Project Melipilla

Howdy!! The end of February was closing out a great summer with the youth/university group. God has done amazing things within this group! One Sunday in January we had a planning day where "Project Melipilla" was created. The group wanted to go to a small town and have a VBS-type day where we would share Jesus with the little children of that town. We chose Melipilla, a town about an hour and a half away to the southwest of Santiago. The great thing about this project was that it was 100% created, organized, and directed by the Chilean youth and university group. John and I, Ryan, Jeff, and Scott and Holly were there to support and help where we were needed. Each Sunday afternoon the group would meet to discuss the materials needed, the logistics of getting everyone out there, and what jobs needed leaders. We purposefully stayed silent as they worked through this leadership opportunity on their own. It was a turning point in their maturity and capability to take on a project and complete it with excellence. The project consisted of 5 tribes, according to the children's ages, 5 crafts (musical instruments, painting, pottery, baking, and wood working), two drama presentations, and group singing. Overall, we had about 30 children attend the event in the main park of the town. It was a great success! We were all dressed in Bible-times costumes and we even had a rabbi (Ryan) who asked questions about the drama presentations and gave a summary of the day. We heard later one of the university guys say how exhausted he was, but how it was a different tiredness, one that he enjoyed, because it was the result of working all day for the Lord in Melipilla, doing something important. God was glorified that day! Enjoy the pictures below!
with love,
amanda