Bon nochi,
Where has the time gone?! I cannot believe the trip is winding down. This morning we had a breakfast of fruit, toast, meats, and cheese and then prepared for our hiking on the East end of the island. Our first stop this morning was Curaloe which is an aloe farm here on the island. We learned about the history of aloe and its relation to the history of Curaçao. From there is was off to Fort Beekenburg for our hiking excursion where we met Esther, Sem, and Noa. Initially we climbed to the top of one of the fort’s remaining turrets where we had an amazing view of the bay and the mountains. Then we climbed up a mountain overlooking the Spanish waters which gave us a picture perfect view of the path we navigated through the bay yesterday on the Mermaid. It really was breathtaking!
After a few photos and some water, we headed back down the mountain to Director’s Bay. The Bay is a popular place for scuba diving and it allows hikers to see giant fan corals in the shallow waters from an overlook. Next stop was the Quarantine House where slaves were placed if they were ill when they came off the slave ships. It is a huge plantation style house overlooking the bay. Tired, hungry, and very thirsty we hiked back down to Brisa de Mar for lunch, a lot of water, and a time to relax. Daniel came to pick us up and take us back to the Youth Centre so we could rest a bit and then prepared for Youth Xplore.
We showered and took a brief nap then gathered to review our plans for the evening and decide final roles. The Lukes, Ashlyn, and Ellie practiced for worship while Brielle, Ryne, and Kelsey, prepared their parts related to prayer, and leading games. Danny (a young man from the church) and Sem helped with sound and Danny played drums for us which was a huge blessing.
Before we knew it, it was 6:30 and time for Youth Xplore to begin. Jerseley and his friend Patrick made tacos for everyone and they certainly were delicious. After dinner, we headed into the church and it was time for the Valley teens to take over. Ryne opened our evening with prayer and then it was time for Kelsey to lead our Icebreaker Games of Egg, Chicken, Dinosaur and Grab and Go. Everyone laughed a lot and the ice was definitely broken. Our worship crew got on stage and led us in three worship songs. They rocked it!
The team as a whole decided to base the evening around our devotion this week focusing on Psalm 118:8. Ashlyn took over after worship and shared a testimony of how the Lord has been working in her life recently which tied in beautifully to the Psalm. Next up was Luke C. who shared his testimony which he also wove into the verse from Psalm 118. All of the teens were riveted on what these two shared and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that seeds were planted. Luke C. asked questions about what the group as a whole learned from the testimonies and if the responses provided were relevant, we gave out Arizona t-shirts as “prizes”. Following this time we broke into small groups and answered a series of questions our team had generated about trusting the Lord.
When the small groups were finished, Brielle closed us out in prayer and the worship group got back on stage and led us in, “I Thank God”. When they were done, the teens were shouting, “We want more” at the top of their lungs. So, there was an encore song. It touched my heart to see how excited the teens here were by our group. Finally, we went outside to the pavilion where everyone had snacks and fellowshipped until 11:30. The team quickly debriefed and went over the agenda for tomorrow. We are all very tired and ready for a good night’s sleep.
So thankful for all of the opportunities the Lord has given us here and so incredibly proud of these eight young men and women!!
God bless you,
Lisa
Where has the time gone?! I cannot believe the trip is winding down. This morning we had a breakfast of fruit, toast, meats, and cheese and then prepared for our hiking on the East end of the island. Our first stop this morning was Curaloe which is an aloe farm here on the island. We learned about the history of aloe and its relation to the history of Curaçao. From there is was off to Fort Beekenburg for our hiking excursion where we met Esther, Sem, and Noa. Initially we climbed to the top of one of the fort’s remaining turrets where we had an amazing view of the bay and the mountains. Then we climbed up a mountain overlooking the Spanish waters which gave us a picture perfect view of the path we navigated through the bay yesterday on the Mermaid. It really was breathtaking!
After a few photos and some water, we headed back down the mountain to Director’s Bay. The Bay is a popular place for scuba diving and it allows hikers to see giant fan corals in the shallow waters from an overlook. Next stop was the Quarantine House where slaves were placed if they were ill when they came off the slave ships. It is a huge plantation style house overlooking the bay. Tired, hungry, and very thirsty we hiked back down to Brisa de Mar for lunch, a lot of water, and a time to relax. Daniel came to pick us up and take us back to the Youth Centre so we could rest a bit and then prepared for Youth Xplore.
We showered and took a brief nap then gathered to review our plans for the evening and decide final roles. The Lukes, Ashlyn, and Ellie practiced for worship while Brielle, Ryne, and Kelsey, prepared their parts related to prayer, and leading games. Danny (a young man from the church) and Sem helped with sound and Danny played drums for us which was a huge blessing.
Before we knew it, it was 6:30 and time for Youth Xplore to begin. Jerseley and his friend Patrick made tacos for everyone and they certainly were delicious. After dinner, we headed into the church and it was time for the Valley teens to take over. Ryne opened our evening with prayer and then it was time for Kelsey to lead our Icebreaker Games of Egg, Chicken, Dinosaur and Grab and Go. Everyone laughed a lot and the ice was definitely broken. Our worship crew got on stage and led us in three worship songs. They rocked it!
The team as a whole decided to base the evening around our devotion this week focusing on Psalm 118:8. Ashlyn took over after worship and shared a testimony of how the Lord has been working in her life recently which tied in beautifully to the Psalm. Next up was Luke C. who shared his testimony which he also wove into the verse from Psalm 118. All of the teens were riveted on what these two shared and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that seeds were planted. Luke C. asked questions about what the group as a whole learned from the testimonies and if the responses provided were relevant, we gave out Arizona t-shirts as “prizes”. Following this time we broke into small groups and answered a series of questions our team had generated about trusting the Lord.
When the small groups were finished, Brielle closed us out in prayer and the worship group got back on stage and led us in, “I Thank God”. When they were done, the teens were shouting, “We want more” at the top of their lungs. So, there was an encore song. It touched my heart to see how excited the teens here were by our group. Finally, we went outside to the pavilion where everyone had snacks and fellowshipped until 11:30. The team quickly debriefed and went over the agenda for tomorrow. We are all very tired and ready for a good night’s sleep.
So thankful for all of the opportunities the Lord has given us here and so incredibly proud of these eight young men and women!!
God bless you,
Lisa