A Youth-led Outreach to Rio Hondo

The drama team dressed as Jesus, temptations, and an innocent teen

Hello, this is Malana Ganz writing. My husband Steve and I are here in Las Margaritas helping Jennifer and Alex any way we can. I wanted to share a great experience we had last weekend.

Jennifer and Alex, along with staff member Yary Cabezon, have been working for a year and a half with the youth group from Templo Shaday, a local Wounaan congregation. These young people have had their vision enlarged, their hopes brought alive and their determination to serve God strengthened. As a result, they planned and financed a trip to the community of Rio Hondo, a three hour boat ride away.

These youth dreamed this dream and made it happen with hard work, selling food they made at soccer games, and contributing any way they could with work and prayer. The church leaders were invited along as speakers and prayer partners.

As we took off from the dock at daybreak on Thursday, I was amazed to see twenty-six people, luggage and amplifiers being loaded into a launch that was supposed to hold fifteen. Of course many of the youth were part of the dance and drama team, tiny ten year olds! But there were no complaints, no groanings as we piled in, some kids sitting in the middle on top of luggage. We motored down the river, swollen with rain, and clogged with debris. As we crossed the bar into the ocean, the second motor was engaged and we flew to the next river mouth, slowing again as we navigated upriver to the town.

Yary’s family is in Rio Hondo, and the entire team slept in her parents’ large open house. The schedule for the weekend included meetings for children, youth, men, women, and general services. There was also a lunch served to the entire town, prayer in homes for the sick, and garbage pick-up.  Because these small towns have few pastors, they love hearing guest speakers. People walked two or three hours from neighboring villages to come for the weekend of meetings.

I didn’t hear one complaint from a single person on this team. The sense of vision and purpose, the sense of accomplishment and fulfillment of several months of planning was evident in their joy and willingness to serve the community.

I am so proud of these youth, and the work God is doing in them and through them. I am impressed with how Jennifer, Alex and Yary have influenced them.

At three in the morning on Sunday, after services that lasted until midnight, we waded out to the launch with our bags in hand. The kids were quiet, sleeping as they were sprayed with luminescent foam. As the sun rose, they surfaced from under their sweatshirts with smiles. It was a good trip.

 Teaching the children

Arriving in Rio Hondo, fording the shallows with luggage in hand