Day 3: March 23, 2008

The is the Rio Church setup at the school.

Easter Sunday
We got up around 7:15 and headed to the Nelson’s house for breakfast at 8. I was excited to experience their church service. It’s in the cafeteria at the Hornedo Middle School. It’s a new school and a nice set-up. They did a good mix of worship songs. Some of them were in Spanish and some were in English.

Pastor Steve shared a personal story to start his sermon. It was a very emotional beginning. The message was that Jesus conquered death. Because Jesus did this we can all spend eternity with our loved ones. Steve shared the path to salvation: Our death is not empty when we accept Christ into our lives. He is our hope. Christ took away the written law and therefore took away our sins. Steve shared some verses: 1Corinthians 15:55 and Colossians 2:13.

After the service we all helped tear down and put the room back to how it was. It was good to mingle and get to know the Missouri team a little better. We then went back to Steve’s house for a barbecue. It was a perfect day–70 degrees and sunny. After that we had some 5 on 5 basketball games. There was a Minnesota, Missouri and El Paso team. We also taught the kids how to play 4-square.


This is the trampoline at the Nelson's house.

I had a good conversation with Isaac from the Missouri team. He shared with Jason, Misti and I how he met his wife. Isaac shared his testimony with us. He looked to the bible for guidance on finding a wife. He looked to the story of Isaac finding a wife for his son Jacob. He said he was looking for a good Christian woman who was working and serving the Lord.

After that some of the guys went swimming. I jumped in first. It felt like it was 40 degrees. It really took my breath away. I was pretty surprised how cold it was. I got out after a little while and got some hot cocoa. It took awhile for me to warm up. Then we went to Las Fuentes, a Mexican restaurant. It was really good and pretty cheap.


This is the view from the lookout.

Then we went to the lookout on the mountain. You could see for miles and miles–it was beautiful up there. You could see the lights of El Paso and Mexico below. It was really cold and windy up there. We found a spot that was somewhat sheltered and sang some songs. Then we prayed for a little bit. We headed out and stayed at the church families’ houses for one more night. Tomorrow we will sleep at the Mission House. I was excited for the opportunity to all be together in one house.