TJ Speer Blog

Today was our first full day of the mission trip. We started with a tour of Pavas. It was difficult to see the level of poverty the people of that area live with on a daily basis. Next, we went to a local elementary school and began our mural. We sanded walls, painted a base coat and painted games on a cement floor. We made a lot of progress and finished ahead of schedule.  Bringing beauty allows the students to know the are love and worth being in a beautiful environment, all in the name of Jesus.  We enjoyed speaking with the students as they went in and out of their classrooms. After painting, we had a great lunch at the Hope International facility. We ate the same food that Hope Center gave to their families for lunch. We were so blessed by the women there who cooked for us. We spent the rest of the afternoon running a VBS for a group of 4th through 6th graders. The kids were so sweet, giving us hugs and helping us with our Spanish. Most importantly, we saw God do some pretty cool things. We saw our students step out of their comfort zone in order to show students they are loved. They danced, played, did crafts, held hands, hugged, painted, and loved each student. We ended the day with a team dinner and a debrief with Hope staff to help us process the day.  We praise God for a great day and we can’t wait for tomorrow.
* Pray for continued strength
*Pray for Tuesday as we will see our biggest group of kids
*Pray for internalization of what we see, do and participate in
*Pray for life change in the students we work with and for our FB Students