20 Feb A Sunday to rejoice and remember!
This day began with excitement and anticipation at the mission house! Shelton and Pastor Jay were nervous and excited for Tino to deliver his first message at Olivos Church. . (I find it pretty sweet that our home church, Ridgeview Community Church in Franklin, TN meets in a school every week. . . and that is exactly what Olivos church is doing! Yes. . . it started as a large community center. . but now. . as of 3 weeks ago. . there is a wall in the middle and it is a school with 2 classrooms!) Crystal and Gaby were excited because they were planning to dismiss the kids after praise and worship to have church of their own with arts and crafts and Bible stories. . Gabriel was anxious because I had asked him to sing a praise and worship song. . and I was excited because we had invited Copprome and they were coming! I was thrilled to have both communities join together for praise and worship!
And then. . it happened. . we were there. . Tino was nervous. . we prayed over him. . benches were added to the desks so had more seats. . Pastor Jay grabbed the guitar (our Olivos guitar player was working and not able to be there). . and then Copprome kids arrived. . the room filled up. . . the kids sang Cristo Mi Ama and Yo Tengo Gozo while Pastor Jay played the guitar and tambourine. . we dismissed the kids. . Tino started praying. . then as he said amen. . he looked up with tear stained eyes and began to teach. . you could see his confidence building as the people began saying si and amen. . he told them that God is in EVERYTHING! Then he asked anyone that wanted to pray for their community to come up. . 6 adults came forward and he lead them in prayer. . then they started praying a loud and it was one of the sweetest moments I have felt there. . tears were running down my face. . I did not understand their words but I knew the Holy Spirit was present and working. . then Shelton got up and introduced Pastor Jay so he could say a few things. . he told Tino how proud he was of him and how much he has enjoyed spending time with them. . he promised to return and encouraged them to be united. . Shelton interpreted it to the community and they were pleased. . then Gabriel got up and shared some things from his heart and then began to sing. . .sweet words of praise and he asked everyone to sing with him. . (he told me tonight that it felt so good to be up there singing praise music. . I told him it is because this us what he was created to do. . use his gift to glorify his Father) It was a sweet morning. . we took Tino and his family to lunch to celebrate how well he did and it was lots of fun. .
Then back to the mission house to change and then off to the mall to meet the Copprome kids . . we treated them to a cute 3D movie and they each got to pick out a candy! They were all so adorable in their 3D glasses as they watched the movie and crammed the candy down their throats. . this was a great day. . we came back to the mission house with snacks and watched The Zookeeper and shared our thoughts on the day. . everyone seemed excited about their roles at Olivos Church and discussed committing to a weekly service. . . needs are being met. . lives are changing. . shepherds are forming. . gifts are being used. . . yes. . . it was a good day. . .
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