Dedication Day! - See pictures below

The last few bits of the playground went together so smoothly.  We had several local people (including many kids) helping us run concrete and move sand.  We also had the help of a backhoe to spread the sand which cut the time in half.  We sure needed that!  Once the sand started to go into place, you could really start to see how neat this playground was.

The color of the poles was the same color as the church and matched beautifully.  There was a brand new chain linked fence around the playground to keep out the vandals.  There was also an area above the playground that will be used by the adults to hang out and fellowship with benches and barbeques.  This area would be used in the future for Bible studies and special events as well as for anyone to use for a family gathering.

The dedication was a very warm, heartfelt event.  Pastor Reuben and Pablo were overjoyed at the grace of God in bringing this playground to them.  They know the value of children and that this playground would be used to further their ministry in an exciting way.  Once the kids were let onto the playground, you could see so much joy and pride in their eyes from this new ministry tool.

We are so grateful for your prayers and support for this project.  We also would like to thank U2U and La Commision for an incredible project.  We hope to be able to visit our new friends in Ensenada soon, to hear how God is using their new playground!

Chris Marshall
Regional Vice President, West

Day 1
Our playground team arrived in Ensenada yesterday to build a nice sized playground for a church just outside the city.  The church is located in a town called Emilio Zapata, which is 2500 feet above sea level and only 3 miles from the ocean. The roads are very steep and the terrain is very rugged  A year ago, Jez and Lynzie Blacker (from the UK) asked the pastor of this church how they could help advance his ministry to the local people.  The pastor told him what he really wanted was a playground to reach out to the children. Through a mutual contact, they called us and the process began.

After this conversation we were able to visit this location and see the proposed playground site.  We were blown away by the opportunity for ministry in this location, however, the playground area was so steep, we knew it would take a lot of time and resources to make this area buildable.  It took 1 year to groom and grade the playground area before it was level enough to build on.  When we arrived, we saw an incredible change on this area…which of course, has a gorgeous view of the ocean!!!

We started working immediately to build this dream for the Pastor.  Today we dug all the holes (in some of the hardest ground we have ever encountered) and started putting up the unit.  With some help from our volunteers from the UK and some local help, we were able to complete most of the assembly in the first day.  Tomorrow we plan on touching up the playground and putting concrete in.

God has an incredible plan for this area through the church and Pastor Reuben.   We are excited to be here to help him reach these people for Christ! Thank you for all your prayers and support for us while our team is in Mexico…

Chris Marshall
Kids Around the World