Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Simply awesome...
Sorry I haven't been able to update as much as I would like to; the internet access is in the city and takes about 20 minutes to drive to.
The week here in Venezuela has been great! We learned in detail yesterday about the boys and why they are in need of Proyecto Jonas. All of the stories are just sad... one of the boys has been abandoned by his drug abusing family, another lost his father to a tragic drowning accident only a few short weeks ago and has been brought to the "farm" by the equivalent of DFACS because of his problem with drugs. Each one has a story, and each one WILL be impacted by one of our team.
For the past two days, we have walked to a park to play "Futbol" and "Beisbol". The boys are really enjoying their freedom to leave the house and play with us. Because most of them are new in the program, they are not able to leave, even for church.
My "son", Manuel came to visit me yesterday. He is one of the boys that I bonded with the most last year. He had many issues with his family, drugs and has a lot of anger problems. Because of that, he chose to leave the program earlier in the year. In talking with him, he seems to be using what I taught him, and what he learned in the program. He is even wearing the bracelet that I gave to him last year, as I am wearing the one he made for me. I will forever be bonded with him...
SUPRISE! On the way to the office this morning, we passed him walking on the street to visit again! He is sitting across from me as I write this, playing on my phone. I will try and update again soon! We are taking the boys to the beach tomorrow.
The week here in Venezuela has been great! We learned in detail yesterday about the boys and why they are in need of Proyecto Jonas. All of the stories are just sad... one of the boys has been abandoned by his drug abusing family, another lost his father to a tragic drowning accident only a few short weeks ago and has been brought to the "farm" by the equivalent of DFACS because of his problem with drugs. Each one has a story, and each one WILL be impacted by one of our team.
For the past two days, we have walked to a park to play "Futbol" and "Beisbol". The boys are really enjoying their freedom to leave the house and play with us. Because most of them are new in the program, they are not able to leave, even for church.
My "son", Manuel came to visit me yesterday. He is one of the boys that I bonded with the most last year. He had many issues with his family, drugs and has a lot of anger problems. Because of that, he chose to leave the program earlier in the year. In talking with him, he seems to be using what I taught him, and what he learned in the program. He is even wearing the bracelet that I gave to him last year, as I am wearing the one he made for me. I will forever be bonded with him...
SUPRISE! On the way to the office this morning, we passed him walking on the street to visit again! He is sitting across from me as I write this, playing on my phone. I will try and update again soon! We are taking the boys to the beach tomorrow.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Que dice!?
Wow, what an interesting couple of days! Our trip started out with a flight from ATL to Miami, then from Miami to Caracas (the capital of Venezuela). Once we get to Caracas, we go through customs with a breeze and go to pick up our luggage. Then we realize that our leader, Francisco has been detained. He is led over to us by a guard that tells us that because of his Colombian citizenship, he is required to have a visa that the rest of is are not required to have. He is expected to catch the next flight to the US. We are the shewed away and told that we must continue on our journey. With a little hesitation, some of the repeat travelers, Mallory and I, lead the group to our next stop, Aserca Airlines, for Barquisimeto.
LONG story short,the airline tells us that would not be flying because of bad weather at our destination. A little freaked out, we rush to find someone with a local number and that speaks English. After several hours, we get a shuttle to a hotel in Caracas and are picked up the following morning by volunteers from the church.
We finally arrive at Proyecto Jonas and are greeted by the boys. There are 13 on all, ranging from 8 yrs old to 19. We then go and have a meeting with Flor, the director... Where i am elected as the new leader... Don't ask me how that happened.
Monday:
This morning, we awake and start our say with devotional and group meeting. Wonderful breakfast, then Claudia and I showed the rest of the group around the farm. We the load up in the van and take the boys to a park to play futbol and beisbol. The day has been great and bonds have already been formed. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us this week!
LONG story short,the airline tells us that would not be flying because of bad weather at our destination. A little freaked out, we rush to find someone with a local number and that speaks English. After several hours, we get a shuttle to a hotel in Caracas and are picked up the following morning by volunteers from the church.
We finally arrive at Proyecto Jonas and are greeted by the boys. There are 13 on all, ranging from 8 yrs old to 19. We then go and have a meeting with Flor, the director... Where i am elected as the new leader... Don't ask me how that happened.
Monday:
This morning, we awake and start our say with devotional and group meeting. Wonderful breakfast, then Claudia and I showed the rest of the group around the farm. We the load up in the van and take the boys to a park to play futbol and beisbol. The day has been great and bonds have already been formed. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us this week!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Only hours...
Only a few hours away from my second trip to Venezuela. I have to wake up at 4am to head to the airport. My car is packed and I'm all ready to go!
Wait, you mean I have to sleep!? I am so excited in anticipation of what God has in store for our group this week that I don't think I will be getting much sleep tonight! When morning comes, anticipation will turn into nerves because, as you may know, I'm a big wimp when it comes to flying... I like to say that I overcame that phobia last year, but it is pretty apparent that I didn't!
Anyway, I'm just rambling at this point... stay tuned as my journey unfolds.
Thank you to everyone that has prayed for this trip, I can't wait to share my experience with you!
My group will also be blogging, check it out for different perspectives.
projectvenezuela1.blogspot.com
~Shane
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