Summer teams in the city

We recently finished our summer season, full of teams from all over the states and Canada. It was a great time of being able to share with others and receive help in our ministry sites. I had an intern, Mark, from Fresno, California, who was a great help to me throughout the entire summer. He brought a lot of energy and encouragement and was always willing to lend a hand. He really was a huge blessing in what can be a kind of hectic time for us. In the first 6 weeks of the summer, we had a group of 4 students from Trinity Western University in Canada, one of which, Joti, was placed at my site. She was also a huge encouragement to me and the kids we work with. In addition to everything else this summer, I had the joy of spending one night a week with all the interns, encouraging them and giving them a safe place where they didn't have to worry about being "on" or in charge of something, or even having to figure out how to express themselves in spanish. I really enjoyed being able to provide this time and place for them, as I know the experience of having to be abroad and being in charge of things and having plenty of responsibilities. Overall, the summer was great! It wasn't without a few glitches here and there, but the kids involved in our programs and those that came from the states seemed to do really well and enjoy their time together! Here are just a few pictures from these last few months:






Joti, Mark and I






A rainy day soccer game with the kiddos.





Best buds: Kevin and Axel





Aerobicizing, of course!





Valeria, Joti and others in the background at the church

The infamous box

In Las Fuentes, we have been incredibly blessed in our partnership with the church there. It's been over 2 years that I've been working out of the church rent free. They've been very gracious in allowing us to use their space and various resources there. It's been a huge blessing. There are still some drawbacks in not having a place of our own, however we are taking steps towards growing and bettering what we do have available to us. For example, for the last 2 years or so in Las Fuentes, because we don't have a space that is just for us, we have kept all of our materials and supplies locked in a 2'x3' plastic box that we would have to carry up and down stairs from where we would store it to where we would have our program with the kids. It was pretty hefty and jam-packed with lots of great things. But it was also not the easiest to manage with having to move it all the time and having little hands rummaging through it, making it seemingly impossible to keep it in some kind of order or system. So, with the amazing servant's hearts of Jeremy and those working with him at the woodshop, we put in a request for some kind of cabinet that we could lock and keep up in a more permanent spot in one of the rooms where we work with kids in the church. In not much time at all, the cabinet was finished and moved into it's place in Las Fuentes! And we are so very grateful for not having to lug that large box up and down the stairs and having a more organized and larger place to keep all of our supplies! Below are some pictures of the day that we got the cabinet and transferred everything from the box to the oh-so-spacious cabinet.




This is a picture of everything we took out of the box and various other places to put inside the cabinet.




You can see the infamous old box in the background, being cleaned out.




Nicole and Mark helped out with the transfer and the Jeffs, on the right, helped move the cabinet and put it in it's place.




SO neat and organized!!!!




Functional and beautiful!




I love it!