Day One: Travel and Settling In

We made it!!! After a long day of traveling we finally arrived  in one piece. Of course no travel story is complete without some hiccups along the way, but nothing deterred us from making it here on time with all our luggage intact, except for a few exploded cans of Gatorade powder. God was truly watching out for us on our travels. After a brief meeting with Megan and Wayne at Hotel Ticomo, we called it a night and went to bed. Some of us didn't even make it to the hotel before we fell asleep :)

This morning we had our first breakfast of gallo pinto (a fancy Spanish name for fried beans and rice), eggs, fruit, and coffee, and ventured off to Centro Escolar for the day. After arriving at the school, we took a tour of the facilities, with water bottles full of Gatorade and water in hand.Wayne and Megan have done amazing things with this space already, and have big plans in store... Including a new multi-purpose building that will hold a new cafeteria and kitchen, an English classroom, and a library/computer lab!! We unpacked the many, many suitcases of mission materials on the stage in the auditorium, and after becoming completely covered in sparkles from an exploded container of red glitter, took a tour of the neighborhood surrounding the school.



Needless to say, it was an eye-opening experience. As a first-time missionary, I knew that I couldn't fully prepare myself for what was in store, and I was correct. Walking around the neighborhood felt like walking on an alien planet; houses made out of scrapped sheet metal, dirt floors, houses divided by plastic sheets, garbage littering the streets as far as the eye could see. It was unreal to see this neighborhood. However, as we kept on our journey through the town, we began to see just what Megan and Wayne meant when they kept saying that the kids at the school would amaze us. We met student after student after student, every single one greeting us with the biggest smiles and waves I have ever seen. Watching the kids run up to Megan and hug her, it was clear to me just how powerful the work is that Megan and Wayne have been doing for the past seven years. Even though today was a national holiday and there was no school, these kids were itching to get back to school and be with Wayne and Megan. We even found ourselves some additional tour guides along the way!


Once we returned to the base, we set to work. The construction team went out and built compactors to use during the week on the foundation for the new building, and the rest of us were given an assignment by Megan: create a lesson for the English classes grades 3-5. We ended up with two foam animal puppet shows to go with two English children's books, and tomorrow we'll read to the kids!


Now that we have spent a day here and gotten somewhat used to this place, I think it's safe to say we are anticipating the rest of this week. All this excitement made me think of 2 Timothy:

"For this reason I remind you to fan into the flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."

This week has so much in store for us, it requires a whole lot of flame to get done what we need to get done. We are so blessed to be here, and to be learning about God's love in this incredible way. We are so grateful to have the support of everyone at home, and promise to share our experiences with you. Adios!

-Hannah Thien and the BLC Mission Team