After 6 weeks of Phase 1 quarantine, we’re free!* Things are looking up as part of the city moved to Phase 2 last week and we can have 5 people in the house again. We’re hoping things continue to get better over the next month as more and more people get vaccinated. In the meantime, we’re still thankful for the ways to stay connected to our students. Thanks so much for being a part of this with me. Check out all the things we did in April!
*80% of the city is still in Phase 1 and the other 20% in Phase 2 still has to stay at home on the weekends, so it’s not that great, but it’s an improvement…
“I want to be surprised by God this semester”
At the beginning of April, we launched our “charcos,” which translates to “puddle,” and also what we call our small groups here at El Oasis. My charco has 8 students, and we meet every Tuesday to talk about our lives and study “Love Like That” by Les Parrott. Our goal in charcos is to meet each student where they’re at, to disciple them, study the bible, and pray together. Over the past four weeks, it’s been an honor to be a part of this group of students and watch them grow together. It’s become my favorite part of the week, and I’m excited to see where our charco goes with the rest of the semester!
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“Not all news is bad news”
This month we also premiered El Oasis News! With all the bad news about Covid constantly surrounding us, we decided to create a source of good news. Every two weeks we send a video from our team out to our students, and we’re hoping it gives them something to laugh at during life in quarantine. Since they can’t come to the house and hang out with us right now, we’re trying to keep giving them little pieces of El Oasis at home.
Check out our first two editions of El Oasis News here on our Youtube Channel!
I even added English subtitles just for all of you.
“Wherever you are on this road, you don’t have to walk alone”
At the April ventanal, we played Bingo, watched El Oasis News bloopers, and shared our worst haircuts. After we all had a chance to laugh at each other, Phil gave a talk encouraging us that we aren’t walking alone. We then broke out into conversation groups where the students could share what they’re going through. We asked them to pick from different pictures representing the road they feel like they’re walking right now. These are some of the options.
These pictures served as a helpful tool to start a more personal conversation with our students about how they’re feeling right now. It’s been a tough few weeks, but it was good to be vulnerable together and pray about where God is leading us as we go forward.
What I’m Reading:
What I’m Listening to:
Thank you for your prayers and support!
With love,