Miracle Cake

I can’t believe it is already the last day of English camp. I knew that this week would fly by but how did we already get here? This morning we had some free time to go into town and do some shopping for souvenirs. We had a great time and got lots of fun goodies for those back home. However, by the end of the day, I was worn out. I have not been able to sleep well the entire time I've been here except the one night that I got to sleep until noon. I don't know exactly why I can't sleep. It could be that the bed is rock hard and I can't get comfortable. It could be that there is so much happening at once that I have a hard time shutting down my brain at the end of the day. Or it could just be Satan playing his spiritual warfare, knowing he can easily make me weak by depriving me of sleep. Whatever the case may be, it has definitely started to take its toll on me. I had hoped to get in a little siesta between shopping and going to the church for the last day of camp but after a long day of shopping, we barely  had time for a shower. I would also like to admit something that I'm not particularly proud of. Okay, here it goes...I ate Burger King for lunch. I know, what is wrong with me?!? We were out shopping and decided to stop at a little Spanish restaurant that one of the locals highly recommended. As I looked over the menu, I could not find a single thing of sustenance that did not have pork, mayonnaise, or tuna in it. I'm not kidding! And I'm not talking about a delicious cut of sashimi grade tuna. I'm talking about the stuff in the can. So Stephanie's daughter Bekah, who is 9 and one of our team members, asked for Burger King. Before I knew what I was doing, I volunteered to take her while everyone else ate. We went and I ordered a cheeseburger with fries. I'd say the first two bites I felt like I had made the right choice. However, after that I decided going hungry would've been the best bet.

We got to the church that night and began setting up for the final day. The plan was to have a review class for the first hour and then have a little graduation party the second hour. I was definitely sad to say goodbye to my kids. I thought about the fact that only 2 of my 6 kids went to this church and many of the others didn't go to church at all. I thought about what the kids of Parque Este would grow up believing about God, their families, and themselves. I thought about how my children will get to grow up in a church that makes Sunday the best day of the week, teaches children about love and respect, and helps kids grow in their relationship with a Savior that loves them unconditionally. I realized that some of these kids might never experience that and it broke my heart.

At the graduation ceremony, they had a few people get up on stage to thank our team in front of everyone. One guy, who has been on Stephanie's prayer list for years, got up and said that we have taught them many things, not just English. We felt confident he was talking about Stephanie sharing her story and the gospel with him. Another girl named Ursula got up and said how she had always hated English until Parker came and taught it in a way that was fun and entertaining. Parker's class gave him a tie with the Spain colors and they got me a beautiful pink bracelet, even though I didn't know most of them. The church as a whole gave us a thoughtful gift bag filled with goodies, such as good Spanish olive oil, a Spain soccer jersey, and other treats specific to this area. All night, people were coming up to us and thanking us for all that we'd done to come serve them. We had our students sign our shirts and they left sweet messages of gratitude and love. I had so many people that I barely know come up and tell me how much they appreciated my sacrifice of time and money to be there and how glad they were to have met me. I truly had no idea how much of an impact we had made. The woman Ursula that hated English came up and asked if Parker and I would come over to her house for lunch Sunday after church. I didn't think twice about saying yes. It was such an amazing and emotional night, seeing how our presence (and what we thought was very little work) had made such a difference to so many people. It was overwhelming. There was a little girl named Sandra that was about 12 years old. She wasn't even in my class but for some reason, she seemed drawn to me and came up to see me everyday before class began. We could barely talk to each other because I couldn't understand her Spanish very well and she spoke no English. But we hung out everyday for a few minutes. Once she asked about my Sevilla bracelet that I wore. I read the scripture on it to her and explained why we were there. She said that her family didn't attend church. Tonight at the graduation she asked if she could sign my shirt. I didn't notice until that night as I was getting ready for bed that she wrote "Dear Nicole, I love you. Love, Sandra." Sweet, sweet girl.

After the evening was over, we exchanged emails and Facebook pages with those we wouldn't see again. It was bittersweet seeing how many people we had developed a relationship with in such a short period of time. For dinner, we were invited to the house of Nono and Maribelle. It was such a nice night out, even a little chilly which I didn't think existed here. We ate outside and Nono grilled some delicious food for us. After dinner, we were told that we had a special dessert that had been given as a gift. One of the young women, Claudia, had prepared a cake for us. What is amazing is that Claudia does not go to Parque Este. She's not a believer. In fact, a few years ago when Stephanie met her, she was about as far from Christ as one can get. She was the one that said that God was a fairy tale for children. Yet every year, her and her boyfriend Aaron were drawn more and more to Stephanie and to Parque Este. This year, they even helped teach the English camp. Today, as an act of pure love and generosity, she had taken the time to make a cake for our team, the pastor's family, and the sweet family that had us over for dinner. As we talked about what a difference had been made in lives of Aaron and Claudia over the past few years, we could see how God had been softening their hearts. We enjoyed the cake immensely, not just because it was delicious (which it was), but more because of what it represented. It represented our whole purpose here. Leading the lost into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We called it our miracle cake.

We stayed up way too late talking about camp and all the ways that we could see God working here. I don't think anyone wanted the day to end. But end they do, all too quickly here. Only two days left. Where has the time gone??