Exceedingly Abundantly Above and Beyond

Dear Families,

I know that I have said this before....but your children are amazing. We just completed our debrief time after a very full and very long day and I was so blessed and encouraged by their deep thoughts and insights into this mission experience. I am actually finding it hard to put into words the thoughts that are swimming around in my head and heart this evening. What I can tell you is that they are really connecting as a class, they are going deeper in their relationships and trust for each other. It is hard to explain what I see happening but the friendship and comaradarie and compassion expressed is very satisfying to watch. Our groups experienced four distinct ministry situations from a convelenscent home to a very poor Mayan Village to a local community church and for another group...the outermost parts (i.e. a rural village). Many are being stretched through the frustration of the language barrier, the initial sense of helplessness and the struggle to push through without outwardly expressing that frustration. They are touched by the conditions of the communities and by the beautiful and open children that they encounter. As a result they are leaning hard on each other, recognizing gifts and talents they didn't realize they had and finding ways to support each other while working within their gifts. They shared tonight a variety of perpectives and goals that they hope to experience on this trip and I see that many of them are having that "light bulb moment" that this trip is more about what will happen for them personally than anything else. The give and take and honest sharing within the group is beyond what we could have hoped or asked for. Please know that everyone is healthy and well and I can you guarantee that they are sleeping well. I will share more specifics tomorrow once I am refreshed by a happy and welcome sleeptime! We go out at 9 a.m. tomorrow for a chapel service at a local school and then to the church for VBS practice and lunch and each team will switch locations share their program with another group. Once we are done every group will have been presented the whole story of God's love for the world with the focus on God, Jesus, the conflict of Sin and the walk of Faith. Stay tuned more to come. I love your kids! Jan