Anyway, the trip was awesome and went extremely smoothly. I must say, that this kind of mission to this kind of place is very much like going to the Grand Canyon for the first time. There is nothing anyone can say, and no amount of pictures you can see that will prepare you adequately.
Anyway, the trip was awesome and went extremely smoothly. I must say, that this kind of mission to this kind of place is very much like going to the Grand Canyon for the first time. There is nothing anyone can say, and no amount of pictures you can see that will prepare you adequately.
And no, I don't have pics.
What kind of missionary work did/do you do? Where did you go?
Anyway, the trip was awesome and went extremely smoothly. I must say, that this kind of mission to this kind of place is very much like going to the Grand Canyon for the first time. There is nothing anyone can say, and no amount of pictures you can see that will prepare you adequately.
And no, I don't have pics.
I felt the same way when i went to Kenya for the first time.
Anyway, the trip was awesome and went extremely smoothly. I must say, that this kind of mission to this kind of place is very much like going to the Grand Canyon for the first time. There is nothing anyone can say, and no amount of pictures you can see that will prepare you adequately.
And no, I don't have pics.
What kind of missionary work did/do you do? Where did you go?
We were down in Mexico, which as many of you know, is not exactly the safest place at this point in time, especially for Americans. We left on a Teusday morning (6 am) and arrived at our destination at La Posada at about 7 that night. The next morning the entire youth group pitched in together to buy blankets at the local market. We drove the the slums and handed out the blankets and invitations to the local Calvery Chapal, choosing the recipients as we felt led.
That night we threw a barbeque for the youth group of our host church, and did the dramas that we had prepared for them, and for the congregation of the church. We were able to sit in on their youth group lesson (with a translator) and also in the AfterGlow of the adult church, which was amazing to say the least.
The next day, we returned to the church for a work/service day. Some of the ladies and I cleaned and painted 3 bathrooms, and another large sanctuary type room, with the help of a few of our men. ( Or vice versa if you hear them tell it
) The rest of the boys and our leader painted the ceiling of the main sanctuary, which was no small task. All in all, we used about 400$ worth of paint and managed to complete all they had asked of us, which quite shocked them, LOL. Whenever we had finished something we would ask one of the staff what they would like us to do next. The response was always "Just pretend to do something so that you look busy when your leader walks by."
We later learned that in Mexico, it is standard to take a 15 minute break for every hour you work, so our continued assistance was far from expected and they just weren't sure what to do with us.
The next morning we went to an orphanage in Tijuana. This was my personal favorite part of the trip. I found a little boyfriend who was glued to my hip the entire day....
Now before you begin freaking out he was only three.
He was the sweetest little boy. We did our dramas for them and fed them lunch, and after that all of the kids really warmed up to us and allowed us to join in on their games of catch and soccer. We spent the entire day loving on these children. Even one of my close friends, who does not like small children at all, warmed up to and enjoyed being with these children. They just had this irresistable need to be held and shown that people care about them. I never did get to know my little friends name, but I do know that he holds a very special place in my heart and I wont ever forget my little friend.
After we left the orphanage we went to the market for a little souvenir shopping and just some "chill together" time. After we had had our fill of bartering we took off for the beach and set off some (ok so it was more like 75) fireworks. Obviously, lots of fun ( some were so loud and crazy I literally was knocked off my feet )
Many of my friends brought their digital cameras, so I may be able to bum one of their memory cards from them to hook all of you pic addicts up.
This was our second year around, so everything went much more smoothly and we all knew what to expect, so this made the trip more enjoyable and productive all in all.
Any questions?
By the way, I missed y'all too and am glad to be back with you.