Rooted- Day 4

Greetings from Johnathan,

It has been a fantastic day down in the Mole, filled with construction, playing and coloring with the kids and spreading His word. We are going to show a movie tonight in the town square (Planes) for the local community. We also got to enjoy freshly picked coconuts while we worked which were not quite fully ripe but still delicious.

God has shown me a ton these past 5 days, much more than I can fit in this blog post. However one thing stuck out to me more than the rest and that is child like faith. He showed me this through the orphans here at the Mole, the way the excitedly run to hug us even if we are gross and sweaty. They cling to the fence as we walk down to the beach calling our names and singing songs back and forth at us. It’s this pure excitement in the way they pursue us when they see us that I want to emulate in my faith when I pursue Christ. There energy and excitement are unmatched by us adults and it is something I think we need to strive for more in our lives as well as our faith. I am loving it here but the more I learn here the more excited I am to return home and put these new realizations in to practice.

Best wishes,

Johnathan

Hello,

My name is Ella. I am am the Castillo’s(local mission family) dog. I am happy to be writing to you tonight to tell you what all the Rooted group has been up to.

First off let me tell you, it has been a pleasure having this group here this week. They have taken really good care of me! They all like to give me lots of attention, take me on swims in the middle of the ocean, help me clean my pristine fur, and play fun games with me. I have also enjoyed seeing the team serve God and show his love in so many ways. It has been neat to see them grow soo close as a team. It is amazing what a week away together will do to a group of friends. They have served one another, taken care of one another, and encouraged each other through each of our full days here at the Mole. God is really moving in each of their hearts. It has been great seeing them process all that God is showing them each night. Every night we all talk about how God moved in our lives throughout the day and it is amazing to hear all that God is doing! This trip is definitely changing the students lives!  I may have convinced a couple of them to stay with me (winkie face) 😉

A few highlights for me from the day was: 1) Running through wet concrete and leaving my paw marks all over the teams work…. Just leaving my mark 😉   2) Going swimming with the team! They took me to the ocean which is super beautiful! 3) Playing with the orphans. This afternoon we just got to love on all the kids. Bubbles, kites, hugs, and smiles. 4) Worship on the beach last night. Luke led us in some awesome worship by the beach and Whitney encouraged us to be like a pencil and to bring on the sharpening in our lives.

As far as me, I would love a nice pedicure. I hope the team brought down a canine pedicure kit. And I’d like to give a shout out to Zack for helping me transcribe my thoughts for you all tonight. Hope you all have a great night. I know I will chillin by my new Rooted friends and sipping on some fresh coconut on my comfy dog bed(aka everyones laps).

Sincerely,

Ella, The dog

Transcribed by Zack.

PS: Zack gives a shout out and a I love you and miss you to his most awesome beautiful and super duper amazing wife & little bouncing baby boy on the way!