3-26-11

  hey everyone.  This past week was, once again, fun, tiring, and busy.  This week I was the host of a youth group from Kelowna Canada.  The group was about 15 people with three adults and the rest ages 14- 18.  Since I was the host for the group I was responsible for getting them from one place to another, communicating with my leaders the plans for the day and then communicating that to the group, making sure there were lunches and food prepared, and helping the group with their ministry.  For ministry this week we went helped a local pastor clear a vacant lot of weeds and trash for a up coming youth conference he was hosting.  We also spent three days at a orphanage nearby.  At the orphanage we would help clean and do some labor in the morning then in the afternoon we would spend time with the kids.  It was the first orphanage I have ever went to so it was a new experience for me as well.  It was cool to see the group from Canada playing and communicating with these kids at the orphanage despite the language barrier.  The kids from the group from Canada didn't know to much Spanish but they were still able to get to know the kids and play with them despite the barrier.  The orphanage was run by Christian and was a pretty good facility, but by being there kind of opened my eyes to see how much effort needs to go into making a orphanage run well.  It takes a lot of manual labor, a lot of consistent cleaning, a lot of administrating with the kids, and a lot of love.  These week was stretching for me in different areas.  I was in position of more responsibility and it made me have to be more conscious of my time and actions.  It was stressful at points, especially because some stuff I had to deal with at the last seconds, but I learned from it.  God has been teaching me this week and I am sure he is going to teach me more this coming week.  Keep me, my team, and the students coming in your prayers.  Thanks.