many stories to tell...

There are seriously so many stories that I've got stored up that I'd love to share from the Valles Project. I shared a couple in my prayer letter that just went out this month, but I have so many that I want to share with y'all!

The three and a half weeks were full of adventures and exciting surprises. The work we did there in the North was very different from my day-to-day here in La Plata. Some of the main focuses are to share the Gospel with the people of the towns, distribute donations, get the local churches connected with the non-believers of the area, provide love and fun for the children and teenagers, and so much more.

Our prayer throughout the project was that the Lord would surprise us. One afternoon we loaded up a truck with donations and our team of 9 and went up the mountain, stopping house by house to give them out along the way. We stopped after about 4 houses well up the mountain where 3 women, one pregnant, and their children were waiting on the side of the path.

It turns out they were waiting on the March of the Virgin to pass by. The Catholic church holds marches or mini parades through the towns with the images of the virgin or statues to stop house by house reciting prayers and worshiping her and asking her to bless the town. These women and their children had been waiting over 5 hours for the virgin to pass. Instead of finding the virgin, we stopped to share with these women the hope of Jesus and give them  clothes to take home to their families, baby clothes for the expectant mother, school supplies for the kids, and some food items as well. It was a great picture to provide these Mothers with the hope they were waiting on and didn't even realize it.