Sunday we our 'fun' day. We went to a hotel that was right on this huge lake. We went on a long boat ride on the lake and our tour guides pointed out interesting landscapes and trees to us (in Spanish, which Dr. Brad translated for us). It was so beautiful that day and I got a lot of nice pictures. After the boat ride, some people went swimming and the rest of us just relaxed, either tanning in the sun, or laying in a hammock in the shade. Then we had lunch at the hotel which was really good.
After the boat ride, about 9 of us went horseback riding. It was so much fun and totally different than an American trail ride. At first we were just walking our horses along the road, but then our tour guide, horse guy person was like "one, two, three!" and he took off down the trail. So the group of us right by him, our horses just went cantering after him. It was so much fun! At first my horse had been so slow but not now! We stopped at waited for the rest of our group to catch up. They were happily walking, although very slowly! We ended up making a big circle around the hotel. At one point we got to this really big field and we could see the lake straight ahead of us. It was so beautiful. And my horse trotted down the entire field! That was fun, although not he most comfortable in flip-flops and shorts. :)
Shortly after our horseback ride was done, we left the hotel and drove to this really big waterfall. That was really pretty too. There were people going over it on a zip-line and a couple of people at the top, standing in the water! We walked down a trail to the bottom of the falls and got a little wet in the mist. It felt great though.
When we got back to the MAMA house, we did a pinata for the village kids. It had been a girl's birthday the previous day, and that day was another girl's birthday. So on the way back from the waterfall, we had stopped and bought a pinata and candy for the kids. A ton of them came. We hung the pinata in the tree and sang happy birthday to the girls (in Spanish and English) and then they got the first turn hitting the pinata. A lot of other kids tried too, then the leader of our group, Mike, got a turn and he and Dr. Brad ripped it open. When all the candy fell, the kids swarmed and piled on top of Mike. They were so excited to have candy. Even one little piece brought a big smile to their faces. They had so little and yet they were happy.
That night, we went to a church service in the village, a short walk from the MAMA house. Let me just say that that was one of the most amazing parts of the whole week. We got there a bit late but the people there were very kind and helped us find seats. The church was quite small and our group probably made up like half the congregation. The seats were plastic deck chairs and even though they had fans, it was really hot.
They were singing in Spanish (of course) so we couldn't understand the words. But they started playing a song that I recognized the tune of. It was Agnus Dei, the Micheal W. Smith version. I was able to sing along in English, while people around my sung in Spanish. It really struck me then that it didn't matter where you were or what language you speak, you can worship God. That was just really amazing. Other people in our group commented that it reminded them what heaven will be like. When the singing was over, the speaker got up and started speaking in Spanish. Suddenly, he began speaking to us in English. I have to say that I was quite surprised. I had expected to sit through a entirely Spanish sermon and not understand a word of it. But he translated his entire sermon into English for us. That was so amazing because what he talked about felt like it really applied to our group and to me personally. He used the verses in Ephesians that talk about putting on the armor of God and talked about how we should (with God's help) break down the strongholds in our lives. It was really neat too, because he was a guest speaker that day, not the normal pastor.
And their church was so different than the one I go to. When the message was over, we were singing more songs and people would just start praying out loud. Or when the pastor got up and prayed, other people would just join him in prayer. It didn't have to be perfectly silent during a prayer. People poured out their hearts and came forward to have other people pray for them. The whole service really impacted me.
After the church service, we walked back to the MAMA house and talked about the day and what stuck out to us the most. Then we broke into small groups and discussed James. Each day, we would read a chapter of James and write down some things that stuck out to us from the chapter. Then every evening, we would break into our small groups and talk about it or anything that happened during the day.
To Save A Life came out in theaters January 22 and although it was made by a Christian organization, it wasn't advertised as such. The main character of the movie, high school senior Jake Taylor, has it all. He's got a girlfriend, he's lined up to go to a great college, he's captain of the basketball team, things seem to be going pretty well for him. Until one day, Jake's old friend Roger walks into school with a gun and shoots himself. Jake and Roger had been best friends growing up until high school when Jake started hanging out with a different group of friends and began ignoring Roger.
This is one of the best books I have ever read. I started it Sunday evening and finished it Monday afternoon. I would have read it straight through if I could, or I would have stayed up all night reading if I wasn't already really tired. I just couldn't put it down; once I started reading I had to keep going. After I finished it, I contemplated reading it again--maybe I will. It was so interesting and gave me lots to think about.
