Cartagena

So when we got to Cartagena we were each assigned a topic and told we were doing an evangelism workshop for a church the next day. After we had a meeting and talked about it a little, we had some free time. Us girls went out and we found a very American mall and I got very excited. It even had a McDonalds! That night we went out for dinner (when a school director, like Sarvia, goes to visit a team, YWAM pays for dinner) at a nice restaurant and got all dressed up. The place where the restaurant was, was called The Walled City. It is beautiful! I fell in love with that part of Cartagena. Then the next day we did that evangelism workshop. Sjoerd and I had exhortation, so basically we just encouraged the church to step out and I shared some personal testimonies. Then with that church we did some street evangelism (dramas and testimonies) and invited people to come to a movie at the church that night. Sunday morning we ran a church service. Then we had the afternoon off. Sarvia left that day. Us girls went to the Walled City and did some shopping. On the way home our taxi got lost, but no worries, we made it home eventually. That was an adventure! On Monday we kind of just did chores around the base. That Tuesday was Jessie's birthday and we spent all day doing construction. Well, I didn't. I started feeling sick so I laid down. I ended up being sick until Sunday. No one worry though, I am fine now. On Sunday we did a Sunday School thing and then had the afternoon off. On Monday we did three programs of street evangelism and on Tuesday we did door-to-door evangelism and then one program. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we worked at schools and did children's ministries all day. Friday night the Cartagena base threw us a goodbye party. We had Saturday off so we went to the beach. We left Sunday morning and arrived back in Ensenada, Mexico at 1 AM this morning.

Outreach was a wonderful time of growth and new experiences. God opened my eyes so much and showered so many blessings on our team and the people we were working with. I can not praise Him enough for the wonderful opportunity He gave me through this DTS and especially this outreach. It has been incredible and I suggest it to anyone who could do it. Thank you so much for your support and for taking the time to read my blog. It means so much to me!

Dios les benidga!
Coray

Boca Chica Revised...

Sorry that last entry was a cop out! I have been soooo busy and internet costs money and I just haven't had a chance to really write a blog. But now I'm back in Ensenada with my own computer and I'm going to do my best. So here it goes...

We flew into Cartagena on May 3rd and the couple who are the base directors in Boca Chica met us at the airport. They took us to a boat and sent us off to Boca Chica. It was about 25 minutes by boat to get to the island. The base was beautiful. The plumbing was interesting... showers were bucket showers and we flushed the toilet by dumping water down it. When we got to Boca Chica, Sarvia was there waiting for us. She came to spend a week with us during our outreach. She brought chocolate!!!!!! It was real yummy! The food at Boca Chica was incredible. Our ministries were varied and interesting. The first day we built a latrine and then moved wood. Every morning we had some kind of group worship or intercession thing and after that we cleaned the base every morning. Our second day of ministry we built a floor. Then a couple of us went to this house that they have for feeding kids and giving them a Bible story. The next few days are kind of blurred together. We did a mother's day party for a bunch of mothers. We threw a party for a lot of kids (Ru, Sjoerd, and I were clowns for this and it was so much fun!). I can't really remember a whole lot more of what we did, but it was really fun. We just kind of ran a few church services and youth groups and stuff like that. On Friday morning we left Boca Chica for Cartagena. The 25 minute boat ride back was lovely. The boat ride was the coolest it got in Cartagena and Boca Chica. We were going fast across the ocean with the wind in our faces and it felt good. So that was Boca Chia.

Boca Chica and Cartagena Week 1

Sorry that its been so long! Computer access has been limited and weve been super busy. Our week in Boca Chica was very full. We did lots of work with kids, teenagers, and churches. We had a mothers day celebration. We built a latrine and floor. I went swimming in the Caribbean Sea. The food was incredible. Thats about all I can think of. Then we came to Cartagena. Weve been working with churches doing church programs and workshops, street ministry, etc. We helped build something. Im not really sure what. Ive actually been sick for like three days. Ok it was kind of pointless to write a blog because this is all I really have to say. But I guess you all appreciate knowing that Im alive. And I am. Miss you all!
Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Leticia, Colombia

So this past week we have been in Leticia at the YWAM base. We got back from the jungle on Monday and we had the rest of the day off. Then we had all day off on Tuesday. On Wednesday we were supposed to go to a city in Peru (Santa Rosa) but it rained so much that we couldn´t go because it wasn´t safe on the river. On Thursday morning we made bead bags for salvation bracelets. Then on Thursday afternoon we went to a jail. We did a program with two dramas (Wake Me Up and Bloody Sunday). Jess gave her testimony and then JP gave a mini-sermon thingy. At the end JP told anyone who wanted the kind of freedom we were talking about to stand up. About 40 people stood up. Then he prayed a prayer and they all repeated after him. It was incredible! Then we spent five minutes praying over them before we had to go. On Friday morning they had nothing for us to do again, so we went out on our own and created a program in a park. We did poi, all our dramas, and a couple testimonies. Then we talked with some people and I think three people accepted Jesus. Maybe more. This afternoon we are going out to do evangelism with the DTS here. Tomorrow we leave for Bogota. Sunday we leave from Bogota f0r Cartagena. That´s about it.
Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

How Could I Forget?!

I can´t believe I forgot to mention the best animal we saw! We saw a dolphin in the Amazon River! It was soooooo cool! The end.

Animals

So I forgot to talk about all the animals we saw in the jungle! We saw this funny monkeys up in the trees. There was a supposedly posinous snake that made Jessie scream. This made me very excited, because Jessie has never been scared of anything and it was exciting to finally figure out what she has a fear of- snakes. We saw tons of humungous spiders that were living in our houses. Also living in our houses were lovely little (actually quite large) cockroaches. We saw two parrots, one of which Jaime taught to whistle at us. We saw six day old puppies. I can´t really remember anything else, but those are some of the awesome animals that God sent our way during this trip. Yay!

Indigenous Tribes of Peru and Colombia

So yesterday we got back from la jungla (the jungle)! And I´m alive! Yay! So let´s see. Jungle tip number 1, it doesn´t matter how much bug spray you use or how high quality it is, if the bugs like your skin they will eat you, and if they don´t they won´t. Ruth and Marleen used insane amounts of bugspray and got eaten alive. I used like none and have about six bites total. I have many more tips, but it might go faster if I just summarize the week. So we left on Tuesday. We walked down to the river (the Amazon River to be exact). We took a five hourish boat ride to where we were going. We had to stop five minutes into it to officially enter Peru and get stamps and everything. We finally got to our first village and I was shocked. I expected like uncivilized people and barely a town at all. They had street lights. We arrived in the middle of an organized futbol game. Each team had jerseys. One guy was reffing. And apparently they weren`t at all phased by seeing white people because we had to wait half an hour for them to finish their game. Then the pastor came over and talked to us. They gave us this little house to set up our tents in. We cooked all our meals in the pastor´s house and ate there too. Whenever we were in our little house there were always children standing at the door staring at us. The bathroom of course was the jungle. We did two evening church services and a kids program. We also did lice removal stuff. Then we went to the next village after two days there. The next village was pretty similar. We had a bigger house that we were staying in and the town had a store! That was about the only thing different. We went to the store quite a bit. They had some yummy cookies and some cold coca cola! Yummmmmm! In this town we did the same thing: two evening services and a kids program. We also used the rest of our lice removal stuff in this town. Both of these little villages were in Peru. Neither of them had very friendly people. The children were scared of us, the babies cried if we held them, and the adults wouldn´t really talk to us. It was quite frustrating actually. After staying there two days there was another town in Peru we were supposed to be going to. But Jaime and JP went to check it out and it was flooded, so basically we would only be able to stay in one house. Door to door evangelism wasnt really an option and church services wouldnt have been very logical. And as much as logic is not a part of doing God´s will, we decided to pray about it. Long story short, God very clearly opened another door and shoved us through it (gently of course. just obviously). We ended up going to a village in Colombia about an hour away from the villages we had just been in. This village was wayyy more receptive! The kids greeted us as our boat pulled up. Everyone was excited to see us. They were super hospitable. It was great! In this village we did an evening service on Saturday and then the next day was Sunday. So we did two programs Sunday morning (one for kids and one for adult). Jessie did the adults one, leaving me as the translator for the kids service! It was so much fun!!! Then in the afternoon we did another program for the kids. Then we had like two hours off until dinner and J and Ju and I wanted to do something (J being Jaime). So we took sheets for the beds and ibprofen and went around the community handing them out and asking the people if we could pray for them. When we had done door to door evangelism and asked to pray for the people in the villages of Peru they were really awkward about it and didn´t really want prayer. But in this village everyone had a prayer request and everyone was excited for us to be there. When we ran out of stuff to give, we had people coming up to us and asking us to pray for them. I prayed for an old lady with stomach problems, a pregnant lady with headaches, two babies with a fever, a little girl who wasn´t strong, a lady with back pains, another little boy who was sick, and a baby that was blind. It was super cool to be able to do all this. And I truly believe that by the time we left, the blind baby girl was starting to see. Also, there was this little girl with a super infected ear. So I went and got JP to clean it. And he was using like hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol and stuff to clean this open wound covered in grossness. This little girl should have been screaming. It should have hurt really badly. But I was praying over her the whole time that God would hold her and take away the pain. And she didn´t make a noise once. She didn´t even whimper. It was incredible. She almost fell asleep even. I was so amazed by God´s comfort for her. Anyways, later that night we had another evening service and we prayed for more people in the community. On Monday morning we left for the boat ride home. That was our week in the jungle! It was crazy. But it was good. It is an experience I´ll never forget, but I know for a fact that I am not called to the jungle. Well, I think I probably already knew that... Anyways. I hope you all are well and I miss you all lots!

Que Dios les bendiga!

Coray

Tabatinga, Brazil

So I wrote a long post yesterday and then the internet gave out and it got deleted. So I have to write it again =(

We got to Leticia, Colombia on Easter Sunday. It definitely didn´t feel like Easter, though. The base is awesome. I really really love it. But we only got to stay one night. We left on Monday morning for Tabatinga, Brazil. Aka we walked 20 minutes to get to the JOCUM (YWAM in Portugese) base in the next town. We spent all week working at that base. It is a large area, but small in staff. The director and his wife have two daughters (that are 12 and 15). The only other staff is a guy named Luis. They run a program all day for kids. It starts at 730 and goes till 5 with a two hour break for lunch. They help kids with their homework, and teach them more of what they need to know that the school doesn´t teach them, but with a Bible basis. So we helped them out. Two days we did drama programs and one day we did a little devo thing. It was a long week, but it was also very restful. Jess is the only one who speaks Portugese and most of the kids didn´t speak spanish, so there wasn´t a whole lot we could do. We spent a lot of time praying for the kids and just blessing them. Then on Friday night we were really blessed. For some reason (obviously a God reason), the local high school let us have twenty minutes of the kids time when they were supposed to be having a break. They didn´t care what we did with it. So we did two dramas, Wake Me Up and Everything. Then JP gave a really powerful talk. We didn´t have any time to talk with the kids afterwards because they had to go back to class. But I think it went really well. Then when we got back to the base, we were supposed to be running a discipleship program thing. They have a discipleship group for teenagers every Friday night. So we did Wake Me Up again and I gave a testimony and then we did Molding Jesus and Heidi gave a little mini-sermon thing. The kids stayed till after midnight. It was a loooooong night. Then we had a free day on Saturday. It was kind of ridiculously cool. Ru, Sjoerd, and Marleen took a five minute boat ride to Peru for the day and drank some coca cola there. Jessie and Heidi walked to Colombia to relax at the Leticia base and use the internet cafe. Jaime and JP walked to Colombia, took a boat to Peru, and took moto-taxis (my new favorite things by the way) back to Brazil. Julie and I spent the day relaxing in Brazil. I think that is so incredible. Then on Saturday night we did street evangelism. We did went out around 8, did poi to draw people in, and then did all our dramas. We had a line-up of motos watching us for a long time. Then we got to talk with them and six people accepted Christ. It was awesome! Then we had Sunday off again and Marleen, Julie, and I went to the internet cafe in Colombia and then did a little bit of tourist shopping. We also went to the YWAM base here. Everyone else went to Peru or stayed in Brazil again. On Sunday night we went to the director´s church. It was quite frustrating to listen to it all in Portugese and have no idea what was going on. Then we had some really yummy pizza with fruit on it. Speaking of food, this week was the best food I have eaten since I´ve been gone from home. It was sooooooo good!

This morning we came back to the Leticia base. We´re only here for the night though. Tomorrow morning we´re talking a six hour boat trip to some indigenous tribes in Peru. We will be there until Monday. Pray that the bugs don´t kill us, that nothing kills us while we´re bathing in the mud river, and that we see miracles happen. I have already seen God change hearts and lives and it has been amazing, but I believe He has even more in store for this outreach. Please be praying for the hearts of the people in these tribes. Thank you! I miss you all lots!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Ok so I lied... there´s one more.

So I was going to be done with the computer, but today was super cool and I wanted to share a little about it. But I might as well share about yesterday too. Yesterday in the morning we did a kid´s program in a mall and it went really well. Actually, three teenagers came to Christ. It was super cool! And then in the afternoon yesterday we did some dramas outside of a mall and that went really well too. People have been super responsive and many have changed their lives. Praise God! But today was even cooler. This morning we did a lot of praying and worshipping God. This afternoon we went to this place that is a very strong spiritual stronghold by the devil. It´s an area where witchcraft has been practiced a lot and many dark things happen there. So we decided to go and pray and worship God at the highest point. While we were praying Ruth felt like we should do our drama called Sunday, Bloody, Sunday. She felt like we should do it kind of prophetically over the place and over Bogota. So we did.

This is a drama where I am a girl who´s family is always yelling at me and they are always angry and pointing out my failures. I´m lost in the world. The whole time Sjoerd is standing to one side as Jesus, and Ruth is standing on the other side as satan. After my familys been pushing me and slapping me for awhile Ruth comes in and offers me something to smoke. So I smoke it (not really, mom. it´s just acting.) and then I throw it on the ground because it didn´t help me. Then we all freeze and Ruth comes up and hammers one of my feet to the ground. We unfreeze and my family´s attacking me again, but this time I can´t get one of my feet off the ground, so I´m freaking out even more. Ruth comes by again and offers me heroin. I take it and do it and then throw that down too because it only affects me momentarily. I freeze again and she hammers my other foot. I unfreeze and I freak out because I can´t move at all and both of my feet are stuck. Then my family unfreezes and is attacking me even worse. Finally Ruth comes up and throws me down to the ground and I try smoking and heroin again. Then I slowly stand up and Ruth kind of nails me to a cross. Then Sjoerd comes up behind me and takes my place and I fall to the ground. Ruth shakes me and tries to wake me, but Sjoerd comes and scares her away. Then he lifts me up and hugs me and offers me his hand. I don´t take it right away. I decide to look around some more first. I´m still kind of doubting. Ruth comes back and when I don´t choose to follow Jesus, she grabs my hand and pulls me. I fight her and try to get free, but I can´t for awhile. Then I finally grab Sjoerd´s hand and he pulls me free. I kneel down and just watch as he defeats Ruth and she is destroyed. Then together we praise God.

So that´s the drama we did today in this evil evil place. It was super powerful. Many Bible verses were read and songs were song and we just felt a real feeling of liberation. A darkness had lifted and the city was given a little bit of light and freedom. It was incredible. However, afterwards Ruth and I were both emotionally, physically, and spiritually worn down. We are both still exhausted and feel as if we actually were fighting a dark presence. It was intense. But incredible. And I just can´t praise God enough. He works in incredible ways and the way He is working through us during this time is mighty and amazing. I praise Him for the lives of many people who are no longer going to hell. I praise Him for the openness and receptiveness these people have toward us. I praise Him for the changes I am already seeing in Colombia, in our team, and in myself. Our God is an awesome God.

This time I really won´t be writing again until after Leticia. For real. So I hope everyone has an awesome three weeks. I can´t wait to tell you all how it goes with the tribes and such. I miss you all lots!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Bogota Week 2

So I can´t remember where I stopped, so I´ll start with Saturday. On Saturday we ended up sleeping in because we all needed rest. Then we took the bus downtown and had lunch at a pizzeria. It was yummy. Then we bought a ton of empanadas and went to this park that Jaime and I had felt we should go to. Sjoerd, Jaime, and Marleen handed out the empanadas to homeless people and started talking with them. Julie and I prayed about the people in the park and how they were being touched. Everyone else did Poi, but without fire. Poi is when you have those like fire things that you swing around and dance with. So we did that in the park for awhile. Then we went to a church where we were leading a youth service. We did our drama Wake Me Up and Jessie did a mini-sermon. We also did our Molding Jesus drama and I talked a little bit. Then the guys from the youth group drove us home so we wouldnt have to take a two hour bus ride. They took us up to a vista called La Calera and we could look out over all of Bogota. It was really pretty. Then Sunday we went back to their church again and led their youth service in the morning. We did our Sunday, Bloody, Sunday drama (which really freaked me out because I´m the main person in that and I´m like terrified to do it in front of people. So if you wanted to pray for boldness and bravery that´d be cool.) and Sjoerd gave a mini-sermon thing. Then in the main church service we did Wake Me Up again. Then we went to the church of the pastor we had been working with last week and led the whole church service. We did our Everything drama, sang songs, and Ruth gave a mini-sermon.

Monday was supposed to be our day off, but that didn´t happen... We ended up going to meet a new pastor, Pastor Ricardo, and his family and a few others. They are who we are working with this week. He took us out and showed us all the areas we would be working in. Then they fed us lunch and I have been super sick since then... Oh well. Then after lunch we went outside a shopping center and sang and played music and handed out fliers. That was slightly odd to me. But it seemed to go well. Some people had some good conversations about why we were there. Then we had dinner and went home. Tuesday was really cool. We went to their house for breakfast and then went out across the street from that shopping mall and did our dramas. It was really cool because some people came up and tried to give us money and we got to say no and explain why we didnt want money. We also got to share testimonies between the dramas and mingle with the people. Three people prayed and chose to follow God. That was really really exciting! Then in the afternoon we ran a kids program and did all of our kid dramas and taught them the song Si Tuvieras Fe. That wasn´t as exciting, but it went well. After that we met with the church and we praised God together. Then they asked if they could pray over us. That was pretty sweet too.

Today we finallllllllly have our day off! We ate breakfast at the panaderia. Yum! Croissants con bocadilla. yummmmmm. And soon we´re going downtown to do all our touristy stuff, shopping, and getting to know the city. Then we´re going to the best restaurant ever for dinner! It´s called Crepes and Waffles. And it better exist in other places because it is the best place I have ever eaten and I am in love with it. It is amazing. Yum. Ok I need to stop now. After dinner we´re going to a movie with a bunch of people from the youth group we worked with this weekend. They are super nice and super welcoming. I´m very excited for dinner and the movies here in colombia! Then tomorrow we have another kids program that we´re running with puppets and dramas and a bunch of stuff. On Friday I´m not really sure what we´re doing. Probably more street evangelism. On Saturday we´re doing some other kind of event with dramas and stuff. I´m not really sure what. Then on Sunday we leave for Leticia. You can definitely be praying for that. Right now I´m dreading it and that´s not how I want to go into it. I need to go into it with an open mind and an open heart. Just pray that we don´t get attacked by too many bugs, spiders, snakes, and all that. Please. I probably won´t update this again until after Leticia, so just assume that no news is good news. I hope you all are well and I miss you all!
Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Bogota, Colombia

Hey everyone! So right now we are in Bogota, Colombia, aka the place where it rains everyday of my life. Yay for rain! We left from LA Sunday night and arrived in Bogota Monday morning. We rested for most of Monday and on Tuesday we started our ministry. We spent our first week of ministry working with a pastor and his wife. They run an after/before school program for kids whose families are in gangs and are criminals and such. We got there Tuesday and they told us it was time for a devotional and that we were leading. This week we ended up doing a few dramas and today we taught the kids a song. We took turns sharing testimonies and such. We also did crafts and games. The kids were really sweet and we´re going to miss them a lot. It´s really clear that the devil didn´t want us to accomplish anything this week because we faced daily challenges. Mom, don´t worry because we´re past this now. On Tuesday night there was a gang fight in the neighborhood we were working in, so it was dangerous to walk through on Wednesday, but we decided to depend on God and trust that He would take care of us. No one touched us and we only passed a few questionable people. God was taking care of us. Then on Thursday there was flooding so all the buses were backed up. We waited for almost two hours for our bus. We considered doing something else with our day after like 30 minutes, but we prayed and Jaime and I both though that we should spend our time singing praise songs in spanish. So that´s what we did. We ended up getting there like 3 hours late. We worked with the time we had and it ended up being a really good day. Ok well I have two people sitting next to me waiting to get on and I think they´re tired of waiting so I need to go. If you want, you can pray for this weekend. Tomorrow we´re doing ministry in a random park and plaza. I think we´ll do dramas and poi and evangelism stuff. But we had an open time slot and we prayed about what to do. Jaime and I both thought of the park and two others thought of the plaza. Pray that it goes well. And then on Saturday we have a two hour presentation for teenagers at a church (including a 30 minute sermon from us!). On Sunday we have two one hour church services that we´re running. It´s gong to be crazy busy. Hopefully I´ll be able to write a better, more organized blog on Monday. We have a free day on Monday. Ok well I hope life is good for everyone. I miss you all. Que Dios les bendiga!

Yay God!!!

So we were just informed that someone donated $5000 this morning. That was less than 24 hours since we discovered we needed it. Praise God!!! Also, we have another change of plans. We are no longer going to Mexico City. Now we are flying to Bogota on Monday and spending two weeks there instead of in Mexico City. The rest will be the same. Also, we just found out what we're going to be doing in Leticia and it sounds amazing! We're going to spend like a week in Brazil and some time in Peru!! Because Leticia is in the tip of Colombia and it's like touching Brazil and Peru. And it's going to be incredible! I am soooo excited! So praise God!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Emergency Need

If anyone reads this in the next few hours and can help, please contact me as soon as possible. We discovered last night that we needed $5000 in the next 24 hours if we wanted to go to Leticia, Colombia. So we're trying to figure out if God wants us to trust that He will provide or if we're not meant to go to Leticia. And if we're not meant to go to Leticia, we need to figure out what we are going to do ASAP. So if you could be praying that would be great. And if you know anyone with $5000 lying around that they want to give to missions, we're definitely open! Thanks so much!

Tecate, Dramas, and NIKO

So I'm finally back home (Ensenada home, not Wheaton home)! Our time in Tecate was good. We were there Sunday to Wednesday. We memorized a lot of dramas and stuff like that and worked on lots of outreach stuff. It was really fun and I think it went really well. The Tecate base is way different, though. It is a house and there are only ten staff members. It's super super small. I enjoyed it, but if I lived there I would get slightly claustrophobic. There's no courtyard and no space. We came back to Ensenada for the night Wednesday and for Thursday morning. Thursday after lunch we left for NIKO. I can't even begin to explain NIKO, it's just something you have to experience. It's kind of like an intense camping trip. For those of you who have done HR trips it's like that, but only a few days. So we got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and were given a riddle type thing and had to hike to our destination all tied together. When we got there we were sent off on an errand, then we ate dinner. We were still tied together. We had praise and worship and a mini-devo and then we could finally untie and go to bed. We were woken up in the middle of the night to hike again. We hiked down the road until we saw a YWAM van! Yay! And they drove us up into the mountains around 2 AM. They dropped us off and we had to hike to our campsite. Then we got to go back to sleep. The next morning we hiked some more and we had to run a little bit. Then we hiked some more and finally got to our campsite for the night. We collected wood, made a fire, ate dinner, had another p&w/devo, and went to bed. We were woken up in the middle of the night again to hike. We hiked to another campsite and got to go back to sleep again. When we woke up in the morning we had some activities and then we broke up into teams of two (that they assigned). With our partner we had to hike through the mountains on this super long, up and down, curvy road. So that basically took all day. Then we waited for everyone else to get there. Then we had some more activities, then dinner, then p&w/devo, then bed. This morning we woke up and then hiked to the place where we were getting picked up! Yay! Two people from the base came to pick us up in a YWAM van and drive us home. And they brought us donuts! Yum. So we came back and all showered and washed our clothes (lovely!). We spent the rest of the day resting and now we have tomorrow off too. I am very excited for this wonderful break! We're preparing for outreach the rest of the week, so if anything exciting happens I'll keep you all posted. Thanks so much for the letters and the prayers! I love and miss you all!
Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Wow it's Been a Really Long Time

I am so sorry everyone for not writing in so long! I don't even know what to say to catch up! First I should probably inform everyone that I have less than three weeks left here in Ensenada. We leave for Pachuka (an area in Mexico City) in about three weeks. We will spend two weeks there. Then we will fly to Leticia, Colombia and spend three weeks there. Then we will spend the remaining time split up between Cartagena, Colombia and Bocachica, Colombia. Bocachica is an island just north of Cartagena. The time before we leave is going to be crazy. This week is our last speaker, David Stevenson. Next week we will be spending Monday through Wednesday at the Tecate base. I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing. Then Thursday through Sunday we will be doing something called NIKO. It is an intense wilderness camping trip thing. As if I haven't done enough of that in my life with Honey Rock... But this one is going to be even more intense. More details to come on that fun detour. Then we have a week of memorizing dramas and just preparing for outreach.

I'd also like to say, before I forget, thank you to everyone who has sent me birthday cards and/or packages! And just letters in general. I loooooooove getting mail! And it's so exciting to see that people havent forgotten me and are sending me things! I just want to say that I'm sorry that I haven't been able to write any thank yous or anything. I've been crazy busy, as you can tell from my lack of writing on my blog... So I just want to make sure everyone knows how grateful I am. I really really appreciate all of you so much!

Ok what else... I can't remember the last thing I wrote on.... So I don't really know what to talk about. But right now I'm actually supposed to be writing a Bible story in spanish... so I should probably go do that. Oh shoot I only have eight minutes left. Ok well I love and miss you all!!! I hope everyone is doing great and having a great year. I hope you have all gotten past the freezing cold winter and are beginning to thaw. I have an easy solution for you if that's something you're struggling with- come visit me! Ok anyways... have a great day.

Que Dios les bendiga!!

Here's the Rest

Sorry about how short that last one was. I was late and I wanted to write that before I forgot. So let's see... the day after my birthday was last Thursday I think. We did local ministry at the woman's rehabilitation center for the last time. If anyone wants something to pray for, this little girl named Estrella needs it. She is living at the orphanage part of this center and her mom is in a hospital somewhere. This week she was refusing to eat and the people punished her by not allowing her to visit her mom. It is just a bad situation and it really scares me for this precious girl. She needs as many prayers as she can get. Please just keep her in mind when you pray. Oh and she has a little sister named Celeste who is the quietest, most timid child (besides Estrella) that I have ever met. On Friday we left the base to go on a retreat called Silence and Solitude. Basically it was like a solo in the middle of a Honey Rock wilderness trip. We spent time on our own before dinner Friday night. Then we came back and made a fire and cooked hot dogs over the fire. For dessert we had smores. Then all the girls slept on a sort of loft thing, but not that fancy. The next day we ate breakfast, made our lunches, and then spent all day until dinner on our own with God. It was crazy. A good crazy, don't worry. I spent a lot of time praying and a lot of time rereading over my notes from the past however many weeks. On the way home we stopped for tacos. Then we had a free day on Sunday. I was really out of it that day and it was just kind of a relaxing, sleeping day. I think we went to Starbucks.

So this week our speaker is Brenda Lewis and she is talking about Destiny. But it's definitely not what you would expect. It's basically about figuring out how to take every step with God and include Him in our daily life. She is awesome and I love all the wisdom she is sharing. On Monday we learned how to officially clean a room here on base and yesterday we cleaned rooms and the learned how to officially clean the bathrooms. Let me just say, I do NOT understand how the guy's bathroom can be sooooo much dirtier than the girls. It just doesn't make sense. Moving on... Actually now I'm just really distracted by how awful that smell was and I can't remember what else we've done this week. Right now there is a team to build houses that is here. I think it's going to be quiet around base because a lot of people are building. Also, we sent a team to Costa Rica on Monday. This team included like our loudest people on base. So it's been really strange without them. Ok well I'm going to go finish getting ready so I'm not late again. Have a good day everyone!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Hospitality Party

So this is just a quick update. I forgot to say that we switched our work duties. I no longer work in the kitchen every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I am now in hospitality which means... drum roll please... cleaning toilets!!!!! Yay!!!!!!! Ok more later. This is all I have time for now.
Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

My Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!

Well let's see... where to start...? Perhaps with my lovely wakeup. I woke up to voices around me singing happy birthday. That was happy. So I continued readying myself for the day as normal. After devos I didn't go straight to breakfast. A few minutes later Jessie came bouncing in the room and gave everyone five minutes to get to the classroom. So we went to the classroom and I opened the door to balloons being poured on my head. So I started laughing. As I was inhaling to laugh, confetti was thrown at me. Needless to say, it went down my throat and I choked and thought I was going to die. It was a blast. Well ok today I can say that. However, I had confetti in my throat for quite a few hours. And it hurt. Jessie and Jaime had gone out to buy McDonalds breakfast sandwiches and some breakfast pastries. And, of course, STARBUCKS!!! They brought me a carmel mocchiato! I love those girls! And of course they sang again. After eating I got to open presents that Ma had sent me and I had saved till then. I have some awesome new adidas slides that I wear all the time now (after outreach i can get rid of the disgustingly old tevas!) and some new clothes. Yay Ma!!! Then we went to the worship hall for a community meeting and I got sung to again. Then we had class and then lunch. After lunch was spanish class... aka I just walked around and talked to people in spanish... aka my friend Alejandra and I talked for an hour. We listened to them practice for our worship service. Then we had a giant community meeting that the bases from Tecate, Tijuana, and San Diego came to. Once again they said happy birthday in front of everyone. Then we went to see the movie "Bride Wars". It was the whole DTS except for Marleen, plus Martin, Alex, Carl, Felipe and Gemma. That was probably the most stressful part of my life oh my goodness. Carl was the only person who could legally drive a YWAM vehicle. But there were only five seats. In case you need help with the math... there were 11 of us. So we finally figured out that Heidi had a license on her and she could use Gemma and Steve's car. So it all worked out. But only after half an hour of everyone freaking out about it. We got to the theater as the movie was starting. I think I was the only one who enjoyed the movie... good thing it was my birthday! Then we went back to the base. We tried to get tacos, but it was closed.... Thus ends the story of my birthday. I hope you all enjoyed it. As Bill (our cook) told me today... 364 days until my birthday! Let the countdown begin! Oh and ps, I'm officially an adult. I miss you all!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

So We Have A Birthday Person for You in the Car

Hey everyone! So I'm not really sure when I wrote last. But I'll start with Friday. So we had small group before lunch. So we had small group and then I went and grabbed my lunch and walked upstairs to be alone in my room. Sarvia came to get me and told me that Felicia (a girl from San Diego) had just arrived and there was a package for my birthday in the car. So we walked downstairs talking about some stuff from small group. We get out there and Felicia opens the door of the car and my mom pops out! So I screamed and cried and all that. It was incredible. Wow. Yeah. She stayed till Sunday. It was lovely. We went shopping :). We built a house ... well ok she built a house and I took pictures, painted, and socialized. I took her to the fish taco stand, we had agua de fresa, we went to Starbucks, she saw all of Ensenada. We went to the beach where I was freezing and she was warm. She stepped in the water wearing a short sleeved t-shirt, capris, and no shoes. I stood far from the water in a shirt, my sweatshirt, her sweatshirt, and jeans. We had lots of fun! Then when we were taking her back to San Diego, we got to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. So lunch today was yummy leftovers too! And it was a stupendous birthday present and a wonderful visit! I love my mommy!!! Now I'm going to spanish class. Have a good week everyone!
Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

The Time The Roof Fell

I can't believe I forgot to tell you all this exciting detail. So this week it decided to rain for the first time since I've been here. On Monday God really decided to send us a lovely storm. So it got so bad that the building was shaking and people thought we were going to have a hurricane. It was kind of scary and everyone ran inside. Unfortunately I missed all the action because I was with Sarvia having spanish class downtown. When we got back our roof, was on the ground. The wind had blown off the top layer of the roof. They have spent the last three days fixing our roof. It was ridiculous. And now the storms are gone and it is all sunny again. But it is still too cold here. Mexico is supposed to be warmer than this. Today we had a party because Mexico played the US in soccer. Guess who won... US!!!!! Yay us!!! The Mexicans took it really well, though. I tried to get a rise out of them and no one reacted... That was kind of boring. Anyways, now I am sitting in the house of the base director's family. They have six kids and the oldest one went out with his dad and their mom is in Tijuana right now, so I'm babysitting five of them. They are Levi (11), Asher (6), Noah (4), Micah (3), Tiannah (2). Now the only one awake is Levi and he just likes to play video games, so I have an hour of free time in their house! Yay! I don't think I have any other new updates... I hope you enjoyed this more exciting one. It was definitely different than the normal ones. Have a good day tomorrow!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

To Be Honest, This is Getting Kind of Old.

I love you all so much and I miss you all a ton, but it is becoming difficult to post on my blog so often. Basically every week is the same and the stuff that is different is really detailed and would take pages and pages to tell. So if you all are getting bored of reading this, that is ok. So this Saturday we worked with a ministry called Project Debora. It is for disabled children and their families. We helped clean up the house that they use. Then we had the rest of the day off. On Sunday we went to Felipe's church and then we had a "carne asada" which is like the equivalent of a barbeque except with tacos instead of hamburgers. It was really fun! I love Mexican culture. It was one of those things where we were there for hours just waiting to eat. I think we ate at like 2:30 and then we were late so we had to leave by 3. Then Sarvia and JP drove to Tijuana to pick up the DTS that was on outreach. I got to see Lizzy Sunday night!! After waiting ALL day Sunday!!!!! Apparently we were loud. Or at least everyone on the base made a comment something like "oh my gosh Coray I was all the way in my room and I heard you screaming". Anyways, we were excited. So I've been getting to spend a ton of time with Lizzy! Yay!
This week we are learning about Passion for Christ and Jeff Pratt is speaking. He is changing my life by the minute. It is incredible and I will be forever changed. When he speaks of God all you want is to be with God like this man is. He is definitely my favorite speaker and I think he will hold that position till the end. I wish I could explain more to you, but I can't even sum it up. I would destroy it if I tried. All I can say is that he is incredible. Ok now I'm going to go to bed because I'm starting to not feel well and we can't let that happen! Have a good week!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

As I Sit Here Writing a Book Report... Oh wait... no I'm not.

So I should be writing a book report right now... I've had like three weeks and every time I sit down to write it, I get distracted. Anyways... this week is on Hearing the Voice of God. A woman named Luba Iliyn is speaking. We're just learning about all the different ways that God can speak to us and everything that we do to block our ability to hear Him. She has lots of experience and many interesting stories. This week I have also worked on my spanish with Sarvia (learning new vocab and such), enjoyed worshiping God, worked in the kitchen (every Monday, Wednesday, Friday - dinner), had an all girls small group to build each other up and encourage each other in how beautiful each of us is, gone for a prayer walk on the beach, and done many more things. In half an hour we're leaving to go paint again at a women's rehabilitation center. These past two weeks we have had a DTS from about twenty minutes away join our class. This has made us realize how much we appreciate the size of our class. We have more than doubled and it has been harder to stay focused and get stuff done. It is just a completely different atmosphere. Ok now I need to go write my book report on "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. I hope you are all having a wonderful winter ;)

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Oops... it's been a while.

I'm sorry that it has been so long! I didn't realize that much time had passed. This week's talk on relationships was good. This week we also did local ministry painting a wall and playing with children at a woman's rehabilitation center. We went to Bajio again and served as many people as we coudl. During small group, I discovered that JP owns one of the old nintendo systems that my dad and I used to play all the time and he has like a bazillion games for it! So I challenged someone and they kind of laughed at me and said heck yes! And I totally destroyed them! It was a blast! So that's the happy stuff for the week.

On a sadder note: my ipod was stolen and I'm out of Starbucks cards. We listen to our ipods in the kitchen so I brought mine down. Then I went to go do something and I left it in my apron pocket and when I came back it was gone. This was like two weeks ago, but I've refused to admit it because I didn't want to accept it :( Also, Starbucks is our lifesaver and it's like all we do. So yeah... my cards are empty :( And now I don't know what to do. Oh well.

Oh yeah and last night we had a bonfire on the beach and we had some poi going on. Poi is something that JP is teaching our class. It is that thing where theres a chain and at the end of the chain there is fire. And you toss it around and stuff. So JP, Sjoerd, and Heidi did some at the beach last night. It was a blast! Today we're going to Felipe's church again. I need to go get ready because we're going in an hour.

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

A Splendid Weekend

So this weekend we were supposed to work with a ministry called Revolucion. A man who works with YWAM, Omar, runs this ministry. Between the base and the beach is a skate area. Revolucion reaches out to the Ensenada youth through skateboarding. So this weekend Omar wanted us to work with fixing the skate ramp. We met at 9:30, took all the pieces out of a truck, and painted all of them until right before lunch. Then we put them back in the truck. JP told us to meet back there at 1:30 to do something else with the pieces. Julie and I asked JP to drive us to Applebees in Gringolanda (aka this shopping area that has a Walmart, Applebees, Dairy Queen, and Burger King). We ended up with eight people eating at Applebees and it was so much fun! But we were late coming home so we rushed and ran up to our rooms to change. As soon as we got back down JP said, "Well guys I have some bad news. Something happened... and Omar told us we don't have to work anymore! You have a free day!" That was stupendous. So we just relaxed. A lot of people caught up on sleep. We socialized and watched movies and stuff. Then Sunday JP and Jaime went to pick Sarvia up at the airport in San Diego (she spent a week visiting the DTS that is on outreach right now), so they said we couldn't go to church unless we found one within walking distance. But we've gotten pretty close to the pastor and most of the members of the church we normally go to, so we called him and he sent some people from the church to pick us up! It was great! We fit like ten people in a mini van with seven seats. And the roads we took were ... a bit absurd. So it was a blast. Then Sunday night we got almost all the young staff to go to Starbucks with us and we just spent time hanging out and bonding. Then one of the girls asked me if she could practice putting fake nails on me. She wants to become a nail technician apparently. So I let her practice... I had one beautiful nail for about an hour. The end.

This week we have a speaker named Dean Sherman. He is speaking on relationships. Basically what we've learned so far is that all the problems in the world are due to selfishness. And the answer is always love. Ok well I have to go to small groups now. More later.

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Wow it's Friday!

This week absolutely flew by! Wow! We had Tim Pratt come and speak with us on team building. We did a lot of stuff with trust and group exercises. We figured out how we work together and what everyone's personality is. In case anyone knows what it means, I am popular sanguine! It was a blast this week. The only sad thing was that Sarvia was gone all week. She left Sunday and will get back this Sunday. I missed her so much!

Yesterday was really cool. They didn't have anything specific for our local ministry, so we just prayed and asked God to put on our hearts what was on His heart. We had a bunch of random things. My group was made up of Ruth, Jessie, and Jaime. Jaime had this picture of kids and the words "Be kind", Ruth saw an eye, and Jessie saw a stadium. I saw a mother with a little boy and little girl. The other group saw a couple thing as well, but all that I remember was Heidi saw a dusty road with dogs in it. Pretty much every road in Ensenada, but still interesting. So JP directed us how to get to the stadium. He told us it was near a Calimax (grocery store) and he told us how to get to the Calimax. So we started walking. We passed this adorable little boy and little girl and stopped to chat for a minute. They were two and three. So we kept walking and were scared out of our minds by three dogs near the end of the road. All of a sudden Jessie stopped us and said we had just walked down a dusty road and noticed the dogs. So we stopped and prayed about what to do. We decided to walk back down the street and pray over the homes and the people. We turned around and the dogs were gone. We thought was pretty cool because there were not a lot of places to disappear to. So we walked up and down and just prayed that the devil have no hold and that God surround these people. Then Jessie thought that it would be a good idea to just buy basic groceries for those families. And we knew how to get to the grocery store! So we went and bought like beans and rice and tortillas and apples and a couple other things. We walked back and stood at the door. We prayed over the food and prayed that their hearts would be open and accepting. The mother hesitantly took the food and it was clear that she needed it. The little boy was so excited and he was smiling so big. We told them it was from God, not us, and that God wanted to bless them with it. Then we left.

Sorry there's no transition or ending, but I'm late for lunch and I have to be ready to go in twenty minutes. Ok miss you all!
Love,
Coray

Well that was unexpected.

So this weekend, I built a house. By myself. Just kidding. We woke up at 6:45 Saturday morning for Sjoerd, Heidi, Marleen, and I to go build two houses with the staff and a team that flew in from Dallas. Awhile into it, a girl named Lindsay told me that I was the host. The girl who was supposed to be the host was at a funeral. I had never done this house builidng thing for Homes of Hope and I did not even know what a host did. So Lindsay kind of explained to me and then I just kind of improvised. Basically I was supposed to tell people what to do, make sure everyone was drinking water/staying hydrated, and keep people encouraged. I was supposed to form relationships with the people. Then when it was lunchtime I had to set up the table and all the food. Then I cleaned up afterward. And after lunch Lindsay left and I became photographer as well as host. So, basically I spent my day passing out waters, watching the kids of the family that we were building a house for, and taking pictures. The little girl, Dana, got super excited every time I took a picture and she wanted to see it immediately. She would then look at it and laugh. She was so cute! We built the house for a family of four- Jorge, Silvia y sus hijos, Irvin y Dana. They were so thrilled with their new house! And Silvia was so awesome!

So we were all excited to have helped, but we were also excited to be done the next day and go to church, sleep, and just relax. Alas, that did not happen. Sjoerd and I were told that we would be working again. So I went to bed at 6:30 and slept till 6. That was incredible and I really needed it. Then I went down to breakfast. We drove to the hotel to pick up the team from Dallas, then we drove them by the base so they could see where we lived, and then we went to the site. I had told Silvia goodbye the day before, so she was all excited and we talked some more. They had woken up early and started making lunch for us. They worked on it from about seven to 12. Some of the woman on the team took Silvia and the kids to the store to buy food, clothes, shoes, and bedding. Sjoerd drove. I had to stay and help with lunch and other stuff again. When Silvia came back she told me she had never bought so much stuff in her life. She was so excited about all that they had. Each of the kids received a toy and they were both super excited as well. I spent the day taking pictures again. It was wonderful. And it was awesome to see the house done and give them the key and watch them walk in. Silvia made it through the team's thank yous and gifts (Bible and team picture) fine, but she wanted to say thank you and then she started crying. She was beyond thrilled to have this house. She said it was her biggest dream come true and she couldn't express how greatful she was that her kids would no longer be cold and electricy-less. It was wonderful to see her face then. I will be posting pictures just as soon as I get them. I used the base camera because they were actually for a slideshow. But I'll get them tomorrow. So then I drove back with my new friend Martin. It was so good to see my girls again when I got home. I missed them a lot the past two days. It was semi-overwhelming, but at the same time so fulfilling and wonderful. Plus I became better friends with all the guys I worked with. I worked with Steve, Cody, Martin, and Lindsay. And I got to drive once with Oscar, so I got to know him too. It was a blast.

On top of all that goodness, Sjoerd is starting to learn how to be with six girls. He has started to give hugs and not freak out when we get somewhat near him. Last week he was asking us why we're always touching each other. But this week he is not flinching when we get near, which is terrific. My girls are only getting better. I love them all so much and I hate when I can't be with them. Ok well I'm kind of sore and I'm sitting uncomfortably, so I'm going to end this abruptly. Pictures are coming on facebook soon. Love and miss you all!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Oh my gosh has it really been a week?

Wow this week flew by! We had two professor named Jack Kody and Skip Anderson this week. They talked about The Father Heart of God. We spent so much time learning, I probably can't even sum it up! They had eleven points about God as our Father. I learned so much and it was so incredible! We had class from 9:30 to 12:30 with a ten-minute break at 10:30 and 11:30 and every time they said "ok break time" I would get so confused because I'd think we'd just had a break! I learned sooooooo much! One day, Jack had us cancel our group exercise and small group so he could take us out for a surprise. We drove to the ocean and started walking down. All of a sudden we realized Sarvia and Jack had stopped, so we went back. They were negotiating a price for an hour boat ride on the ocean! We got to go out for an hour and see the ocean, the sea lions, and the dolphins! It was awesome! We also started small groups and spanish class this week. My small group consists of Sarvia, JP, Ruth, Sjoerd, and myself. Spanish class is killer, but I only had to take it two times. From now on I'm going to help Sarvia with her chores and talk to her in Spanish during that time. We also started work duties. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I work in the kitchen from 3:30 to 5:30. On Thursday we had a local ministry opportunity. We went to the house of a woman who started a ministry for kids and we painted. The ministry she started, began with three children. She had done it for eight years and now there are 80 children involved! So we got to help her out a little bit and then we got to pray with her that they would be able to buy more land so they can fit all of the kids. Tonight we had our first group exercise. We tried to play volleyball, but no one really exercised. So then we played soccer, but that didn't really work either. So then we all ran into the ocean and started a game of "all the girls try to dump Sjoerd in the ocean". That finally made us all work out! We were running and laughing so much and now my legs and stomach hurt! Ruth and I both ended up being dumped in the ocean by Sjoerd..... Tonight we get to go to Bajio again. I am super excited! I think Bajio might be my favorite part of the week. Though I do love the worship service we have every Thursday night. Oh and we got to go to Walmart today because we didn't get to on Tuesday because there was a bomb threat... which, just like at school, no one ever followed through with.

Tomorrow half of us are going to work with Homes of Hope and build a house for two families. Marleen and Heidi are working with one group and Sjoerd and I are working with the other group. We are building for family in which the parents are 22 and 21 and the children are 6 and 2. The dad's mom told them about YWAM and Homes of Hope so they came to ask for help. So we will spend all day Saturday building them a house. We have breakfast at 6:45 and then we leave and get back in time for dinner. Ok I'm giong to be late to get to the kitchen and Bill will not appreciate that.

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Bajio y Iglesia con Felipe

So I can't remember how much I said about Bajio on Friday and I'm not going to check, so if it's repetition just skip this. But Friday night we met at 7:30 in the worship hall with JP and Sarvia and a girl named Debora who is here from Swiza (Switzerland in espanol) for two months I think. A local pastor named Felipe met us there. He and JP explained to us what we would be doing. They were very safe and very realistic about what we were doing. They made sure all the girls had every part of their body covered and absolutely no jewelry. They told everyone not to be stupid and that we were gone to the Red Light District to give soup and hot chocolate to the homeless and drunks and prostitutes there. JP and others have been doing this for the past ten months so he has developed relationships with all the people. Anyways, so Felipe and JP prayed for us to be protected and be a blessing to the people. Then we sang two worship songs. We all loaded up the van with cups, spoons, a table, and the big jugs of soup and hot chocolate. We drove there and set it all up. There was already a line of people waiting for us so that they could eat. So as soon as we set up, JP prayed for the food and the people. They filed through the line and each received generous portions of the cocoa and soup, while we told them "Dios te bendiga". Many questioned why we were there and we got the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. One man I talked to told me his life was good and he didn't need God. He asked me why I thought he needed God. Then he asked Sarvia who God is. He wasn't satisfied with the answer so he left. The next man I talked to was named Francisco. He stuck around awhile. He seemed to want Jesus but at the same time he didn't. He said he was in between the two roads and that he was afraid of reading the Bible because of the truth in it. We talked for awhile and everyone else had a chance to talk to him too. I'm sure we'll be seeing him next Friday again. One person that Jessie talked to, had had too much to drink, so I didn't expect much and I didn't really want her talking to him. However, she shared her testimony and he asked (more or less) "What would you say if someone wanted to accept this Jesus? I mean, I don't! But if someone did, what would they do about it?" And it went on like that for awhile until he broke down and asked her to help him pray. Then he went to JP and Felipe and a couple other leaders and started asking questions. It was super cool and it totally humbled me. When Jessie came over I asked her to please not talk alone to guys when they are that drunk and high because it scared me and she turned around and said "He just accepted Jesus into his heart." And I was just kind of like "Woah." I felt really awful. I'm working on trusting Jesus in every situation and knowing that He does know what He's doing. Anyways, as we loaded all the stuff in the van again we prayed again. We asked if anyone wanted to come pray with us and one guy who hadn't eaten our food, but was walking by trying to sell roses wanted to. So JP prayed over the people we had helped and prayed that this man would be able to sell all his roses and be able to pay for his food and his family. The man asked how he could talk to us again and we told him we'd be back at eight the next Friday. We got home around ten and were all exhausted so we all crashed into bed.

AY! It just deleted everything I had about church! Ok so we went to Felipe's church of maybe fifteen. I forgot to mention that some of his church was at Bajio with us. It was an awesome blessing to see this church because it was like the ones the Bible talks about in Acts. It was in Felipe's house and they were just so grateful to be there. They told us they didn't have a denomination, they just wanted to love and follow Jesus. They were very passionate. We prayed a lot and sang a lot of worship songs before Felipe preached. My favorite worship song so far is "Eres TodoPoderoso":
La unica razon de mi adoracion eres tu mi Jesus
Mi unico motivo para vivir eres tu mi Senor
Mi unica verdad esta en ti eres mi luz y mi salvacion
Mi unico amor eres tu Senor y por siempre te alabare
Tu eres todopoderoso
Eres grande y majestuoso
Eres fuerte, invencible
Y no hay nadie como tu

In my rought translation it means:
My only reason for my praise is you my Jesus
My only motive for living is you my Lord
My only truth is in you, you are my light and my salvation
My only love is you Lord and forever I will praise you
You are all powerful
Your are great and majestic
You are strong, invincible
And there is no one like you

I love this song! Anyways, then Felipe preached and it was an awesome sermon on what worship truly means and how each person worships differently and we can't judge others by how the worship their Lord. It was wonderful. Then after the sermon, one women pulled out the guacamole she had just made and three bags of chips and we ate and chatted. One man walked around pouring coke for everyone and refilling glasses repeatedly. They were so friendly and eager to make new friends. They kept telling us how blessed they were to have us there. They said we didn't even need to do anything, they just felt blessed by God to have us at their church. They were such incredible people and I love them already! We will be attending their church weekly to form and maintain relationships with the people.

Ok well I'm going back out to the sun and to work on my book report. It's due Friday and I need to get started! Miss you all lots!

Olvide

I forgot about our Scavenger Hunt. On Thursday we had a scavenger hunt in downtown Ensenada. We were split into two teams. Jessie, Ruth, and Heidi v. Sjoerd, Marleen, Julie, and myself. We had to buy a turtle w/a bobbing head, an ensenada bumper sticker, a braid in our hair, a bracelet, and a pack of blue chicklets gum. We had to take a bus and then figure out where to buy it all. Then we had to get back. And all we had were 120 pesos. The bus fare was 32 pesos for the four people in my group. We had to bargain w/the people for all the prices. By the time we were done we had ten pesos left. So we walked like three miles back home. And we won! It was a blast and I loved the test to my spanish.

So today we went to La Bufadora and it was beautiful! It's like a blowhole. It's probably the top tourist attraction in Ensenada and there were like a hundred booths set up along the path and I loved using spanish to tell the people what I wanted and bargain with them. Once again it was a blast! I had about thirty dollars and I managed to buy a shirt, a purse, earrings, and a dress! I love them all! And now I'm done with my tourist shopping for the next three months. All of us except Jessie just put on our sundresses and bathing suits (in Sjoerd's case, just bathing suits and t-shirts) and went down to the beach. Sjoerd and Ruth swam and the rest of us soaked up the sun. A girl named Alejandra (Alex) came with us. She did a DTS in Tijuana and now watches the Kemp (director of the base) kids. She is awesome! Anyways, we went for a walk on the beach. The other day we spent like an hour talking during lunch. She's really cool and we've become good friends. TTFN!
Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Saturday

Today we are going to see La Bufadora which is a giant blowhole and a major tourist attraction. But first, I convinced Sarvia to stop at Starbucks!!! Yesterday we started our small groups. I am in one with Sarvia, JP, Sjoerd, and Ruth. I really like it! Then we went up to this thing called "Prayer Mountain" where we could look out over the whole city. We took some pictures and spent some time praying over the city. It was quite beautiful watching the sun set while we were up there. Then after a dinner a bunch of the wives get together and do nails, so I joined. Then we went to a thing called Bajio. We took soup and hot chocolate to the Red Light District. It was super cool. The people knew we were coming because we do it every Friday at eight apparently, so they were all standing in line and they all knew Jean-Philippe's name. But they all had to wait while JP prayed over the food. It was really cool talking with them. Some were new and they asked why we came. I got to tell two people about God's love and that we were there to share Jesus with them. One of them told me that he didn't need God because his life was good and he was happy. The other one told me had was scared of the Bible and he was in between the two roads. So we talked about how Jesus isn't the scary one and how you can't be between two roads, you have to choose one. Two really drunk guys came up kind of laughing and just happy to eat and then they walked off, but one came back and started talking to Jessie. He asked lots of questions and decided he wanted Jesus and didn't want to live like he was anymore. It was super cool. Ok well I need to go talk to my family on Skype.
Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

Busy busy busy

So I'm not going to be having a ton of time for blog stuff. Our schedule keeps us pretty busy and in our free time we will be bonding and writing book reports. Yippee. Let's see... on Monday Sean talked about YWAM and lots of random things, especially God's will being good, pleasing, and perfect. Then we had orientation and after dinner we had "dessert night" meaning we had cake and played games. Then Tuesday, Brett Curtis, who is in charge of YWAM San Diego/Baja came and talked to us about intercession. These people have incredible faith and I hope to be like them one day. Then we spent some time praying about where we should go in Colombia. We split into two groups and within our group spent like 20 minutes praying on our own and trying to listen to God. When my group came together we talked about what we saw/heard. Sjoerd saw a little boy running towards him. Jaime had the phrase "go where it is green". The others each had something about either a beach, trees, or a rainforest type thing. We then combined the two groups and it turned out that the other group had received stuff about a beach and a rainforest too. And Julie had seen a little boy holding out his hand to her and crying. Anyways... that was us trying to put into practice what we learned about intercession. Then we shared our testimonies/stories and how we ended up here. There were some pretty crazy backgrounds. Then last night we had a Wal-Mart run.

Today is Julie's birthday so when we were at Walmart last night, Jessie, Marleen, and I prepared. We bought confetti, a banner, balloons, a cake, ice cream, cookies, and pop! So when we got back to the room, Ruth and I ran to the kitchen to get plates, cups, bowls, and all that. Then when we came in, Jessie got out the cake and we started singing happy birthday. Julie was so surprised and excited! Then Jessie made her stick her face in the cake and take the first bite. She claims its Mexican tradition. So we ate a bunch of cake, ice cream, and cookies last night. It was delicious! Then, once Julie went to bed, we blew up the balloons. We opened the banner that said "Feliz Cumple" on the outside of the package (Happy Birthday), but apparently it was false advertisement because when we oppened it it said "Bienvenidos" (Welcome) on it... So we considered convincing her that bienvenidos meant happy birthday, but we thought she might walk around saying that all day so we decided not to. We just told her "Bienvenidos al ano diecinueve" (Welcome to the nineteenth year)... So we woke her up by throwing balloons at her and singing happy birthday. All day Jessie and I have been randomly throwing confetti at her. It's very fun! Now we're surprising her and going out to dinner for her bday. Oh yeah and we had cake after lunch to celebrate again. So I've had cake like three or four times already! I love it here! OK I have to go get ready for dinner. Adios!
Que Dios les bendiga.
Coray

Bienvenidos a Ensenada!

After registration we just kind of chilled and then Heidi, JP, some of the kids on base, and I played soccer. Sort of. It was more just kicking the ball around. Then the DTS staff set up a welcome party for us. When we went in to get dinner, a mariachi band set up and the staff told us we had to eat outside. We realized why as our ears exploded to extremely loud music while filling our plates with authentic mexican tacos. So we went out and listened to a bunch of songs while enjoying our dinner. Once the band left JP hung up a pinata for us and we and the base kids all took turns hitting it. I had some pretty solid contact! The two men holding the pinata were crazy though. one stood on the second floor, but the other stood on the roof over part of the patio. I thought he was going to get yanked off, the way they were pulling it! They're favorite thing to do was to hit us on the heads with the pinata since we couldn't see. It was a blast! Then we played never have I ever as a DTS group with JP, Jaime, and Sarvia. After that we played movie charades for a little while and then went to our rooms. Marleen, Ruth, Jessie, and I had an awesome conversation about a couple things from the Bible and then we went to bed.

I learned this morning that when they say breakfast is at 7:30 they mean 8. And that when they ring the bell to call you, it really means you have half an hour to come... So our group and JP were the only people at breakfast this morning. Apparently everyone ate eventually... we just didn't see them because we ate from like 7:30-7:50... Anyways, breakfast was lovely. Cereal, muffins, and yogurt. Yum! Now we're spending our hour and a half before class taking turns showering. This could take awhile. Today for our first class the man who started the San Diego/Baja base is coming to give as an introduction to it all. Ok it's almost my turn in the shower. Adios.

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

First Day Stuff

We were joined at one am by Ruth from England. She's 18. This morning we ate breakfast at 9 and then went to church at 12. It was pretty much a day of relaxing. A few people went out for fish tacos after church, but the rest of us normal people ate sandwiches and cookies. Then we relaxed some more (I took a walk down to the beach with Marleen) before registration (at 3:30). We went in one by one and just talked with Sarvia (the director here) and Sheril (who took care of paper work). I now can give you more details.

Our program will be lead by Sarvia Nino from Ensenada, Jaime, and JP. Many of you won't be interested, so skip this part, but I know my mom and dad will want to hear it:

Our weekly schedule goes as such:
7 AM Wake-up and personal devos
7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Worship/Intercession/Devos
9:30 Lectures
10:30 Break
10:45 Lectures
12:30 Lunch

Mondays and Wednesdays: 1:30 Spanish Class 3:00 Work Duties
Tuesdays: 1:30 Small Group 3:30 Exercise
Thursdays: 1:30 Local Ministry
Fridays: 1:30 Exercise 3:00 Work Duties

5:30 Dinner
6:00 Dinner Clean Up Rotation

7:00 Mondays-Outreach Prep
Tuesdays-Wal-Mart Run
Wednesdays- Community Night
Thursdays- Study Time
Fridays- Bajio (basically soup kitchen type stuff. handing out soup and hot chocolate and stuff in "the Red Zone")

10:00 Quiet Time until 7 AM
11:00 Lights Out

We have different speakers and themes every week. The first week is just intro stuff. The rest of our themes are Father Heart of God, Loving the Unlovely/Team Building, Relationships, Hearing the Voice of God, Passion for Christ, Destiny and Calling, Worship and Warfare, Evangelism and Youth Culture, and Outreach Prep. Outreach prep is the last two weeks and ends March 27th. During this time we will be reading "Is That Really You God", "Captivating/Wild At Heart", "Celebration of Discipline", and "Foreign to Familiar" and writing reports on each. We have a verse to memorize every week as well.

If anyone wants to visit I have a map, a list of churches, things to do, restaraunts, etc ... so come visit! :)

Ok so that's about it. It is wonderful here and I love it!

Que Dios les bendiga!
Coray

I'm Here!

As I right this we’re driving down a road in Mexico. It’s not as hot as I expected, however it is night. My flight was the last of four DTS people to fly into San Diego airport today. I was greeted by my two leaders- Jon Philippe (or something like that. He goes by JP or Jon I think) from Switzerland and Jamie from Kansas- as well as three other DTS students- Julie, Heidi, and Sjoerd (who’s name I still can’t say). Julie’s from northern California, Heidi’s from Canada, and Sjoerd is form the Netherlands I think. We went to In’n’Out Burgers before leaving California. We drove to Tijuana to pick up a girl named Marleen who is also from the Netherlands. She spent the last two months in Tijuana. Apparently we are only being joined by two more people. Our DTS originally had 20 students, but 13 dropped out. Now there are seven of us plus two leaders. Out of us, six are girls. Poor Sjoerd.

The drive from San Diego to Ensenada is supposed to take us an hour and a half, but I’ve heard that it can take up to two and half hours. It was clear the second we crossed the border into Mexico (besides going through the station or whatever). Everything was just immediately poorer and not as nice.

I’m already having some trouble understanding JP, Marleen, and Sjoerd. Especially when JP speaks to me in Spanish. Apparently he and Jamie have read all the information on us and in the information I said that I speak some Spanish. So he asked me a bunch of questions about how I learned and such in Spanish. He speaks as fast as a native speaker, but he has an accent. It’s soooo hard to understand. However his English is even harder, so I guess it’s better when he speaks in Spanish. He and Jamie seem really cool. We’ve been blasting Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Derek Webb the whole trip. They are really outgoing and friendly and seem like they genuinely care about us even though they just met us. I’m pretty excited.

Well I’m going to put my computer away before we crash and I break it! Driving here is ridiculous! Though not as bad as the DR, fortunately. I’ll add another update tomorrow. Apparently we’re just doing church, registration and relaxing then.

¡ Qué Dios les bendiga!

Coray

Ok So now we're actually here and I met one other girl. Her name is Jessica and she's also from Canada. She's super nice and we are getting along great! She speaks fluent spanish and told me that she was only gonna speak spanish with me and help me with it until its perfect! I took a top bunk on top of Jessie. Another girl named Ruth is coming around midnight. The rumor is we're going to Colombia for our outreach. Ok my thoughts and words are all scrambled so it's time for bed. It's only 8:44 here. Ugh. This is gonna take adjustment. Sorry I have no transitions or closing. I'm exhausted. Good night all.

College Decisions

I forgot that I had promised many of you that I would post my decision on this blog when I found out.... Well, I received an acceptance letter from Wheaton on the 26th and I have decided that I am going to attend Wheaton College.