July 2
Today was a marvelous Monday!  We started off the day with our individual devotion time with the Lord concentrating on Performance from our PATHS acronym.  1 John 2 teaches us about Jesus, how he walked, and how he instructs us to live our lives.  “…the one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:6 Our challenge this week, and for our lives, is to walk as Jesus walked and to perform as He did and continues to instruct us to do.
The morning quickly turned into planning, preparing, and practicing for our time at the orphanage and schools throughout the rest of the week.  Our translators taught us a few worship songs in Spanish, the drama team practiced their pantomime depicting the salvation story, and students practiced sharing their testimonies through the use of the translators.
After lunch (which was amazing, as all the meals are—thank you, Martha!) we headed off to the orphanage to set up for volleyball, basketball, soccer, bible story, and crafts for over 120 kids.  They arrived with smiles, sweet “hi’s”, and “holas”, and excitement to play and be loved on.
Robin and Colby led the assembly with silly songs  and “the wave” followed by our students leading the kids in “Open the Eyes of My Heart” and “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart” in Spanish.
The highlights mentioned from our day was a “tickle fight” with Brandon and the kids, children motioning for Jackson to get on all fours so they could jump on him, communication through the common language of drawing pictures, playing “dog, dog, cat” in lieu of “duck, duck, goose”, and children saluting, marching, and coming to attention illustrating the story of the Centurion Soldier.  “No Matter Who You Are- Trust God!”
Looking forward to tomorrow–we head off to our first school to share testimonies, drama, songs and games with more beautiful Nicaraguan children!