Okotoks Evangelical Free Church - Day 3
We were out the door bright and early this morning headed to, Dzibilchaltun, the ruins of an ancient Mayan civilization. After loading into our 15 seater van, we enjoyed a (not-at-all-sweaty-and-cramped) 20 minute bus ride to our destination. We saw tons of neat temples, houses and artifacts before heading to my favorite spot, the cenote. A cenote is a water hole with an underground connected system. This specific one was about 50 meters?? in diameter and of varying depths. The clear water was insanely refreshing on this 30 degree day, and the toe-nibbling free-pedicure-providing fish were an added bonus!
This evening we went to Hunucma, the location of our first C-Quest kids camp. Our hard work in practicing dances, a memory verse, a puppet show, a drama, and a Drime, payed off when we presented our acts to a group of about 50 children and adults of Hunucma. The demographics ranged from 0-50 or so, and a mix of believers and non-believers in Christ.
Some highlights from our evening were, firstly the smiles of neighbors greeting us as we pulled up. Children ran around yelling and smiling, so excited to see the C-Quest trailer. Secondly, as we performed our songs, we danced with the kids. At first they were shy, but seeing them warm up to us and to praising Jesus was so rewarding! After the scheduled program, we helped the kids with some crafts. I sat down at a table of four little kids who were colouring pictures of Zachaeus and Jesus, the stars of our Bible story that night. I tried my best to avoid the evident language barrier by nodding, smiling, and saying “muy bueno” a little too regularly . I found it pretty difficult to engage with the kids when my Spanish dialect is so minimal, however, after committing to sit beside one little girl, I was able to engage with her without the use of language. As much as I’d love to tell you her name, I can’t because she just laughed at me when I tried to ask her. Maybe I need to work on my pronunciation. We played a repetitive game of “you throw a crayon on the coloring sheet and I’ll pick it up” (a classic!) While the connection was small, it was so exciting to be a part in this little girl’s enjoyment of her night with us and Jesus.
Tonight we saw 5 adults and 4 c
hildren commit to Christ, with a baptism service to follow this Sunday at their church. God is good. Now, as I sit in the van on our way back from Hunucma, I pray for everyone from this town; those who attended our program and those who did not. I pray that they are driven to Jesus and can spread their love for Him with others. I thank God for today, the beautiful experiences I had, and I pray for tomorrow, to have lasting memories and to be able to spread God’s Word in the ways he wants us to.
In all, a successful day it was, and I’m beyond excited to see what the rest of the week holds.
.
