Es un bueno dia!

You know that saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, this blog is going to be about 1020 words. We are tired and need to get up very early tomorrow to go to Buena Vista. We spent the day outside of Amatilan, the area which experienced some of the most devastating mud slides a few weeks ago. It is still difficult to travel in this area, and the stories of lost lives and shanties, once you have met and talked with the people, are difficult to process. The first two photographs are from house visits today. Most of the homes contain extended families and very little else. The woman in the photograph below is Margarita. Her story is a powerful one. Carlos, a man from Honduras who was a friend of her husband's molested her daughters. While in the process of pursing one of the girls, he fell into their well and lost his leg. The faimily cared for him, he found Jesus, and he has been with the family ever since. Margarita is Carlos' main caregiver.

The picture on the bottom is the beginning of our volleyball VBS lesson. Alyssa made up a cadence to go with the volleyball skills we wanted to teach and what we wanted to share about Jesus, so of course we made up actions to go with it. It goes like this:
Set your eyes on Jesus now,
Serving God will be our vow.
Dig into His word today,
Blocking all of satan's ways.
Spiking interest into God's word,
Pass it around, it will be heard.
I know it is a little cheesey, but it seemed to get their interest and we had a great time teaching the approximately 50 children volleyball skills and Biblical lessons attached to each skill. It is hard to imagine that only a few weeks ago, many of their friends and relatives, as well as homes were washed away by a tropical storm. I think we provided a small, but badly needed break from the devastation. Additionally, we were relieved to get this first day teaching over and have it feel like it was right.

As you can see in the photographs, we are fine. Each of us has had an ache or pain, but nothing that a bed, peanut butter, Tylenol, or indoor plumbing couldn't solve. Tomorrow is another adventure, one that will take us back in time...Buena Vista...no electricity, no water, no bathrooms, no kidding.

Thank you for your checking on us.
Blessings,
Ali, Jenna, Anna, Kayla, Nicole, Emily, Lisa, and Sally

P.S. It did rain again today.