First Day in Esmeraldas
Chaos. Cacophany. Sweat. Christ. Tonight I experienced the power of Christ enabling, strengthening, and working in me as we started our ministry in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.
We arrived early at the school we are using for the evening kids' program, prepared our classrooms, prayed, and then watched as the group of children we would teach grew larger... and larger... and larger. What were we getting ourselves into?Tim's words in team devotions about trusting God and His power to handle every situation could not have been more relevant than at that moment. 2 Timothy 1:12 strengthened my heart. "...for I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day." As my classroom filled with more and more children, I was confident that God was in control of the situation and big enough to handle it. My job was to give Him 100% and entrust the results to Him. So I did. And God came through. Three hundred kids, lots of noise, lots of teamwork, and lots of Christ's power later, we waved goodbye and gloried in the goodness of God.
It has been a busy day. It started with morning classes for the kids at a huge Christian school were non-Christian families send their kids for the superior private education. It was loud, but a good time of teaching the kids about truthfulness. For lunch, we were incredibly blessed by the church here, who prepared a delicious meal. We came to serve, to bless, and to show the love of Christ, but really, in each face, in each meal served, and in each "hola", we are blessed and served. It's been a good day, and I can't wait to get some sleep and face tomorrow, strong in the strength of Christ in me!Darlene, for my amazing and beloved team!
Darlene with kids at the school
y Timoteo...
y Lorianne...
A sign welcoming the team to Pastor Luis' church. We love this church! They really do treat us like family.
A scene from our evening children's program.