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Monday, January 29, 2007

Home from Mexico!

Well, they let me back into the country. LOL! So, I'm home again and somewhat back to normal. Had a lot of time to reflect and ponder all week and now I'm on a clearing out mission to simplify my life again. No reason to keep all the clutter I'm not using if it can benefit someone who needs it.

The trip was awesome! I'm still processing everything, but I did manage to upload my photos if anyone is interesting in viewing them. Obviously you won't know what all of them are, but I can tell you we went to 4 different children's homes (orphanages) and did work on 3 of them.

Photos From Mexico

Monday, we grilled hamburgers and spent time with the children at the first home. Tuesday, we built storage cabinets and hung track lighting for another home. Wednesday, we poured the cement for the 2nd story of a teen boys' home that will be the 3rd of 6 total houses on the mission property. My muscles *still* ache. :) That evening, we brought a hot meal, blankets and plastic storage containers to the people living in the "Rio" which is a Squatter's Village where homes are made of anything they can find.

Thursday was the most memorable. We brought a new washing machine and kerosene heaters to the 4th home, installed plexiglass for windows and doors where blankets had been, built a cabinet for storing clothes to get them off the wet floor, hung 2 new clothes lines for drying their clothes, brought lunch for the children and filled in the gap from the wall to the roof where nothing had been. After the work was done, we took the children to a movie where they had popcorn and coke and afterward had hotdogs and fries. So, that night, we knew they were going to bed with full stomachs, heat and no drafts through the walls, doors or windows. They also had 3 full beds and a couch for sleeping. 15 children and 4 adults lived in 4 rooms.

All in all, a fantastic experience, and the pictures of the little girl from Thursday (Juanita) are my favorite. Glad I can stay in touch with her, cuz I miss her already.

So, has anyone else here ever done work like this either in the US or abroad? Perhaps served a meal during a holiday or collected goods for those in need, etc? Feel free to share in the comments. Would love to hear other stories.

2 comments:

Shauna said...

I've never done any missions work outside the country (Canada). Working with orphans was a dream from long ago, but God led me in other directions - to my wonderful husband and children. However, there is always the possibilty of someday.

Glad you had a great time and made it safely back home. :-)

Jennifer Y. said...

Welcome Back! I am glad your trip was awesome!