Day 2: Monday in Mexico

     Upon waking up this morning, there were many things to do! Attend a prayer meeting, prepare for the first day in the communities, eat breakfast, find out which vans we will be riding in, and get to the community! While loading up the vans, we found that it was somewhat crazy, but we quickly found out who should be in which van with the correct supplies and such. We left the ranch and drove to Costco to meet our drivers who would be with us for the week! After finding out which driver was to be with each group, we set off to our different communities. Our driver, Santiago, was remembered well from those who had been on the trip in years past. He was very funny and so full of life, he loved laughing and he even did some singing. Israel, another driver who we all got to know, was pretty awesome as well. He played the saxophone for us several times when we were back at the ranch! He was so humble and he had a personality that really revealed his light for Christ. 

Santiago and other World Vision Workers and Volunteers! 

Needless to say, the drivers were so incredible and we are very grateful to have had them along with us! We also enjoyed getting to know Eric, Millie, and Barbara who worked with World Vision, they are all so wonderful and they helped us a great deal while we were there from asking us how we are doing and translating for us to helping us grow in Christ by sharing different stories with us and staying with us that week! There were so many wonderful people whom we had the great opportunity to work with through the week when we were in Mexico, and we could not have done it without the help from World Vision and the communities which helped us out tremendously! Thank you to all those who helped us when we were going to and in Mexico! Also, thanks to all of you for all of your prayers, encouragement, and support! We are so grateful for all of your support and could not have done it without you! 

Obrerra!

     
         

Some of the Disney murals along the school! 

      Lost....
 So as we were driving, we went to a community that we believed would be the one we would be working in. We unloaded the vans, walked over to the community center and found out that we were at the wrong one. Woopsie-daisy! After a few phone calls and turn arounds, we ended up in the correct community! Yay!!! We unloaded the vans, noticed the murals that were painted at the school, walked into the community center, introduced ourselves, then began going to work. We split up to get the work done and divide the number of students we had. Some of us painted a room inside of the community center, others helped mix cement (which is not an easy job), and others painted a wall and the inside of a room at the school. It was great working there, because we had a lot of help from the women and children in the community both with painting as well as making food! While we were painting and drinking water... which we were supposed to drink a bit more of than we actually consumed :)... women brought us snacks!!! Oh my word these were amazing snacks! Watermelon and Cantaloupe and some other fruit in cups! It was great! 

Painting Away!

Julia y Elise! 

         

Yolandia!

Carlita y yo! 

Jump rope in the background!

Edgar y su hermana, Gloria! 

          After a great time of coloring, playing soccer, jump rope, and having fun, it was time for us to clean up for the day and head back to the ranch after we met at a 7-11. While going back to the ranch, Santiago made a quick turn which allowed us to make the turn, but not the car behind us. So after a short amount of time, we realize that we lost them somewhere between the turn and the attempts to find a road to get back to the ranch... after asking for directions several times, pulling over to see if we could find the van following us, and attempts to call someone, we ended up going to the 7-11 which was quite hard to find, but with Santiago, we knew we were in good hands! While at the gas station, we called some people and were told to head back to the ranch, so we did. After arriving to the ranch with many new stories and laughs to share, some of us went to the pool to cool down a bit. It was quite relaxing after a day of long work and play.  :) The craziest thing, in my opinion, was the fact that one time we drove on the highway or expressway and this large group of kids ran across which was right in front of us. The whole time, Santiago was saying "Loco, loco, loco!" It was quite entertaining to see and then he said "Oh my gosh!' Which many of us now know as his punchline, both those who were on the trip and those who were not on the trip. All in all, I had a great day full of many great memories, great food, and lots of fun. Especially after dinner where we all made skits within our work groups to share what happened that day with everyone else! :) 

    One thing which I feel God helped me to realize more was that getting lost and not knowing where you are going is totally fine, in fact, in times it is great! When I trust in God in times where I have no idea what I am doing, it makes me grow more in my faith and have many stories to share. Much like when we did not know where we were going Monday, but trusted Santiago to drive us back to the ranch and get us there, which he did and we had great stories to share afterwards! 

     Proverbs 3:5-6 

            Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all of your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  

Water Fountain

Statue of Jesus Christ (not in Rio, in Mexico)

Graffiti Wall we stopped by on the road        

Applebee's right by the 7-11

_University of Baja 

(right across from 7-11)           ^Soccer field by the turn    

                                                       we made

Day 1: Sunday

  This morning I woke up, got ready to attend a church service, went to a prayer meeting, ate breakfast and left the ranch along with the others on the team. 

At the ranch before Church

Palm Tree Picture! 

    After several large speed bumps, some windy turns, and skinny cows, we arrived in the community where the church was located. Upon arriving, we drove past several familiar places for those who have come in years past in addition to seeing horses wandering the street. 
                                                                            

Los Caballos

Some of the kids we met. 

                                                                     
     When we arrived at the orphanage, we helped unload materials from the vans and assisted in the setting up of a tent which we would use for shade. While doing this, I noticed 3 girls standing off to the side talking to one another near their family. A bit unsure of what to say to them, I asked some of my friends from church to come with me and talk to them. With the little Spanish I knew, I began asking them questions and formulating sentences. With the help of some friends, we spoke about Disney Princesses and their family and gave high fives "altos cinco". Afterwards, I saw several people over by where clothes and things were set up to give to people. With curiosity in mind, I wander over there and see a line of kids on one side and a line of people on the mission trip on the other. We went down the line of kids asking what is your name and how old are you in Spanish, giving them high fives, and making them laugh by making a silly face. That was so much fun and after a while more and more kids came over and wanted to see what was going on, so it was a great way to meet them!

     A short while later, the church service began we began walking to the tent with the chairs set up. One little girl walked by me looked up at me and smiled, I took her hand and walked with her to the chairs where there were not many seats next to each other so I sat behind her. After a little bit, I looked off to the side and saw several kids sitting on steps off to the side. When looking over there, I thought to myself maybe they want to come over here with us. I am not sure how I got the courage, but I know that it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with God. I walked over to the group of kids on the stairs during the service and said; "Vaminos, esta aqui." After motioning towards the tent, the kids followed me and sat down for a while. Instead of going back to my seat, I sat on the ground with the kids. Several people offered me their seats, but I wanted to sit with the kids. During the service, the kids ran back and forth between sitting down and playing. As the pastor was speaking about Fathers and the Heavenly Father, I was full of joy as I listened to the message and heard the kids laughter in the background. After the message, they asked people from Huron Hills and the community we were in to share something about their faith and hearing friends speak and hearing about how God has helped them grow in faith and about how God has been with them in Mexico for many years was wonderful. Worship was incredibly awesome as well! There were 2 bands, some people from our church and then people from the communities who all did a fantastic job! I loved singing, even though I did not know a lot of the Spanish songs, I did my best to follow along and I had some help from new friends I made that day. After worship, I heard a cry from a kid, I looked over and a little girl was crying in a little tree house. I looked around to see if any of her family was there then I walked over and asked "que paso" for what's going on or what's happening, and she said she was afraid to get down. I said abrazo (hug) and helped her down. She looked up at me and said thank you with a big smile on her face. That moment, I felt so full of joy and I was glad that I did not just continue listening to the church service instead of taking time to look for those who were off to the side. I feel that God definitely helped me do that more often throughout the week and it is something I want to do more of, helping those who are off to the side and quiet, conversing with them and helping them down from a tree house. 

Before the service

Some of the kids I met

Barbara, Eric, and the Pastor from la iglesia

One of the girls who I got to know, she knew a little bit of English
and helped me with my  basic Spanish!

          
                               

After worship was over, the pastor asked all of those who were from Huron Hills 

to come up so that we could be recognized and people could know who we are. We were asked to sing a song for them, so we sang Open the Eyes of My Heart in English and in Spanish. For the Spanish version, I stopped singing for a moment and listened as we all sang together with those in the congregation. I was reminded of how we are all God's children and how he loves us all the same, that we are all one in Christ Jesus like it says in Galatians 3:28. 

"For there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  Holy Bible ESV

Kids playing and chilling by the speakers

Worship Team from the Church rockin' out and worshiping

Kids laughing

Kristin, Evan, and Bethany singing

Where the kids played

One More Day!

  Hola!

    Hey everyone!! So there is one more day until my team and I depart for Mexico!! Thank you all for reading about about my mission trip and I am incredibly grateful for all of the prayers, support, and donations which I have received from you all! I look forward to having the opportunity to sharing all about the trip when I get back! In the meantime, here is a blog that will most likely be updated as we are in Mexico! I hope to also be able to update my blog, but if not you can still check out this blog! As we prepare to leave, I ask that you would pray for safety as we travel and while we are in Mexico. I also ask that you would pray for God to work in our hearts and really use us to help those we work with in Tijuana and that we would build great relationships with people there! We know that God is merciful and calls us to serve one another in brotherly love, and that is what we hope to do! Once again, thank you so very much for all of your support and prayers, may the Lord bless you and your families!

Muchas Gracias,
  Emilia



Tijuana Travels: Hello parents, friends, and all interested parties...: Hello parents, friends, and all interested parties,      At the crack of dawn this Saturday, a number of high school upperclassmen from Hur...

One Week Away!

I am so excited for next weekend, because on Saturday we leave for Mexico! I would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support these past serval months. It is because of your support and donations that I am able to go on this trip and I cannot thank you enough! Thanks to all of you who came to the garage sale and swing dance we had, we raised over $9000 dollars combined which is amazing! Also, I know that none of this could even bepossible if it were not for God. He has blessed me in many ways and has given me strength when I need it. One verse I heave been relying on recently is
   Phillipians 4:13 
           I can do ail things through Christ who gives me strength.
This verse has been one I have found quite encouraging and has helped me to get through things that are difficult or require strength, both physically and spiritually. I am not sure what God has in store for me in Mexico, but I know that God has great plans, for me and my team.
  Once again, thank you so much for all of your prayers, support, donations, and encouragement. May God bless you all!