First, our ministry times have been going really well. I have been in charge of the stories we tell with the children and I chose one of my favorite Bible characters to focus on for this month, Elijah. We have talked about God's faithfulness of the drought, the stream, and the widow. We have talked about idols and God's power with the story of the altar and the fire from heaven. We actually even did a little skit and got some photos of the altar and the fire from heaven that I would like to share with you!
The kids have been soaking up God's lessons from the Bible and it is awesome to see them so hungry to learn more and more about who our God is!
We have also been visiting with a girl named Rosa who is 17. She is a beauitful young lady who lives in a very poor area called Tierra Nueva. Rosa was raped and as a result she became pregnant. She is the daughter of pastors and to hide the shame from their family they send her to live with an aunt. Rosa had a beautiful baby girl who turned 1 month old a week ago. This poor girl is trying to raise a baby by herself but has no clue how to go about doing it. We have been offering support to her as much as we can. We bathe the baby when we go because that is something that Rosa is afraid to do on her own. We also have been bringing diapers and other baby supplies. We have also been in contact with Rosa's family, encouraging them to accept her back into their family and teaching them about restoration. I really feel like God is working in this situation, too, because just last week Rosa moved back home with her family where she will be able to receive the support she needs. I have grown a special bond with Rosa and look forward to growing our friendship even more in the future. Here are a few pictures of Rosa and her baby, Esmeralda.
I also celebrated my 26th (it still sounds so OLD) birthday on September 19th. It was a great day not only because the people here helped me celebrate and made it special, but my MOM was here too!!! She got to stay for 9 days and we had such a wonderful time together! She came to mostly to see what we do here and to meet my amazing boyfriend, Mario. She loved it here and I am pretty sure she loved Mario too! They got along really well and I even found myself left out at times around the two of them! It was awesome!!! We celebrated Guatemalan Independence Day, my birthday and my mom's birthday together. Here are just a few highlight pictures of our time together.
