Posted by: Nicholas C. and Megan S.
DAY 3 ON THIS ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY:
From Nick:
Last night we participated in an exercise that showed us how the world uses its resources and distributes them to various people groups. Through this "Rich Man Poor Man" experience, (the details of which will remain undisclosed to the public eye) we learned to appreciate what we have. Even though some of us went to bed hungry, we learned a memorable and valuable lesson.
The next step on our journey was a Team Challenge that required us to trust each other. A member of each team was blindfolded, spun around, and when Dr. Joe gave the signal, they made their way through the obstacle course with only the voices of their teammates to guide them. Even though my team, the "Poole Party," got 2nd place, we learned a valuable lesson about listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd and tuning out all others. Mr. Phil had a time of devotions with us afterward and the class learned that even though we can't always trust our friends to guide us rightly, we can always trust God.
After that was the greatest part of the day - a shower! It was cold, but we still appreciated getting clean after a very dirty day.
From Megan: This morning, we got to sleep a half an hour more than usual! We woke up to the sound of RAIN on the roofs of our cabins, in addition to the crowing roosters. I have learned that rain creates mud, and the chores that seemed tedious yesterday suddenly had a new level of difficulty. Some of us were slightly incredulous that we wouldn't be excused from chores on account of the rain, but the tasks still needed to be done, rain or shine. For morning chores, our group fed the animals, including Freddy the billy goat and the roosters and the bunnies. Other groups were pulling weeds and making breakfast. Carrie dropped a bunny, but it's okay. We went to breakfast, and then we headed to church.
The church we attended was the First Hatian Baptist Church of Avon Park. The first hour of the service was praise and worship. The music director led us in an assortment of Creole songs, one of which had dancing motions. Apparently, I (Megan) was good at it and was called to the front to perform the motions as we sang the song again. It was a confusing service because it was in Creole, but some of the songs we still were able to recognize, like Amazing Grace and When the Saints Go Marching In. It was cool to see such enthusiastic worshippers.
Even though we spoke different languages and were part of different cultures, we still felt like one family worshiping the same God. When the service was over, some of the ladies from the church gave us ICE COLD beverages, something we haven't yet experienced this weekend! There was also a REAL TOILET there at the church!!!
We're going to a college service tonight and having pizza for dinner! Please pray for endurance, that we all make it to the end. Megan especially asks for prayer that there will be no more cockroaches in her cabin. Oh, and Casey and Valentina say hi.
Blessings,
The Freshmen
P.S. from Mr. Calder:
I have enjoyed seeing God illuminate spiritual truths in the hearts of a few freshmen. When God takes us deeper in understanding who He is, it makes us love Him even more and love each other more. I have one of the coolest jobs on earth! God's peace and protection to everyone as our trips move forward.
P.S. from Mrs. Poole:
You have no idea how valuable your prayers are. Please pray for the students constantly! I feel such an urgency to pray for the Holy Spirit to really move in the lives of these kids - there are baby steps being made, but we all have so far to go! Please especially pray for our evening times of reflection and worship, that the students would open their hearts to hear what God has to say to them. Also, I apologize for the fuzzy group picture - we have a better one on somebody's camera.