Wednesday, March 11, 2026

 Wednesday, March 11

Though we are a little tired today, everyone’s doing well. Various things that happen at home weigh on us, but the mission at hand is good work, and we stay the course.  

Every morning, we are doing a large group and a small group with the 10 families that are represented.  Sometimes, the families cannot be there, so they will send a representative.  

This morning, when we arrived, the mayor made a surprise visit, and it was good to meet her. She was so welcoming and excited about the neighborhood. 

Instead of working, we split into men and women. The women had a tea.  They had tea and cake (which they do not get very often), and painted together.  They showed pictures of their family from their phones, and talked about various aspects of life.  

The men gathered under the tree and did some get to know you questions.  There was a great deal of laughter and joy, and we all picked on each other.  We were able to gather under a tent and sing some songs.  It was a beautiful time of mixing English and Spanish and talking about worship around the throne of God. 

From there, we went to Center of Hope. We learned about what they do, and we got to see people we worked with our first 2 years. It’s difficult to explain the attachment that we have to that community.  

We returned to base and ate some lunch. Then the ladies went to UnShackled and Taellor’s House.  They met some wonderful people and made cookies with some of the ladies for an activity while they got to know one another.  And playing with the preschoolers at Taellor’s house is never disappointing.  

The guys returned to New Beginnings and took a tour of the facility and learned how men go there to battle addiction.  We heard powerful testimonies of what God was doing. Young men that had only been there a few days, and some that had been there for months.  A powerful moment happened when Lucas got up and shared his testimony.  He was used by God, because from that point on, we were not strangers.  We were brothers.  So much so, that we played a competitive game of baseball afterward.  It got rowdy with so much laughter! 

We returned to base, had dinner, and enjoyed a sweet cabana time. Thank God for his sustaining mercy!  More work to do tomorrow.