Okay, so maybe we didn’t solve gang crime and diabetes, just like we didn’t discover alien life or make waffles. But we did do some things that could reduce gang crime in the local community around REAP or that could reduce the prevalence of diabetes in Granada!
Below, read about some of the ministries I participated in to see how!
We hosted a basketball clinic for local guys whose ages range from about 13 to 40 years. They love sports, especially basketball, but they don’t know the fundamentals of basketball. What’s cool about this clinic is that it’s helping to bridge divisions in the community surrounding the farm. The guys participating in the clinic were once a part of two rivalry gangs but through the work of Scott (our ministry host) at REAP Granada, they are now able to get along and work together on the same court and as they work on the farm.
During the basketball clinic, I had a friend take my picture because my tennis shoes matched the color of my jersey. Unfortunately my shoes were left out of the picture and I wasn’t looking at the camera because the guys scrimmaging in the background almost ran me over.
I love our library ministry. One day while prayer walking, my team found a cute little library for local children. It is donation based and one lady runs it all by herself. She could see up to 30 kids at one time, while also working to keep the library cleaned and organized and to help kids with their homework. We’ve been able to help her with cleaning and organizing the books, along with reading and playing with the kids. This ministry is so dear to my heart because I love reading and I’m so glad these children have to opportunity to love reading too!
My teammate, Rachel, reading to the kids at the cute little library.
One of the shelves at the library. It has the Spanish versions of Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Diary of the Wimpy Kid, and Magic Tree House series!
A group of us went to the hospital one afternoon. We went to different areas of the hospital and prayed for patients, their families, and the doctors. The hospital is a lot different than one you would see in the States. Interestingly, the hospital is funded by Japan.
A group of 22 heading to do ministry at the hospital. You can’t see me, but I’m in the back of the truck behind everyone else.
Swim lessons were such a sweet little gift from God! It was a surprise that I would be doing this ministry, because I didn’t find out about it until an hour before we were leaving. Myself and two others on my squad took 10 local girls (aging 9 to 16 years old) to a pool and taught them how to swim for the first time! I’m so thankful that God was able to use my skills from a job I had in high school! And it was such a fun time to cool off in the pool.
Brandi, Mackenzie, and I teaching swim lessons to ten girls aging from 9 to 16 years old.
A group of us went to the garbage dump where I gave a short message to about 30 locals who work at the dump. They are some of the hardest workers in Granada as they daily sort through all the garbage in search for valuable materials like metal, wire, or plastic. They get paid about $40 or $60 per month to sustain themselves and their families. After speaking the message, we serve them a meal, along with juice and water.
Driving to the top of the garbage mound at the dump to minister to and feed the workers.
We go prayer walking in the community around the farm. We walk around to different houses and ask families if we can pray for them. Many prayer requests are for health and sicknesses. Hundreds in the community suffer from kidney failure because of the poor water sources or from diabetes because their meals consist mostly of low-nutrient carbohydrates.
I helped with farming and the meringa project. The meringa project is a really cool project that is being spearheaded and perfected by some of my genius squadmates.
Our ministry host, Scott, has been growing meringa trees on the farm because the leaves and seeds of the meringa plant have an extraordinary amount of nutrients that could changes lives in Granada. A teaspoon of the ground-up leaves hold as much iron as 27 cups of spinach and as much calcium as 18 cups of milk. Also, the seeds have been researched to help prevent diabetes and other chronic diseases. Scott wants to distribute the seeds and leaves to the local community which could have huge impacts for generations to come. My squadmates have done research on how to properly harvest the seeds and leaves and on how to put them into capsules that can be distributed. They even made a how-to booklet and video so this project can continue even after we leave.
Shelling meringa seeds, so they can be ground up into a powder and put into capsules to be distributed to the community.
Farming with Brandi (one of my squad leaders), Alyssa, and Cassandra (two of my teammates).
Farming in a skirt because my two pairs of shorts were dirty. Also, that door in the back left is one of our dorm rooms.
