Todd Helgeson reports: Sunday’s storm knocked out the power in Dallas where the HFH camp was to be held starting on Monday, but the kids were not deterred. The start time was moved from 9:00A to 10:00A, and by 10:20 most of the kids were there. Camp started with 34 quiet kids, but as they learned what to expect, they warmed up to their coaches and each other.

Jesse reports from DR: Hi! We just got back from meeting our hosts, lunch, setting up for two camps, swimming and eating again! The 2 courts are very nice. We will have an outdoor court for the morning camp, 9-noon and a covered court for the afternoon camp, 3-6:00P. We expect about 80 to 90 kids total and we’re ready.

Mark reports: We had an outstanding breakfast after a good night’s rest in the Verdi Grand Hotel, a new hotel in the heart of old Budapest. We took the train to Hillsong Budapest and had a fun time meeting new friends. Even though the translation did not work we enjoyed being there.

Tim cooked sausage and egg breakfast tacos for the group in the morning, coupled with kiwi, cantaloupe, and pineapple. Our team got to meet with our hosts and friends today. The community is so loving and appreciate that we are here. The views are unbelievable, and it’s nice and cool.

Once in Buenos Aires, the team made quickly it through immigration and customs, picked up the rentals and followed James Greenwood, our host to Pilar. We made our way to Siga La Vaca for some lunch and met our host’s family and friends. We enjoyed some Argentine beef and good fellowship before heading to the hotel

Jason Phillips reports: Praise the Lord, we made it! Everyone is feeling healthy and we are blessed that all luggage made it safe and intact. We visited both sites today and we are excited to have 50 kids in each camp. We are reminded that this is tough ground to plow, but we are not discouraged

Kate brought today’s devotion and did a great job of pointing us to persistence in love through story of The Velveteen Rabbit. Throughout the week we would be worn out, under stress, and tired, and that’s when our true character is displayed. She encouraged us to be ready to present love each day this week.

Speedy Wible reports from Ghana: Greetings from Ghana. The Hoops team has made it to Accra where we were met by Vincent Asamoah of Shoot for Life, our hosts for the week. We arrived with all luggage! That is an answer to prayer. Thank you for praying in faith!

Krista Pirtle reports: Hola from Mexico! After safe travels to Cancun - yes, we’re suffering with a camp in the Caribbean - we met up with Diego, our host for the week. Within five minutes of meeting him, Diego brought up Mark Wible’s favorite word about Hoops trips - flexibility.

We had a great first day of camps. The kids are super nice and respectful. We all had lots of fun. Moses, our host, has brought Hoops for Hope camp to Kenya from what he learned visiting our camp in Uganda last year. The coaches and kids have been through this camp several times before and are good at it. It’s fun to see how Hoops has multiplied through East Africa without our presence in Kenya.

The Peru Team arrived safely this morning in Puerto Maldonado! We are grateful. The HFH teams will begin camps on Monday; one team holding morning and afternoon camps in two gyms, and the other team traveling around to schools and making connections there. The construction crew will partner with the host there for work.