Mexico - Journal entry #3

Monday October 6, 2008
Today was a day full of activity. We had a women's Bible study (VBS) at 10am. About 20 women, some with their children, came to the Bible study. Before the Bible study began, we served the women and their children breakfast. Cindy was in the kitchen making pancakes. After serving breakfast, Gail, Pam & Deb did a great job with the devotions, a craft and a lesson about diabetes. The women in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves.
Lisa & Nicole took the children outside to play, while the women were in the dining area with Gail, Pam & Deb. This was done to cause less of a distraction to the moms. I helped out where I could, but I also took photos of the activities happening both inside and outside. Some of the guys were working on the outer wall, while Kerry & Deone were power washing the floors on the inside of Dorm #1. It seemed like they were having a blast.
After the team's lunch, children from the Colonia came for VBS. We served them lunch and then Lisa gave a small devotion. We had so many children in attendance that we had to separate the boys from the girls for the craft. What an experience! We were thankful for Pastor Nachos & Rachel, who helped translate the lesson. It was a bit overwhelming and somewhat exhausting. When everything was done, Lisa, Nicole and I came back to the dorm to rest. Some of the guys were in the dorm putting together the shower stalls in the boy's (men's) bathroom. I am surprise that Lisa & Nicole were able to rest. I tried but it was too loud.
Hortencia & a couple other women prepared dinner for us. We had steak fajitas with cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes & guacamole along with rice and corn. Everything was delicious. After dinner, we had devotions in the common room. Fran Keem lead the devotion titled "Continuous Improvement" (Hebrews 5:15-6:8) How we all have choices to make concerning our growth in Christ? There was some good discussion. After the devotion Charles, Jeff & I emptied all the garbage's throughout the dorms. What an experience.
When I got back to my room, I was able to discuss some scriptures with the other women in the room. It was a nice time to get to know the others a little bit better.

Friends & Thankfulness

What a blessing it is to have friends who pour out into my life! I thank God.
Tonight I visited with a long time friend and God used her to speak life into my being. She encouraged me to continually seek God's face and trust Him and His Word. She has had her share of heartache but through it all she found joy in the only place she could find it, in her Heavenly Father! How AWESOME is that!!!!!
He is a Father who desires for His children to be filled with joy even amidst daily struggles. He desires good things for His children. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM. He will be found when we search for Him with all our heart. He loves me with an amazing love that nothing can compare to it.
I am thankful!!!
Blessings to you~~

Mexico - Journal entry #2

10/6/08
Yesterday was an unusual Sunday for me. Instead of getting up early for church I got up early and prepared for the day. The group would not be leaving for church until about 12:15pm because service started at 1pm.
In the morning, I was able to write in my journal and have a good quiet time with the Lord (see previous blog). He spoke to my heart and that is what I desperately needed. I reread Jeremiah 29:11-14 and it ministered to my crying heart. I was in the community room doing my devotion sitting on the couch. Several people came by. I felt a little foolish because I had been crying but I should not have felt that way because it was only God speaking to me and I was listening.
After breakfast some of the women came together to prepare for the VBS. We sorted through beads and punched out foam stickers. The men were outside discussing the construction plans for the week. Lisa Mufford was thankful that we had taken the time to prepare in the morning.
Once we finished the VBS preparation we had a couple hours to relax. I started to read the book "Sunset" by Karen Kingsbury. It has been a story about God's faithfulness and redemption.
Around 12:15 everyone was seated in the vans and we headed to church. On the way to church we had to go through another military check point. It was a little nerve wrecking. Thankfully this time we did not have to pull over and get out of the van.
The trip to the church was interesting. There are junk yards just about every 100 feet. It makes one wonder where all the cars come from. At one point, we say several pigs waling along the road. Quite humorous if you ask me.
We arrived at the church around 1pm. We were instucted to give the response of "Amen" any time a church member spoke to us. The service started and there were a lot of praise & worship. It was nice because the words on the overhead were in both Spanish and English. The songs were all familiar to us, so it made worship more enjoyable. Whe the Pastor would speak, he did translate into English. It was a bit funny, because there were times when I didn't catch the fact that he was speaking in English.
During praise & worship a coupld of women got up to sing solos. The first woman sang "How Great Thou Art." Even in Spanish the song was beautiful. The woman had an amazing voice. The second woman sang a song I did not recognize. She sang to the Lord and in her willingness to sing, even when she was unsure of herself, it was beautiful. The worship lasted for about an hour. Once the music part of worship ended, the Pastor introduced Pastor Deone. Pastor Deone got up on the platform with Gary translating. He spoke about how God is Good and why he knows God is Good. The message was short and simple. When Pastor Deone finished, the Pastor got back up and let the congregation in more prayer and worship. He seemed determine to have the service last until 3pm. After the service ended they had a meal of forditas and rice. Plus some of the children were selling donuts and coffee. The dinner was good and very filling. Whe everyone finished we walked across the street to a bakery. It was not a normal bakery. (At least not like you would see in America). We walked right past the bakers who were preparing the different pastries. Some of the group bought the pastries at 5 for $1.00.
After the bakery we headed back home with a stop @ the ice cream place. I got a strawberry & cream dessert. Some of the others got ice cream conces or frozen fruit bars. Everything looked delicious.
We also stopped in the Colonia to invite the children to VBS. We did stop @ one home where the family had a ninfant that was malnourished. When we got back to Resplandor la Vida, Gary asked if we could help provide some basic necessities for the child and the family in general. Many of the group gave money and then went to the market with Gary to get food and supplies for the infant and family.
Some of us stayed back at the dorms and rested. We did prepare a dinner of Tuna fish and salad. Lisa & I ate and came back to the dorm because we were exhausted from the whole day. We talked about how I experienced the first day. It was nice talking with her. Nicole (our other roommate) came into the room & joined our conversation for a few minutes. We were all tired so went to bed before everyone else.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

Mexico: Rest of Day 1

I am going to try and finish the rest of day 1 in Mexico. I will be rewriting my journal entries. So please bear with me. Enjoy!
Once the tour of the dormitory was completed, the trailer and truck were emptied of luggage and food. With a lot of hands the work was quick.
Some of the group went for a walk down to a little shop at the end of the road to the Resplandor de Vida. I walked with Marie ( an older woman on the team). We got about halfway down the road and Marie turned around. I did finish heading to the street to catch up with the others. It was getting dark so we quickly headed back. Deb & I walked briskly and got back ahead of the others.
When we arrived back dinner was prepared. Hamburgers, salad and potato salad, Nothing Mexican Yet!
Right after dinner, Gary(head of Harvest Hands Ministries) gave us an orientation about what was expected & not expected of us while we were in Mexico. He explained some of the cultural differences we could expect and how as Christians we needed to present ourselves. After the orientation, everyone headed back to the dorms to get ready for bed. It had been a long day.
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What did I want to see God accomplish in my week in Mexico?

I want to see His Hand in my life. I want to see Him more clearly and see His heart for the people I am with and His Heart for me. I say I want His plans in my life yet I try to accomplish my own plans. I have tried to take things into my own hands and plans with little success.
How is He to accomplish anything in my life when I don't make Him the center? I have been making other things the center and because of that I have been on a little bit of a rollar coaster ride.
I desire so much & when I see others getting what I want I complain that it is not fair.
What is not fair is that I have not given God full reign of my heart. He desires all of me, not just part of me. I'm not being fair to Him. How is that fair? It is not! What am I going to do about giving Him all of my heart? Holding nothing back! When I don't give Him everything, it means I don't completely trust Him. However, when I trust I completely surrender my will to His Will.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know that thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you. And you will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found of you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity. "
God was speaking to the Israelites. They had lost sight of who God was meant to be in their life. Yet, God in his love, compassion, grace & mercy came to them with hope. Just like the Israelites I've lost some direction and hope. I've lost some peace. Yet just like the Israelites God calls out my name. His thoughts fro me are filled with peace and He wants me to have a future with Him. I need to call upon Him, Seek Him and pray to Him, not with just part of my heart but with my whole heart. He says when I do that I will find Him and not only will He be found but He will bring me out of the captivity that I have placed myself in.
Thanks for listening.
Until next time.
Blessings to you~~~

Mexico day 1 possibly day 2

4am in not my desired wake up time, but when you need to be to the airport by 5am it is a good time to get up. Last Saturday my parents brought me to the Buffalo International Airport so I could meet up with the rest of the Mexico Mission team by 5am. It was the start of a long day but good day.
Most of the team arrived at the airport a little after 5am. We all got checked in and then had to wait to board the plain around 6:30am. While waiting we ate breakfast and talked about the our trip to Mexico. We could not believe the time had finally arrived. Yeah!
We got on the plane and were headed out. With stops in Chicago and Albuquerque we finally arrived in El Paso, TX. Garry Mathewson met us at the airport with a big van and a huge trailer to tote all our luggage. We stopped at Pizza Hut for lunch and then headed back to Garry and his wife, Terry's home to go over some orientation stuff for the week and pack up our food for the week. Both Terry and Garry are great people with a heart for the people of Mexico. While at their house we did get to take a group photo of all the people on the team (we had 16 from MOSAIC and 8 from another couple of churches) 24 people in all. By about5pm we were on our way into Mexico. Yeah!
Crossing the border was an experience. It was no trouble getting into the country however once we were into the county the Mexican military pulled us over to look through our vehicles to look for weapons and drugs. Let me tell you it was not a fun experience. Especially because they did not speak English and we did not speak Spanish. We had no drugs or weapons so they let us go on our way. It took about a half an hour to get to the place we would be staying "Resplandor La Vida."
Once we arrived we were given a tour of the grounds. A lot of work had been accomplished since some of our team members had been there the year before. They now had inside showers and beds (not mattresses on the floor). I found it wonderful to watch the members from the year before ooh and ahh over all the changes. I was glad I was a part of the team this year.
Well, I have to go to work now. So I will try to continue about more of the trip later.
Until then,
Blessings to you~

Finally another blog

Yes, I know it has been a couple weeks since I have last written. I have been busy preparing for a bonfire and a trip to Mexico. I am home now and have a little bit of time so I will write a little bit. first I will write about the bonfire that I had at my parent's home on the 27th of September.
In the days leading up to the bonfire, I was extremely busy. The week before the fire, I cooked up 18 pounds of ground turkey for taco meat. I am thankful that I did it because the day before the bonfire I had to go out and get miscellaneous items, put up canopy tents, dig out the bonfire pit and set up picnic tables. What a crazy couple of days! It was all worth it though.
All week the weather reports kept changing for the weekend. It was my prayer that I would have nice weather, but the reports were continually calling for rain all day on Saturday (thus the tents).
Well, it started to rain the night before the bonfire and when I woke up I could hear the water on the ground when the cars went by on the street. I was not very excited. However about 10am the sun came out and I was ecstatic. The rest of the day there were threats of rain but it did not come until about 11:30pm. Praise the Lord!
The first people started to arrive around 3:30pm. Dinner would not be until about 5:30pm. As people started to arrive some played card games, hackey sack or just sat around and talked. It really was an informal evening of food and fellowship. I was thankful for the food that each individual prepared and brought to the event. There was never a shortage of food. Thank God! My mom said, "Each time I went out to the food tent there was more food." Everyone got there share and then some.
During the evening, some of the group played volleyball on our lit up court. I am glad we got use of the court. Others sat around the bonfire and talked. Some even started to sing.It seemed like everyone was having a great time.
Well, It was a lot of work, but the end result was that I had at least 85 people in attendance and everyone left with their stomachs full and a smile on their face.
Until next time~
Blessings to you~~