A Day of Rest!

Today is another declared "Day of Rest" for our team! We all welcome these days with joy! We have had a very busy week, though things have not gone as planned thus far. Sunday we were able to go out to Cercadillo in the afternoon along with some new amigos from Ina's church (Pepín, Maria Jose, "Mama" Rosa, and Laura) to present a lesson on the fall of man. It went very well, and both children and adults listened well to the message. We are going through a series of lessons specifically designed for missions that begin with creation and go all the way through God's plan of salvation. It is very important, especially in this culture, that we give a strong basis for why man needs to be saved and God's plan through Jesus before asking people to make a decision to follow Christ. Here in the Dominican Republic (as in many cultures around the world) people will say whatever they think will please you. For example, when we were trying to find a location in the central city on Saturday we asked several different people how to find it and got several different answers. Only one person admitted that he didn't know and didn't want to lead us astray! They simply give you some directions instead of saying they can't help. It is the same in the mission field. If you asked a group of people here to respond to the Gospel, most of them would reply with a "Yes!" but then would reply "Yes!" every other time you asked because they know that is what you want to hear. Therefore, it is more difficult than simply preaching and asking for a response. Teaching has to happen so they know why Jesus is so very different from what they currently believe to be true.

On Saturday, Ina's vehicle began making some not-so-healthy sounds so she called her mechanic, and he came and took the car on Monday morning. Since we were unable to go to Cercadillo as planned without a reliable vehicle we spent the day planning and making materials for our first day of classes. It turned out to be a much needed day of preparation!

On Tuesday, we began our day early with an awesome Spanish lesson at the Institute down the street. They usually teach Dominicans English but are reversing the lessons for us! Our teacher, a man named Joan (pronounce Joe-on), is a lot of fun and committed to teaching us as efficiently as he can in three one-hour sessions per week. He has spent some time in the United States so he knows English well. I am very excited about this opportunity! After returning to Ina's house after our lesson, we discovered that the car had not been returned yet and Ina was not feeling well so we spent another day in preparation. Again, this day proved to be very productive. After our sabbath day today, we are hoping and praying to be able to finally start our classes on Thursday!

Please pray for the health for our team (a couple of members have had rumbling stomachs, Kasi has a cold/allergies, and my back has been aching for three days now and my many bug bites drive me loco at times :). Ina's vehicle was returned this morning so please pray that it will prove reliable now. Please pray also that we will not be discouraged as we have not been able to be in Cercadillo as much as planned up to this point. We know that we are in a battle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces (somebody doesn't want us to do ministry here) so please pray that we will be strong in the name of Jesus against attacks. What satan means for evil the Lord will use for His glory!!!

Team Day #1

God is so good! Today we had a team day which basically means we had time to regroup and do something fun together! Kasi and I spent a large portion of the morning cutting up the huge supply of fresh mangoes we have accumulated in our kitchen. It is mango season in the DR so they are plentiful, cheap, and really sweet right now. First we bought some, and then the people of Cercadillo gave us several more so it was quite a sticky job to core and cut up all the fruit. To add to the fun, the city power wasn't on this morning (it comes and goes so Ina has an inverter that charges batteries when we have city power and provides battery power when the city power goes off, similar to a generator), and we couldn't run the water pump to get water from the cistern under her garage to the roof. Plumbing here is a little different than in the US as water is pumped up to the roof (this can only be done on city power) and then runs down the pipes to be used. All of this is to say that Kasi and I (and the entire kitchen counter) became a sticky, gooey mess from the mangoes, and we had no water to wash our hands :) Another adventure!!! Fortunately, the power came on, and we were able to pump water to the roof shortly after we were done.

Next, our team headed into the central city area of Santo Domingo to track down a missionary doctor from Haiti, (of whom I would love to share about when I return!!!) who through what I believe to be nothing short of a miracle, was able to pick up and deliver two water hand pumps for us to put in Cercadillo. I can't go into all the details of his story now, but he is an amazingly humble man of God who has risen above so many things to bring the Gospel to the people of both Haiti and the DR. Haiti is currently in a very volatile civil war of sorts with prominent people (including pastors and many missionaries) being kidnapped! Please be praying for Haiti and its people!

After we got the pumps we went for a lunch visit (at 4:00pm) to Pizza Hut where we chowed down two pan Meat Lover's pizzas in no time in honor of Kasi's birthday! It was a fun, American way to celebrate!

We are reading through Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper during our time here, and we spent our evening talking about the first chapter. I don't think any of us thought our book discussion would turn into a 2 hour talk, but it was great! I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in supporting or participating in missions.

Please pray for tomorrow as we will be going to Cercadillo in the afternoon with a few people from Ina's church to do a service there. Please pray that people will come, that their ears will be opened, and that above all, God will be glorified!!! Thank you!

First Day in Cercadillo

Hola! This morning, after my luggage finally showed up :) we headed to Cercadillo to officially begin registration for our summer camps (morning is reading in Spanish, afternoon is conversational English). I had the privilege of sitting with Ina while she interviewed each potential student about their age, family, preference for only one or both camps, and did running records to determine their reading levels. It's fun to see the same strategy to determine reading levels used in Spanish that I use all the time in my profession. We were going to be done with registrations at noon, but as all things happen in the Dominican, we finished around 3:00pm and then headed back to Ina's for a much anticipated lunch. She never turns any child or adult away no matter how hungry or tired we are or because they didn't show up during our "scheduled"time. It's such a good example of flexibility in service for me. Carmen, the Voodoo priestess for Cercadillo, showed up midway through the day and sat with us for awhile. It was awesome because when she first saw me, her face lit up, and she acted as if she remembered me from the two years past even though I'd made very short visits. For those of you who traveled here last summer, you might remember Alberto (pastor of the church in the extremely rough neighborhood). He worked with Ben today finishing up the bathrooms.

Another highlight for today was getting to see several amigos from past years. If you've been here before (or heard me talk a lot) you'll find several familiar names: Noe, Arjenes, Benjamin, Althussar, and Abbey :) I got to experience several huge Dominican hugs, and I am so excited to see them through out my month here. Last night Arjenes and Althussar showed up unexpectedly at Ina's house. Without a doorbell, you just head to the door anytime you hear someone yell, "Ina!" or "missionaria" from the front gate. Because we live in a semi-rough area of Santo Domingo, Ina has us safely locked behind several layers of padlocks, and we are quickly learning the system. I passed on several bags of Beef Jerky to my friends and it felt like I had never been gone!

Biggest adventure for the day: Last night we had a mild incident of hair singeing and skin reddening so Ina sent Ben and I out to buy some ice. By the time we got to the corner store we had forgotten the word for ice (will be writing these things down from now on :) so we tried to get ice by saying "agua mucho,mucho frio" with fingers making small square gestures but clearly we were not relaying the proper message because the store clerk just kept pulling out water bottles from farther in the back of his cooler! Since we weren't far from the Institute (where we will be taking Spanish classes) I suggested that we go there to see if anyone could help us. God blessed us by providing Althussar to help. He laughed a lot (not at us, but with us :), and helped us get the ice! Fun times!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

I have finally arrived...

...and only a day late! Praise the Lord! Yesterday I had a pretty uneventful day of travel (which is the best way to go if you ask me!) and made all of my scheduled flights. I even ran into two separate missions groups (one in Chicago and one in Miami) with shirts that implied they were going to the Dominican (they said "Go Missions to the Dominican Republic and Haiti: Summer 2008" so I took a risk :). It was fun to chat with them about their plans and my past experiences. When I got to the DR I quickly discovered, as did one-third of my plane, that my second piece of luggage didn't arrive from Miami. They assured me it will be delivered to Ina's house today. Praise the Lord, the one I did get has most of my clothes and important stuff in it. Ina was hosting a large party at her house at the time of my arrival so she hired a driver (don't worry, Mom, he has been used a lot to transport missions groups) to bring me from the airport to her house. I know little Spanish and he knew next to no English so we had a great "conversation". Lots of me saying, "Como se dice..." and lots of gesturing :) It was fun because I actually recognized things along the way to Ina's house. I've been here enough to recognize landmarks!

I met the three college students who are also staying with Ina during this time (Kristen, Kasi, and Ben) and they are going to be a lot of fun to serve with. They laugh pretty easily and have awesome hearts. I feel like I have luxury accommodations (minus AC) because I have my own room complete with queen-size bed, a huge ceiling fan, and some closet space. This is a little different from living completely out of a suitcase on a bottom bunk! Ina also recently installed screens on all her windows and doors so hopefully that will keep the sneaky mosquito attacks in the middle of the night to a minimum. Also nice to not have to wear bug spray to bed!

I was also blessed to learn that Ina has set aside every Wednesday as a Sabbath rest day since we do a lot of very active ministry on Sundays. So my first day here I get to relax, get acclimated, and spend some quiet time with the Lord. What a blessing! I might have to start this habit at home! Saturdays will be fun "Team Days"where we go the market for shopping, visit a tourist spot, or go the beach. During the remaining days we will be teaching reading in Spanish in the mornings and conversational English in the afternoons in Cercadillo. We will also be teaching some sewing classes (thanks to Steph for letting me practice!) and helping lead Sunday services in the village. The bathrooms in Cercadillo should hopefully be done this week :) I am also very excited that I will get to take a small group Spanish class with our team three mornings a week before we head to the village!

That's all for now! Thank you for your prayers, encouraging words, and for being part of this team!!!

Hello from the DR...er, the DM...

Well, after an eventful night and morning of canceled and delayed flights I'm hanging out in the comfort of my own home tonight far from where I thought I'd be. Isn't God amazing? The moment you think you are in total control of your plans, God gently reminds you that you are in fact, not in control at all :) I'm taking this as a lesson in patience and flexibility and praying that I'll get to see Ina by this time tomorrow night! Fortunately, God has blessed me with an amazing friend, Laura, who brought me to the airport this morning, then picked me up from the airport and brought me to her home for the afternoon so I could rest. I'm sure my plane wouldn't have been showing episodes of M*A*S*H or the Sandlot! And she's picking me up again early tomorrow morning! What a blessing! Thank you also to the wonderful ladies who sent me off this morning with hugs and prayers and to Nikki for sharing some of this evening with me! Hopefully I'll be off early tomorrow and should arrive in Santo Domingo around 6:15pm. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

At the end of our week

We have had a wonderful week and we thank you all for having kept us in your prayers.    Today was our last day.  We worked in the morning building benches and in the afternoon we went downtown to shop and look around.  It was a pretty easy-going day to end the week with still getting work done and enjoying our last day.  For supper the church's youth group came and joined us again for a cook-out to hang out.  After our meal, we gathered around to share about our week, both the Americans and the Mexicans here.  It was neat to be joined together and sharing the blessings that we have experienced and sharing in our joy in seeing God at work here this week.  It was a good time, although hard to say good-bye.

We look forward to returning to our home and families in Iowa as we head out tomorrow morning on our plane at 7:00 and arrive around 5:00 in the evening.  Again, thank you for your prayers--we have truly seen the great results of your prayers in the blessings of this week.

To God be the glory!

We have had some more good opportunities to work, minister, and enjoy the culture and time here.  Monday we went out to work on painting a church that has been built for the Otomi people.  It was great to be able to use it then later that evening in playing with the children and giving them a sunday school lesson.

Tuesday our plan was to go see the pyramids, but we had to switch that with another day as Mexico City only allows certain license plates to drive into the city on certain days and we had the two that were not allowed that day.  So we went to climb a "rock" instead which was pretty much a mountain.  We were tired by the end but it was worth it for the view.  Today (Wednesday) we then went to go see the pyramids outside of Mexico City.  We've practiced a skit or two that we will be presenting the next days.  Tomorrow we will be doing some more construction along with ministry.  

Thank you for praying for us and continue to pray that our work and ministry may not be thwarted, that we may be effective, that the hearts of the people to whom we minister may be stirred, and that we may work willingly with a cheerful and thankful spirit.

The Spring Break Team left Saturday, March 15th for Queretaro, Mexico. They arrived safely and will spend the week in outreach and construction working with TIME mission.

Safely in Queretaro

We've made it to Queretaro, Mexico safely.  There were no problems with the flight other than having to wait through our four-hour layover.  We got into Queretaro around 7:00 and went through customs quite fine with two people being checked, but no problems.

Today we were able to join a local church where the missionaries here go.  Everyone was practicing how to say their name with "mi nombre es..." and "soy..." as we knew we would be standing up to introduce ourselves.  I think the service got to be a little long for those not understanding, but I can tell you that it was a good service and I do think everyone enjoyed being a part of it.

Afterwards, the youth group came over to the missionaries' house where we're staying for some pizza before heading to a town outside of Queretaro called Salamanca.  There our team showed puppets with music and the youth group showed a compelling skit.  Afterwards we played with the little kids there.  It was a blessed time, and everyone enjoyed themselves, especially on the ride there and back conversing with the youth group with our best (and successful) effort.

Tomorrow we will be working with construction for much of the day.  Please continue to pray that we have the energy and the ability to work with a joyful heart in serving our Lord.

QUERETARO, MEXICO TEAM

March 15 through 22, 2008
A team of 8 will be traveling to Queretaro, Mexico, to work with TIME Ministries.
Team Members:
Maribeth Dykstra, Dylan Kent, Macee Block, Abbie Weber, Madison Lee, Ellen Lee
Team Leaders:
Karen Elgersma, Dan Weber

They will be working alongside the Cristo Salvo church to complete their sanctuary as well as reaching out to the Otomi - an indigenous people group living in the hills outside Quertaro.
Please keep them in your prayers.

snapfish link to view our pics

These may be updated as our team has access and time to upload their pics, but in the meantime, here is an idea of what our week was like:

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=160529979/a=18410310_18410310/t_=18410310

Home, sweet home...

Monday was a good work day to finish up some of the benches and the garbage "house", as well as hit the beach in the afternoon. We had some more "turista" casualties though, and believe we should be investing in the maker of immodium...
The banquet was really neat - wonderful Dominican food, a chance to thank the excellent cooks, and live entertainment with Anjolie and Frank singing songs for us in Spanish. Afterwards was a time of sharing, where we were encouraged and challenged to bring what we'd done in the DR back home and continue walking with our God, as the holy and annointed people that we are. It was a good chance for many to articulate what we saw God do this week, in us and/or through us.

Our team prayer requests for this trip were good weather (that we'd be able to spend an extended time in Cercadillo this year) It rained the first day we had planned to go there, but we rearranged the schedule and were able to go another day and spend about 4 hours there. We prayed for grace with the language. I think most of us picked up some of the lingo, and were encouraged at being able to communicate, verbally or non-verbally, with the people. We prayed for bonding and unity with the other team. They were a youth pastor and 3 guys from Johnston E Free church, and Adam and Dave (the pastor) are good friends, so it was neat that they were able to spend time together. I think our team really appreciated Dave,Ian, and Brad's musical abilities, and as they participated in worship times, we enjoyed what they added to the experiences. The guys all did cement work, and it was a real bonding experience, so, praise God for more answered prayer. We prayed for good health and energy, and overall, it was good. None of were down and out for the count... many of us had "bathroom moments," but seemed to recover pretty quickly or were able to "suck it up" and continue. Yesterday, traveling was the longest day ( my opinion) and the energy was the lowest, but even at 9:30 p.m. when we finally learned that all 7 of us still in Atlanta would be able to get on the plane, we had energy to cheer and praise God! Adam had taken a different flight - through Cincinnati to DM because he had to work today, and ended up getting stuck there overnight with weather conditions. He text messaged this morning and was feeling sick and it didn't look like he'd be able to get home until at least noon today. Please pray for him: his health and an understanding boss at work. Thanks!
We prayed that we would be able to support and encourage the team leaders, and believe that we did that, for at least some of them. They are a mixed bunch, with a wide variety of interests, abilities, and gifts. Please continue to pray for Matt, Jared, Steph, Carolyn, Bre, and Ashley, as well as Bill, Ina and Noe, who are their leaders. We prayed for ministry opportunities, and as you read in an earlier blog, we were given unexpected chances to hang out with the locals and help grow the kingdom.

Thank you for being part of our team. It was encouraging to know that we had faithful family and friends home praying for us. We believe that it was TIME well spent. We look forward to continuing to learn from the 9 days we spent on the trip, and see where and how God directs us in the future.

Cercadillo and the Sabbath

Yesterday, Saturday,we worked in the morning and had the opportunity to go visit and help a poor small community called Cercadillo in the afternoon. We played with the niños and niñas (boys and girls) and helped carry water from the well to peoples' homes. We had the chance to sing a song in Spanish and teach them the song (I've got the joy,joy, joy...) Kate shared her testimony and did a great job using words the kids could understand.


Today we got to sleep in and then there was church with the Domincans at 9:00. Afterwards, we got to hear one of the missionaries, Ina York, share about how God has given her a vision for helping Cercadillo. It's a pretty incredible dream and it's happening! Praise God for her heart and the people who are willing to use their resources (time, money, talents) to help.

This afternoon, we went to a church plant not too far from here and invited people to come by walking around the neighborhood and handing out tracts. One lady who is helping with the church showed us the area where there are a lot of drugs and alcohol problems; for 7 years she has had a street ministry with the kids there. We were again able to sing and Kate shared her testimony along with Melissa. Again, both were very good about using language that was clear and easily understood.

What a blessing this team is! We get along well, and can't believe the time has gone so fast. Tomorrow is our last day, and we will work in the morning, go to the beach and/or the colonial city , and then there is a special banquet for us at night. Please pray for our health as there are a few of us who are becoming acquainted with immodium... if you know what we mean... thank you! (thus far, it seems to be doing the trick...)

Tim and Hunter are co-authors with me tonight of our blog ... peace and blessings from the team.

ministry opportunity at the beach...

So, another good morning working yesterday, and then we went to a new beach... where we soon met lots of children playing in the waves, some with clothes on, and some... without! The oldest was 9, and she was in charge - the youngest was 2! We all took turns playing with them - and Tim especially was great and patient with throwing them again and again, and got on his knees so they could climb on his back and jump off... we went for a bit of relaxation, and yet God provided us a way for us to interact with some Dominicans that was fun for all.

Last night, we had a neat time of praise and worship on the roof.

Today, we are continuing our work with the benches and some cement work. As we keep working, we are figuring out a system and the benches come together more quickly. We started to varnish them today too, with a 2nd coat for Monday and then we'll be able to present at least some of them to the church.

We have such an awesome team - I cannot say enough what a blessing it is to have the team we do - our personalities are complimentary, and we laugh a lot together, while we are also able to talk about "deep"stuff...

Gracias por orar (Thank you for praying!) It has been a problem to get pics on here, so when we return, we'll post a link where we'll post pics for you to enjoy: in the meantime, know that the people here are BEAUTIFUL and we are all content to be here! Thank you again for being part of our time here.

It's all good...

We make plans, and then are reminded that God is ultimately the schedule maker! I'd misunderstood our plans for Wednesday anyway, but we couldn't go to Cercadillo in the afternoon because it RAINED and RAINED and RAINED (and the roads become unusable), so plan B was to go to the market and a Dominican type Walmart and then to bed early. We had a good time of worship and fun with the team before catching those zzzz's tho'.

Yesterday we got up at 4:30 to start a 2 hour drive to Santiago, where we took down a chapel and rebuilt it about 100 yards away from it's original location (land problems, so it needed to be done...) Long, hot day... did I mention hot? But, praise God, we had no rain, and there was plenty of water, and a nice breeze to refresh us periodically. The people from the church there served us awesome fruit for a snack, and a great lunch, and it was a privilege to pray with them inside the chapel when we were done. God has been blessing their efforts in this community, to the point that they've outgrown the chapel they are in, and a group later this summer will help them with an addition.

Today, it is work in the morning, and the beach in the afternoon. I'm not sure about the evening activities. Tomorrow is work in the morning, and, God willing, we'll go to Cercadillo where we should be able to help deliver water and then play with the kids, and maybe have a type of service with them.

We are healthy with a few bug bites among us, and some scrapes, but nothing major. We've really been enjoying working and hanging with each other, and it is a huge praise for the team unity that we have.

Thank you for praying, and being part of our team!

Safe and sound and already hard at work...Domincan Republic Team

We had an easy travel day yesterday, and arrived early enough to see the views as we drove to the TIME compound... neat experience for all of us...

Today we were up and at 'em at 6:00 a.m. and the guys mostly did cement work - mixing and pouring a floor by hand, while the rest of the team worked on building the parts for benches we will continue to work on tomorrow. We use templates and POWER TOOLS... saws, drills, a router... and some of us are definitely gifted in that area!

This afternoon, we went to an underground cavern called Tres Ojos and then tonight, went to a church about 40 minutes away and helped out with ministry there. We brought balloons and some of us (again, some are gifted in their abilities!) made various creations for the kids. They sing, pray, and have a lesson, and then we interacted with them a little. There is another team here from DM (Johnston E Free) and 3 of them played music at the beginning too ...

Tomorrow is more construction, and beach time in the afternoon, while in the early evening, we'll go to Cercadillo, the village where God has been working tremendously to bring people to Him... we're excited about going.

Thursday will be a long day - we are not BUILDING a new chapel, but we are MOVING one from one location to another about 30 meters away (because of a land dispute)... so we are taking it down and putting it back up in the same day... please be praying for us especially this day as we wake up at 4:00 and who knows when we'll be done!!! Thanks!

I'm going to try to upload to Snapfish instead of here and will publish a link if I can download some pics...

Peace to all - Sue for the team

Wednesday morning in Malaga

We are leaving today for priego de cordoba for the conference
We had good connectins here - arrived at AVANT in time for Sunday dinner with the group here. We have really enjoyed our time in Malaga. We worked Monday here at the center (painted, sewed, gardened) Yesterday we had a beautiful sunny day to go to the castles and shop - spent the day in central Malaga. We have lots of lovely pictures (Sarah's camera file is full already!)
Last night Boaz and Ruth (some missionaries here who have been friends of Holcomb's for years) had us all over for dinner. It was wonderful
Today we will drive to the camp, so this is probably the one and only chance we will have to write.
Thank you for your prayers. We are all healthy . Sleep has been a bit of a problem for some of us - the 7 hour time change is difficult to adjust to.
We are ready to head off on the next leg of the trip.
(You should have seen us stuff all 12 bags - our six and six extras for the mission teams we brought - AND 6 carryons in our van to come here. It was truly an amazing feat. And Sarah has become the master at navigating the crazy streets of Malaga with the stick shift
Keep praying - we are trusting God for great things this week end

Wednesday morning in Malaga

We are leaving today for priego de cordoba for the conference
We had good connectins here - arrived at AVANT in time for Sunday dinner with the group here. We have really enjoyed our time in Malaga. We worked Monday here at the center (painted, sewed, gardened) Yesterday we had a beautiful sunny day to go to the castles and shop - spent the day in central Malaga. We have lots of lovely pictures (Sarah's camera file is full already!)
Last night Boaz and Ruth (some missionaries here who have been friends of Holcomb's for years) had us all over for dinner. It was wonderful
Today we will drive to the camp, so this is probably the one and only chance we will have to write.
Thank you for your prayers. We are all healthy . Sleep has been a bit of a problem for some of us - the 7 hour time change is difficult to adjust to.
We are ready to head off on the next leg of the trip.
(You should have seen us stuff all 12 bags - our six and six extras for the mission teams we brought - AND 6 carryons in our van to come here. It was truly an amazing feat. And Sarah has become the master at navigating the crazy streets of Malaga with the stick shift
Keep praying - we are trusting God for great things this week end

SPAIN TEAM

April 21 - 30, 2007 The Spain Team will be leaving for Malaga Saturday, April 21. We will spend several days at the AVANT Guest House there. They have a few projects for us to complete - some painting and yard work for them.
Wednesday, April 18 we head to Priego de Cordoba to help with the Youth Worship Conference called Contra Corriente. Sunday, April 29, we head back to Malaga and fly home Sunday.

Team Members: Sue Holcomb, Karen Elgersma, Jane Krogmann,
Lisa Majors, Cindi Turner, and Sarah Webster

Prayer Requests: Safety while we travel (esp. driving the rental van - manual, of course!)
Attendance - This is a new area for the conference. It has always been
in the north part of Spain. Pray that many will come.
Impact - That hearts will be touched and lives changed.
We are praying that some of the young people who come looking
for a party Friday and Saturday,, may hear the music and come
to our event and find Jesus! (see note below)


We just had an email from the group we are working with. They write:
New prayer item: we just found out (every day is a new thing, we are finding the south culture to be such a different place!) we found out yesterday by chance that the town organizes and sponsers the ¨botellon¨ for young people. Botellon is getting your beer bottles, your coke mixed with wine, and kegs and doing what ever you do with that. So this is a SPONSERED event provided by the pueblo that they just put in affect 6 days ago, announcing to the town and surrounding area that the very park where we are camping at will be the official place for this gala event!!!!!!!
So won´t that be a lovely scene?? Now for an evangelist this is great!!!! For organizers of an event where we already have pastors who are suspicious of anything outside their four walls, this is not so great!!!! Personally I´m not so worried about the teenagers, I´m worried about the 20 year olds who think they can, just because they can. (europe is another culture with this subject)
We´ve talked with the police and they said last week, the first weekend for this to be available (friday and saturday), that it was a ¨flop¨ only 40 kids were there. 40 is better than 400 I suppose!!
We remind ourselves that it is God´s kingdom, not Contra Corriente´s. It doesn´t look good for Contra Corriente, but God is bigger, knew about this before we did or the pueblo decided...so we gotta trust Him. But wouldn´t it be great if it flopped, these kids would come to our thing and get saved!!

New Directions RIPPLE team

Saturday, Februay 17th, we had a great team working at the New Directions Emergency Shelter for women and children. They organized the donation rooms and cleaned on the main level.
They were one hard working group!