Maranatha Team part 2

The team from Maranatha HS in Pasadena, CA, left this past Friday morning. It's taken me this long to get around to posting some pictures of their finished products! They did a TON of painting as well as helped facilitate a clothing sale, hosted a youth night with testimonies and a game night later on in the week. They also dug a ditch for the power line to be moved and moved 8 trees... yes... they dug up and moved trees. It was fantastic. This team was awesome! It was great to see that many kids so excited about helping and learning more about God and His work in their lives through this trip.

At youth night, the kids played a few rounds of water balloon toss. Abbey and Sami had fun playing with the balloons before the games got going.

Kate was one of the kids who gave her testimony at the youth night. Amanda translated.

At the game night, Drew had fun playing cards and doing "card tricks" that he made up. Which basically meant, you pick and card, put it back in the deck and then he goes through the entire deck saying, "is this your card?" "is this your card?" until he finds it! He gets it every time! He's amazing!

One morning we hosted a clothing sale where clothes that had been brought down by the team and by other teams were sold at a very low price to folks from the neighborhood (I saw a lot of shirts that said "Woodinville" on them... even an Epoch shirt!). The shoes are always big hit because they are so much less expensive than if people were to go to the market to get them. People had lined up chairs to wait for the sale outside the gate 24 hours before the sale. Some people even spent the night outside our gate so they could be first in line. This really hit me. Where do you see the same scene in the states... for a concert or movie premiere maybe? But these people were lined up and camping out to get clothing.

Nick helped out with a lot of the manual labor. Digging the ditch and moving the trees.

The team painted not just a new mural sign for the sports center and the two rooms in the library, but also one of the water towers that needed a new coat of paint. Here are several pictures of the library rooms, the new sign, and the water tower. You might recognize Drew's silhouette in the first picture and Kathy and Halle in the third one. I included English translations of the verses painted on the walls.

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Psalm 32:11 (NIV) Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Some of the kids relaxing with Abbey in the library. We'll be reupholstering the chairs and couches the kids are sitting on this week.

Painting the water tower.

2 Peter 1:5 (NIV) For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge

My favorite wall of the kids library. A snake who has eaten two mice (one of them is reading a book). The moon and volcano look incredible!

The mural outside the sports center. I took this picture when it was ALMOST done. I'll have to get out and get another one of the real finished product. The verses on the wall are Matthew 5:13-14 (NIV) "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."