Back To School...

With the holidays over we started the new year with a big party for all of the kids who participate in our youth groups. We brought them all together at the team house and had a time of games, worship, and good food.

In this game they had to peel a lemon with gloves on and then eat it, the faces made were hilarious!

This was a popcorn toss into the mouth of the teammates.

The kids love getting together with their friends from the other orphanages. They often form great friendships at summer camp and then are always looking for opportunities to see them again. The party was a reward for consistent attendance at our youth groups.

Part of the worship team from our church alphAOmega came to lead us in worship, it was really nice having them there and they also shared some scriptures and talked about having a relationship with God.

We then started school again, back to teaching english, math, and science! The kids were a little riled up because it was the first week back, hopefully they will settle down a bit this week!

We got to spend Saturday evening with our friends (co-workers) Steven and Haley. We made a meal of tapas, which are Spanish appetizers. We got our inspiration from our favorite restaurant, San Chez Tapas Bistro in Grand Rapids.

I (Mark) made garlic mashed potato empanadas with garlic aioli sauce and sweet potato croquettes. Haley made stuffed mushrooms and bruschetta, with some olives on the side. It was a fun meal to make and to eat. Thankfully there were leftovers so on Sunday our other friends Josh and Missy were able to join in the eating pleasure. We all love to cook and try new things, and thanks to the internet we can find recipes for just about anything!

There are a few things that I wanted to ask for prayers. Thanks again so much for being in prayer constantly for us and the people we work with. We can't win this battle on our own, we need strength and sustenance from God, and we know he honors your prayers!

-Please pray for guidance and peace for us for important decisions that we are facing and as we face attacks from the evil one.

-A new boy came to one of the orphanages last week and was very violent with the other kids and disruptive to our class. Please pray for God to give him peace and a calm spirit, and to guard him against the powers of darkness.

-Pray for the students that will be taking the college entrance exam after they graduate from high school this year. We are tutoring some of them and they aren't used to studying at all - it's not just because they're not in stable homes, the majority of highschoolers are like this here. If they fail this test they can't get into college, so it's really important that they put in the time studying.

-Pray that God will raise up more people to come here, whether for a short or long time, and ask him to speak to you clearly if he is calling you.