Wow...where to begin summarizing this month? We've seen incredible fruit and experienced incredible pain over the past 28 days, but God has shown up in many ways through it all. I will try my best to give the overview through a few words and pictures below.
Saying Goodbye
The most painful occurrence this month was saying goodbye to one of the children who has been at the shelter for five years. The government moved him to a different shelter to be closer to his family (who has showed little to no interest in him over the past five years). It was devastating for us, for the kids, for everyone here who knew and loved him. However, we are trusting his precious life to the Lord and praying that the Lord will send him a new support system where he is!
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| The director and his wife-one last goodbye |
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| Saying goodbye |
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| Hanging one last day with "brothers" |
Another Future Goodbye
Through much prayer and consideration, I've felt the Lord calling me to return to the States at the end of this school year. This was an extremely heart-wrenching decision to make, as I love this ministry dearly. I am trying to be intentional with every last moment here and would appreciate prayer that the Lord would bring in future teachers soon, as well as help the kids with the transition.
Village Ministry
We started our English classes and a Bible study this week! We also had the chance to give another solar-powered audio Bible to three sisters who often come to our English classes and were super excited to hear that they have been listening to it every day! We are praying that we can be intentional with every opportunity in the few months we have left!
School
Educationally, we have had a wonderful month and a half of school since returning from Christmas Break. The students have settled in well and it's fun to see a lot of progress happening. We had 3 students who started the beginning of the school year without being able to read and are now over the hump and advancing! We are grateful to have been able to purchase some amazing new books in Spanish with donation money and the kids absolutely adore them!
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Some of our new Spanish children's books!
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| Getting ready for the mile run in P.E.! |
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| Working hard in math |
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| An unexpected visit from an "older sister!" :) |
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Special visit from some of our volunteers for Valentine's Day!
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| Making Valentine's Day cards! |
Mission Team
We were visited by a team of 21 amazing people from Louisiana who helped us with several projects throughout the week! Thank you for your wonderful work!
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| Sealing every roof tile |
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| Mission accomplished! |
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| Painting the outside of the school |
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| Helping in the kitchen! |
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Misc. Happenings and Hangouts
Here is a very short summary through pictures of the wide variety of activities that take place around here. Enjoy!
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| Corn season! De-graining process with lots of helpers! |
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| Picnic after church |
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| Dress-up anyone? |
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| Preparing the garbanzo beans! |
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| Special trip to the movies! |
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| Tio Noah and Tia Katie with all the kids! |
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Learning how to crochet!
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