Day 5- Thurs July 31

Today I helped mortar a wall at the Missionary Training center in Chivida. It was tough work but everyone gave 110% all day! Maybe it was cause it was our last day of construction...who knows but we were all motivated. We fought through the pain and heat...the sweat was crazy! I was determined to do my best for God today. Leave nothing in me, but leave everything in that place. It's absolutely amazing what people can do when they are joined together by Christ. I am reminded that a string can easily be broken when by itself, but when bound together with 3 or more it cannot be broken easily. That really describes this week- we pulled it all together as a team-not as individuals. We all had a hand in everything we did and said, and we did it for a common purpose. I know that many cannot see the immediate results of our labor but in years we will be able to know that in Juarez and Chivida we made a difference we truly were chosenby God to serve together in one place. Praise be to God for the wonderful friendships that have been formed and for the work we accomplished this week, we did it ALL with His unending love and support.
Although tomorrow is our last day here I am excited to know that one day I will be rejoined with the GI staff, the Life Challenge staff and the Miami team when we are all sitting in awe at the feet of Jesus.
This trip has taught me so much about myself and the things that I can accomplish when God is in Control and when I give Him all the control. I know there will be many challenges with returning to a "normal" life, yet when God is in control He will take these challenges from me. And quite honestly I will never have a normal life again, I have seen too much poverty and brokenness in this place.

July 30- Day 4

Today was a hard labor intensive day! We went to Chivida, a town about an hour away. We went to the complex that life challenge is setting up as a missionary training school. I was put on the team that worked on the girls' dorms, we made the landing that leads into the doorway of the kitchen area. We mixed the cement the old way-gathered plywood then placed sand, gravel and concrete mix with some water and mixed it using shovels. NOT EASY! I used muscles that ache so badly right now. We completed 3 landings! which is a huge fete especially since the rock and sand were about 1/2 a football field away and had to transport the materials using a wheelbarrow, with several trips each time for the sand and gravel.
After construction was completed we had lunch then headed over to the community center for VBS. The children at this VBS site come from homes where their parents are druggies, alcoholics or drug dealers. It was amazing to see the differences between yesterday's VBS site and todays. There were little to no parents there and the kids were wound up. Probably from the drugs they are inhaling in their own homes. In the end though everyone came together to accomplish the task. We decided that as leaders that we wouldn't stay to do a community outreach. The team was beat from a hard days work, and staying would have meant being in Chivida til 11 pm then driving an hour back. We left and stopped at a park for debriefing, and then off to Carmen's for dinner.
When we returned from dinner we sat outside and just sang for a little bit. It was nice just to be able to relax and fellowship with everyone. Although everyone was tired no one went to sleep, it was a "good tired" as everyone was laughing and having a good time with each other. Currently it is 11:10 and some girls are still outside hanging out.
Some of the most memorable moments of the day;
-chanting "Felipe, Felipe" for the best driver...he does well considering there are no street signs here!
-laughter in the van, it energizes me every time I enter the van
-singing acapella on the balcony
-mixing and pouring concrete
-eating spicy food at Carmen's
-learning more Spanish each day
-the everyday chant "DIRTY MATTRESS"
-"horseradish is the stuff you put on roast beef" after one of the girls asked for the 'horseradish' medicine. it was kind of like ben gay but had a horse on it...hence horseradish. (oh the things we say when we are tired!!!)

goodnight...i am ready to wake up tomorrow for the final day of construction and VBS and give it my all.
It is hard to think that our time here is halfway through...these are experiences I am never going to forget!

July 29-Day 3

**so sorry it is taking me forever to add my journal entries. Everytime I go to add them, I begin to reminisce and then I need to walk away, cause I am missing it so much.**

This mornings devotionals were on Psalm 24. The scripture talks about how everything in the earth is God's, the whole earth and the people who live in it. This totally relates to the time we are experiencing at this very moment. Time to share love and compassion with people who need to feel the love of GOD- not my love- but the love of God through me. God placed these people on the earth for a reason-knowing one day that I would come here to share HIS love one day. It is truly amazing to think that the beauty of HIS earth was made to go out and seek and save the lost. He gave us a Beautiful place to explore and then filled it with people so that we could touch their lives. It truly is a beautiful thing when you take a moment to stop and think about it. Just about time to go do more construction!! GO TEAM DIRTY MATTRESS!!

On the way to construction there were some funny moments...I want to share them, but be forewarned you just had to be there:
"Turtle power" "turtle in a half-shell" (upon seeing an open sewer grate)
Felipe saying to me "you're going to turn into a brunette" My reply "but I am already a brunette" after seeing me with tar and dirt particles all over my arms and head.

I had the opportunity to pray over the family whose roof we fixed today. It was pretty amazing, the daughter asked us to pray for her mom. Felipe translated for me as I prayed. I just asked God to allow the love that we poured into the house to be mulitplied even after we leave this place, and that God would bless the family just as we have been blessed through the work we are doing.
This afternoon we headed out for our last day at this particular VBS site. We were uncertain of what the day would hold or what kind of turnout we would have. Well, God certainly showed up, and He brought 65+ kids to us. Lives were touched, and there were many smiling faces. We gave the children salvation bracelets and shared with the children what each color meant. Hopefully they will keep that in their hearts. It was definitely God's hand in the midst of it all, none of us would have been able to do any of it without His overwhelming love and grace. When we went to leave, one of the girls "Barissa" gave me the biggest hug and then leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. It amazed me that even though I couldn't really communicate with her all that well, she still felt the love of Christ. She truly touched my heart. I was talking with the Pastor's wife and she touched her heart and said "gracias" and was saying how we have touched her heart and how she is grateful to us for being there. It was truly God who had placed us here in Juarez and is opening many doors for us. Praise God!! One of the most touching moments of my day was after VBS. One of the moms asked to be prayed over and although I have no idea what was prayed, I had tears running down my eyes because I knew that we had touched her heart. It is awesome to witness-because of what we are doing lives are being changed!
Later in the evening we went out and invited community families to the Tapias for an event. We were showing a movie in Spanish, Miami prepared a skit, some praise and worship, and some breakdancing! Yes- I said breakdancing!! God is bringing people out of their comfort zone and it is all being used for His glory!
One moment that brought another tear to my eyes was the drama by Miami. (I totally know God is softening my heart on this trip because I am not a public cryer and I have already cried multiple times where I can be seen). The drama was about how when God sent His son to die on the cross for us, He died to take all our sins, not part but all. The skit went on to show that even Christians get tempted but Christ is always trying to get us back to Him, but it is up to us to break free from those sins. In the end, Christ spoke to the heart of the girl despite many temptations, and that He is aleays ready to take us back with open arms. Christ then takes those sins on to Himself simply because our debt was paid when He died on the cross for us. It was very powerful to watch. I pray that those watching would feel the same thing I felt- the love and compassion of God given to us in the form of His son. Then it was time for some breakdancing...a bunch of locals started dancing, and it turned into a dance-off between some Miami people and the locals. It was quite funny to watch.
After everyone left a bunch of us sat up on the balcony and sang praise and worship songs for 45 minutes. No one complained that it was late, they all enjoyed hearing His name be praised. It was truly a blessing to be apart of.

Day 2-July 28

What a gorgeous day outside. The sun is shining and the mountains are beautiful. The teams broke up into their respective groups and we left the Tapias enroute to our construction sites. My construction team consisted of the Phillies (myself, Liza and KC), Stephanie, and Sylvia. Liz and Summer from GI were there too...we were the girl squad. We didn't have a name for our team until we were chanting on the way to Pastor Hoel's...first we were chanting "hoel, hoel, hoel" really loud...we were psyching ourselves up for the work to be done. Then all of a sudden Summer saw a stray dog and we all started chanting "stray dog stray dog..." (which aren't that hard to find they are everywhere...) As we continued on our way to the church Liz saw a DIRTY MATTRESS laying on the side of the road...so what is a bunch of girls to do...but chant dirty mattress, dirty mattress... and that my friends is how we were named TEAM DIRTY MATTRESS. We arrived at the church 5 minutes after we left (yes all of that took place in less then 5 minutes). We were working on the roof of the church which need repair because rain was leaking in. I attempted to climb the ladder to the highest part of the climb, but it was unsuccessful. it was way too high and the ladder wasn't very stable. not a good mix if you ask me. So Felipe found Carmen and I began setting up for the girls to have lunch. That was fun, although I couldn't talk to the girls I was able to still make them laugh and smile. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to do some construction, I want to get dirty!!! After working for a while, we headed back to the Tapias for lunch, and then back out for VBS. The red van...which rocks by the way...consists of the Phillies, Felipe, Danielle, Liz, Alan, Austin, Carl, Stephanie, Sylvia, Vali, Roger and Ruth. We arrived at the church and the pastor was waiting for us. Some of the crew rode in his van with the doors open while he called the kids to VBS on a megaphone from his van. It was quite a sight. There were about 40 kids who showed up to hear the message of Jesus Christ. As some of the kids arrived they greeted us with big hugs. they were so excited to have us there. We tossed volleyballs around while we waited for more children to arrive. the Miami team had prepared a lesson on thankfulness and we did face paint. When we arrived back at the Tapias we relaxed for a little bit, but then Liz came in and asked if we wanted to go for ice cream. She told us we didn't have to come but we were welcome to...did she really think anyone would turn down ice cream?? did she realize how hot it was!??
we all loaded back in the van, and off we went to the ice cream place. It was sooooo delicious. The other team hadn't arrived back yet so we were keeping it a secret from them...haha yeah right. We prepped materials for the next days VBS and also for the rest of the week. We went to get some Coca-Cola's...cause by this point we were sick of drinking agua. We took Alan with us so that he could keep the thugs away... the soda there is cheap compared to what I am used to. A 1 liter bottle was $1.00. Well it is about time to head to dinner. talk to you later...
I forgot to write about this earlier...
when we were coming home from VBS earlier Felipe was following the Pastor back to the main road and once we got to where he thought he knew he was going he stopped following him. Well, as we were travelling down the ravine (yes ravine, they use them as makeshift roads), we realized they were all coming one way. Suddenly we realized there was a car behind us and we were thinking we were going the right way. well...it was the pastor waving at us trying to get our attention. He pulled up next to us and was laughing at us.
The fellowship with the Miami team has been great. They have welcomed us into their team ad we have made bonds that will hopefully last a lifetime.
While at dinner tonight Kayla caught the attention of Kacie and Liza. She was playing with stickers that Liza had brought and then would play "peek-a-boo" but instead would say "hola".
We have some amazing leaders here with us this week from global Infusion. They really know how to have a good time. I sat next to Larry, Liz and Verano during dinner. Larry just crack me up. He is such a goof ball...but he also has a heart for Christ. While we were finishing up dinner Felipe told us he had a surprise for us tonight- a trip to a lookout where we could see over the city of Juarez. We would have time to pray over the city and have a time of fellowship. That was not meant to be, because 5 minutes later Larry told Felipe that Matt said the road was closed. But that we will get to pray over the city on Friday when we take a hike up a mountain to giant Cross.
So we returned to the Tapias and relaxed a bit.
Hasta Manana!!

Day One- July 27th

As I write this we are in the air over Texas flying to El Paso to meet up with the group from Miami. It has been a long morning, we have been up since 3 AM. I only got about 2 hours of sleep last night, and it wasn't restful sleep. I can't wait to arrive and get started. Not really sure what the day holds for us, but I know we are attending a church service, and then having lunch at the church. Kacie is super excited to be seeing someone from her trip last year, I think she pretty much bounced to the gate in Philly and Dallas. Liza has so far managed to survive her first and second airplane rides. Although we let her have the window seat to El Paso, and was less then thrilled when she realized she was right by the noisy engine. Although she did say she saw our luggage going on the plane, which I am grateful for. We are beginning our descent into El Paso so not too much longer until we arrive.

We are all tired, but super excited for what God holds for us this week. I am going into this week with a "I will do whatever it takes" attitude, not expecting anything to be a certain way because I know that it will not be the way I want it to be. (man...figures I just now realized that the head rests have a head support that folds out to protect your head when you are sleeping. Why couldn't I figure that one out hours ago....oh Lord what are you trying to teach me?) Later...

Later that evening

So we met up with the team from Miami, and met up with the GI contact Tim, who was there with GI staff. We waited for the vans to arrive to take us across the border to our home away from home.

We arrived at the "Tapias" (it means unfinished work) where we will be staying for the next 6 days. We unloaded the trailer, and headed up to the bunks. After getting settled, we travelled to the church for a service. God was so alive there-the music was amazing-even though I couldn't understand a word that was being said I could feel God's spirit moving in that place. It was truly an amazing experience! It was nice that we were able to sing some English songs as well. I could feel that God was beginning to prepare my heart for what I was about to do that week. The pastor shared about how we can't allow fear to take over our hearts. We closed with worship, then it was time to eat! We were pretty hungry by this time, and Carmen had prepared a delicious authentic Mexican meal.

Then we loaded up the vans and went to a park with the kids. The kids were so happy, they were grinning ear to ear. Some of them were a little shy, but they opened up quickly. It was funny how when I went to give one of the kids a high five and pulled my hand away because the giggles I got were like none I have ever heard. I played a little "futbol", soccer for those who don't know what that means. Then we returned and dropped off the kids and went back to the Tapias. We had some downtime before dinner and debriefing. Kacie, Liza and I decided that we need to make a Coca-Cola run tomorrow.

The weather seems to be taking a turn for the worse...storms are brewing off over the mountains. Shouldn't be long before they hit here. We had a leadership meeting and we are doing Construction tomorrow. Kacie, Liza and I will be working on a roof and then VBS in the PM. We have been officially dubbed the Phillies by Felipe and the rest of the GI crew. I am so tired right now...finally lights out...time for some much needed R&R.

Adios, Hasta Manana!

I am back safe and sound

I made it back safe and sound from my trip to mexico, and can't wait to share it all with you!!

Over the next few days I will be adding entries from my journal that i wrote while on my Mission trip to Juarez, Mexico...it will written word for word from my journal..i am not holding anything back...I want people to know what I was experiencing and how I was feeling as I went through the week... I want God to have all the praise and Glory!
I will eventually add pictures from the trip, and I know that they will melt your heart.

April

Faith is all you need...

Several months ago I was going through some difficult times and needed to "step up to the plate" with some family matters. When I was going through those moments, I never thought I would come out of the situation with a positive outlook. However, after going through the lowest of lows and wishing it was the highest of highs, I realize that what got me through was my faith. It wasn't just time passing, it was God working through those moments. It took me going through all of that to realize just how faithful God is to the faithful. When we praise him through the storms of our lives, He blesses us back. I have been so richly blessed with friends who are understanding, compassionate, caring, loving, encouraging and supporting. When friends noticed that I was down and out, they were able to make me laugh. God brings these types of people into our lives for these particular moments, to lift us when we are down. As I look back now on my life, I am a stronger and better person for making the choices I made, and it is simply because I had faith in God to get me through. Someone questioned me several months ago about how I could believe in someone who I can't see or feel. I answered them with a simple phrase but that has now become one of my favorites.
"I have faith in God just as I have faith in the sun, not because I can see it but because I cannot see without it."
My prayer is that this phrase allows the non-believers to think about what having faith truly means.