i guess this will be my last blog. today was so overwhelming i was so happy that i was able to just be with theses kids who i got to connect with not only the kids in silver peak but also the students who went on the missions trip with me.it was totally awesome seeing how god worked in their lives as well.

the thing that really hit me was the most was not only the fact that this was our last day with the kids but when we were at the silverpeak park  saying goodbye i caught up with this girl named Cheyenne she left early just so no one would see her cry but when i caught up to her and saw her crying behind her shades she told me”Kayla this happens every year you guys come and then go” that literally broke my heart but makes me even more excited to come back next year!

ill be coming home tomarrow at the 5pm service

later readers!

kayla santos

I’ve learned lots of new phrases and terms this week that I thought I would never understand.  Here are a few that I thought you might like…

“Tight”, “Sick” & “Legit” – Used when something was really great!

There are lots more but I probably shouldn’t post them on here. Let’s just say my 6 year old probably learned some great things hanging out with these teenage guys )

To sum it all up, what an amazing journey this has been. I feel completely blessed to have had the opportunity to hang out with these students. God has truly given me a gift this week!

water day was good i dont realy like the idea of leveing this wounder full town i cant wait to come back

just wanted to let everyone know that these past couple of days have been so amazing for me seeing these kids who don’t really know Christ, or kind of know, or do but don’t really care that much. and i don’t know  if i said this in my last blog, but I’m the small group leader for kids from 3rd to 5th grade and i only have about four kids. but even though, its easier to focus on each of them compared to a larger group. there crazy but fun and i have an awesome time with them. and even though its not exactly the last day YET, I’m still sad to be leaving tomorrow, and I’m gonna miss each and everyone of them. and i just wanted to share about my day. when we first got there, my group just hung out and did last minute prep for today. when we got started, Jon Turner, who is this amazing person, did an absolute great job teaching the lesson like a professional youth pastor or something. then we broke up into our small groups and talked about the ten commandments. The two girls i had today, Megan and Stephanie, were CRAZY but funny. and Darian was talking to me which was pretty cool, because the first day he was real shy but i got him to talk to me. We had a quick lesson and then did crafts with Steven, wordless bracelets. they had six beads with different colors and different meanings. Black stands for sin, red for the blood shed of Jesus, white is for royalty, green for growth in faith, blue for baptism, and finally, yellow, for heaven. and the highlight of MY day was when the older kids went outside to play when the little kids in 2nd grade and younger did their game and snack time. Ashley Haddad and Ashlee Santos, two other amazing people i care about a lot, did awesome.
Ashley Haddad did green light red light with all the kids except for one. Ashlee Santos took care of one little two year old kid who was causing trouble for everyone else. So they went near the kitchen door where i was standing and said that it was my turn to watch him. I decided to help out and played with him. One of our leaders, Sprae, brought two toy guns and this two year old i was watching whos name was Dillon, had them and started to shoot me going “BANG BANG!”. it was so cute to watch and i had to play along. i acted like i was getting hurt and holding my arms and stuff, then i started shouting random things, like, “OW! my pancreas!”, or liver. i also used “spinal cavity” and “medulla oblongata”. then i pretended to be dead. so he walked up to me and i went, “BOO!” and he got scared. it was that scared look but like he was having fun and laughing.  i did this for awhile and this was the first time i actually got exhausted playing with a kid. He was so cute and funny and full of energy. then, after everyone left, me and my teammates got ready for a fun day tomorrow. We filled up water balloons and water guns for a water day friday. we are also gonna have a barbecue for them which they don’t know about. should be a fun surprise!  then when we got back to goldfield in the gym were staying at, we hung out and did soaps, and ate. we then did a holy huddle. one of the things we talked about was really making a difference in someones life. We talked about the people who were “the loners” and stayed to themselves, just wishing for someone to come and talk to them. Darius told us about one in our very own church whos name is Tyler Santoyo who just finished his sophomore year of high school.  i thought WOW. no one even realizes it. thats why when i go back, i’m gonna hunt this kid down and talk to him. i know what it feels like to be that person. i always used to be that person in 6th, 7th, AND 8th grade. then that changed when one person in this year, my freshman year, started to talk to me. shes here now on go, and a graduate. Her names Miriam Poush. she is my most favorite person here because she was the first person who actually cared to talk to me and made a real difference in my life. now, i’m still kind of shy but not as much. i’m, as people say, “coming out of my shell”. and its fun. i just need to show this Tyler guy you just need to start communicating to people and getting out there. and not just him, but every kid, shy or not, to just talk to them and make them feel great and that church really is a great place to be, and i’m also choosing to get baptized the next time palm valley is having one. i just want to be there for those people who i used to be like and make an impact in their life. i know that thats what i wanted, was a friend to talk to and have fun, but it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Miriam. i would have probably hated church and wanted nothing to do with it, but now i do. so thanks everyone on the go trip, and all you readers. So good night!

just wanted to let everyone know that these past couple of days have been so amazing for me seeing these kids who don’t really know Christ, or kind of know, or do but don’t really care that much. and i don’t know  if i said this in my last blog, but I’m the small group leader for kids from 3rd to 5th grade and i only have about four kids. but even though, its easier to focus on each of them compared to a larger group. there crazy but fun and i have an awesome time with them. and even though its not exactly the last day YET, I’m still sad to be leaving tomorrow, and I’m gonna miss each and everyone of them. and i just wanted to share about my day. when we first got there, my group just hung out and did last minute prep for today. when we got started, Jon Turner, who is this amazing person, did an absolute great job teaching the lesson like a professional youth pastor or something. then we broke up into our small groups and talked about the ten commandments. The two girls i had today, Megan and Stephanie, were CRAZY but funny. and Darian was talking to me which was pretty cool, because the first day he was real shy but i got him to talk to me. We had a quick lesson and then did crafts with Steven, wordless bracelets. they had six beads with different colors and different meanings. Black stands for sin, red for the blood shed of Jesus, white is for royalty, green for growth in faith, blue for baptism, and finally, yellow, for heaven. and the highlight of MY day was when the older kids went outside to play when the little kids in 2nd grade and younger did their game and snack time. Ashley Haddad and Ashlee Santos, two other amazing people i care about a lot, did awesome.
Ashley Haddad did green light red light with all the kids except for one. Ashlee Santos took care of one little two year old kid who was causing trouble for everyone else. So they went near the kitchen door where i was standing and said that it was my turn to watch him. I decided to help out and played with him. One of our leaders, Sprae, brought two toy guns and this two year old i was watching whos name was Dillon, had them and started to shoot me going “BANG BANG!”. it was so cute to watch and i had to play along. i acted like i was getting hurt and holding my arms and stuff, then i started shouting random things, like, “OW! my pancreas!”, or liver. i also used “spinal cavity” and “medulla oblongata”. then i pretended to be dead. so he walked up to me and i went, “BOO!” and he got scared. it was that scared look but like he was having fun and laughing.  i did this for awhile and this was the first time i actually got exhausted playing with a kid. He was so cute and funny and full of energy. then, after everyone left, me and my teammates got ready for a fun day tomorrow. We filled up water balloons and water guns for a water day friday. we are also gonna have a barbecue for them which they don’t know about. should be a fun surprise!  then when we got back to goldfield in the gym were staying at, we hung out and did soaps, and ate. we then did a holy huddle. one of the things we talked about was really making a difference in someones life. We talked about the people who were “the loners” and stayed to themselves, just wishing for someone to come and talk to them. Darius told us about one in our very own church whos name is Tyler Santoyo who just finished his sophomore year of high school.  i thought WOW. no one even realizes it. thats why when i go back, i’m gonna hunt this kid down and talk to him. i know what it feels like to be that person. i always used to be that person in 6th, 7th, AND 8th grade. then that changed when one person in this year, my freshman year, started to talk to me. shes here now on go, and a graduate. Her names Miriam Poush. she is my most favorite person here because she was the first person who actually cared to talk to me and made a real difference in my life. now, i’m still kind of shy but not as much. i’m, as people say, “coming out of my shell”. and its fun. i just need to show this Tyler guy you just need to start communicating to people and getting out there. and not just him, but every kid, shy or not, to just talk to them and make them feel great and that church really is a great place to be, and i’m also choosing to get baptized the next time palm valley is having one. i just want to be there for those people who i used to be like and make an impact in their life. i know that thats what i wanted, was a friend to talk to and have fun, but it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Miriam. i would have probably hated church and wanted nothing to do with it, but now i do. so thanks everyone on the go trip, and all you readers. So good night!

Today was so cool because I got to teach the lesson again and I decided to write my own instead of using the one they had for me.  The reason is because the curriculum they had didn’t have a story about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and or and invitation to become a Christian.  So that is what I taught my lesson on today and It was so incredible for me because I have taught so many lessons in kid zone and on other mission trips, but this lesson was completely my own.  I realized while I was writing my lesson how much there was that I wanted to put in it and I had to choose carefully what I would say and what would make sense to the kids we had.  After the lesson and small groups I was in the sanctuary and I heard Staci calling me “Miriam, Miriam Austin wants to tell you something”.  So I went in to the classroom and Austin runs up to me with a huge smile and says  “I prayed with you and now I have Jesus in my heart”  He gave me a big bear hug.  Then later we had a water balloon fight and afterwards we had a contest and whoever could pick up the most balloon pieces would get a prize.  Little Austin comes out and says “My prize is that I have Jesus in my heart”.   That kid cracks me up.  He couldn’t stop talking about it and that was so AMA-ZA-ZING to see a kid so uncontrollably excited about God.  I hope he never looses that enthusiasm.  Just like the parable of the sower and the seeds I pray that he will not have the word stolen from him or choked out by the cares of this life.  I pray that he will grow strong and influence the rest of his town.  There are so many stories of these 15 kids  that came to V.B.S. and I hate to type so you will have to ask me to tell you a story when I get home.  

P.S.  Mom you are a ninja because you got on to the blog.  WOW MOM! 

P.P.S.  I started this post when I was 17 and now I am 18.  That just shows you how slow I type.

Soo.. it’s almost friday and just the thought of leaving here makes me want to cry. i love all the kids in silverpeak SO MUCH, and it’s so amazing to know that God really is using us all the make a difference in the lives of all these kids.. whether we realize it or not.

to go into that farther.. i mentioned that there was a high school girl from silverpeak coming back t goldfield with us to stay the night and hang out with all us palm valley kiddos. well when it came time for the holy huddle (aka chapel) all the groups take turns going up front and sharing with everyone about how their vbs went that day. so when it came time for the gaucho’s (aka team silverpeak) to go up there, Ayla went too. i was joking around with her and said “oh you think you get to come up here too just cause you’re from silverpeak?” and she simply replied by saying “hey man i’ve got a story i wanna share too!” when it came to her turn she told everybody about how she comes to silverpeak every summer to stay with her dad, and that she grew up going to church and vbs stuff and kinda just always knew God was there, she just never really had that intimate of a relationship with him. she then said that it was thanks to the team that was in silverpeak last year that she really decided that she wanted to be closer to God. That because of the examples set by a bunch of high schoolers from arizona, her life was changed. She said that because of seeing how happy we were, and how much we loved Jesus, it made her want to grow closer to God.

HOW COOOOL!! i almost started crying. but hey, that doesn’t really surprise me cause i cry about almost anything on these trips. I’m almost as bad as Greg

i have some more stories i would love to tell, but i am running out of time before the holy huddle.
daddy, mom, jazz, nan, jess, and sami… i love you guys, and i miss being around all of you crazy heads. (by crazy heads i mean my sisters, not you mom and dad) oh and give wrinkles a bath i don’t want to smell him when i come home!

<3 Simonne

today was an awesome day i cant believe tomorrow is the last day of VBS i really made a lot of connections with every kid. some amazing things have happened during the day. well today for crafts we did salvation bracelets. which was really cool there are different color beads that mean different things about you and your relationship with god. the most awesome part about that was after the craft there was this little boy named George. George is only five years old but has this incredible personality. after he made his bracelet he made one for one of the small group leaders, mike, and George as he was making it he totally understood what each bead meant and was able to explain it to me and that right there showed me that we really are making a difference in these kids life’s which i think is really awesome that it actually shows. yesterday we brought home one of the kids from silver peak to come and spend the night and she totally shared her testimony with everyone and she was just so amazing she is definitely an awesome girl. this whole experience has been truly overwhelming and one thing i like the most about all of it is not only that we get to touch theses kids life’s and mirror Jesus love to them through us but i think it is so great how i not only get to see my team members grow in their relationship with  Christ but also all of the go students. it is truly amazing how much god can do in one persons life. i will truly be pretty bummed since tomorrow is the last vbs day!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Kayla Santos

Today at VBS our numbers were a little lower than our usual 20 kids. But it was amazing being able to vibe with those kids. Todd and Kyle are catching on so quickly. We made wordless bracelets that describe their walk with Christ. A lot of the girls were stoked to make them just because they were able to have a bracelet just like us! Heres the break down of what they are:
Black bead: Sin
Red bead: Blood shed by Jesus on the cross
White bead: Being forgiven and having our slate wiped clean
Green bead: Growing closer to Christ
Blue bead: Being baptized
Yellow bead: Going to Heaven
Can you imagine asking a kindergarten through first grader what each bead stands for and having them reply with confidence what each bead stands for? Its a feeling that is indescribable and yet so fulfilling knowing that Christ used you as a vessel to spread His word. When the kids go home we always have them recite what they had learned today to their parents. Todd was so energetic when he told his mother. Which made me realize, not only are we sharing the gospel with these kids, but God’s word is being heard by their families as well. How awesome is that?!

Tomorrow is our Water Day and we have also been blessed with some extra hot dogs and such so we’re going to surprise the children at the VBS as well as their parents with a BBQ! Every kid is so ecstatic that they ask us everyday when Water Day is. That makes tying and filling each and every one of those 900 water balloons seem puny compared to the bright smiles we’re gonna see tomorrow.

Jon Turner is also in my group and he has been such a great leader. His messages for the past few days have really hit home with the teenagers that I got the chance to talk to. Its such a blessing being able to witness the Holy Spirit working in his life.

Ashley Haddad helps me with the kindergarten through second graders and lemme tell you, without her help I’m not sure if i would have been able to survive a little rascal named Dillon. Or rather any of the 10-13 kids we have in our group. She always knows how to encourage us and make us all laugh uncontrollably. From the place we are staying now to Dyer it is usually up to a two hour drive and she always makes those trips seem shorter.

Lucas Cardoza for some reason always is smiling and giggling! I dont think that any of us can surpass a day with him in our group without smiling. He took Dillon off of our hands today and totally bonded with him, something that us girls got insanely tired doing. Dillon is a two year old little boy who hasnt had that blessing of being disciplined. His sixteen year old sister raises him while their mother is elsewhere. She told me that Dillon doesnt even know their mom and Dillon usually calls her mom. So watching Lucas really bond with a child that we could hardly keep under control made me so happy and proud to watch Lucas showing true love to Dillon, praise God.

Steven Antonoff has the grueling job of the crafts leader. Bless his heart for having so much patience with the teenagers who enjoy hunting rabbits. After day one we realized that it was an awful lot to have him also do crafts with the younger kids so Ashley Haddad and I decided to take the younger kids off his hands. Steven was talking to this girl named Stephanie and he was totally listening intently and just hanging on her every word. It was so great seeing him just adore Stephanie by the grace of God.

We are the smallest team and yet we have one of the largest amount of kids. It was overwhelming at first but once we really prayed and depended on Christ, I could see that this was simple. Showing children the love of Christ and pouring into their hearts was simple. As Darius told us last night, “A child doesn’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care.” With tomorrow being our last day, I pray that God puts Dyer back in my future sometime in my near future. I would love to reconnect with those kids again and be able to watch them grow.

A girl named Ayla came by last night and stayed the night with us. She shared with us how she was effected last year in her VBS and really just comlpimented us on how we really are making a difference. But essentially, its all God. Let the glory be Gods.

Well, I’m pretty wiped out and I’m totally out of words to say. So, have a blessed night and I cannot wait to see God work in us tomorrow.

Love wins,

Ashlee