Summer Staff Perspective

We were so blessed to have six amazing young men and women serve on summer staff this past summer. This is just one of the experiences they had while serving at Agua Viva Ministries:

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of working with a group from the Santa Clara Valley area. As a group, they organized a vacation Bible school in a community called Colony 89, which is known for heavy drug presence. This group of 20 had their vacation Bible school in a soccer field. This soccer field was at the bottom of a small valley and surrounded by make-shift homes that looked down upon it. It can be seen by almost everyone living in this community. This was a key location that drew lots of attention from both kids and adults in the area. After 2 days of fun and effective ministry, the kids had obviously bonded with the Americans, and vice versa. Wednesday, however, stood out in more ways than one.

When we arrived, there was spiritual heaviness in the area. The neighbors who lived nearby blasted inappropriate music through the entire program. The neighbors even went as far as threatening to break into our Agua Viva staff vehicles when we didn’t have enough snacks to share with the adults in the neighborhood. The kids seemed more out of control than usual and multiple Agua Viva staff, individually, felt uneasiness all morning. Matthew, who was translating, felt frustrated and burdened. There was an obvious heavy spiritual warfare going on. However, despite all of the distractions of the day, 90 kids showed up to hear about Jesus. Each one of those 90 kids heard a Bible story and were loved on by this group of people from Santa Clara Valley.

Knowing that Thursday, the final day of the vacation Bible school, was going to have to start differently, a team of Agua Viva staff went ahead of the American group and prayed over the land where the ministry was going to take place. They claimed that land for Jesus, prayed over the community and that God would touch the hearts of those who would hear the gospel message. They prayed until the group arrived and the vacation Bible school began. Psalm 91 was put on all of their hearts that day and comforted them. Psalm 91 verses 1-4 read:

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,My God, in whom I trust.” Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, And under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart”

The vacation Bible school began, like normal, with a time of playing with the kids and singing some songs. The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection was portrayed through a short drama put on by the group. It was nothing short of a miracle that the kids were attentive and really wanted to know about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Following the drama, kids and adults were separated and a few members from the American group gave their testimonies. After the testimonies, the kids and the adults were given the opportunity to give their lives to the Lord. God did mighty things in the hearts of all of the people who were listening and there was an amazing response. Altogether, 67 children and 3 women gave their lives to the Lord that day. With 70 people now in the Kingdom of Heaven, we praised God and celebrated along with the angels that day. It was an unforgettable experience.

As summer staff, we truly learned about the power of prayer and how God can take a hopeless situation and make it into something beautiful that gives Him glory. We also learned that it is also important to be aware of spiritual warfare and not be afraid to acknowledge it and combat it.

Matthew Getsinger

Jess Greenwood

Liz Stevahn