After lunch, we had some free time so we decided to go to the beach for a quick swim (45 minutes, the beach is literally a 3 minute drive away). We're taking advantage of the warm weather while we're here.
Our afternoon/evening consisted of the youth breaking into groups to practice the "Sin Chair" skit, a dance, as well as fixing up and hoeing the yard across from the base which is used as a soccer field. After about an hour, other youth groups from Mexico showed up and both Mexican and Canadian identities were put aside for the night as all were united with a common faith, hope, and loving desire for the Lord.
It began with everyone relaxing around tables and conversing or even doing bottle flips for some of the young ones! Then came of a couple of icebreaker games that introduced everyone with each other as we all came to a comfortable and friendly level including "The Human Knot","Bottle Flipping Contest", and "Electricity". Once the games were all done, Liam and Xander Klassen had their turn as they performed a dance routine and had a short improv battle with another one of the Mexicans. The Sin Chair was the skit that followed up turning out to be a great success with some laughs. After was a reenactment of the cardboard testimonies and Pastor Andy having a brief but valuable message before returning to fellowship, some nachos, and some went to play soccer across the road before a final picture of the groups and goodbyes.
Brianna: One of the things that really hit me today was how even though we don't speak the same language, music and worship unit people no matter how different they are. In church, we were able to sing songs and praise God in our own ways together, it was so amazing to hear worship songs we know in church, this allowed us to connect with everyone in the room. We all had the same desire, to worship the Lord with songs of praise and that's what we were able to do. The church the was lively! In the evening after most of the youth groups left, a few of the kids stayed behind. We sat around in a circle and made music together, clapped and cheering while people danced and sang. Without directly speaking to each other, we were able to spend time together, having fun and letting the music speak for us. It was really cool to experience that connection between everyone, like there was really no language barrier between us. I'm so excited to see what else God has in store for the rest of the week, he's already working through us and in us in so many ways.
Liam: Having being put on the spot and asked to perform and do a dance at the end of the night was a hard time for me. I wasn't exactly up for it and felt somewhat stressed to get it all together for the youth night but after the church service and all the amazing experiences, I was feeling a lot more optimistic and had a better attitude. I prayed and did my absolute best to let God be in control and that it would be alright no matter what. Eventually the time came and it went fluid and extremely well until another person came up and wanted to show me up. I was definitely "caught in the headlights" and not gonna lie he probably beat me, but that didn't matter. Giving God the glory helped me to get through and gave me the amazing strength needed to enjoy the dance. It's amazing what trust can do, especially with an amazing loving almighty God that we have to hold us up when tough things come our way and are unexpected.
- Liam Klassen and Brianna Friesen
- Liam Klassen and Brianna Friesen
