Stepping out of your comfort zone

As the title for today says, our team was challenged in some pretty big ways. Most of our day was spent out at a poverty-stricken neighbourhood on the outskirts of El Paso. This is the area of the city where Pastor Chuey (we have partnered with him in the past few years) lives. We set off in groups and connected with numerous people in and around the block. We informed them about a neighbourhood ministry called Walking with Jesus, which we would be doing the following day (Pastor Chuey's house/yard is where the event will take place). There would be tons of food, soccer and basketball games, and puppet shows just to name a few. The response was extremely positive! So many faces lit up when we told them about all the activities planned. We are hopeful and praying that God will overflow the property with people where the event will be held. A lot of these people living in the area are people who have fled the corruption and violence in Juarez to seek a better life in the United States. Extremely poor to put it bluntly. You can imagine that money and food do not come easy for a lot of them.
The afternoon was spent working and preparing Pastor Chuey's property and house for tomorrow's ministry. We cleaned up garbage on the yard, and completed a small construction project on the outside of his house. The weather was very warm so by the middle of the afternoon, we were all getting pretty exhausted from the heat. However, we kept reminding ourselves of the past 5 months of Alberta weather, and that made us keep going!!
In the evening, we had some very special guests come and join us. Juan and Laura and their families came and shared their testamonies, sang songs, and prayed with us. It was a very powerful time together. Juan and Laura are the directors of a men's rehab centre in Juarez, and some of their stories of the way God has taken over their lives is extraordinary! Without a doubt, them spending the evening with us had a profound impact on our entire group. May they be blessed in their ministry!!
As the night came to a close, we were already getting excited about tomorrow's neighbourhood ministry. We don't know what God has planned for us there. We don't know how many people will show up. We don't even know what the initial reaction will be. But...what we do know is that we serve a BIG God. There is much need, and God wants to do a work in us and through us to seek and save the lost. Even if there is one person that is impacted by tomorrow's event, we know that there was a devine purpose in it. Please continue to pray for us. The unity of our team is growing, which is exciting to say the least! However, a few of us are still fighting some sickness.

We leave you with the quotes of the day:

"Hello-ooo! Like, indulge!" ~ Mr. G's response to Josie and Jasmine after they both had very little on their supper plates...
"Wow...I am not used to all this hot weather!" ~Eden
"You don't know how much this means to me. Praise the Lord!" ~A lady named Ethel that we met out at the neighbourhood today. A group of us were able to pray for her, specifically for her health (epileptic seizures), and home invasions that have occured in the last while.