Ecuador - July 27 || Alyssa

Today was our last day in Esmeraldas (sad face). We packed our bags and headed to church. Church was such a blessing. The people here are so loving and God is really moving through them. A few of our team members- Kristina, Michaila, and Danny, spoke about how much God moved through the week and what God had taught them through it. Daniel then got up and gave a message encouraging the youth to grow in their faith and for the adults to encourage and help the youth- not despise them for their youth. After many hugs, tears, and goodbyes, they encouraged us, prayed for us, and after feeding us once again with another amazing meal, sent us off on our long bus ride to Same.Upon arriving in Same and after taking team pictures on the beach, we immediately started working on preparations for Camp Week. After a few hours the kids came. We watched with anticipation as the busses pulled up. About 76 kids ran out of the two busses- luggage in hand. We split them into the color teams we had prepared for them and each of us on the GE team began to come up with chants, a flag, and ways we could get our kids excited and prepared for the week.Later in the evening, for the first time in 2014, the whistle in Same blew once again and all chaos broke lose. Kids ran as fast as they could to the basketball court with their leaders and teammates yelling “Core! Core!” (“Run! Run”) for line up. Screams and chants followed us as we went to dinner. After dinner, we went into the main building for the opening ceremony, where we taught songs and told an amazing lesson on how it doesn’t matter what we do- God still loves us, will forgive us, and will be there for us. Then as the Ecuadorian flag was flown the World Cup trophy was brought in and the 2014 Same Camp Week World Cup began. The team and the kids are so excited for this week! Thank you all for your prayers (keep praying!) it has helped SO much. Pray that this week goes smoothly and the God will use us in these kids lives for His glory.~Alyssa