Our last day….
This morning the school put on a very elaborate performance to show their appreciation to our team. A lot of effort and preparation went into this event. It was held outside in the blistering heart-31° C (felt like 38 ° C –today seemed like our hottest day!) Each class presented something- a song, dance or play. The children were all dressed up- mainly in their cultural costumes. Our team also sang. Jason expressed our appreciation for the opportunity to serve them and also presented the school with a farewell gift from out church (books that were selected with the principal’s help and some sports equipment. The children clapped politely for the books, and cheered enthusiastically when they saw the basketball, soccer ball and volleyball.
The foundation is complete – the walls are going up! We are leaving the work in the capable hands of Felix and Pinn. They estimate that the project will be completed by Christmas. On our way home, we stopped to see a completed library exactly like the one we have been working on. We appreciated seeing what our project will look like when completed.
After supper, we had a debriefing session with Peter, Trudy and Lester. Each member of the team shared something they had learned, benefitted from or will be taking home as they continue to grow from this experience. We said our good-byes to Lester and will be saying farewell to Trudy and Peter tomorrow. This is hard to do – we have formed such deep bonds with these 3 team leaders who have such servant hearts. They have blessed us so much!
Some highlights:
•A strong sense of team unity. We worked so well together – when one person needed a break, another stepped in. Everyone was watching out for each other.
•Learning to see God in everyone and everything.
•The kids’ excitement every morning when we drove into the yard.
•The sincere appreciation of the students, staff and parents.
•Connections we made with individual Nicaraguans.
•The deep relationships that we formed with Lester, Trudy and Peter and our appreciation for all 3.
•The support from our church, our families and our prayer partners.
•Harvey and Bill learning numbers – very painfully at first.
•Sheila asking the guard if he shot anyone with his “pistolé!
•Jason getting out to check if the erratic driver in front of us was a man or woman.
•Jeff getting lost at the airport and losing his number at the closing assembly.
Appreciations:
•All of Jason’s work as team leader.
•Art facilitating our Bible Study.
•Jane diligently keeping our finances in order.
•Gord taking care of our little owies, assembling a well-stocked first aid kit and being available for more serious injuries – which thankfully did not happen.
•Jeff and Jane’s computer tech skills.
•John’s musical leadership which added so much to our devotions each day.
•Rolanda, Ger, Connie, Jeff and Jane getting our whole experience in pictures.
•Connie’s leadership in blogging and writing bulletin announcements.
•Bill and Harvey being real team players- quietly and consistently doing what had to be done.
•Sheila taking care of us and providing us with anything and everything… except the kitchen sink.
A special “Thank You” to all our prayer partners. Your notes of encouragement were a wonderful way of brightening our days here.
Thank you once again for supporting us with your donations, your prayer support and your encouraging comments. We really appreciated them.
Until we see you again! Over and out!
The Red Deer HANDS team
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