We awoke shortly before 8am to get cleaned up for the day. It was Stevie’s idea to visit Ciudad Nueva and luckily Paola was able to drive us. We picked up Luis Fernando on the way and played “Papa Noel” delivering Christmas gifts door-to-door to the children from the GCLA daycare from their Heritage sponsors. I remembered several of them from my first trip. It was great to see Hugo again! Stevie and I each got a hug from him. The picture below is Stevie and I presenting Hugo and his sister Reina with their Christmas present (with their family looking on). Luis told us his dad lives in the United States and has no interest in him or Reina. We talked about the epidemic of fatherlessness. Cuidad Nueva was very much the same as I remembered it: hot, dry, arid, poor. Luis said there are about 10,000 people living there. It was great to bring some Christmas cheer to the children of Ciudad Nueva.

Paola took us to Pizza Hut for lunch. This Pizza Hut is a very nice and very busy sit-down restaurant (with Pepsi). I had an amazing personal pan cheese pizza.

Next Stevie and I went to see the house the boys from Oasis will live in. It is a small three-bedroom house with one bathroom and a detached room at the back of the property. There is a kitchen, a living room, and a descent size back yard. It is about three houses down from Boris & Nena. Most of the older boys prefer Oasis to this new house. Indeed, most of the older boys will return to Oasis so the younger boys can have the house when they return from their Christmas vacations. Most of the day was spent watching movies (Aladdin, Shreck, Shreck II); indeed there really isn’t much else to do in such a small environment.

Probably my favorite part of the trip is what happened next. I spent a good portion of the afternoon talking and connecting with some of the guys. I had amazing conversations with Andres & Maynor (pictured below) and spent some time talking with Oscar & Pablo as well. We talked about what God did in their hearts at the camp and did some Spanish/English vocabulary quizzes. I am happy to say that I lost. It was an amazing afternoon.

Stevie and I then got cleaned up and went to a special church service and dinner at the GCLA church. We saw Luis the bus driver (who complimented me on my improved Spanish) and Pastor Geovany (who wished we could have stayed a few days longer). The service was great; we sang Celebrare Tu Amor, Silent Night, Angels We Have Heard On High, and a couple other songs. To my amazement, they played the DVD of “God Is” right at my solo because they knew I was there. Someone gave a great teaching about the irony and simplicity of Jesus’ birth. Afterwards, Oscar (an elder) asked me to play a song. I played Joseph’s Lullaby for them and it was very well received.

Then everyone went outside for dinner. Some little kids, including Isaac from my first trip, enjoyed seeing Stevie and me (see below). We sat at a table with a young man named Francisco who just recently returned from three years in the USA. Amazingly, he lived in Columbus and was invited to Linworth by the Melara family where he accepted Christ. It was amazing that we bumped into each other half a world away. We had chicken, bread, and potato salad for dinner.

Then it was back to the house around 11pm and Stevie and I wrote notes to some of the guys. Then we had a sweet prayer time, which included singing parts of Nothing But The Blood and Enough. I read Psalm 63 again – which has really become a theme for me on this trip – and turned out the lights.