Do Not Fear

There was an early start to the day for the majority of the team members. Most of us had to get up, catch the bus to the church, eat breakfast, and be back on the buses to leave at 7:30. The medical team had a long ride to the Indian Reservation where they spent their entire day. They were able to see around 90 people and wrote prescriptions for those who needed them. From what I heard, the adults and children all lined up in an orderly fashion and everything went smoothly. However, because of the quantity of people, they arrived back to the church sometime after 7 and the gospel meeting had already started. We have a great group of medical staff with us and I'm thankful for all the hard work they are putting in. I am hoping to get some pictures soon of the clinic to post for all to see, as well as, some more details about what has happened so far.

The VBS team had the pleasure of performing 3 times today. We had an early start and arrived at the first school at 8 this morning. This school split their children up into two groups and we worked with each one for about an hour and a half. Today was without a doubt our best performances and the kids were laughing coming into the gym and leaving it. Evidently, they were impressed with the job we did because the principal asked us if we could come back on Thursday! We are not sure whether our schedule will allow it, but it would be great if we could share more of the gospel with them. We are already reaping the benefits of the VBS--tonight we had 42 children in the class for the gospel meeting!! This is double what we had just last night! The Lord is working in the hearts of these children. We hope He continues to and opens the hearts of their parents as well. 

Furthermore, our smaller groups did some very important work today. We had a team of six who volunteered to move tires to prevent mosquitoes from breeding for the Minister of Health. They loaded about 300 tires in around 45 minutes. While they didn't brag about this...I think they did a pretty commendable job. This project was completely last minute and we are hoping the connection we made with him will help us in the long run. There were also six girls who stayed back at the church in the morning to prepare lunch for everyone so the ladies of the congregation could attend the women's class. During the afternoon, 3 Bible studies were held with people in the community and those who were left at the church went door-knocking until the afternoon downpour began. 

Tonight, our gospel meeting was continued by Joe Roberts. He spoke about fear and how it hinders us in our walk with Christ. What if we lived a life by faith, not by fear? Our fears only feed our doubts...Live a life without fear. Jesus will be our source of strength and power. 

"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10

To go along with our lesson tonight, we learned a song during our devotional time called "Do Not Fear." It is based off of Isaiah 43 and it is a beautiful song that is an encouragement for all of us to hear! My favorite part about every mission trip I go on is always the singing. I love to be a part of wholehearted singing that comes from being with those who have chosen to volunteer their time to further God's kingdom. What is even better is singing praises to God with our brothers and sisters in Spanish. Sharing the same songs but in a different language is a unique and irreplaceable experience. I'm thankful we are able to do it every day here!

Another busy day is ahead of us tomorrow. Prayers are greatly appreciated and are what is getting us through this trip. God is certainly good all the time and all the time, God is good. 

Dios es bueno siempre.

Leah