Our First Full Day...Hurray!

At one point last night three of us were whispering back in forth in the dark, "What is that noise?" It turns out that adjacent to the guys dorm is the goat dorm. There is nothing like sleeping with goats on the other side of the wall. They are no respecter of persons nor do they keep normal hours.

Speaking of hours, today was the first day we put a full day of work in. The day began with an early morning run to The Home Depot in El Paso in order to purchase the stuff our teams need to work. We have broken the large group into 6 work teams. Each work team has been given at least one project to complete in the time we are here. Although we started today a bit late, the teams quickly got up to speed. The men leading these work teams are such a blessing! Please be praying for Don Bayles, Mark Beach, Paul Engle, Ben Hacker, Mark Gunderson, John Klimt, and Mark O'Halloran. These men are in the unique position of leading their teams to get work projects done in a manner that adorns the gospel. Just imagine the opportunities these men will have to encourage the students throughout the rest of the week.

Throughout the day today we heard the testimonies of 6 people from our group. This is typical. One or two will share what God has done or is doing in their lives at our team devotions or at team meals. It is so encouraging to hear about God's faithfulness in very specific ways. By the time we leave on Sunday we will have heard from every member of our group. Tonight AJ Engle shared how God used his dad's bout with cancer to teach AJ about His sovereingty and the brevity of life. What was particularly moving was watching Paul Engle as his son bore testimony to God's grace through it all.

Our team is having a blast with the kids at the orphanage. Just before dinner, it was a joy to witness some of our students playing basketball with kids while other students were racing each other (with kids on their backs) while still others were pushing children on swings and playing on slides. Be encouraged, our team has lovingly and joyfully engaged with these precious children. One can already anticipate some difficult goodbyes on Sunday.

As far as our health, today there were two stomach aches and some sun burns (it was 80 degrees with blue skies), but by and large we are doing well. Tomorrow we will be sending one of the vans to pick up Kyle Zeman and Zach Skanron at the El Paso airport. Please continue to pray that their entry into things here will be seamless.

Dean Adamek (Rancho3M director), his wife Denise and three boys (Taylor, Jeremiah, and Daniel) will be joining us for several meals throughout our visit. Dean regularly makes it a point to express his gratitude for our coming to serve them. Some day he will realize how much he and this orphanage have served us.