a hill in Mata Gorda. From you top you can see the whole community, including the school. The kids loved the hike and were so excited as they pointed out the school and different locations in the community. It was fun to share with the kids my love for nature and talk about how God in His love for us created such a beautiful place for us to live. Before we descended the hill the kids chanted “Gracias Dios!” “Thank you, God!” thanking God for His beautiful creation.

Traveling.....again!?!

This past week I found myself back in California again. After 2 trips home in 10 months, you can bet I wasn't excited about the traveling, but the reason for coming home was well worth it.

I arrived in San Francisco and got to spend a few days with my sister's little family. It was so fun to get to see them, especially little baby Lyla, again.


I then boarded a train, with Leah and Lyla in tow, headed to Mariposa. I got to spend a nice relaxing week with my family and most importantly, the reason of my trip, my dear friend Marissa. It was great to be back in Mariposa with her as we prepared for her wedding. We took a day trip to Yosemite, which was wonderful, as it had been quite a while since I was there. On Friday the wedding festivities started with a trip to the nail salon, bachelorette party and rehearsal. The wedding on Saturday was absolutely lovely and so much fun. It was so special for me to get to participate in this joyous event as Marissa has been my best friend for many years now.

Gardening

This summer, Alberto and I have decided to try to beautify our school a little bit. In this tropical climate, plants grow very easily, so we have begun planting some flowers and bushes around our school. This is a fun activity for the kids, as they love getting their hands dirty and a great activity for our visitors from the US as they are making a lasting contribution to our school. These beautiful plants truly are a blessing and are really brightening up face of the school.