Okay, buckle in, because the past three days have been exciting!

On Thursday, we were blessed with an invitation to Mr. Pablo’s birthday celebration! The team worked in the morning, then joined the Garcia family, the staff, and the students for lunch. They really went all out—grab your notepad, because we learned a thing or two! They set up a bunch of tables to create one large table, then covered the borders with nachos. In the center, they had so many types of dips and sauces! Everyone was given a bowl and told to dig in. And dig in they did! There was so much food, and the boys were ecstatic. Everyone kept coming back for more. I don’t blame them; I was doing the exact same thing, and it was delicious! Lunch was followed by a chocolate berry cake, though not many people had space left to enjoy it. Afterward, we played games, including a very intense game of musical chairs. Pearl H. painted a card for Mr. Pablo that captured the mountain view from the base, and we all signed it and gave it to him.

After all the festivities, the team got back to work finishing the sidewalk. As a finishing touch, we did boot imprints from each team member in a walking formation.

Friday morning was very rainy, so we took advantage of the free time to do some memory verse quizzing! The rain cleared around 11:00, and then the team got to the worksite. They cut down trees, cleared out brush, excavated an area for a house, and, of course, continued work on the roof! There are so many projects going on, and we are amazed by these teens! They’ve worked so hard, and their efforts are truly visible.

Saturday gave us the amazing opportunity to go into Silvania to evangelize and play soccer with local children. The team did a presentation in front of the children and a small church congregation, followed by a big soccer game with the kids. Let’s just say our team didn’t win… at all. But that’s okay—they had an absolute blast!

After the soccer fun, we visited a location where a church was being built. We joined the pastor and some church members in a time of prayer over the ground where the church is being constructed. We prayed that the Lord would provide the funds to continue the construction, bless the pastor and his family, and that the church would be a place where many would come to know the name of Jesus Christ. Amen! We ended the day with a visit to a local restaurant for some pizza. Yum!

On Sunday morning, we went to Fusagasugá to attend a church service. We weren’t able to do a presentation, but the team was able to experience another type of church service here in Colombia. Afterwards, we had PB&J sandwiches prepared by Mrs. Delaynie and Miss Rebekah, and then we got ice cream! The rest of the day was very relaxed. Everyone had some much-needed horizontal time (that’s what we call nap time) and worked on verse review and quizzing.

Monday, we have a birthday to celebrate—HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Damien S.! We’re going to make calzones and chocolate cupcakes for the occasion!

Praise the Lord for His protection and mercy! This is our last week here in Colombia. We still have work to do, and we aren’t ready to leave, but we feel overwhelmingly blessed! We’ve had good health the entire time here in Colombia, with no serious injuries. Thank you all for your prayers for our team—keep them coming, as a lot can happen in 6 days!

The rest of the week, we will continue work as usual, while also fitting in some cleanup and packing time. On Saturday, we will head to Bogotá for sightseeing! We’ve changed our plans a bit—we’ll be going to downtown Bogotá to do the Monserrate cable cars. After that, we plan to shop in the markets around downtown, have dinner, and then head straight to the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, so we’ll hang out at the airport until we can check in at 2:00 a.m.

Please pray for our final week here in Colombia, that the team will finish strong!

Blessings!!

“Hello! We went to a new church today the food is good here and if been taking lots of pictures too.” -Luke G.

“Throughout the last two weeks have been an eventful experience. The views of the Andes mountains are some of the most beautiful sights in the Americas. The work and labor distributed to us is hard, but not overwhelming. The culture is far different, and the language barrier is a steep climb. But it is a great learning experience for dealing with difference in the future. My relationship with the Lord has grown, my prayer life has also improved, and I am growing a good habit of daily devotions. Colombia will certainly be an unforgettable part of my life, but also an important steppingstone for the rest of my life.” Levi F.

“Hey mom, I’m alive! Lots of beautiful sites here! They are feeding us delicious food and giving us lots to do. But contrary to popular belief we did not need $50 a week because we never go out really other than church. The leaders are pretty chill and so are the people here. When I get home, can we go to Burger King please? Love you very much.” -Damien S.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen some crazy animals, fruits, and every morning a beautiful sunrise. Just like last year, I got a word and three things to work on. This word is “patience”. This came to me at Boot Camp, but I lost patience with my fellow team mates. Now the three things to work on that God gave me. The first is pursuing a relationship with my brother, not just because God says too, but because I really want it. The second is being a man after God‘s own heart just like David. This is spoken to me during GG’s. And the third is staying in control of my flesh, That’s wants to control and boss people around. We as a team, have a great experiences with work projects and evangelism. The EV moment was when we went to play football with kids, and we did our presentation in front of them. Well, it started to rain before our presentation in Makiya said man God, this rain needs to stop, and it did. Living in the dorms, my nose is used to the smell of stinky boys all the time. My heart misses you guys, but my heart will miss this too.” -Nick M.