We are happy to report that today was Amazing! We Experienced so much. VBS is going amazing we are connecting with the children and having lots of fun. We have lots of activities to outreach with the homeless community and the families of Watts. We are tired but are growing stronger with God. We are excited to serve but also sad that we will have to leave so soon. Keep us in your prayers.
Day two! has been so busy we worked at so many different places like soup kitchens, sports camps, construction and finally at the end of the day we got to debrief at santa monica beach. One crew left at 5:15 to serve at the Union Rescue Mission preparing food and serving hundreds of men, women, and children. Another crew served at a local park for a community sports camp that had Bible lessons and lots of fun. One crew helped move furniture and another crew painted an apartment. We hosted our own VBS after canvassing the neighborhood to hand out flyers inviting them to come for games and crafts and snacks and a great Bible story and songs. We had a wonderful dinner together at Papa Cristos Greek Restaurant and then did a final huddle with the Ferris Wheel on the SM Pier in the background. We are definitely feeling tired and blessed!
I just got off the phone with Shawn, and the team is still going great! The team didn’t have enough time to blog last night, but they hope to do so this afternoon. They had an awesome evening, and the ministries they’re partnering with love our students!
Amanda
Student Ministries Assistant
We have arrived safely, and everything is going great so far. Today, we got to experience the city. We were given a list of challenges to do, including riding the metro, going up one of the tallest buildings, giving a lunch to a homeless person and hearing someone’s story. One group of students met a homeless woman who shared a Bible study and challenged them in their Bible knowledge. They admitted that it was a humbling experience that her knowledge of scripture was more extensive than theirs, and she didn’t even own a Bible. Other students shared about homeless people they had talked with who went beyond their expectations. Now, we’re planning for the VBS activities that will start tomorrow. It’s just the first day, and people are already being stretched from their comfort zones. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!
Today the children performed the musical and they did wonderfully. Everyone was smiling, dancing and singing their hearts out, and having a great time. It was great hearing the parents laugh and seeing their smiles as they watched their own children on stage. The parents were so proud. It felt good seeing that all their hard work did not go to waste.
After the show we were able to honor all the people that helped make the show possible with gifts. This included the pastors, translators, and anyone else that came to help. It was quite an emotional exchange. It will be difficult leaving the people that have become so dear to us, especially the Shoemakers and Antonio (the pastor) and his wife, Eunice. This trip would not have been possible without their support and involvement. We have truly been blessed.
Dress rehearsal today! We were able to run through the show twice and the kids did very well. At this point it’s mostly reminding them to look at the audience when speaking and getting them to smile. Still, we are hoping and praying that the last few “unmemorized” lines will be ready for tomorrow.
Tonight we are doing a concert at a community center for a group of 13-16 year olds. They have been doing a two week camp at the center, and we get to be their entertainment for their last night. We are excited to be a part of this and hoping that our presence and performance will be God-glorifying. Please pray that this concert would be able to open doors for Antonio’s church and the Shoemakers. We are hoping that it will be a foundation for further partnerships between the church and the community center.
Thank you for your prayers!
Hannah Pagel
Today was a big day for music camp. It started out with a normal camp morning: drama game, snack, and electives. The afternoon had a huge expectation to fulfill though: a full run-through of our musical. The whole team was a little anxious about this. We just weren’t sure how this was going to play out. To our delight, the rehearsal ran fairly smoothly. Most of the kids knew their lines, the dances were pretty good, and they all knew their songs. We were very happy with this.
Even though we had a lot of our attention pointed toward the afternoon rehearsal, the day would not have been a big day without our devotional. Fatima, one of our cherished translators, shared the Gospel with the kids. Using the Evangecubes, the children were enthralled by how the story was depicted. Susan, one of our team members, was discussing her feelings about this time with me. She told me that she was encouraged to be a part of sharing this with them. We knew that we weren’t going to be able to share the Gospel with our audience on Friday night and this was disheartening. We weren’t even sure we’d get to do it with our camp kids. But we got to! And it was in their own language. What a blessing to be God’s vessels!
Please continue praying for us as we prepare both for Friday night’s concert and the musical on Saturday.
We are very excited to see how God continues to work.
Hannah Pagel
Hello everyone!
The musical we are teaching is coming along nicely. There are some acts that are just priceless. I want to take some of these kids home. There is some real talent. We are enjoying watching these kids as they grow into their roles and their confidence soars. They are working very hard.
As a team we are also preparing for our concert Friday night. After the music camp is finished, we pull out the guitars and get started on rehearsal. The kids that haven’t left yet dance around while we rock out. It’s a lot of fun spending this extra time with the kids. They love singing along to the songs we are practicing.
It also has been really nice getting to know the pastor, Antonio, and his wife, Eunice. They are so excited about this camp and cannot wait for the performance on Saturday. Jonathan and Tracy keep telling us how much they appreciate our work. Antonio and Eunice are such a joy. We love interacting with them and we are happy to know that we can help them in any way God chooses.
Hannah Pagel
Bom dia!
Today we started our day a little more aware of what we were in for. Things went much smoother and the team had a lot more energy. We got further into our musical today, teaching lines for specific skits and had a blast teaching two children (a girl and a boy) a very adorable couples dance. They really took their characters to heart. It was really encouraging to see how quickly the children grasp their parts.
This evening we got to enjoy another meal at the Shoemakers, but this time with live entertainment. God has blessed them with a neighbor, Margarita, who is a wonderful woman and musician. She came over to meet us and brought her accordion along with her. We had a wonderful time talking with her and listening to her play. Chris and Jameson even got to play along on their instruments. I speak for the team when I say that it is so encouraging to see God place people like Margarita in the Shoemakers’ lives. We could tell that she truly loved them and they loved her. God is clearly at work and we feel
privileged to be able to see it.
Tomorrow we will go deeper into the musical and continue to prepare for the show on Saturday. The children are excited and we can’t wait to see the final work.
Once again, thank you for your prayers!
Hannah
Today we started our music camp and it was a blast! The children were so excited to be there and could not wait to get started. It was evident within the first half hour that we were working with a group of performers. They loved learning the dances, doing the drama games, and singing the songs. Of course, we knew who the real “hams” were right away.
Please pray for the children that are coming from outside of the church. We have about 5-6 kids from a poor neighborhood and most of them do not know the Lord. We are excited to have this group and can’t wait to take advantage of every opportunity to share Jesus with them.
This camp is definitely stretching us. With 25 kids we have our hands full and each of us is using our skills to help out…and sometimes we are learning new skills to make ends meet. With just one day down, we feel completely blessed by these smiling faces. I think it may be difficult for us to leave.
Thank you for your support,
Hannah Pagel
