On our way home (day 1 and day 2)

Today we got up just as early as every other day just so we could get across the border. So after Socorro's breakfast for us we left for the border. We got through the first check point on the Mexico side, and when we got to the second one there was a lady there who asked for all of our passports and looked at our vehicles, then she cleared us to enter the U.S.. There was another check point about an hour from the border. At this check point there was a sign that had a year to date on how many drugs they had already caught and below that was the number of how many illegal aliens that they caught, that number was approximately 7,000! And the only question they asked was "Are you a US citizen?". That's all they asked us! How is that possible?? Hmm.... Well after we made it through the check point we were on our way to Schlitterbahn. We got there a little before 3:00 and left at about 7:45 pm. Schlitterbahn was amazing! When we first walked in we went and got a locker and put all of our stuff in them and then headed to the waiting pool area and jumped on in. After that we all just ran around riding as many rides as we could until our time ran out. After we met to leave we had someone take a few pictures of us and then we headed to St. Phillips UMC to stay the night. We stayed in their newer family life center, which was beautiful! They had the family life sanctuary where all the chairs were set out (that's where the guys slept) and upstairs they had a hangout room with a lot of couches (that's where the ladies stayed). After we got settled  in we split up and went to bed. 

In the morning we got up packed everything back up and took showers. Man, how nice it was to take a warm shower and to get out and it be cool!! After we packed up we had breakfast that was prepared for us by one of the St. Phillip church members, had devotions, and headed home. We've made a few stops along the way and are now halfway between Bartlesville and Tulsa!!! Thank you all for everything you have done for us and all the prayers you have given us and the family we were helping. This has been a life changing experience and we can't wait to share more of it with you! See you on Sunday! 

(Im sorry the last couple posts were not posted on time, I was having computer issues) :)

4th day of Work!

Today We finished!! We went to the La Oficina looking for our Maestro and we were told that he was taking another team to their work site and he would be right back, so we decided to wait in their gift shop and look at shirts. Well come to find out our Maestro was already at the worksite and we needed to meet him there. Once we realized this we hurried out there so we could start on her casita and get it done for them. A little bit after we got there Jeretta, Lori, Evan, and I went to Soriana to get the children some gifts. We got Johanny some spelling and ABC's coloring books and we got Jorge a toy dump truck with some Lego blocks. Once we got those toys we headed back and helped eveyone stucco the house and help finish it to get it ready for the family. When we got it done, Jorge and Willie, (the directors), came and dedicated the house to Karina and her family. We sang worship songs, dedicated the house, and then we prayed for her and her family. It was very emotional for everyone and you could definitely tell that God was there with us and he was pleased with what we had done. After the dedication we took the family out to eat, then we said our final goodbyes to the family, and then Jorge should us some of the other constructions that they are working on.  It was very dificult to say goodbye to our new family and friends that we have met. The family was wonderful, our hosts were great, and our maestro was hilarious. We are definitely going to miss them.  After all of that we headed back to La Familia and now we are going to have devotions, eat dinner, and go get some dessert!! You all have supported us so much and we are very thankful. If you could have been there at the dedication you would be able to understand how much your support meant to the family. This has been a life changing experience and we thank you for sending us here!! We will keep you updated on driving so please pray for safety! :)

Day 3 of Working

This morning was a little bit easier to wake up and get around. Socorro made us some wonderful scramble eggs with peppers and tomatoes and we also had some breakfast beans, I'm not quite sure what it was but it was VERY good. Today we planned on putting stucco on the outside of the casita, finish the roof, build the loft, and put up the doors. Well, we didn't get all of that done, and sadly enough it wasn't because Kirk got to watch his World Cup game (the family didn't have cable so he couldn't which is fine), but there is only limited space on the roof and we couldn't fit all 13 of us up there. So the guys put up the roof, they also put up the loft with the help of the kids, and the ladies mostly painted and we got to play some fútbol with the kids in the area. That was a lot of fun! Today for lunch Karina made us beans and tamales. Those were the best tamales I have ever had! The food here just keeps getting better and better. :) The second half of the day most of the women and children played with the kids and the rest continued to finish the roof. The family was definitely more use to us today, I got to hold Johanny and Jorge multiple times today! That was a huge step with those kids because they are so timid. At one point Johanny was trying to speak English, and because mine sounded like gibborish to her she was speaking gibborish to me. They have definitely loved us being there and everyone playing with them when the kids come around. When we left we stopped at a local furniture store in Rio Bravo to look for a table and chair set for the family. We have just enough money in our budget to get the family a nice house warming present, plus it is something that they need so it will be very nice for the family. After that we came back to La Famila and had a nice dinner to end our long and hot afternoon. We had tacos that consisted of tortillas with beef, chopped onions, cilantro, pineapple, and sprinkled lime juice on top. I know it sounds gross, but man was it delicious!! And I think we are now about to go to Soriana, their local Wal-Mart, and buy the kids some toys. We are almost done and we still need those prayers for the dedication day tomorrow so please continue praying! Thank you so
Much and i'll keep you posted tomorrow. :)

Day 2 of Casita Building

It was harder to get up today then yesterday, but we had a wonderful breakfast made by Socorroa to wake up to. Once we left we went to the La Oficina to meet our Maestro again and then we headed Karina's house. Our objective today was to finish the 10th row of blocks, fill in the corners, and start on the roof. For lunch Karina cooked us some amazing chicken and spaghetti and also provided some Spanish pop. We are still ahead of schedule and everything we needed to get done we got accomplished today, the family even set up a TV for us to watch the World Cup game that Mexico was playing in! Julian, our Maestro said that Kirk gets to watch the USA game tomorrow, this should be fun! Today we had more of an opportunity to get to know the family and play with the kids. Johanni and I played chase pretty much all day. We tried to play with Jorge, but he is still a mommas boy and is very timid. Once 3:00 hit we gave the family some fruit and chips, said goodbye, and headed back to La Familia. Once we showered and changed we headed back out for some more fruit and things for tomorrow and then came back for some more of Socorro's homemade dinners. After dinner we had devotions and we are now playing spinner Dominos. I know I say this every night, but you have no idea how much your prayers mean to us and this family!! God has been working wonders with our group and has been showing us so much of Him through the family. So thank you for all of your prayers and please continue to pray for us!

Day 1 of Working

This morning was an early morning, we were up and ready for breakfast at 6:15! Once we ate breakfast and had devotions we left for the Oficina and arrived there at about 7:10. There we met our Maestro, our teacher, and from there we followed him to Karina's house. Julian, our Maestro, told us that the land that Karina's house was on was normally called the forgotten villiage because the only time it was ever remembered was during election times (it is now election time and there are cars that drive by with loud speakers campaigning for their candidate). We were able to get a lot down on the casita today. They expected us to get at most 7 blocks tall today because we were a new casita building team, but we exceeded their expectations and got 9 blocks tall. (The casita will be 10 blocks tall and has a 12X20 base). We started working on the casita around 7:30 am and planned on taking a lunch around 11:00am with Karina and her children. We made them sandwiches and packed them fruit, but little did we know that they wanted to make us lunch, we were so surprised! Here they are living in a shack out in the forgotten villiage and they wanted to make us lunch, and not only did they want to make us lunch for today, but they want to make us lunch everyday that we are out there. So for lunch we sat and at with them and they served us, this was definitely a huge eye opener. After lunch we went back to work for a few more hours, the sun was getting more hot and the temperature was rising so we had to finish up, and that is when we got the 9th row of blocks built. Once we were cleaning up we went to talk to Karina and her children, Jorge and Yoani, she seemed very happy that we were out there and spending time with her and her children, they were starting to warm up to us. We said our goodbyes soon after that and then headed back to La Familia for showers and a lot of rest.

After we had all changed and rested for a little while, Socorro and her three daughters fixed us an amazing home cooked Mexican meal. It came with tostadas and guacamole, a steak and potato mix, rice, and dessert! Needless to say that it was amazing. After dinner we rested some more, had some devotions, and sang some worship songs led by Seth and Brian. After worship Jeretta, Bill, Evan, Steven, Kirk and I played some pretty stimulating card games and then we all started to get ready for bed. One thing that was really neat about tonight is that Socorro came and sang some worship songs with us, she recognized them and sang them in Spanish. It was so wonderful, God is so good and he is teaching us all so much and it's only Monday! Thank you for all of your prayers and please continue to pray that God works with us and through us. :)

Father's Day!

This morning we went to "La Santísimo Trinidad", The Holy Trinity, with Jorge and his family. The people there were so friendly! When it was time to greet the "gringos" it felt like almost everyone in the church came to greet us. And it wasn't the everyday 'Hi how are you?' it was with a huge smile and them sincerely excited to see us. We started out with worship, which was amazing! It's funny how the words were in Spanish, but you could just feel the presence of the Lord. It was wonderful! The last song they sang was Cuán Grande es Díos, or how we know it How Great is our God. It was so moving. Some of us singing in Spanish and some of us singing in English, it didn't matter! We were all praising and worshiping the same Lord! How wonderful?! After the worship we had the service. The Pastor talked about how fathers and husbands could be successful. He had 7 points:

1. Be a loving father
(Ephesians 5:25 and Malachi 2:14)
2. Husbands and Fathers need to Listen
(James 1:19)
3. Bless your children
(Ephesians 6:4 and Proverbs 18:21)
4. Pray with your family
(Matthew 6:6)
5. Discipline your children
(Proverbs 13:24 and 23:13)
6. Be a leader
(Genesis 2:15)
7. Honor your wives and children
(Proverbs 31:28)

It was a really good service, even though we really couldn't understand all of it. When we were at the church we noticed that there was one other group from Oklahoma besides the one that we met at "La Familia". We talked to them and come to find out that the Pastor at Cordell, David Croninger, use to be the associate pastor at East Cross. What a small world!!

After church we went to a Mexican Restaurant and it wasn't like our normal Monterey's or Senor Salsa, it was about the size of Taco Bell. You order at your seat and you go grab the drink that you want from a open refrigerator. The food was amazing, It put Chili's to shame!


After lunch we went to Nuevo Progresso and walked down the streets. There are stores right next to each other. Most are small and a few of them are huge! Every 3 feet there were People from the ages of older adults all the way down to 6-7 year old selling things on the streets, It was unbelievable! My heart just cried out to these families and their kids. Kirk had to keep pushing me forward so I wouldn't give in and give them money. Now please understand the majority of those on the streets are scamming tourists and selling cheap things for an expensive price, so we weren't being insensitive. I just wanted to clarify :)

Later Jorge had a meeting with all of us and he told us about the family that we are building the casita for. The family is a single mother, Karina, and her two children, we haven't been told their names yet. We ARE here to build a casita, but the most important part here is that we need to reach out to this family and make sure that they know that God loves them. So please keep this in your prayers, that God will work through us and that we can reach this family and possibly even more.

We Made It!

When I think about crossing the border I picture a lot of Police checking baggage, passports, and even stamping our passports. That was not how it was at all! When we first got to the border there were only a hand full of police, however there was a tank with some Hispanic soldiers in it. When we went to cross, the policia just looked inside our vehicles and asked it if we were here on vacation. We said yes and he waved us on. He didn't check our passports, liscense, or anything! I know they will check us more on the way back, but that was a huge surprise.

We'll we made it in about 10:30 last night. Once we got in Jorge gave us an orientation for the week and we met another Methodist group that is staying at "La Familia". We found out that they are from the Norman area, it's kinda nice to see someone else from Oklahoma. It's been a long day so we are going to settle in for the night. Thank you for all of your prayers and please continue to pray for safe travel and that God works through us all.

June 18, 2010

This is going to be a test posting... Steven came in tonight and now we are about to make a last minute Wal-Mart run. We have almost everything packed I just have to do a final run through of the house and then we will be done! We are all very excited to head out to Mexico and see what God has in store for us! Please make sure to pray for safe travel and a safe time there.