Mexico Mission Blog
March 12 - March 18: Please check here for daily blogs about the events and happenings during our Mexico Mission Trip - direct from Mexico, complete with pictures!
March 12 7:25pm from Jeremy Graham: Just wanted to let everyone know that we have arrived safely to our destination in San Miguel. Spent most of the afternoon in Guanajato eating lunch and shopping. We will update later tonight with more details. Please be praying for our work here. We are worn out, but looking forward to the week.
2nd Update March 12 11:30pm: The flights went very smooth this morning as we flew into Dallas and later into Leon. Lanese's son Paul met up with us in Dallas and joined us for the trip. From Leon, we went to Guanajuato to eat a late lunch. Before eating lunch, we stopped at a look-out point in Guanajuato where we could see over the city. Then, we drove down to eat lunch traveling through several tunnels and underground. Let's just say the traffic and driving conditions are interesting. We ate lunch at a very nice place in Guanajuato before shopping a bit in town. It reminded me of Bourbon Street with the outdoor cafes and such. We heard a mariachi band play, and they were extremely talented.
We then departed for San Miguel arriving just after 6pm. On the drive in we literally left a paved highway for a dirt road and dirt bridge only to connect to another highway (about two miles later). Chuck explained to us that the roads were built independently of one another and did not involve any collaboration. Once we arrived at Hostel Inn, we got situated and settled into a very hospitable, quaint place. Greg and Edna met up with us here and ordered some delicious pizza for us to eat. While we waited for the pizza, a few of us ventured into the town to get 20 oz. Coca-Cola in glass bottles for about $0.65.
Since most of the students are tired from staying up late last night anticipating the trip and others are exhausted from the long travel, everyone headed to their rooms early for bed. In the morning we will begin working at the orphanage to clear brush there and spend time with the children. Everyone is in good spirits as we spent a considerable amount of time with one another traveling, eating and having fun together. This trip has begun nearly flawlessly and everyone is ready to work.
Continue praying for us as we look to extend the peace of Christ and be the church in action here in San Miguel. Here is a list of first names of those with us this week, so that you can pray for them by name: Jon, Jeremy, Caleb, Connor, Paul, Ian, Jake, Nick, Christina, Donna, Lindsey, Kayla, Karrah, Charlie, Chuck, David, Sandy, Chad, Logan, Greg and Edna. Excited about the week, Jeremy
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Saturday, March 13, 2010: Hola! Today has been a great day. We started early at 8am with Donna making breakfast for us and the pancakes and eggs were great. After breakfast, we headed out to the boys’ orphanage where Greg and Edna met us with supplies. We began clearing out an area behind one of the buildings. The area is filled with glass, big & little rocks and miscellaneous debris. We worked most of the morning with a few blisters emerging and very little complaining. Some of us raked, others hauled with a wheelbarrow and a few picked up glass. It was a hard working morning. Donna and Edna arrived as heroes with lunch where we gathered together for sandwiches. Then, one of the nuns took us on a tour of the place. In the photos, you can see a variety of images and places there; the chapel there is exquisite. After the tour, some of our group played with the children since they are out of school. After a little more work, we all joined the children playing soccer and basketball. The children loved being put on our shoulders and acting silly with all of us. Even though there is a language barrier, we were able to have lots of fun. It was great to meet them since we are taking them and two other orphanages swimming tomorrow. The nuns and the children were very gracious with us, and we look forward to spending the day with them mañana. We are getting ready to eat pork chops and mashed potatoes and then enjoy the beautiful weather. Did we mention it is 80 degrees here? Thanks for praying for us those we are coming in contact with each day! Jeremy
Saturday, March 13, 2010 Evening Devotions
Led by: Connor, Caleb & Jake. Title: The Prodigal Son Lindsey saw how much the nuns loved the kids. She had a picture of kids in an orphanage having no love.
Kayla was glad that we could make them laugh.
Christina was amazed at the nuns who have given up everything to take care of the kids.
Jeremy said he Nick & Jake & Connor were tired and also impressed by the nuns care.
Charley, was glad to connect with the kids to see the reason for doing the work.
We were glad to make a connection that the work we are doing makes the area safer for the boys to play in. The nuns won’t have to worry so much that they are going to get hurt just out playing and it makes the grounds safer. David
Sunday, March 14, 2010 Buenos noches! It is late here and even later there as we are not participating in “springing forward” like you all in Oklahoma; thankfully, since we need the extra sleep. Each day seems to be getting better than the previous day. This morning began with a worship service in one of the girls’ orphanages located in the center of town. Paul led worship, Jeremy prayed and Pastor David offered a homily. We also laid hands on Donna and Sandy asking the Lord to touch their bodies. It was emotional, yet it was perfect. We concluded the service with communion and a closing song led by Paul. All in all, it was a tremendous gathering. Once we dismissed, we were greeted by some of the children; it was very sweet and energizing. There are some pictures posted of the service including one where David is presenting a check to the Madre, who is the head of that specific orphanage.
After touring the orphanage, we began walking to the boys’ orphanage to hitch a ride to a hot spring-fed swimming pool. There the children from all three orphanages joined us. After about and hour and a half of swimming, we served them food. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and mingling with the nuns and the children. This was a tremendous opportunity for us to spend quality time with the children, both boys and girls. Our group feels very fortunate to be here and acquaint ourselves with the people as they are touching our hearts as much as we are touching theirs. It is a blessing to have this experience, and our church should continue to find ways to support this ministry. It is money, time and resources that is definitely building the kingdom of God.
Once we returned from swimming with the children, we headed back to the hostel to get cleaned up for dinner. David picked out a place in town called Ole Ole, but before we ate we did more shopping. Shopping never seems to get old with this group especially with all of the amazing options for purchasing. At the restaurant, we found out that the fajitas were wonderful and that the Coca-Cola never gets old.
Today was a great day as many of us are sore from the previous workday, so we were able to rest our muscles. Although we didn’t do any manual labor today, we wore ourselves out swimming. Tomorrow is back to the daily grind where raking, shoveling and hauling are on the menu. While we are here to do some manual labor, the anticipation of spending more time with the children is almost overwhelming. Continue to pray for us as we are building a strong relationship with the people here. Jeremy
Monday, March 15, 2010 (AKA The Lost Blog - which is why it is being posted so late.)
Good evening all of the blog readers out there…Today was a great day
as we were able to accomplish a lot of work out at the orphanage.
There are a number of photos of actual people working (including
Pastor David) and expending tons of energy. Since the altitude is
higher here in San Miguel, we have to drink lots of water and take
breaks every hour or so. Donna and Edna came to the rescue with
sandwiches at lunchtime and snacks later in the afternoon. After
working most of the day, we were able to reconnect with some of the
boys and play games with them. Some of them really enjoy playing tag
and chase. In the evening we had our nightly devotion where Kayla,
Karrah and Lindsey lead us through the Scriptures and Jon lead us in
worship. Would you believe that some of the students and adults were
so tired that they did not go shopping after dinner? Only four
students made it out to the market and the town center. We came back
with a couple of luchador masks, flavored water and a soccer ball.
Tomorrow looks to be another work-filled day at the boys’ orphanage.
We also plan to visit the other girls’ orphanage to visit and spend
time with them. One of our boys sounded super excited about this, but
I will let him remain nameless…Continue to pray for us as we are
getting tired, but loving every minute of it.
It is amazing how serving the Lord unites diverse people. For
example, one little boy yelled adios to us every time we turned our
backs to him as we were exiting the orphanage. Once we got to the
bottom of the hill, we all turned around one last time and yelled
ADIOS. He was so sad to see us leave which encouraged us to continue
to yell adios back to him. Another example is the how the individuals
of the group are joining together for games each evening. People are
playing scrabble, Phase10, UNO and other various games. This has been
and continues to be a tremendous trip in which God is faithful.
PS – Below are some of the notes from the evening devotion.
PSS–Last night we skipped the evening devotion since we had morning worship.
Jerem…zzzzzzzzzz…y
Songs we sang:
Everlasting God
Your Grace is Enough
Lindsey prayed over the group.
Karrah, Lindsey and Kayla read Colossians 3:1-17
Question asked: What are some of the qualities from the text that we
have seen this week?
Answers:
Paul – patience because we are raking rocks.
Connor – patience because we cannot understand them much, but we are
still trying to have fun with them.
Jon – compassion because they called him “fat white guy” but he still
loves them and wants to help.
Kayla – didn’t want to pickup glass, but she decided that it was not
for her, but for God so she tried to keep up her spirit
Question about vs. 17 – What should come out of us when God is
dwelling out of us?
Paul – used a toothpaste illustration and how God should be flowing out of us.
David – talked about it being for the glory of God and how our work
should flow from that. He commended Kayla for her testimony and
honesty.
Closed with one of the verses…
Kayla prayed for us once David mentioned that Tom Ketch passed away
today. She prayed for Kathy and the family. May God touch their
hearts and surround them this day.
Closed the devotional with the song Let God Arise.
Well, we made Jon sing more songs…God is good. As I write this, Paul
now has the guitar. This is getting good. You should have come with
us.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
(Fingers aching as I type) Today was a very difficult day as the workload has finally caught up to me. I think it is the same with the others as we are all dragging along. The case in point is that no one went out to shop after we returned to the hostel. We have made tremendous progress in cleaning up the area that Greg had in mind. As you can see in some of the photos, there are a lot of piles of dirt and debris. You cannot fathom how many pieces of trash and glass are in each of those piles. The pictures do not do justice to all of the work that has been accomplished. We look forward to seeing the fruit of our labor in the years to come. We have sunburns, blisters, sore muscles and tired faces to prove that we have labored. It has been productive, and Greg has proven to be quite the boss. His vision for this trip is beginning to take shape.
We quit working a little early today in order to visit the other girl’s orphanage. A woman there named Robin, who can speak Spanish and English fluently, gave us a tour of the place. She is a very impressive woman as she and the nuns have helped turn that particular orphanage around and make it a haven for over forty girls. The girls gave us a warm welcome once we entered. They instantly jumped in our arms and held our hands. We enjoyed the tour, but the love and joy of the children was the most impressive thing. Pastor David presented the Madre with a check from St. Andrew’s and talked about our future work with them. The nuns at all three orphanages are amazing woman exemplifying the love of God to each of these children. It is amazing to watch them care for the kids. They are very inspiring.
As the trip winds down, we are excited to return home but the children have captured our hearts. Connor and I were swinging a little girl named Viola. Connor asked how I knew she would know what to do and how I knew she would like it. I told him that it is universal, as all children love to be swung. Even though these kids come from terrible backgrounds, they continue to be an inspiration to all of us. It is truly a blessing to be here. All of you should mark your calendars and plan to be here. You will not regret coming here to work for the Lord and love on children. Jeremy
Notes from Tuesday Evening Devotions
Jake led us in worship while Paul, Charlie and Nick led us in the Scriptures. We opened with All Creatures of Our God and King, Mighty to Save and Every Move I Make.
Paul read from Kings about Elijah. Paul challenged everyone to take the time to sit and listen to the still small voice of the Lord.
Charlie read a Psalm and stretched us to be still and know that the Lord is God. And, to not be distracted by all that is around us. And, for us to open ourselves up to the Lord’s voice.
Nick read from Psalm 62:1-2 and asked us to thank the Lord for the silence and to consider that we are here for God.
David commented about the passion of Greg for these children and their places of residence. He talked about the faithfulness of Greg.
The group closed with an extended time of silence and reflection once Charlie prayed for the group.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
It has been a tremendous week, and we are all ready to sleep in our
own beds. We worked this morning and took the afternoon off to see
more of the city. We picked up rocks and more rocks today. It was
less raking and mostly rock patrol. It is amazing all that was
accomplished through a little muscle grease, but who knew that raking
for nearly six hours a day would make a person so sore? There are
some before and after pictures, but we will wait to show you all
later. Greg took some before we began working this week, and David
had some from last year; therefore, once we get them all together, you
will be able to see the effort and energy that was expended this week.
Christina said it best tonight during devotions when she said, “Love
speaks all languages.” Even though the language barrier was there, we
were able to experience and share love this week.
After work and lunch, we spent the afternoon in another church, and
later we ate more amazing food (Donna’s was still better). We
continued shopping but this time we were actually able to see all of
the market since we were there a lot earlier than they closed. The
pictures below are a potpourri of pics throughout the week and some
from this afternoon. You can see the church we entered, the
restaurant where we ate, Pablo McKinley – the donkey, a lizard and
many other things. There were plenty of critters this week, but you
will have to ask to figure out what kind. LOL! Oh, and, Charlie and
I finally found some flan, and we even convinced some people that it
is really good.
This week was great and God has blessed in more ways than we can
imagine. Pastor David reported that one of the checks given to the
nuns would cover all of their expenses for a week. These women and children live by the motto that God will provide, and God has proven
himself faithful over and over again to them. Thanks to all of you
who are praying, following and allowing your family to serve this
week. Thanks to Greg and Edna Thompson for the connection and
guidance. Thanks to Pastor David for being organized and flexible and
making this a flawless trip. Thanks to Donna for helping us gain
weight rather than lose it. Thanks to the church for supporting this
trip, and the mission committee for seeing it through. Thanks for the
nuns and the children who taught us more than we can put into words.
I am sure someone or some group has been left out, but please forgive
me because I am tired.
PS – We lost a couple this morning to illness. They are making their
recoveries, but please pray for them as we travel tomorrow. They
spent most of the day in bed resting and gaining strength.
PSS – Pastor David slipped, fell and rolled his ankle. He is hobbling
on crutches and will also need prayers. He isn’t faking it, as I
personally made sure of it. LOL!
We love you all and look forward to seeing you tomorrow. May we all
be forever changed! Jeremy
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