Hello, everyone!
Today is the last day for most of us. Two families departed yesterday evening (Selkirk's and Armstrong's) to make sure they could catch early flights this morning. The Selkirk's, for example, had to catch a 6am flight this morning. The border can take up to 2 hours to cross back into America, so it was best that they cross last night.
It started raining yesterday after the festivities, which were a big hit! The younger kids (and some of the older ones) had a great time mixing it up with our kids. A few minor injuries and everyone survived!
We all made a trip to el mercado (the market) in downtown Reynosa. We were led by half a dozen of the older kids from the Home. We ended up walking about 12 city blocks up to the market place. Actually, the first market we visited was closing around 5pm, so after a couple of quick purchases we decided to continue on another 6 blocks to a second market area. These market areas were like condensed indoor mazes with shops on both sides. We had limited time there, but just enough to pick up an small item for each child as a souvenier.
We returned to the home and were greeted with a cooler full of Mexican push-pops... Most of us thought they were very good. I had a coconut/pina-colada one and it was very refreshing after the long walk through the city.
Today we enjoyed pancakes and eggs (juevos!) and Mexican chocolate de calor (hot chocolate) for breakfast.
Then we met as a team to recap all that was accomplished this week. It was quite a list! As much as we were able to bless those here at the Home, the Reynosa BIC church and the people at the colonia, each of us was also very blessed to have experienced this together.
Thank you for your prayers leading up to this trip, during the week and now as we travel home. We are curious to feel what it will feel like to step into 20+ degree weather at BWI after getting up to as much as 93 degrees here!
Many, many pictures were taken and lots of video footage, too. As great as pictures and videos are ("a picture speaks a thousand words")--and there are some great pics and clips--they will only tell a partial story. We hope to compile them all together and get them organized and edited soon. Hopefully we can share them via the web in the coming week or two. We encourage you to check back here for more later.
If you want to get a real taste of what it is like... COME! Like most unique experiences, it is difficult to adequately describe the experience until you've been through it. If you come, you will be blessed as much (if not more) than those to whom you extend God's love. It really is better to give than receive.
Well, Layne is up next. Adios! Can't wait to be home again.
-Mark
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
It's Sunday!
This is Dave.....
Wow, what a week it's been. I'll be sure to post a lot of info later, but it's been a great week.
Today is the day of our special surprise. All of the offerings and tithes that the kids at McBIC give, go towards this Children's Home. one of the things we like to bless the children here with is a type of special dinner/treat. This year's special treat is.... Hamburgers and cheeseburgers from Burger King!! While that may seem like an average thing to you and I, these kids very rarely ever get to eat any food from a restaurant or fast food place. So this is an EXTRA special treat. And to top that off, we are also renting some inflatable games for today!
Today's plans - more of a relaxing day as we enjoy the Sabbath.
Breakfast around 9 (which means 9:45ish)
Church at 10:30
Lunch
Inflatables
Walk downtown
Two families are going to Texas because of early AM flights.s
Thanx again for keeping our group in your prayers.
Here are a few pix.
Some Kids Enjoying Balloons
Sorting Beans and Rice for the "colonia".
At the "colonia". One of my proudest moments this year - when Josiah took the hat off his head and gave it to this boy. A special moment for me. Ricardo, the maintenance man form the children's home was also touched by this moment. he said a child taught him something about Jesus that day.
Taking a break after distributing supplies at a "colonia".
Our dishwashers one evening.
Wow, what a week it's been. I'll be sure to post a lot of info later, but it's been a great week.
Today is the day of our special surprise. All of the offerings and tithes that the kids at McBIC give, go towards this Children's Home. one of the things we like to bless the children here with is a type of special dinner/treat. This year's special treat is.... Hamburgers and cheeseburgers from Burger King!! While that may seem like an average thing to you and I, these kids very rarely ever get to eat any food from a restaurant or fast food place. So this is an EXTRA special treat. And to top that off, we are also renting some inflatable games for today!
Today's plans - more of a relaxing day as we enjoy the Sabbath.
Breakfast around 9 (which means 9:45ish)
Church at 10:30
Lunch
Inflatables
Walk downtown
Two families are going to Texas because of early AM flights.s
Thanx again for keeping our group in your prayers.
Here are a few pix.
Some Kids Enjoying Balloons
Sorting Beans and Rice for the "colonia".
At the "colonia". One of my proudest moments this year - when Josiah took the hat off his head and gave it to this boy. A special moment for me. Ricardo, the maintenance man form the children's home was also touched by this moment. he said a child taught him something about Jesus that day.
Taking a break after distributing supplies at a "colonia".
Our dishwashers one evening.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Post from Jeremiah 2
Yo, it´s Jeremiah again. Like I keep saying, things can get interesing down here in Mexico. This message can prove it...
Today we went to Colonia to give some things to people. Colonia´s just a neighborhood in the middle of nowhere. We brang along beans, rice, and toys. I brought along a bunch of Hotwheels and Matchbox cars to give out. The people there looked pretty poor to me, and the kids looked pretty satisfied with one little toy car. I think this is a big opportunity to even cross the border and find yourself in an unfamiliar place. I really think that this can make a difference in a lot of people´s lives, including mine. And if other people come here too, the same thing would ocurr to them.
Well, that´s all for today. And remember: Just coming here can make a huge difference in people´s lives. Ciao!
Today we went to Colonia to give some things to people. Colonia´s just a neighborhood in the middle of nowhere. We brang along beans, rice, and toys. I brought along a bunch of Hotwheels and Matchbox cars to give out. The people there looked pretty poor to me, and the kids looked pretty satisfied with one little toy car. I think this is a big opportunity to even cross the border and find yourself in an unfamiliar place. I really think that this can make a difference in a lot of people´s lives, including mine. And if other people come here too, the same thing would ocurr to them.
Well, that´s all for today. And remember: Just coming here can make a huge difference in people´s lives. Ciao!
Update From Sherry
Today we went to a Colonial to hand out food and clothing to the people there. When we got there Ricardo pulled onto a fenced property and we all got out. He said - this was his property that he is paying for and asked us to pray over it and for the future house that will sit on it. He hopes to eventually build a church. It was neat to be able to join together in prayer for him and his family.
At the site there were some houses being built with cinder block, but a lot just built out of anything they could find. There was one swing set with 2 small swings on it - other than that we did not see any children playing anywhere. There was a small boy who was being carried by his mother out to his wheelchair. I later saw the mom take him for a walk on the dusty pot holed road in the scorching sun- when we went to give them some clothes and food I realized he was blind and probably had some other problems also. They were very grateful for the items, especially shoes. It was incredible to see this place and realize that people like Ricardo and his wife Olga are dreaming of building their home here. Compared to the orphanage and what they have here it is amazing to think that this could be their dream, but it is something that will belong to them and they will be on their own, they can not wait for the day. We were not able to give out all that we had brought because we had to walk from house to house and that took some time. We will leave the items here for another team to be able to give away.
When we came back - we had a good taco salad in the dining area - rice, hamburger, beans, lettuce and corn chips. The food has been really good - at least most of the adults think so - I thought I would be losing some pounds, but instead, may be doing the opposite, hopefully I am working it all off. Chris and Roger put another coat of paint on a room upstairs and I finished cleaning the new school room. Pastor Dave and the kids have been ballooning today.
I learned from the Director Madelyn that none of the kids have total sponsorship here which is $20 a month and each child needs 10 sponsors each. It was good to sit and talk to her about the Homes needs. She was very appreciative of this group and shared that she felt like our group was just a great fit for the Home and hoped that we would continue to come back and watch these kids grow up.
Well, bye for now, thanks for all your prayers, we have felt them beyond what you could know.
God Bless,
Sherry
At the site there were some houses being built with cinder block, but a lot just built out of anything they could find. There was one swing set with 2 small swings on it - other than that we did not see any children playing anywhere. There was a small boy who was being carried by his mother out to his wheelchair. I later saw the mom take him for a walk on the dusty pot holed road in the scorching sun- when we went to give them some clothes and food I realized he was blind and probably had some other problems also. They were very grateful for the items, especially shoes. It was incredible to see this place and realize that people like Ricardo and his wife Olga are dreaming of building their home here. Compared to the orphanage and what they have here it is amazing to think that this could be their dream, but it is something that will belong to them and they will be on their own, they can not wait for the day. We were not able to give out all that we had brought because we had to walk from house to house and that took some time. We will leave the items here for another team to be able to give away.
When we came back - we had a good taco salad in the dining area - rice, hamburger, beans, lettuce and corn chips. The food has been really good - at least most of the adults think so - I thought I would be losing some pounds, but instead, may be doing the opposite, hopefully I am working it all off. Chris and Roger put another coat of paint on a room upstairs and I finished cleaning the new school room. Pastor Dave and the kids have been ballooning today.
I learned from the Director Madelyn that none of the kids have total sponsorship here which is $20 a month and each child needs 10 sponsors each. It was good to sit and talk to her about the Homes needs. She was very appreciative of this group and shared that she felt like our group was just a great fit for the Home and hoped that we would continue to come back and watch these kids grow up.
Well, bye for now, thanks for all your prayers, we have felt them beyond what you could know.
God Bless,
Sherry
Hi from Gabrielle
I am having a good time in Mexico playing soccer. Thank you for praying for me and my family. Today I went to the Colonial and we gave out rice and beans and clothes, shoes, and stuffed animals. I felt good giving out the stuff. I have met a lot of kids here, here are some of their names, Edna, Jasmine, Freda, Oscar, Mia, America, Juan, and Iris. The best thing so far is playing soccer and helping the children. I have helped the children by painting their room and moving their school. This lady named Madelyn is in charge of everyone in the Childrens Home.
See you when we get home.
Gabrielle
See you when we get home.
Gabrielle
Update from Hailey
I went on 3 airplanes first, and then I went to a Hotel to stay. The next day I went to the Childrens Home and then I stayed there for 5 days. I liked to play soccer with the kids and I liked playing with the kids. Today I went to a Colonial I gave out beans and rice. I liked being there because other people dont have clothes and I gave them some, and I gave them shoes.
Hailey
Hailey
A very busy Sabado (Saturday)
Buenos dias, everyone!
A quick update in the midst of lots of activity... First, Happy Valentine´s Day!
We are currently moving all of the school equipment and supplies into the second floor of the building we cleared and cleaned (cleaning courtesy of Sherry S.). To recap, this will free up space in the main building (3rd floor) for additional living space for children.
Last night, the three puppies somehow made it into the third floor room that had just been painted. Everything had been cleaned up, except for a paint pan... One of the puppies found it and made little paw prints around the third floor before they entered into the guys sleeping area at 6-something AM. =)
We also just finished preparing the gift boxes that many of you donated. Thank you so much! We plan to give them out to the children later today.
The vans are in the process of being packed up with rice, beans, clothing, toys as we prepare to go to the colonia. Dave and Diane, and others will also make some balloon animals, hats, etc. for the children there.
A five year old boy named Abraham just came up to me and gave me a self-drawn purple heart with his name in it. I returned the favor by drawing a red heart with a crayon on a separate piece of paper. Inside, I wrote: ¨Jesus te amo!¨ and ¨I will miss you!¨
Later tonight we plan to particpate in a service here at the home, though we are unsure of what they are looking for... a message, puppets, drama, songs, balloons?
Off we go!
-Mark
A quick update in the midst of lots of activity... First, Happy Valentine´s Day!
We are currently moving all of the school equipment and supplies into the second floor of the building we cleared and cleaned (cleaning courtesy of Sherry S.). To recap, this will free up space in the main building (3rd floor) for additional living space for children.
Last night, the three puppies somehow made it into the third floor room that had just been painted. Everything had been cleaned up, except for a paint pan... One of the puppies found it and made little paw prints around the third floor before they entered into the guys sleeping area at 6-something AM. =)
We also just finished preparing the gift boxes that many of you donated. Thank you so much! We plan to give them out to the children later today.
The vans are in the process of being packed up with rice, beans, clothing, toys as we prepare to go to the colonia. Dave and Diane, and others will also make some balloon animals, hats, etc. for the children there.
A five year old boy named Abraham just came up to me and gave me a self-drawn purple heart with his name in it. I returned the favor by drawing a red heart with a crayon on a separate piece of paper. Inside, I wrote: ¨Jesus te amo!¨ and ¨I will miss you!¨
Later tonight we plan to particpate in a service here at the home, though we are unsure of what they are looking for... a message, puppets, drama, songs, balloons?
Off we go!
-Mark
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