The last week of March, we had a youth mission team from Living Hope Fellowship in Canada come down. Also, a good friend of mine from Canada came down as well separately! It was very exciting and a huge blessing to all of us here at Oaks of Righteousness! They arrived on Saturday, March 29. On Sunday, we did an evangelism event in the park. Many testimonies were shared, people sang, a salvation message was shared, and we distributed sandwiches and juice to those that came to listen. The area we did the event is where many people who struggle with substance abuse gather, so it was definitely interesting interacting with the people that showed up. Monday was the beginning of a 4-day Vacation Bible School program. The team from Canada had prepared many activities for the students. My friend taught several science classes, doing experiments with circuits. The kids LOVED all the new experiences! However, what I believe they loved the most is having these new people come in and love on them. The students would anxiously wait for the group’s arrival in the mornings. One day I saw all the kids running to the road. I laughed to myself as I overheard one say to the other, “Let’s go get ourselves a Mennonite to play with!” (Since there are many Mennonites in this area, our students assume all white people are Mennonites). They were so excited for this one on one attention they long for. When Thursday came along, many tears were shed, from both the team and our students, as they had to say their good byes. The team also built us a concrete pad for our students to play basketball on. The following Monday, the students were overly excited and it is now officially the “hang out spot” for our students, whether it is playing basketball, drawing with chalk, or playing with cars. We praise God for this gift and the wonderful people who came to here to bless our ministry! The mission team ended their time here with a Testimony/Worship night, in which we had people from four different cultures share testimonies, we sang together in English and Spanish, and fellowshipped with people in the community. God is so good and we give Him all the glory!
