See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1

Jon's church from Kalamazoo, MI, sent a mission team last week. Having the kids meet one of the ministry's longest supporters (New Day Church) and a teacher who has pen pals with our kids and her Spanish class was such a blessing.
During their week-long trip, we had about 22 hours of ministry time with the kids! Our kids are on spring break, giving us the perfect opportunity to spend as much time with the team as possible.

It was such a joy to see the kids and the team overcome the language barrier and bond with the kids. Showing someone you care enough to travel to another country, grin when you see them, and engage even if you sound funny using the few words you know is the communication of the heart. ❤️

Over three nights of youth group, the team shared the story of Esther. It was a great lesson on how we never know what God will call us to or what purpose He has for us until we are standing there faced with the decision to follow Him or not. God has created each of us with a purpose in mind.

The team really blessed us staff during this trip. They bought us new shelves and containers for organizing and then helped organize! Our Bluetooth speaker went out during youth group one evening, and the next morning, they went and bought us a new one, a very cool one that the kids love because it lights up. They also fixed several broken things in Ashley's kitchen and superglued back together the sole and heel of my favorite heels.
We were very blessed by their generosity. 💛

Overall, the time with the team was a blast! They got to experience a little bit of Peruvian culture and see the beautiful city of Iquitos.
What a wonderful trip it was, especially to see the kids receive love and encouragement outside of what we staff give. They are used to us being supportive, but when strangers (who weren't strangers for long!) come and help us build them up, it reminds them how much love God wants to pour into them.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 18:1-5
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