Sunday night and Monday were both fun and event filled times for our Ridge team. Last night we were able to experience a worship service here at the home. Many people from the community came and the service was entirely in Spanish. But the lyrics for the songs were projected on a big screen just like the Ridge which made it possible for us to sing along in Spanish, even if we didn't entirely understand what we were singing. However, He understands every language and it felt good to worship Him with the community. After this, Dago had each of us introduce ourselves to the congregation while he translated for us. Their applause and excitement was invigorating. Their appreciation for us and love for Him was obvious. Dago gave his message entirely in Spanish and while we could not understand it, His presence in the building was powerful. At the end, Dago extended the invitation for anyone who so desired to come up and accept Jesus. Right away, three children got up (including one of the boys from the children's home). One of the little village boys who got up was my new friend Dennis from the morning, so seeing him up front warmed my heart and spirit even more. When Dago dismissed them to Dilia to pray with her in the back of the room, at least 6 more children got up and ran to the back to join them. This group of children joined hands and with Dilia's assistance, they bowed their heads and each accepted Jesus as their Savior. There were definitely tears from some of our team members - myself included.
I asked Dago about this today and he said that while they extend the invitation every week, they do not always have people who step forward. When they do, it is usually not that many. So again, our team was blessed with a powerful experience and something that we will never forget.
Today started out as a work day and we were able to put in 12 concrete posts for the fence. This doesn't sound like much, but considering it took 5 of our strongest guys to move one post... that was a lot. We also had some water filled holes, prep that needed to be done to the surrounding area, and other logistical issues which made the process slow at first. But now we have a system and I am sure it will move much faster tomorrow.
After work, we were able to help with the feeding program. Many of our new friends returned and Deb and Shauna lead the kids in a story and activity after the meal. The rest of the group jumped in to help with the activity and the kids got toothbrushes brought by some of our Ridge team. Tomorrow will be more of the same and we are hoping to take them all to the water park after lunch for some play time.
Later in the day, we went into town with Jeremy - our fearless leader and even more fearless driver. We bought food for several local families and we plan to deliver this before we leave. This was our longest trip into town as a group and was once again eye opening.
We ended our day with a surprise birthday party for one of our Ridge team members. I knew my husband Phil would be spending his birthday here and I enlisted the help of Jeremy, Dilia, and Dago in order to get him a cake, pinata, and a lot of candy! I also brought birthday hats with me and we had a fantastic time with the children. We sang "Happy Birthday" in both English and Spanish before unveiling the pinata - a giant pink dinosaur that looked an awful lot like Barney. Dago is a master man at controlling the pinata and the room was full of shouts and LOTS of laughter. I am sure the pictures and videos will be all over the internet when we return.
Miranda G.
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