One of the things I was struggling with at the end of last year's trip was that it wasn't challenging enough for me. It didn't take me out of my comfort zone. My prayer for this year was that I would be taken out of my comfort zone like you take out chinese food.
When I first heard that we were going to a place with all girls, I was nervous that I wouldn't have that much to do. But God surprised with an abundance of things to keep us busy. We didn't spend as much time at the Villa Esperanza as I thought we would. And when we did it was fun to hang with all the girls.
The theme of the week was God making beautiful things out of dust. Over the summer i worked at the school painting and doing maintenance work. I hated every minute of painting all day, all by myself. On the 5th day of the trip we spent 9-3 painting church class rooms. Because of my experience I was able to be a leader and a hey-i-need-some-help-with-this person.
When we did a park ministry, we had like half an hour before we started. So us boys went and played soccer. A little 7yr old boy, named Esteban, played goalie with me and we became fast friends. When it was time for us to leave he came up to me and asked when I would be coming back. It was soooo hard for me to have to tell him that I would not be coming back. Just seeing the disappointment on his face brought tears to my eyes. But I knew that God would turn his sadness into happiness and that I touched his life in some special way.
