DIA 4: It just keeps getting better...

Davis, our handsome hermanito!

Just returned from dinner with several families from the church. It was wonderful to be invited to the homes of local Venezuelans! During the day today, we worked with the boys on La Granja until lunchtime taking care of some more landscaping, roofing, and pressure washing. Then, we went to a juvenille detention center here in Barquisimeto. Several of the Project Jonas leaders are also involved in a specific ministry serving the boys at this center. Two of them go each Friday to meet with a group of boys there to share with them God's story. Before we arrived, they told us we were going to meet with a group of 35 boys who have committed crimes of various degrees. Apparently, they were really looking forward to today because they hardly get the chance to do anything or interact with others during the rest of the week. When we arrived, our team of 15 convened on the outdoor basketball court as we waited for the boys to come out. Once they arrived, we all made a large circle and played an ice breaker just to help them feel comfortable. Then, we were separated into 4 groups, 3 people from our team, in addition to 1 translator in each. We were then told to share our stories about how we came to know Jesus with the boys. I can only speak for my group, but as we spoke, the boys were so engaged and asked lots of challenging questions about our testimonies. The main theme of our stories was that, in the past, we constantly tried to control our own lives. Through trials of all sorts, we came to learn that Jesus is the way...we believe that He has a perfect plan for each of us and we all chose to submit our lives to our amazing Heavenly Father who loves us more than anyone on this earth possibly can. It was just so cool to see the boys so curious about how we were able to find our faith; their questions made it clear that they wanted that security and relationship with God, as well. After we met in our small groups, we all joined back together and Flor, one of the leaders from Project Jonas, asked several boys from each group to share what they had learned. It was the most amazing thing listening to what each one had to say. They really related to some of our team members' stories...Many of them said they wanted to change and begin to put their hope in Christ. It was honestly one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced in my life. We originally went knowing we would have some sort of impact on the boys, but I left today knowing that they have forever impacted my life. They were locked up in a jail essentially, guarded by men with machine guns, yet the love, selflessness, and innocence deep down shown through each and every one of them. It was such an amazing and life-changing experience. We want to do the same with the boys on La Granja when we go to the beach together on Friday!