Denver Community Church

Today our team from Denver Community Church arrived in San Diego; most came last time, but for two of them, it is their first time.

After having lunch and buying everything we needed for VBS, we headed to Ensenada, more specifically to Monte Sinaí, the church we will be staying in.

It was very inspiring for us seeing how the group had everything planned out for this week, but most importantly, seeing their hearts getting ready for a week of service to God and the community of Ensenada.

Today we started the day going to El Malecón, where we had the opportunity to reflect while having a good look at the Ensenada Port.

I was very moved by what Pastor Nick (the group leader) shared to encourage us to be honest and real with ourselves while reflecting on how everything has been going on in the last 24 hours.

Nick was vulnerable by sharing how his expectations for this trip may have changed his focus throughout these days. Still, he was reminded of how the thing that made everything fun and exciting last year was having no expectations.

When returning to the same place on a mission trip, it can be easy to have expectations, even if we don't want to. Still, we have to let go of them to let God take control and help us through the experiences we'll be having during the trip, be it highs or lows; God is in control because we are surrendering ourselves to His will. 

Today we went to the church Libres para Servir! It was great to see them after a year and reconnect with them finally. Everyone was very excited, and it was cool to see kids who remembered us and were waiting for us to return. We all gave glory to God! Also, we started kids ministry, which went from music, and fun games to a magician show. We are so glad to have the opportunity to be back and partner with the local church in Ensenada. 

Today was the start of VBS, and it was very fun and exciting to see the kids enjoying the games we prepared for them and seeing them hear from the Word of God.

Before we started the activities, we went for a walk with Pastor Manuel to invite more kids to VBS; it was very inspiring to see the Pastor not wasting any minute with every person we came across, either sharing the gospel or inviting not just kids but also adults to come to church.

Today was our last day of VBS! We had a lot of fun with the games, crafts, bible story & at the park. We can't believe it was our last day with the kids, but we are grateful for the opportunity of reconnecting with them and getting to know some of them that came for the first time. We love them and we hope to see them all again. 

Today was officially the last day of this mission trip! We wanted to take advantage of every hour, so first, we did a painting project at the church Libres para Servir (Free to Serve) and painted the exterior walls. We loved how it turned out! Pastor José Manuel Palacios and his wife were very excited that they wanted everyone to raise their hands. 

To end our service at Libres Para Servir, we had the opportunity to say goodbye to the Pastor and his wife. While we were sad that the mission trip had ended, we didn't have the time to think about that because we were so filled with joy and gratitude for this experience; while we were eating, the Pastor's wife told us the reason why she was always saying ¨Gloria a Dios¨ which translates to ¨Glory to God¨, she told us the story of two demons that visited churches, one of them was very fat and the other one was very skinny, when the demons met one of them asked why the other one was so fat. Hence, the fat devil said he had a lot to eat from when people at church criticized and judged everything. Thus, the skinny one replied that what the other one said made sense because, in his church, they are always saying ¨Gloria a Dios¨ or ¨Aleluya¨. So that's why Lupita (the Pastor's wife, is always giving the glory to God)

We also had the opportunity to bless two families that are members of the church with food baskets, a petition that Pastor Manuel had after he prayed about what we should do with the last two baskets we had.

We love this community and are so excited to return next year.

Gloria a Dios! (1 Corinthians 10:31)