Mexico Adventure

High Dive Stunts on Swim Day

2009-07-11T07:04:00.001-07:00

Lovin' on the Orphans

2009-07-09T19:11:00.001-07:00

Working Hard at the future orphanage

2009-07-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Slideshow Video

2009-06-22T04:14:00.001-07:00

Sunday Morning Church

2009-06-16T19:02:00.001-07:00

It was such a blessing to be able to worship the same God they do at the orphanage. There is no doubt that Jesus Christ is at the center of their faith and ministry. Both Sundays we attended church with the children. We led them in our spanish songs, did our dramas and gave testimonies. We also broke out as a group during the sunday school time and spent time praying and sharing truth that God had revealed to us.

Sunday, 6/14/09 Final Day with Children

2009-06-15T13:07:00.001-07:00

Today we had church with the orphans and then got to hang out all afternoon with them at the park again. We had a special birthday party for Taylor and Andrea....with a genuine pinada and everything. We had a pizza party with the children before saying adios to them. Many tears were shed and the hugs were extra tight. I'm sure it won't be the last time we see some of these children....at least we hope not. Many new emotions were stirred up this week for many of the students. God truly blessed our relationships with the children and staff of the orphanage.

Soup Kitchen

2009-06-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a soup kitchen in a really really poor community to give testimonies, sing some songs and do our dramas. We then fed brunch to approx 25 mothers and children from the community.

Surprise Birthday Party for Andrea"s 18th

2009-06-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

We were able to bless Andrea tonight by throwing her a fiesta to celebrate her 18th. She was able to call home too. She balled!

06/13/09 Saturday, Swim Day afternoon

2009-06-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today we took the children to the pool. It had a large pool, a large kiddie pool and three high platform dives....tallest being thirty feet. Ryan was the first to go off of it. Only a couple of the children went off the 15 foot platform but they all enjoyed watching the crazy americans jump off the high one.

06/12/09 Friday, Shopping Day

2009-06-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

We loaded up and drove two hours to a beautiful city named Guanajuato. It is nestled down in this valley surrounded by mountains. We had about four hours to shop in all the little shops. Most the students spent all their pesos on tshirt, soccer jerseys, púrses, jewelry, etc. One of the vans was having engine trouble on the way back to the orphange from the trip so we spent time praying while chugging down the road. We made it back!

Vacation Bible School

2009-06-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Each afternoon part of the group has an opportunity to go to the orphange for a couple hours to lead a vacation Bible school program. We prepared a lot of dramas, crafts, story times, etc. over the last few months. All geared towards sharing Christ with the children in a fun and hands on way. The children have really enjoyed the VBS programs and are becoming quite attached to our students. Several of the children have drawn pictures with love notes to our students. It will be hard to say goodbye in a few days.

Very Poor Community 06/11/09

2009-06-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today we had an opportunity to visit a community that was extremely poor. Not as poor as the community we will be at on Saturday morning but the experience was very humbling. Our van ride to the community was in silent so we could prepare for the sights and sounds we might encounter. It was probably more overwhelming than anything. Most of us wouldnt park our lawn mower in the shacks that these people were living in. One student remarked "what do we do with this?" In other words, it seems like such a lost cause....where would we start or have any sort of impact?

More Pictures

2009-06-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

Series of random photos showing hard core manual labor, orphan love, vacation Bible school and group fun. Oh yeah, and a creepy spider about the size of a pop can top in Miranda's bed. Tim single-handedly slaughtered the spider with a two by four.

06/08-06/09

2009-06-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Monday and Tuesday were hard work with lots of concrete and dirt moving. We used approx six tons of bags of cement to make the floor for the future work shops and Marce's home. She is the orphanage director. Jeremy and the other leaders say we are a head of schedule and got three days worth of concrete done in only two days. We started our VBS programs with the kids in the afternoons and have had some times in the evening to hang out with the kids. The relationships are continuing to build and attitudes remain very positive. We have had some incredible worship, prayer and sharing times in the evenings. Taking intentional time to continually focus on Christ and our mission here has been important. Everyone is tired, a little sunburnt, little achy, little skinnier but blessed beyond what we thought we would be.

06/07/09

2009-06-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Sunrise brought us the first glimpse of the mountain range around the city. Started off day with personal devotions in "The Adventure" book and tasty breakfast by Marcy, the orphanage director. We loaded the vans for church service at the orphanage to meet the children. They range in age from 3 - 17 years old. We joined in on the service by singing one of our spanish songs and a handful of students sharing their testimony. Each student was assigned an orphan to hang out with at the park for the day. In our short time with the children, we experienced instant connection and Christ-like love flowing out. It was awesome seeing our team dive in and love on the children. We ate lunch, played at the park and rode kiddie rides until 4pm. Afterwards, we went on a casual guided tour around the marketplace/city with Jeremy, our host missionary. We ate a delicious dinner out on the town at a local mexican joint. After cleaning up and relaxing for a little bit, we came together as a group for a debriefing and sharing time. Our hearts were full and it was such a blessing to hear all the stories from the team and how God spoke to them individually. Construction work starts tomorrow.

Travel Day 6/6/09

2009-06-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord! Flights and customs were smooth! The travel family concept worked wonderful as we navigated through DFW airport. Arrived at Dulce' Refugio' dorm and worksite around 10pm Saturday night and ready for first night sleep in Mexico at 11pm. Group was tired so beds felt amazing....after refreshing shower first.

2009-06-05T19:25:00.001-07:00

Friday Night Kickoff Dinner 06/05/09

2009-06-05T19:04:00.001-07:00

The missions team and their parents all met at the church for an amazing mexican dinner, prayer time and send off. We weighed and marked each suitcase so we could keep track at the various stops along the way. Each secret prayer pal revealed themself to their partner and had a chance to give them a gift. Hard to believe in a few short hours we will be boarding a plane to experience this adventure that God has been preparing us for. We will try and update this blog daily with a picture or two that captures the events of the day. Please continue to pray for safety and God's blessing on our efforts and relationships. Parents, thank you for encouraging your son/daughter to be part of this experience. God has some big things to show us this week about Him and how he loves others through us.