Life Church International and Friends

During the week of September 20th, we did something we have never done before. Not only did we take a team in a month that is usually reserved for planning for the upcoming year, but that team hosted our first EVER, Teachers Appreciation Conference. A group from Life Church International based in Atlanta, GA, the McRoberts from Brazos Valley, TX, and our old friend Daryl Brewton from North Carolina joined together to form a great team that brought encouragement to teachers from all over the Cuenca.

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We hosted two days of conference. Day one served all of the teachers from schools in outlying villages and those from the villages above us on the dirt road. Day two served all of those teachers from villages below us on the road and those from Instituto El Rey, right across the street. Both days were packed with sessions on teaching techniques to improve student behavior and performance in mathematics, taught by ministry friends Sharon Washburn, Pamela Knight, and one session taught by Wendy Williams on classroom management. Each day was ended with an encouraging and uplifting message from Pastor Jamie Massey taken from the book, “Una Vida Que Cuenta” which means “A Life That Matters.” Teachers received door prizes and every teacher left with a special gift bag full of classroom supplies and decorations to start their classroom off right in 2015. We were blessed to have each and every school in our area attend the conference, for a total of over 80 teachers,who represent over 1,200 students. We even had three representatives from the Department of Education in attendance!

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Not only did this team go above and beyond the call of duty in showing love to the teachers of our area, they served over 300 students at three local schools by administering health education classes, distributing anti-parasitic medication and children’s vitamins! They also spent an afternoon sharing their thought provoking message about having a truly personal relationship with Jesus Christ to over 175 students at Instituto El Rey, the Christian high school located in Rio Viejo.

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We know that God moved mightily in the lives of the teachers of the Cuenca Cangrejal during the conference and we believe the promises of God will flow through the teachers to touch the lives of their students.  We were truly blessed to participate in such an incredible series of events and we are so thankful for the group from Life Church International and Pastor Jamie Massey. Thank you for being flexible and allowing God to develop something new and promising here at the Jungle Hospital!

Here is a video that shows some of the incredible things we shared during the week. This week was so packed with activity that it was difficult to fit everything into a three minute video, so we extended their play time to seven minutes. If you do not see a video below, click HERE to watch.