This generous repeat team with a heart for kids came to Monjas from Arkansas to lead a Vacation Bible School in an area where some local pastors are trying to start a church. The area is called Piedras de Fuego and had never had North American visitors to their tiny town. The Vacation Bible School was a great success and a very interesting cultural experience for the kids and their parents who hadn’t seen too many “gringos” before. The men of the team spent their time making a large contribution to the construction at the Girls’ Home.
Christ Lutheran
Dear friends from come down annually with a small but powerful group of people. Once again they helped to make great strides on the construction while the ladies of the team helped get the girls from the Home ready for the new school year. As always, they left their generous mark on the local churches and needy families in the community as well.
Air Force Academy
This first time team is sure to be a new annual team. This spirited group from the Baptist Student Union at Colorado Springs’s Air Force Academy were ready to do anything they were asked. They ran a very successful Vacation Bible School at a soccer field in Las Mojarritas, where a church plant is currently being developed by a Monjas church. They even went one night to show the Jesus film (produced by Campus Crusade) on a large screen outside on the soccer field. They never would show us how they march in formation, though (maybe next year).
Vermont team
Patrick Ham, who is becoming a regular, led this wonderful group of people down from , Several of them being teachers, they toured a local school and interviewed the principal. They poured out a lot of sweat on the construction site, a lot of love on the girls, and a lot of generous blessings upon the community of Monjas. Patrick’s daughters Lydia and Katie are great promoters of the Project in and are getting quite famous with their publications and appearances in the news talking about the James Project. We sure praise the Lord for their passion and drive!
Briarwood
An amazing group of physicians and their assistants now have made their 9th visit to to do medical clinics. This year, in Monjas, they saw over 2,000 patients in their medical, dental and eye clinics. They gave out hundreds of pairs of prescription glasses. They also blessed the new church in La Rinconada with a Vacation Bible School for the kids of the community. The people of Monjas ask us a lot when this group will be back. What a blessing!
University Of Alabama
Another first time group, we’re sure hoping this spirited group of young people will be back year after year. A group from the college ministry called the Navigators led by Matt Letourneau, led a Vacation Bible School at a small church here in Monjas. They had the kids doing relay races and having water balloon fights in the street in front of the church. The most impressive thing about this team of mostly guys was the way they threw themselves into working with the kids. They weren’t too proud to crawl around on hands and knees doing skits and weren’t too shy to get up in front and share Bible stories. Two young men who came with this group even accepted Christ at the end of the week. Praise the Lord!
Grace Christian School
Other wise known to the girls as “Tyler’s team,” the Grace team is probably the most energetic. A group of high school students who are leaders in training, led by Leo Masters, come down each summer for a week of adventure and hard work. This year they led a VBS in a town we hadn’t been to before for ministry called El Chaparrón. They united with a youth group from a Monjas church to have a youth service in the same church on Saturday night. Since forming relationships with a few other ministries such as a new church in a town in the mountains called La Paz and a Catholic girls’ home in a nearby town called Jalapa, they now make annual visits to these places to bless them. This team’s dramas are amazing tools for evangelism and always capture the attention of everyone within earshot.
More dear friends from West Plains, Missouri, Dr. Rick and his wife Sidney Holloway and 18 of their friends came down to help with construction and led a Vacation Bible School in another beautiful little town we’d never been to before called Achiotes. This group of people were so organized and put on an amazing Bible school, complete with new songs, face painting and crafts. They came well prepared!
St. John’s Reform Church team
James and Wendy Walrath, who have been down to visit with their family in the past, this year brought down a team of dentists who put on a dental clinic for 3 days in Monjas and 1 day in a rural town. They pulled hundreds of teeth (and did so with hardly any tears from their patients) and even offered cleaning and fluoride treatments for children. These very generous and musically inclined people also brought down some keyboards for the girls (and a really NICE electric piano for the Project) and gave a few of them piano lessons. What a great way to enrich their lives!
Merciful
Redemption Church
Pastor
Al Garcia with some of his leaders from Merciful Repemption Church came to visit us and pray over the
ministry, which was such a blessing to us! Although here for a short time, this
group of prayer warriors are making an impact in their community and in the
world for Christ!
Picture Missing
MT. Sterling
Another new team led by a
former intern with Shadow of His Wings, they worked and sweated away on the
construction site and played hard in the evenings with the girls. This team was a model of working together and
did a great job bonding as a team; one united body of Christ. We hope to see them again and again!
Jim Woods & visitors
Grandpa Jim, as he’s lovingly known here, comes down to see his “granddaughters” in the Home about once a year. This year he brought down his cousin down for the second time and Ron’s grandson along with some friends of the family. They spent some great hours pouring out sweat to keep the construction of the third duplex moving along. In the afternoons, the youngest of the group gave some art classes at the girls’ school. Bethany is quite a talented artist and loaned some of her expertise to our girls, who thoroughly enjoyed using some new art materials (charcoal pencils). Another enriching experience for the girls’ lives.
New Harvest Pastor Ralph Diaz’s church came down with a team for the first time this year. We’re thankful for them for all of the times they’ve loaned us our shared pastor. Now they’ve finally come down to see what all the excitement is about. These precious servants of the Lord helped us to be able to have a staff mini-retreat, something we’ve not been able to do until now because of lack of people to take care of the girls. It was a great time of bonding for the staff and a wonderful time of ministry led by the members of this unforgettable team. Pastor Ralph was also able to minister to the staff on spiritual gifts throughout the week. It’s always great to have him here!
San Pedro La Laguna
A very unique team, this group of young people came over from San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemla. It was a different experience for us to have a team come to be ministered TO. Raul and Carina, the school directors, were so generous as they poured out their love to the young people in a full day’s camp out on the Girls’ Home property. The day ended with a time of praise and worship around a camp fire and 8 of the young people from San Pedro accepted the Lord. The rest of the week, our girls helped to train these young people how to serve. They even demonstrated for them how to do a Vacation Bible School for children. Several of the young people left having made commitments to be servants in their own community.
Jacksonville Team
This small but beloved team from Jacksonville, Florida is the team that was originally led by Cyndi Cope (who now lives in Monjas and works with teams). Now led by Corey Wolf and largely organized by his wife Margie, this team is always a blessing, ready to do whatever is needed. This was their 5th annual trip to visit Shadow of His Wings. They have developed close relationships with the girls and the staff and enjoy blessing different staff members each trip.
Weavers
Tamie Pitman and colleagues (including Lydia Ham from the Lyndon, Vermont team) came down with the goal of improving the lives of several widows and orphans by teaching them a new skill. This skill is something that is common in Gutemala, but not in our area. The ladies taught 3 ladies and 2 girls from the Home how to weave typical fabrics. Several of the ladies caught on very quickly. One of them is a teacher and will be a great resource for sharing this new skill with others in the future. The ladies are still practicing and improving. There were several generous donors that enabled this team to donate five table looms and some other weaving devices to the Home. We look forward to seeing where this gift leads these ladies and our girls.
Brook Hills
Another new team for 2008, the Church at Brook Hills first sent two of its pastors down to scout the area and led a pastor’s conference with some local pastors. They came back with a larger international group of doctors and dentist and did a medical clinic in 4 different rural towns around Monjas. They saw over 600 patients in 3 ½ days and were a great blessing to the people who would not otherwise have been able to afford to get medicine or have teeth pulled. This group was kind enough to provide the funds for us to have Thanksgiving dinner with all of the girls and staff. It was great to have them here for this special holiday!
Marilyn Redd & Pastor Ralph
Marilyn Redd and 2 friends (both Kathys) are dear friends of the Project’s and were finally able to come down and share some of their talents with the girls. They taught Jewish-style dancing to the girls and even gave a dance seminar at one of the local churches. Pastor Ralph, the Project’s spiritual father was down at the same time. He now comes to visit a couple of times a year (what a blessing for us!). He did some teaching and counseling with the staff as well as did premarital counseling for Miriam and Wilfer (who were married the next weekend).
Sally Pollen & Mary Bolinand visitors
Sally Pollen, a dear friend of the Project, came down for a visit with her granddaughter. At the same time Bolin came down with some colleagues and friends to do some counseling. All of the visitors really enjoyed their time with girls as well as with some ladies from the local churches. Sally was able to share with the staff and girls her love for the Word of God. The best thing about their timing was their ability to participate in the annual 15th birthday party!
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