Pan de Vida recently had a team from Port Maitland, Nova Scotia. The team leader is a friend of Ira's and has always had a passion to get his church involved in missions. It was also the first team that we hosted where we knew members before arriving here.
The team consisted of 5 members and despite the size, the project was huge. They came to build a football field on-site for the girls. In the past, the girls had a team, named the Indians, and a coach that would come in his spare time to train them and teach them sportsmanship. However, the games were mostly scheduled in Mexico City which presented much difficulty in transportation, time and money. The girls always displayed much interest in the sport and were very disappointed when they were unable to play in the league this year.
Justo really felt a burden for the girls and on their behalf approached Ira about the possibility of having a field and bringing teams here to play. When presenting the idea to the directors of Pan de Vida, they received the blessing if a team was willing to come up with the funding and get the logistics worked out. In October, Ira presented it to Port Maitland since he knew one of the members was an owner of heavy equipment and would have the knowledge necessary to fulfill the details of field structure. After prayer and discussion, the church decided to take on the project and within 2-3 months, God provided all the funding necessary to make the field.
While here, most of the work was done with heavy equipment which kept Art busy with the transit and keeping everything to grade. Steve and Kelly finished laying the brick behind the visitor's dorm, while Diane undertook the task of cleaning out and organizing the school bodega. The lockers were freshly painted and all supplies sorted. Donna spent the mornings in the primary school classroom with the kids and helped sort 1000's of pencils and markers. Lots of other details were done as well. Pastor Steve also ministered on Thursday night which was his 1st experience through translation. The team built several relationships with many of the kids while they were here.
In the excitement of it all, the girls wanted to play a game for the team. The boy's coach arranged a scrimmage game against a local college team. It was very humbling to see the girls practice every night after supper and chores were complete. On game day, the other team look so professional in their jersies while our girls wore t-shirts with the numbers written in marker on the back. However, it wasn't how they looked, it was how they played and with their zeal, they won. It reminds me of how man looks at the outward appearance but God sees the heart. This team burned with passion. It was a very exciting game and I even laughed as they played because in all the excitment, all the spectators followed the girls up and down the field at the point of each play and cheered them on. "Encourage one another"..God says!
Of course, in one week, a field cannot be started and finished. The team has returned to Canada but have left provisions to finish the field. Currently it needs to be raked and prepared for seeding. Here are photos to bring the project to date.
The team consisted of 5 members and despite the size, the project was huge. They came to build a football field on-site for the girls. In the past, the girls had a team, named the Indians, and a coach that would come in his spare time to train them and teach them sportsmanship. However, the games were mostly scheduled in Mexico City which presented much difficulty in transportation, time and money. The girls always displayed much interest in the sport and were very disappointed when they were unable to play in the league this year.
Justo really felt a burden for the girls and on their behalf approached Ira about the possibility of having a field and bringing teams here to play. When presenting the idea to the directors of Pan de Vida, they received the blessing if a team was willing to come up with the funding and get the logistics worked out. In October, Ira presented it to Port Maitland since he knew one of the members was an owner of heavy equipment and would have the knowledge necessary to fulfill the details of field structure. After prayer and discussion, the church decided to take on the project and within 2-3 months, God provided all the funding necessary to make the field.
While here, most of the work was done with heavy equipment which kept Art busy with the transit and keeping everything to grade. Steve and Kelly finished laying the brick behind the visitor's dorm, while Diane undertook the task of cleaning out and organizing the school bodega. The lockers were freshly painted and all supplies sorted. Donna spent the mornings in the primary school classroom with the kids and helped sort 1000's of pencils and markers. Lots of other details were done as well. Pastor Steve also ministered on Thursday night which was his 1st experience through translation. The team built several relationships with many of the kids while they were here.
In the excitement of it all, the girls wanted to play a game for the team. The boy's coach arranged a scrimmage game against a local college team. It was very humbling to see the girls practice every night after supper and chores were complete. On game day, the other team look so professional in their jersies while our girls wore t-shirts with the numbers written in marker on the back. However, it wasn't how they looked, it was how they played and with their zeal, they won. It reminds me of how man looks at the outward appearance but God sees the heart. This team burned with passion. It was a very exciting game and I even laughed as they played because in all the excitment, all the spectators followed the girls up and down the field at the point of each play and cheered them on. "Encourage one another"..God says!
Of course, in one week, a field cannot be started and finished. The team has returned to Canada but have left provisions to finish the field. Currently it needs to be raked and prepared for seeding. Here are photos to bring the project to date.
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