Beginning of Outreach

Hey everyone!
Sorry for not posting earlier. Our outreach here has been jam-packed all the time, which is a great problem to have!  I'll try to give you a brief overview of the things we have done so far. I can't believe we have been here almost two weeks already.
Our flight arrived the morning of the 15th, and we came straight to the base here in San Jose. We were able to settle and rest that day and went to our first Spanish church service the next morning, which was fun because I could understand quite a bit of it! 
Our first week, we primarily worked with Homes of Hope (Casas de Esperanza), which is a ministry that builds homes for families in the slums and who are well-connected with a local church. We sanded down furniture multiple times and stained it, and then went to the actual sites where we dug holes and laid foundations for three homes. It was an amazing time even though it was several long days of manual labor. I really enjoyed it We also got to love on the kids there, perform some skits and dances, and do other ministry with them. It was so good and so rewarding to be with the kids.
This week we started with working with Freedom Streets, which is a ministry that helps gets prostitutes off the streets and gives them another way to make money, by making jewelry instead. We first sorted out food to give them, ranging from apples and beans to milk and tamales. Then we went and met with about 10 ladies, collected beautiful lanyards they had crafted, and handed out kits for them to make earrings. Later, we went to an orphanage for disabled kids, who are all cared for by nuns. It was a very sobering couple of hours. We just loved those kids in whatever way we could, whether it was feeding a baby or running our fingers through the hair of a paralyzed child. Our contact Steve said a lot of them were probably abused to the point of their severe disability. I can't help but cry at the thought that people do that to children. It breaks my heart. But through it all, seeing the sweet ladies who take care of all the kids was so inspiring. I have a tremendous amount of respect for their dedication to those kids and the Lord. What a ministry!
For Christmas, we were blessed to go to our contact's home, which was incredible. Steve and his family moved into a beautiful, new home one month ago, and they were already willing to host a wonderful Christmas lunch for about 30 people. It was an amazing day with a gorgeous view, light rain, and fellowship with my team. We also watched the extended version of the first Lord of the Rings. Classic YWAM holiday. 
Yesterday and today we have been doing work around the base, and tomorrow we go back to work with Homes of Hope! We are so excited to see the kids again because we spent so much time with them last week.
In everything that we have been doing, I feel so content. I am absolutely loving being here, and I just feel like I'm made for this. It's so awesome, and God has been doing so much in and through me and my team. Something God has been developing in my life is my hunger for the Word. It's crazy how much I want to read every single day. In the past, I'd always rather listen to sermons and whatnot, but I've caught the reading bug.  I love it. 
In closing, I have a request for prayer because after this, I'm pretty set on doing a School of Worship in Denver, which starts April 1st. It would give me enough time to go back to Cali, spend time with my family and friends, and raise some support before going back to Colorado for three months. So prayer and support would be much appreciated! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and lift my team up in prayer. You are the best.
Hope you all had a beautiful Christmas Day celebrating our Savior. In 2013, let's serve God better and more than we did this year!
God bless,
Lynelle