Today was a great day of JOY!  We visited Club Esperanza for a full day of fun and hard work.  From the red light green light to the armor of God, the children spread immense joy and happiness. The side walk is half finished and the bones of many are sore but we still hold the joy in our hearts today.  It all started when we got to the Club  and we walked to the dining room. The looks on the children’s faces were priceless. We couldn’t even get to them before they got up and ran to us. Most of our team does not speak Spanish, luckily for me I was in the sports team so I just yelled “pasa’ and screamed “GOOOAL” every time a kid scored. It was a very joyous experience to have the blessing to meet these kids, but it was a little sad when we had to say goodbye…at least until tomorrow. After a full morning of VBS stations, including arts and crafts, bible, drama, music and recreation, we ate some PB&J while others had Nicaraguan ham sandwiches.  With filled bellies, we got to the hard part of mixing and pouring cement. Now you would think easy goers like us from Miami would be mad or sad to do this labor but we knew we were doing it for something bigger than us. I was on the bible team early in the morning  and I happen to not understand or speak close to any form of Spanish, yet I was able to show some children the importance of the protection the God gives us.  While working mixing the cement, I remembered the pure joy that they had.  No matter what they are facing they all had smiles and really wanted to know more about God. When we ended the concrete making and mixing, the joy became more evident in all of us on the trip.  We can’t wait for tomorrow. In a place less that is less than perfect, the joy and life of the lord thrives inside the children and that rubbed off on us all!

– Junior Cardona & Devon Lane