Day 6 - Widow’s Ministry & One Last Basketball Game
We started the day by heading to the grocery store to buy groceries for 20 families. We split our kids up into groups to find rice, beans, oil, sugar, salt, corn meal, tuna, bread, milk, and more. All of this cost around $300, which came out of our trip fees, but we also pitched in some more money so we could buy toilet paper, etc. Once we were finished checking out we created an assembly line outside the store and we divied up our items into trash bags to create 20 food bags. We then drove into the Los Guido neighborhood of San Jose, an area of extreme poverty, drug violence, and prostitution. Though much of San Jose is a lower standard of living than we are used to at home, these houses are made of tin siding and roofs and the roads are full of potholes (if paved at all). Within this neighborhood is the Bethesda House, which means Bethlehem. The goal of this ministry is to provide an oasis for the women in the neighborhood who have been widowed, abused, abandoned, or any other situation in which they need help. The women of the Bethesda House welcomed us in with open arms but as we entered I believe our kids immediately felt uncomfortable and gave me looks or asked me questions such as: what are we doing here...this is kind of weird...this house is so small...how long are we staying?
As we were walking in we also saw that the founder of the ministry, Isabel, was arranging people and making sure the oldest ladies had the sturdiest chairs. Some of the women came and individually hugged and kissed each one of our students on the cheeks. Eventually Isabel welcomed us all in Spanish and told her testimony and how she started the ministry while her son translated for us. Isabel then asked any of the women to share their testimonies. We heard from María, the oldest and cutest women in the ministry, who asked us to pray for her because she was about to have open heart surgery and she was very scared. We then heard from another woman who shared that even in the hardest trials and tribulations, God is still there and we can maintain hope in Him. Finally, our sweet Ben Somora had the courage to share his own story of losing his dad, the dark times that followed, and how he and his family have come through it and have been helping others through his Father’s foundation. There was not a dry eye in the room. His story and his vulnerability were so moving that every single person on our team responded with emotion. The stories of the women were powerful, no doubt about it, but hearing from one of our team members and hearing his raw emotion is something we will never forget. We’re so proud of you Ben.
We then went into a time of more testimonies followed by a time of corporate prayer. First the ladies prayed for us in Spanish, lead by the most passionate prayer warrior—Esperanza. We then prayed for them in English, then we all prayed for Maria’s surgery in both languages. We then worshiped together, first a song in English, then in Spanish. It was such a beautiful depiction of what scripture says—that every tongue, tribe, and nation will proclaim Jesus Christ as king. As we were debriefing tonight many of our kids said this was one of the most powerful moments of the trip—they had never heard someone pray or sing so passionately or believe so fully that God was going to do what He said.
One other amazing thing that happened while we were at the widow’s ministry was that Marlon, one of the widows’ sons, just so happened to be there seeking refuge while we were there. He had been struggling with drug addiction and making poor life choices, and Andres said that today was the day he was ready to hear about Jesus!! After such a powerful time of testimony, raw emotion, and worship, Andres actually led Marlon in praying to accept Jesus. Marlon was in tears, his mom was in tears, his grandma was wailing, and we were all incredibly touched. It was a true miracle that we were able to experience today.
After taking some time to recover emotionally, hugging it out amongst our team, and praying over some of our students who were incredibly moved and emotional, the women provided us with lunch. It was so crazy to all of us because these women have hardly anything, we just bought groceries for them, yet they were serving us lunch! And not just any lunch, they served the widows rice with a little bit of beans, but they served us steak and mashed potatoes! This was another area that moved many of our kids because they saw how generous these women could be when they had so little.
This morning was one that I hope none of our kids forget. There was a lot of raw emotion and several students told me they needed that exact message. Parents, when we get back, PLEASE ask your kids about this day, because I think there’s probably more that can be processed through!
After lunch we had about an hour to kill before our final basketball game of the trip, so we went to the mall where our kids FINALLY got what they’d been craving—McDonalds!! We then headed over to the Lincoln School again for our final basketball game. Despite our team being a bunch of football players and a couple basketball players, we came out on top with a 60-57 victory! Highlights include Shane as MVP, Justin as a blossoming basketball star, and Gage accidentally taking kids out because he has only two speeds—super fast or stopped. After the game we played a game of knockout in which Diana made it to the final two, but lost to Shane, then we went home for the rest of the night! We finally had some down time to just relax and we got to celebrate Vinnie’s 17th birthday with some brownies!! Today was a really good day, one we won’t forget!
As we were walking in we also saw that the founder of the ministry, Isabel, was arranging people and making sure the oldest ladies had the sturdiest chairs. Some of the women came and individually hugged and kissed each one of our students on the cheeks. Eventually Isabel welcomed us all in Spanish and told her testimony and how she started the ministry while her son translated for us. Isabel then asked any of the women to share their testimonies. We heard from María, the oldest and cutest women in the ministry, who asked us to pray for her because she was about to have open heart surgery and she was very scared. We then heard from another woman who shared that even in the hardest trials and tribulations, God is still there and we can maintain hope in Him. Finally, our sweet Ben Somora had the courage to share his own story of losing his dad, the dark times that followed, and how he and his family have come through it and have been helping others through his Father’s foundation. There was not a dry eye in the room. His story and his vulnerability were so moving that every single person on our team responded with emotion. The stories of the women were powerful, no doubt about it, but hearing from one of our team members and hearing his raw emotion is something we will never forget. We’re so proud of you Ben.
We then went into a time of more testimonies followed by a time of corporate prayer. First the ladies prayed for us in Spanish, lead by the most passionate prayer warrior—Esperanza. We then prayed for them in English, then we all prayed for Maria’s surgery in both languages. We then worshiped together, first a song in English, then in Spanish. It was such a beautiful depiction of what scripture says—that every tongue, tribe, and nation will proclaim Jesus Christ as king. As we were debriefing tonight many of our kids said this was one of the most powerful moments of the trip—they had never heard someone pray or sing so passionately or believe so fully that God was going to do what He said.
One other amazing thing that happened while we were at the widow’s ministry was that Marlon, one of the widows’ sons, just so happened to be there seeking refuge while we were there. He had been struggling with drug addiction and making poor life choices, and Andres said that today was the day he was ready to hear about Jesus!! After such a powerful time of testimony, raw emotion, and worship, Andres actually led Marlon in praying to accept Jesus. Marlon was in tears, his mom was in tears, his grandma was wailing, and we were all incredibly touched. It was a true miracle that we were able to experience today.
After taking some time to recover emotionally, hugging it out amongst our team, and praying over some of our students who were incredibly moved and emotional, the women provided us with lunch. It was so crazy to all of us because these women have hardly anything, we just bought groceries for them, yet they were serving us lunch! And not just any lunch, they served the widows rice with a little bit of beans, but they served us steak and mashed potatoes! This was another area that moved many of our kids because they saw how generous these women could be when they had so little.
This morning was one that I hope none of our kids forget. There was a lot of raw emotion and several students told me they needed that exact message. Parents, when we get back, PLEASE ask your kids about this day, because I think there’s probably more that can be processed through!
After lunch we had about an hour to kill before our final basketball game of the trip, so we went to the mall where our kids FINALLY got what they’d been craving—McDonalds!! We then headed over to the Lincoln School again for our final basketball game. Despite our team being a bunch of football players and a couple basketball players, we came out on top with a 60-57 victory! Highlights include Shane as MVP, Justin as a blossoming basketball star, and Gage accidentally taking kids out because he has only two speeds—super fast or stopped. After the game we played a game of knockout in which Diana made it to the final two, but lost to Shane, then we went home for the rest of the night! We finally had some down time to just relax and we got to celebrate Vinnie’s 17th birthday with some brownies!! Today was a really good day, one we won’t forget!
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