Sunday night

I awoke to a wonderful clear Sunday. Today we get to wear our Sunday best clothes. Scott was the most colorful with bright plaid shorts. Ann and Kristen with their color coordinated blues, and Susan, Lionel and myself with more conservative khakis and collared shirts. Pete and Celina were our hosts again as we prepared for church and the rest of day. We left for the church service at Perdon y Amistad in Puerto Vallarta which means Forgiveness and Friendship. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Pastor Saul Gonzales and his wife Raquel. Church service proved to be inspirational. Pastor Saul presented a strong message on conversion. The central theme was the absolute need to have a total trust in God and that total conversion requires ones internal conversion to God and the external conversion to love your neighbor which comes from the heart thru God. Not all who claim to be Christians are actually genuine believers. Another key point he emphasized for me is that we all must forgive those who have failed us but that forgiveness does not mean trust. That has to be earned.

However, even more inspirational for me was that the amount of enthusiasm, joy and open friendliness that the congregation demonstrated throughout the service and afterwards. There was a feeling of hope and faith even with those who are very needy. Kristen had the opportunity to attend Sunday school with Alexia whom she met last night and was excited about how well accepted she was with the teenagers in her group and that she was able to interact with them.

After church the eight of us took an extended hike into the hills and forest around the city where we experienced the full gamut of living conditions from the poverty stricken small shacks to the 10,000 aquare foot condos with fantastic views of the bay. We took many pictures of people, animals and scenery that had a significant impact on us. It was a great experience to actually see, listen and talk to the local people and we are now looking forward to starting tomorrow with a full days work in updating the Day Care building near the School of Champions. We all felt that at our team meeting we have excellent comradery and look forward to having a great impact on the ability to provide better educational resources for the children at the school.

Today's blog was written by Keith Pierce