Bienvenidos a Tuesday!

Day five started out as usual with breakfast and our bus ride. Heather had her own unique "cultural experience" this morning; halfway to Reina de la Paz she realized she had forgotten the second sewing machine at the hotel. Giuli and Heather jumped off the bus, grabbed a small bus/van (and rode it standing up), walked two blocks to the hotel, and took a taxi to Reina de la Paz. After all that, they still arrived at the same time as the rest of the group!

We started off with singing at Reina de la Paz and broke into our three groups. The craft group had a wonderful time making flip-flops with fabric and watching Mark dance with several of the girls. Rhonda had noticed one girl in particular, Maricruz, was usually sad; but Mark got down on his knees and got her to dance, immediately putting a smile on her face. The sewing group was hard at work once again. Heather was impressed with the girls and their enthusiasm and quick learning ability.

The Bible study went very well today; the girls are very open to what we have to teach them. They have lots of questions, and we've found that many are struggling with being a full-time mother, student, and teenager. One girl in particular, Paola, said that she wasn't sure whether God is real and whether salvation is lasting. In response Sue felt led to give Paola her Spanish Bible, hopefully enabling her to find some answers. Please pray for Paola and all of the girls to grow in their relationships with the Lord.

After a wonderful lunch at Granja Azul (the chicken place, for those who have been to Peru before!), we were ready to once more tackle San Ricardo. To our joy and delight, we did not have to wear masks today! Thank God for answered prayers! We started out with singing; the kids really like when we sing in English. We sang "Joy," a Jr. Praise Team song for them, complete with dancing. (We're going to be selling tickets for our world tour when we get back. :D)

(From Emily:) Today at San Ricardo I was in the memory verse station. The kids really seemed to enjoy learning the verse (Philippians 4:4) and were very enthusiastic. I was really impressed to see almost no kids wandering around! In all of my three trips here in Peru, I have never seen the San Ricardo kids so occupied and calm. Praise the Lord, and thank you for your prayers!

The best thing that happened to me today was that one of the teenage girls gave me her picture of one of the Jonas Brothers. (We've found that the Jonas Brothers are very popular in Peru.) And after hearing that I've never been to one of their concerts, one little girl very animatedly replied, "Why?!?"

(From Heather:) Today at San Ricardo I was in craft with my mom and my grandma :0)!!!! We got the teenagers 1st.....plus a few stragglers under the age of 4........precious! The teenagers decorated journals with stickers and markers, to be used to take notes in Bible. The sweetest part of journal making was when one of the girls asked mom and I how to spell our names, so that she could write them on the front of her journal.

After the teens headed to Bible, we had the pleasure of face painting. With the help of one of the interns, we were able to have 3 stations; my mom, Jennifer, and me. When we finished each one, grandma Kay took their picture. It was a BLAST!!! I actually laughed out loud, when one young boy named Roberto, burst out in song while I drew a spider web on his cheek.....you guessed it,,,,,,,,,,the official "spider man song"! We were having so much fun, we had to be told more than once to pack up the paint and get on the bus! I can't wait to see what fun God has in store for us as we head to Reina de la Paz and then to the movie UP with the kids from San Ricardo.