Day 5: Thoughts from Kayly



Alison, Brittany & Kayly
preparing Tortas



Serving breakfast on a
basketball court

 Most of us can’t keep track of what day it is, the trip is flying by so quickly.  Since today was Saturday, we had a ‘fun day’.  We started off the day with a yummy pancake breakfast at the church.  Then we headed off to La Cantera, where we were made a breakfast for the kids around the church.  The church there hosts a kid’s breakfast every other week.  



Steven hanging out with some
of his new friends



Jon playing football (a.k.a soccer)
with local boys

  When we got there we split into several groups. Some people went off to invite kids to the breakfast, some of us made the food, and some played with the kids.

               



"Armour of God" team doing the
Amare dance



Travis sharing his testimony
in Spanish (no translator needed!)

 We served breakfast (Tortas - a grilled bun with sour cream, tomatoes, onions, and ham), was enjoyed by the kids a lot.  After they ate we did one of the programs that we had been practising at home.  They loved the balloons and face painting that we did after. The balloon swords were extremely popular.  The little boys there had so much energy that a few of the guys from our team (e.g. Josh) were pretty played out by the time we left.



Mikayla & Kayly drawing chalk art
for the kids



This girl was so nervous that her
balloon armour was going to pop!

 Of course, there we many new little friends that we had made that were hard to say good-bye to when we had to leave. We got back to the church earlier than we had expected so we had even more time to hang out and relax before our afternoon at the market. 



Caleb being "mobbed" by kids
wanting his balloon art



Kayly painting a "mariposa"
(butterfly) on one of the girls



The market was a new experience for a lot of the team.  We had fun watching the locals make intricate beaded bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and key chains.  It was hard to barter with the language barrier, but we managed to communicate by lots of gestures and writing numbers out on paper.  A few people found good deals on knock-off soccer jerseys, etc.



Nic showing off his Canada flag
face paint



Buying souveniers at the market

 In the evening we went to the youth group.  It was the biggest youth group that I have ever been to.  The average attendance is 200 kids.  I was talking to one of our translators and she said that is all of the La Fuente churches combined.  The age range was generally 13-30.   The pastor said that at times there have been over 400 people at a service!



Worship music at La Fuente's main
church in Tepic



Chatting with new friends during the
break at the worship service.

 There was amazing worship time.  It was the highlight of my day for sure.  I love how you can worship God even if you can’t understand what is being said.  I am learning and realizing that worship is not just for us.  It should be a time where we focus our hearts and thoughts on God.

There was a little bit of time where we got to mix in with rest of the youth.  We found some girls that spoke very good English.  We had fun talking about the differences between the two cultures.  We got to stay for part of the service as well, but had to leave early.  Sunday morning was going to be extra early, and we all need sleep!!

We are all safe and for the most part feeling well.  It is fun to share such a huge and exciting experience with a great bunch of friends.  Hope that everyone at home is doing well...and not missing us too much. J 

- Kayly

P.S. We are running out of time before our next session. I will update the captions on a later date.  - Mr. Stoesz 

P.P.S. Captions are now updated. Enjoy! - Mr. Stoesz