That's all I can post for now. I'm running to our team meeting. Thanks again for all of your prayers.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Pictures Anyone?
That's all I can post for now. I'm running to our team meeting. Thanks again for all of your prayers.
We Love Ensenada - In Their Own Words
Hi, this is Carolyn Benson. What a great beautiful first day – sunny blue sky. We made good progress on the house, and had a fun time interacting with the kids at the end of the work day. It was tough having to be teamed up with Workman Ken – the super work person! And then it was also a good laugh to watch Pastor Brian try to swing a hammer! I love working with newcomers Joel and Karin. We sure miss you Sandy!
Ken’s Taco Tally- Wednesday Evening
Tom – 2 Queso Tacos Ken – 2 Queso Tacos Brian – 0 Tacos
Everyone else pupped out. They don’t know what they are missing.
Hola! This is Lauren. I am loving Ensenada- the weather is beautiful and the families are so nice. When we got to the building site this morning, I was put on the painting team. We painted walls, ceiling trusses, and the trim for the windows and door. We got very good at asking the kids “Quieres pintar?” (do you want to paint). After painting we ate lunch, then Breanna, Cami, Mel and I went and talked with the kids in the family. We had an awesome time laughing over learning words in each other’s language. Then we did some songs and a puppet show and played with beach balls and one of those giant “parachutes”. Tonight, we are going on a taco run so Ken will stop teasing us . So far it has been an awesome trip- and I am using my espanol a lot!
Rachel here. Well, the girls did delay the taco run Wednesday night, but we were just saving up for taco heaven tonight. And to our credit, we did scout it out on our run to the Oxxo (corner gas station) last night for some giant bottles of water. Hydration first, especially given our tired, slightly jet-lagged state. After a good night’s rest and a great breakfast, we were all in tip top shape and ready to go today. On our way to the work site, we passed the house we built last year – and I think we’re going to visit later this week. I’m excited to see how that family is doing. The family we are building for this year has five great kids who wanted to help along with their parents – and once the painting got underway it seemed like all the neighborhood kids were there wanting to wield a paintbrush too. Some had more skill than others at neatly applying the paint, but they all painted with gusto. It was fun to work with them, even though our limited language skills sometimes made communication a challenge. But there were a lot of gestures, one or two word phrases, and smiles and it was great to have their help. I’d like to give a shout out to the cooks here at YWAM – the food is terrific, and we already have our kitchen clean up duty done for the trip, and it’s great to sit around and talk about our day (and challenge each other to taco-eating contests) over a fantastic meal. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow and how far we’ll come. So far, there’s four walls up, lots of things painted, lots of things left to be painted, and some roof trusses that are ready to go. It’s going to be great!
*Boy, oh boy, no one prepared me for the “roughing it” that is Mexico. I just finished an amazing meal of cilantro chicken with a sundried tomato/asparagus risotto at the YWAM base and am currently sipping a warm hot cocoa while watching the sunset over the ocean. Another piece of crusty bread?? Twist my arm….
In all honesty, it’s an escape from and stark contrast to the poverty we experienced today. As I carefully treaded the rough terrain, slathered on hand sanitizer (yet again), and put a piece of wood under me while sitting down on the dirty ground, children around me ran and played and slid joyfully, happy to have a blow up beach ball to amuse them. One of the pictures that stands out most vividly in my mind from today was the eagerness of the children to help us paint. There were two kids in particular, Teresa and Alfredo, both probably around 7 or 8 who were so eager to do well, filling in every crevice and refusing to move on till the job was done. Never in my life have I wished that I had retained or continued with the Spanish I so flippantly participated in for two years of high school as much as I did today. The kids solidified my extreme limitations when they stared blankly as I pathetically attempted the American version of “Happy Birthday” in Spanish. I get the impression that’s not the way they do it here.
So thankful to be here….looking forward to another great day. Though I’m not so sure about this late night taco tradition. Cheese and grease don’t seem like such a good combo at 10 pm….
~Karin
Hello to everyone en los Estados Unidos from Breanna! Wow! I can hardly believe the amazing work that God is doing in Mexico. As I write this the sun is setting and the city is coming alive with lights and traffic. A cruise ship is pulling out and the extent of its grandeur is almost humorous when compared to the dogs and cats running around in the streets and the smell of people cooking and human waste. When driving through Mexico last night I was astonished by the fact that I was looking at real poverty. Houses here, if they can be called that, are really multiple pieces of scrap lumber and the roofs are held on by tires. The cruise ship lights are glittering now as it drifts farther out into the ocean and I can’t help but smile at the irony. But Ensenada glitters in its own way as well. It glows in the faces of its children, the humble and loving expressions of their parents. The many twinkling lights of the houses built into the hillsides make the city come alive.
Today it was amazing to see how well the team worked together and how fast the building really goes. There was this indescribable excitement on the faces of the family we were building for and on our own. I had the wonderful opportunity to paint more than I ever have in my life and am looking forward to doing it all over again tomorrow. I was also able to use the Spanish that I know to translate between team members and have conversations with the people we were serving. It was so fun to be able to converse and learn new words. Also, to laugh at my many mistakes! The girls I was talking with wanted to learn English so we spent a good fifteen minutes exchanging words. The day at the worksite was finished with playing with beach balls and a parachute, performing a puppet show, and giving out books to the family and their neighbors. The cruise ship is out of sight now, no I am not extremely slow at typing it moves fast, but Ensenada is just coming alive. The beautiful twinkling of lights still shines, reminding me that despite the poverty, the joy and life that is in the city shines brighter than luxury, inspiring the hearts of all who see them. I can’t wait for another day in Ensenada tomorrow, and to visit all of the kids again! Adios for now! Buenos noches!
Ken’s Taco Tally- Wednesday Evening
Tom – 2 Queso Tacos Ken – 2 Queso Tacos Brian – 0 Tacos
Everyone else pupped out. They don’t know what they are missing.
Hola! This is Lauren. I am loving Ensenada- the weather is beautiful and the families are so nice. When we got to the building site this morning, I was put on the painting team. We painted walls, ceiling trusses, and the trim for the windows and door. We got very good at asking the kids “Quieres pintar?” (do you want to paint). After painting we ate lunch, then Breanna, Cami, Mel and I went and talked with the kids in the family. We had an awesome time laughing over learning words in each other’s language. Then we did some songs and a puppet show and played with beach balls and one of those giant “parachutes”. Tonight, we are going on a taco run so Ken will stop teasing us . So far it has been an awesome trip- and I am using my espanol a lot!
Rachel here. Well, the girls did delay the taco run Wednesday night, but we were just saving up for taco heaven tonight. And to our credit, we did scout it out on our run to the Oxxo (corner gas station) last night for some giant bottles of water. Hydration first, especially given our tired, slightly jet-lagged state. After a good night’s rest and a great breakfast, we were all in tip top shape and ready to go today. On our way to the work site, we passed the house we built last year – and I think we’re going to visit later this week. I’m excited to see how that family is doing. The family we are building for this year has five great kids who wanted to help along with their parents – and once the painting got underway it seemed like all the neighborhood kids were there wanting to wield a paintbrush too. Some had more skill than others at neatly applying the paint, but they all painted with gusto. It was fun to work with them, even though our limited language skills sometimes made communication a challenge. But there were a lot of gestures, one or two word phrases, and smiles and it was great to have their help. I’d like to give a shout out to the cooks here at YWAM – the food is terrific, and we already have our kitchen clean up duty done for the trip, and it’s great to sit around and talk about our day (and challenge each other to taco-eating contests) over a fantastic meal. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow and how far we’ll come. So far, there’s four walls up, lots of things painted, lots of things left to be painted, and some roof trusses that are ready to go. It’s going to be great!
*Boy, oh boy, no one prepared me for the “roughing it” that is Mexico. I just finished an amazing meal of cilantro chicken with a sundried tomato/asparagus risotto at the YWAM base and am currently sipping a warm hot cocoa while watching the sunset over the ocean. Another piece of crusty bread?? Twist my arm….
In all honesty, it’s an escape from and stark contrast to the poverty we experienced today. As I carefully treaded the rough terrain, slathered on hand sanitizer (yet again), and put a piece of wood under me while sitting down on the dirty ground, children around me ran and played and slid joyfully, happy to have a blow up beach ball to amuse them. One of the pictures that stands out most vividly in my mind from today was the eagerness of the children to help us paint. There were two kids in particular, Teresa and Alfredo, both probably around 7 or 8 who were so eager to do well, filling in every crevice and refusing to move on till the job was done. Never in my life have I wished that I had retained or continued with the Spanish I so flippantly participated in for two years of high school as much as I did today. The kids solidified my extreme limitations when they stared blankly as I pathetically attempted the American version of “Happy Birthday” in Spanish. I get the impression that’s not the way they do it here.
So thankful to be here….looking forward to another great day. Though I’m not so sure about this late night taco tradition. Cheese and grease don’t seem like such a good combo at 10 pm….
~Karin
Hello to everyone en los Estados Unidos from Breanna! Wow! I can hardly believe the amazing work that God is doing in Mexico. As I write this the sun is setting and the city is coming alive with lights and traffic. A cruise ship is pulling out and the extent of its grandeur is almost humorous when compared to the dogs and cats running around in the streets and the smell of people cooking and human waste. When driving through Mexico last night I was astonished by the fact that I was looking at real poverty. Houses here, if they can be called that, are really multiple pieces of scrap lumber and the roofs are held on by tires. The cruise ship lights are glittering now as it drifts farther out into the ocean and I can’t help but smile at the irony. But Ensenada glitters in its own way as well. It glows in the faces of its children, the humble and loving expressions of their parents. The many twinkling lights of the houses built into the hillsides make the city come alive.
Today it was amazing to see how well the team worked together and how fast the building really goes. There was this indescribable excitement on the faces of the family we were building for and on our own. I had the wonderful opportunity to paint more than I ever have in my life and am looking forward to doing it all over again tomorrow. I was also able to use the Spanish that I know to translate between team members and have conversations with the people we were serving. It was so fun to be able to converse and learn new words. Also, to laugh at my many mistakes! The girls I was talking with wanted to learn English so we spent a good fifteen minutes exchanging words. The day at the worksite was finished with playing with beach balls and a parachute, performing a puppet show, and giving out books to the family and their neighbors. The cruise ship is out of sight now, no I am not extremely slow at typing it moves fast, but Ensenada is just coming alive. The beautiful twinkling of lights still shines, reminding me that despite the poverty, the joy and life that is in the city shines brighter than luxury, inspiring the hearts of all who see them. I can’t wait for another day in Ensenada tomorrow, and to visit all of the kids again! Adios for now! Buenos noches!
We're Here!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
We’re in Ensenada, and we love it! Thank you for your prayers. God has provided us with wonderful hosts, wonderful weather, and a wonderful mission. Today we woke up early [most of us woke up several times throughout the night – the normal thing to happen when dealing with a time change and new surroundings] and had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausage, cereal, yogurt and fruit. Then it was off to a Homes of Hope orientation meeting. It was fun to hear the story behind the Homes of Hope projects. YWAM will build over 200 homes this year for needy families in Ensenada, Tijuana, and Tecate, Mexico. When we completed orientation, each team member was given a tool belt and a Homes of Hope t-shirt, and then it was off to our construction site. As you can see in a prior post, we are building a home for the Gaynor Lopez family. They are a sweet family with five children all living in a tiny home. As best as we can tell the Lopez family all sleep in the same room. They have a stove with two burners that work and an oven that doesn’t. The family does have a refrigerator and a table, but there is very little food in the home. We were told that this family could desperately use some food. So, we are going to take up a collection from the team and try to purchase them some food. We’re also going to try to get them a second bunk bed. The package that we purchased for the family includes a furniture set. That means that we will give them a new working stove, a bunk bed, a table, and some more items. I’m excited to see the difference that these items will make in this family’s life.
We got to work on the home as soon as we got to the site. By the end of the day, all four walls were up. We are going to add one more room to the inside of the home tomorrow, bringing it to a total of three rooms. We had a painting team that painted the entire exterior of the home today. They also painted all the trusses that the truss team built. There was also a team in charge of framing the home. After a long day of work on the home, our children’s team made balloon animals, played parachute games, put on a puppet show and sang, and then Lauren Kimball shared her testimony with the kids. The kids loved the beach balls, books, evangelistic bracelets and balloon animals that were given to them.
We’ll have team time after dinner tonight and then a good number of us will head to the street Taco stands of Ensenada for some of the best tacos in the world.
Thanks for your prayers. We were not able to go to the orphanage today. We may get to do that on this trip, but it may not work out. We’ll visit the home that we built last year tomorrow afternoon. Everyone on our team is in great spirits. Some are a little sore tonight, but everyone is feeling healthy. Please keep us in prayer over the next two days as we continue work on the house. We’ll begin putting the interior of the home up tomorrow, as well as the roof. I’ll have several people post their experiences and post pictures from earlier today in a few hours.
We’re in Ensenada, and we love it! Thank you for your prayers. God has provided us with wonderful hosts, wonderful weather, and a wonderful mission. Today we woke up early [most of us woke up several times throughout the night – the normal thing to happen when dealing with a time change and new surroundings] and had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausage, cereal, yogurt and fruit. Then it was off to a Homes of Hope orientation meeting. It was fun to hear the story behind the Homes of Hope projects. YWAM will build over 200 homes this year for needy families in Ensenada, Tijuana, and Tecate, Mexico. When we completed orientation, each team member was given a tool belt and a Homes of Hope t-shirt, and then it was off to our construction site. As you can see in a prior post, we are building a home for the Gaynor Lopez family. They are a sweet family with five children all living in a tiny home. As best as we can tell the Lopez family all sleep in the same room. They have a stove with two burners that work and an oven that doesn’t. The family does have a refrigerator and a table, but there is very little food in the home. We were told that this family could desperately use some food. So, we are going to take up a collection from the team and try to purchase them some food. We’re also going to try to get them a second bunk bed. The package that we purchased for the family includes a furniture set. That means that we will give them a new working stove, a bunk bed, a table, and some more items. I’m excited to see the difference that these items will make in this family’s life.
We got to work on the home as soon as we got to the site. By the end of the day, all four walls were up. We are going to add one more room to the inside of the home tomorrow, bringing it to a total of three rooms. We had a painting team that painted the entire exterior of the home today. They also painted all the trusses that the truss team built. There was also a team in charge of framing the home. After a long day of work on the home, our children’s team made balloon animals, played parachute games, put on a puppet show and sang, and then Lauren Kimball shared her testimony with the kids. The kids loved the beach balls, books, evangelistic bracelets and balloon animals that were given to them.
We’ll have team time after dinner tonight and then a good number of us will head to the street Taco stands of Ensenada for some of the best tacos in the world.
Thanks for your prayers. We were not able to go to the orphanage today. We may get to do that on this trip, but it may not work out. We’ll visit the home that we built last year tomorrow afternoon. Everyone on our team is in great spirits. Some are a little sore tonight, but everyone is feeling healthy. Please keep us in prayer over the next two days as we continue work on the house. We’ll begin putting the interior of the home up tomorrow, as well as the roof. I’ll have several people post their experiences and post pictures from earlier today in a few hours.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
We Leave Today!
It's official. We are leaving for Mexico in just a few hours. Please keep our team in your prayers. We will arrive in San Diego at 5:45 PM tonight via Sun Country Airlines. From there it's off to dinner at In and Out Burger and then to Ensenada, Mexico!Here is what our schedule looks like for tomorrow:
7:30 - Breakfast
8:30 - Homes of Hope Orientation
9:00 - Depart for Build Site
12:30 - Lunch at Build Site
3:00 - Depart Building Site
4:00 - Let The Little Children Come Orphanage Visit
5:30 - Dinner
7:00 - Team Time
8:30 - Bonfire on Base
11:00 - Lights Off
We are staying at the YWAM Base in Ensenada, Mexico. Should there be an emergency while we are gone and you need to contact a team member, you can contact us at 011-52-646-173-9183.
Our flight information is as follows:
Depart - Sun Country Airlines - Flight #403, MSP to San Diego at 4:00 PM. Arrive in San Diego at 5:45 PM.
Return Flight - Sun Country Airlines - Flight #404, San Diego to MSP. Departs at 7:15 PM. Arrives in Minneapolis at 12:40 AM.
As we go, we'd ask that you would pray for the Holy Spirit to have the freedom to teach us what He wants to teach us, to make our hearts, minds, ears and eyes sensitive to His leading, and to keep us safe and a blessing to those in Mexico. Pray for the Lopez family as they receive their new home. Pray for the orphanage visit tomorrow. Pray for our children's team to have opportunities to minister. Pray for team unity, and for God to work in powerful ways.
We'll update this site sometime tomorrow. Look for pictures here, and remember on Sunday, March 1st, we'll be giving a report back on the trip at Woodbury Community Church at 6:00 PM!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Send-Off Service
Please join us this Sunday, Febuary 15, at 6:00 PM for our Mexico Mission Trip Send-off Service. The send-off service will be a part of our Pursuing UP prayer service. We'll enjoy a time worship songs, testimonies and prayer as we prepare to send our team off to Ensenada on February 18th. Be following this blog page next week, February 18-22, 2009 for updates on the trip.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Next Meeting
Our next team meeting is on Sunday, January 25 at 11:45 at Woodbury Community Church. Please make plans to attend this very important information. We will cover all of the final details that you need to know before we leave.
The Lopez Family
We just found out a little bit about the family that we will be building a home for. You can read about the Lopez family by following this LINK. This family of seven is in dire need of a new home. All of the school age kids attend local schools and enjoy their studies. Adelberto is the sole provider for his large family and unfortunately his income is not enough to properly sustain them. Adelberto and Eloisa are still in love and so thankful to have been together for the past 18 years. They are presently living in a small house with a leaky roof. Adelberto is very frustrated that he is not able to build a better home for his family. Please join us in praying for the Lopez family, and thank you for your help in help building them a better home!
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