Finally - Miami

Acts 16: 4-10

“Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were in increasing in number daily. They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region , having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak The Word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go to Bithymia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them.”

Despite all of our efforts to make our way to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, God made it clear to us that He had other plans. After twenty hours in the Lima airport, when American Airlines and Lan Airlines convinced us that they were unable to give us a flight to Bolivia for the upcoming week, American Airlines flew us back to Miami. The whole team was disappointed that we were so close to Bolivia and yet couldn’t quite get there. In two separate groups, we tiredly boarded our planes and made our way back to the States. Needless to say, there was a lot of sleeping going on in our hotel after we arrived!

We used Monday as our day of rest to recover from the last 55 hours spent in either airplanes or airports. After a good nights sleep, we traveled to the Everglades where we took an airboat through the swamps and marshes of Miami to see hundreds of alligators and crocodiles! We ate lunch at IHOP (an international restaurant!) and went back to our hotel for more rest. We finished the day off in a cool theater watching a movie and fellowshipping together.

During this time, God confirmed His calling for us to serve in Miami. Throughout the day, six to seven organizations contacted Michael asking for our help in various ways. Our need to be in Miami was evident and clear.

On Tuesday we began our work here in Miami with an organization called South Hope Miami. This organization works with homeless families in South Florida to give them a place to live, food to eat, and employment. We spent the day working in their food pantry organizing the great amount of food that was donated to them in their last food drive. The temperature in the mini-warehouse where we were working was around 100 degrees, so we were soaked from head to foot with sweat. We were carrying heavy boxes filled with canned goods to sort and load on trucks. To stay on a positive note, the team had made a pact early on in the trip to replace the word “nice” with the word “hot”. So you often heard exhausted and sweaty youth muttering the phrase, “Man, it is so “nice” in here!”

It was amazing to see all the kids bring their special gifts, personalities, and abilities to this task. We had Ashley and Ellie Cate’s organizational skills to help sort the food. Sammy and Brent acted as our muscle men, carrying the heavy boxes to Paige who loved operating the lift to the back of the truck. Andrew was very quick at unloading boxes, while Isaac and Davis made good runners. Apparently the shelter doesn’t want bugs mixed in with the food, so Mary Gillan was our bug spotter and did a great job eradicating the creepy crawlies.

After a day’s work, we went back to the hotel where we took super-long showers and ate dinner. We then headed downtown to experience Miami nightlife! We walked through a park and enjoyed the waterfront glowing from the reflective city lights. On our way back to the car, a homeless man who was asking for money approached us. After offering to bring him food (which he turned down), we were touched when a couple of our students laid a hand on his shoulder and offered to pray for him.

We are currently on Day 2 of working with South Hope Miami. We are volunteering in the center’s preschool and helping with the children. Watching our students love on these children is heart-melting.

Our kids have such a heart for God and a powerful desire to share HIS love with everyone they meet! We love our team and have enjoyed watching our students persevere in their positive attitudes despite the many setbacks.

We just got the text that Jimmy (after multiple Bolivian flight cancelations) has arrived at the Miami airport to join us. Hooorrraaay!!!!!!!

From our students:

Mary Gillan – I’m having fun playing with the kids and just having fun working for God.

Davis – It has been a lot of fun. It is cool watching God take control of the trip.

Brent – It is cool how a change of direction can still be cool.

Andrew – It is really hot and I’m glad we are in the air-conditioning today.

Ellie Cate – I’m glad to be in Miami and not in an airport. It seems like God has wanted us here instead of Bolivia and we have had awesome opportunities here.

Isaac – Blessed.

Sammy – We are where God wanted us to be and we are just working to glorify Him through everything we do.

Paige – Even though we did not make it to Bolivia God is definitely working through all of us. It is awesome to see the difference we are making by helping out.

Ashley - It has been a journey in itself and I’ve realized what God has wanted us to do from the beginning.