The entire I Squad spent the month of September at Casa
Shalom, where Team Abandon was for August.
It was a very interesting month.
Within three days of being there, I Squad went through a lot of changes,
which I talked about in my previous blog.
While adjusting and working through the changes, we also had some
amazing opportunities for ministry.
Our first ministry was doing Kid’s camps for children from
surrounding gypsy villages. It was a lot
of fun, and we all got to participate by working in different areas where we
feel gifted. There was sports, exercise,
arts and crafts, story-times and so on.
Some of the kids who came had never been out of their village, some had
never been in a vehicle, some had never had a shower. Some had never had people to tuck them in and
pray with them before they went to bed.
It was a new experience for them, and we got to love them and show them
who Jesus is.
We also had the opportunity to go into a gypsy village. I got to learn a little bit about the gypsy
culture while we were there. A lot of
the girls are married by the age of 12 to 14, to men much older than that. 16 is considered old for them not to be
married. While we were there, we met a
girl. She is 14, pregnant, and not
married. My team mate Jess had the
opportunity to talk to her and speak life into her. Jess was able to give her a sense of
hope. The girl’s baby will be taken away
when it is born, but Jess prayed that it would go into a Christian home where
it would be loved and raised to know Jesus.
The entire squad was able to go back to the Girl’s home we
went to last month. It was so special to
be able to go back and see the girls again.
They were so excited to see us, and they remembered those of us who had
been there last month. It was such a
blessing to know that we had made a difference in their lives and they knew
that we loved them.
One of the best parts of the month was the time we got to
spend with the Casa Shalom kids. I
mentioned before that Casa Shalom used to be an orphanage. A lot of factors contributed to its closing
down, but some of the kids who used to live there come back and visit from time
to time. There was a group of them there
to help out while we were staying at Casa Shalom. They were more than willing to be our
interpreters, drag us around the city on the bus, and do whatever else they
could to help us. It was a really neat
opportunity to love on them and build relationships with them. They are all incredible kids, and I am
thankful for the time I had with them.
The month of September definitely had its challenges. It was a lot to take in and work through, but
I am starting to see that there is something much bigger than anyone knows
going on here. And that is exciting!
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