Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Picture Review
Here are some random pictures of our trip. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wow, I'm tired!
As Mark mentioned below, some of us got in much later than expected. But thankfully, we made it!!!
I think all the kids had a wonderful trip and will have many great memories to remember. I also know that there are many, many teaching moments for our boys. It's always great to be able to take a trip like this together. It really helps us all keep things in perspective!
Our boys were so tired from the trip, I think they were asleep within 2 minutes of take-off on the first leg of our return flight.
They missed a nice view out their window! it looked like you could just walk on top!
Here's a picture of our "broken" plane. Kind of weird, since it's the same plane we flew from McAllen to Dallas/Fort Worth. I don't think it was broken then, and some of us just stayed on board for the next leg to BWI. I wonder if it being broken has anything to do with some of our kids going into the cockpit and getting the grand tour while waiting for the plane to be cleaned?
But, like I said, we made it back safely. And even remembered where we parked our vehicles. Everyone was tired riding the shuttle back to our vehicles.
Well, now to get a thru a few emails before I fall asleep here at my desk.
Thanx again for keeping us in your prayers and keep looking back as some of us reflect on the trip and post some more pictures.
I think all the kids had a wonderful trip and will have many great memories to remember. I also know that there are many, many teaching moments for our boys. It's always great to be able to take a trip like this together. It really helps us all keep things in perspective!
Our boys were so tired from the trip, I think they were asleep within 2 minutes of take-off on the first leg of our return flight.
They missed a nice view out their window! it looked like you could just walk on top!
Here's a picture of our "broken" plane. Kind of weird, since it's the same plane we flew from McAllen to Dallas/Fort Worth. I don't think it was broken then, and some of us just stayed on board for the next leg to BWI. I wonder if it being broken has anything to do with some of our kids going into the cockpit and getting the grand tour while waiting for the plane to be cleaned?
But, like I said, we made it back safely. And even remembered where we parked our vehicles. Everyone was tired riding the shuttle back to our vehicles.
Well, now to get a thru a few emails before I fall asleep here at my desk.
Thanx again for keeping us in your prayers and keep looking back as some of us reflect on the trip and post some more pictures.
We're Home!
Hi, everyone. This is Mark typing.
The last of the team made it home arriving at McBIC around 3:45 AM. The Selkirk's and Armstrong's made it earlier in the day. I don't have much info on how their trip went at this point, but we are glad they made it home safely.
The latter group of us had a smooth border crossing, checked-in at the airport, then drove to a restaurant supply store with Madelyn (the Director of the Children's Home) to pick up some heavy-duty bowls & plates for the Home. We then took her to lunch at a local buffet restaurant in McAllen and enjoyed a final conversation with her before she dropped us off at the airport.
Our flight from McAllen, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) went smoothly. Upon arriving at DFW, however, they announced mechanical issues with the plane. The flight was delayed and they ended up switching us to another S80 plane. I think we departed around 10PM Central and arrived at BWI around 1:15 AM Eastern. After a quick visit to "los banos" (the bathrooms), we found that our luggage arrived very quickly at baggage claim. Perhaps this was because no other flights were arriving at that hour of the night!
My sense of time was a blur after that. The Truitts drove their van while following Roger Knepper driving his van with the Lebo's and Hopkins' in tow. Layne, Roger and I kept ourselves mostly awake with some interesting conversation. Layne and I learned a lot about how E-bay and Amazon works, as well as some interesting things about the camera and video camera accessory business. (Thank you, Roger!)
Ok, time for some zzzzzz's. From the sounds of it, Jer and Nate must be fast asleep already. By the time I got the luggage in around 4am, they had dissappeared upstairs... and it's actually quite. Praise God!
Again, thank you for your prayers and support going back many months all that way to present. We could not have done it without you all!
Blessings,
Mark
The last of the team made it home arriving at McBIC around 3:45 AM. The Selkirk's and Armstrong's made it earlier in the day. I don't have much info on how their trip went at this point, but we are glad they made it home safely.
The latter group of us had a smooth border crossing, checked-in at the airport, then drove to a restaurant supply store with Madelyn (the Director of the Children's Home) to pick up some heavy-duty bowls & plates for the Home. We then took her to lunch at a local buffet restaurant in McAllen and enjoyed a final conversation with her before she dropped us off at the airport.
Our flight from McAllen, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) went smoothly. Upon arriving at DFW, however, they announced mechanical issues with the plane. The flight was delayed and they ended up switching us to another S80 plane. I think we departed around 10PM Central and arrived at BWI around 1:15 AM Eastern. After a quick visit to "los banos" (the bathrooms), we found that our luggage arrived very quickly at baggage claim. Perhaps this was because no other flights were arriving at that hour of the night!
My sense of time was a blur after that. The Truitts drove their van while following Roger Knepper driving his van with the Lebo's and Hopkins' in tow. Layne, Roger and I kept ourselves mostly awake with some interesting conversation. Layne and I learned a lot about how E-bay and Amazon works, as well as some interesting things about the camera and video camera accessory business. (Thank you, Roger!)
Ok, time for some zzzzzz's. From the sounds of it, Jer and Nate must be fast asleep already. By the time I got the luggage in around 4am, they had dissappeared upstairs... and it's actually quite. Praise God!
Again, thank you for your prayers and support going back many months all that way to present. We could not have done it without you all!
Blessings,
Mark
Monday, February 16, 2009
Closing Thoughts from Layne
It's now less than an hour until we leave the home and drive across the border to McAllen, where we fly out at 5:30 Central Time. There is so much to communicate that I won't even try. I walked in as Mark was concluding his blog post and I agree that if you really want to get a clear picture of our experience you need to experience it yourself. I especially encourage families with grade school or jr. high age children to participate in an upcoming missions trip. It has been great for Bronte to see another part of the world and to realize that the material blessings we take for granted aren't shared by many people in our world.
I'd like to pick up where I left off on Thursday evening (I believe it was Thursday). I asked you to pray specifically for our kids--they were experiencing physical and emotional fatigue and several were struggling significantly with breathing issues. PRAISE GOD, Friday and the following days were much better. Much of the asthma/allergy issues lessened and the kids seemed to do much better in the days since then. Thank you so much for praying.
This morning during our debriefing time following breakfast Tru (Pastor Dave) asked the kids and adults to highlight the things we've done during the past 5 days. It was significant to reflect on all we were able to accomplish and experience in a relatively short time. It was also a blessing to me to hear the director report that we were very "low maintenance." That meant a lot to us, becuase our desire was to be a blessing, not a burden to them. The director also mentioned that we were very flexible with schedules and "Mexican time." Again, it was encouraging to hear this because most of us are very time conscious, "do oriented" people, and it was challenging for us to keep our attitudes in a good place and focus on serving even when we thought we had better ways of doing things.
I hope you realize that even though you're not physically with us, you've been an integral part of our team. Thanks again for your prayers and financial support! I look forward to seeing many of you over the course of the next week and at church on Sunday.
Your partner in ministry,
Layne
PS We're scheduled to arrive at BWI at 12:03 tonight...or Tuesday morning, actually. We anticpate arriving back in Mechanicsburg around 3 AM. Please keep us in your prayers as we get a few hours of sleep and then try to resume our normal lives on Tuesday morning/afternoon.
I'd like to pick up where I left off on Thursday evening (I believe it was Thursday). I asked you to pray specifically for our kids--they were experiencing physical and emotional fatigue and several were struggling significantly with breathing issues. PRAISE GOD, Friday and the following days were much better. Much of the asthma/allergy issues lessened and the kids seemed to do much better in the days since then. Thank you so much for praying.
This morning during our debriefing time following breakfast Tru (Pastor Dave) asked the kids and adults to highlight the things we've done during the past 5 days. It was significant to reflect on all we were able to accomplish and experience in a relatively short time. It was also a blessing to me to hear the director report that we were very "low maintenance." That meant a lot to us, becuase our desire was to be a blessing, not a burden to them. The director also mentioned that we were very flexible with schedules and "Mexican time." Again, it was encouraging to hear this because most of us are very time conscious, "do oriented" people, and it was challenging for us to keep our attitudes in a good place and focus on serving even when we thought we had better ways of doing things.
I hope you realize that even though you're not physically with us, you've been an integral part of our team. Thanks again for your prayers and financial support! I look forward to seeing many of you over the course of the next week and at church on Sunday.
Your partner in ministry,
Layne
PS We're scheduled to arrive at BWI at 12:03 tonight...or Tuesday morning, actually. We anticpate arriving back in Mechanicsburg around 3 AM. Please keep us in your prayers as we get a few hours of sleep and then try to resume our normal lives on Tuesday morning/afternoon.
It's Monday!
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
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
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.
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