Here are a couple of points made on Nikki’s blog about Day 3 (there are 12 in all) please check it out . . . she is the one doing our pictures!
Day 3 of the Mission Trip
There are a few things I must tell you about Mexico I was not totally aware of:
1. The mosquitoes are vicious - their bites feel like needles, they swarm at dust in blankets (I have never seen so many at one time), and they bite more than once.
2. It is not the heat that will bother you as much as the humidity - I often feel like I just left the shower with my clothes on within 5 minutes of being outside (and it is worse than New Orleans!).
3. There is a breeze that is a God send - the heat would be unbearable if there was not this terrific breeze.
This is a video of Ken Westrooks sharing an experience he and Josh Davis had as they were out in the streets sharing about the night worship service and the Love of God . . .
Disclaimer: the writing posted below are taken from Nikki’s blog (with her permission I might add)
It is now midnight and we are all back in our rooms. It has been a long, hot, fun, and productive day. Everyone is so welcoming and genuine. You feel like you are family as soon as you walk into their presence. By the end of the evening I felt like I had known them for a week. I was a little disappointed knowing I was not going back to the same church tomorrow. However, I know we are going to meet more wonderful people tomorrow.
This morning I helped with VBS at the church (Aqua Viva) - we played games and ate snacks (pancakes and rice milk). While 3 of us stayed back to play with the kids at VBS the other 7 went on a prayer walk. Ken and Josh were invited into one family’s house to worship together, it is a fabulous story that was a true blessing. After our morning venture we had lunch and came back to the hotel for 2 hours (I took a well deserved nap). We went back to the church for the night service and worshiped together for 3 hours. It was fabulous!!! Around 10 we ate dinner (which is normal for natives of Cancun) and headed back to the hotel for showers and beds.
If you would like to view a few of the 300 pics she the head to Nikki’s blog ….
SORRY FOR THE DELAY YOU WILL UNDERSTAND AFTER YOU READ AND WATCH A LITTLE . . .
This day started with a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call and a meeting at the church at 4:30 for a bus ride to the airport. I am actually so tired as I write this and up load video that I have decided to just copy and paste Nikki’s update from her blog. (with her permission of course) . . .
“The last 24 hours have been CRAZY!! Last night Jason and I were desperately trying to pack for our 6 day trip to Cancun, Mexico for a mission trip. I had just finished my 24 hours of working night weekends and I was exhausted. We finally got into bed around 11:30 p.m. and I broke down in tears. Not just small tears, but full rivers of tears. This was going to be the first time I had ever left my children more than one night. I sobbed until 12 a.m., when I finally feel asleep. Around 3:30 a.m. Jason and I drug ourselves out of bed to take showers and get to the church so we could pick up the other 8 members of the mission team to head to the airport. We boarded the plane at the last minute (see Jason’s Blog) and we made it to Cancun around 11:30…
Our first hotel was the most simplistic hotel I had ever seen. It had a bed, a TV, and a very small bathroom. There was nothing on the wall, no headboard, no paint, and no extra moving-around space. The hotel didn’t work out due to price so we packed back up and went to another hotel. Once we were settled we ventured out to a local market to buy piñatas and candy. It was so neat to see how the community lives. They shop one day at a time – buy pasta, rice, spices, dog food, etc. per weight to make it to the next day. They also had a fresh meat market – and I have to say I had never smelled a true butchers before….it was very distinct. At the small market I was able to buy Weatherly two little authentic Mexican dresses (for $250 pesos = $25 State dollars). After our market venture we went to the local Wal-Mart to buy a few snacks, which was hard to do since we could not read Spanish and we had a hard time finding the right aisle. After walking around in circles for a while we all made our decisions and left to go to a local taco store. At this restaurant all they sold were tacos….. They had chicken, pork, beef, tongue, brain and a few others I decided not to ask about. I tried a chicken, a pork, and two separate types of meat. I could only stomach the chicken and the finely shredded meat – covered with delicious guacamole. Once we had eaten our meal we made it back to the hotel – Jason and I moved rooms again due to the overwhelming stale smoke smell (this would make our 3rd room), we took showers, and now we are about go to bed ☺!
Please pray for Jason and I, and our mission team (Jessa, Connie, Deb, Denny, Josh, Ricky, Ken, Royce) as we begin our adventure in the morning. I hope to update you again tomorrow night.”
Please pray for us as we head out at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow and arrive back Aug. 2nd . . . we will be working in 3 different churches through out the week and doing many acts of community service on behalf of the people from the church to help build good will relations. We will have many evangelistic out reach opportunities throughout the week. Our team of 10 has 3 people who speak the language . . . we are made up of people who have passion for the poor, children, leading through music, teaching, technology, and any way God provides. I have provided a picture of the group from our meeting tonight and included names for each so you can know who you are praying for. Join us on this journey!
2 Corinthians 5:20 (New International Version)
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Nikki and I pull out from the house at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning with a group of 10 heading to Mexico for a week to Love God through Loving Others. We do have 3 spanish speaking people on the trip with us and plus our missionary that will be with us the entire time we are in the field. The thing is while I am preaching and sharing my faith, I will be using an interpreter and I will be at his mercy to share the truth as I deliver it to him. WOW . . . Isn’t this much the same as 2 Cor. 5:20 is talking about you and I “are Christ ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” So just as I pray the interpreter is going to represent everything I say with all truth and relevance . . . how much more does Christ desire for us to represent Him with truth and relevance everyday? Are you doing a good job at representing God with truth and relevance as He makes is appeal through you?
I will be blogging our trip so please check in daily and please pray for our group . . . say a special prayer for Nikki and the kids this will be their first time away from each other and it will be to travel to another country.
Here are the tools I will be using to make my blogging mission happen . . . I hope to introduce you to the team tomorrow night after our 4 p.m. meeting if I can get some photo’s of everyone, then you can know who you are praying for.
Do you text and drive? This guy doesn’t seem to have any problems with it. The numbers are still out statically about just how many accidents and what the possibility is for having an accident if you text while driving, but you would have to think it can’t be all that safe . . .
Tim Steven’s posted the following on his blog - it was just to good not to share . . . I know many who will not go from one place to another so I just decided to give him some link love and repost his post here. I think he is right on.
I’ve been thinking alot about parenting lately. Maybe it is because we have four kids at home, ages 7, 11, 13 and 15. Yeah, our quiver is full.
I think everyone would admit that there is a point in a teen’s life when the influence of his/her parents becomes less, and the influence of their friends becomes greater. I did an informal survey yesterday on Twitter, and again last night at dinner with some friends. It seems that the age at which the parents’ influence drops dramatically happens somewhere around 13- to 15-years old.
As I reflected on my life as a child, the influence I perceive that I have with my own kids, and my informal survey, I charted it like this…
As a parent, the awareness of loss of influence can be alarming if you didn’t see it coming. So be warned young parents, I have just given you a glimpse of the future.
Here is the key learning: Environments matter. Who my daughter is influenced by as a 15-year old is dependent greatly on the environments that my wife and I placed her in as a 10- and 12- and 14-year old.
It’s a little early to tell whether we will survive life with teenagers, but here is the advice I would give parents of pre-teens…
Get involved in a great church with strong youth leaders.
As they start middle school, don’t give them the option to stay home from the youth program.
Find a school that has strong values and where there is good chance they will be able to find solid friends. That might mean paying for private school or moving to a better school district.
Get them in situations where they are hanging with young adults who are following God. That’s why we had college-age students live in our home for two years.
Teach them the joy of serving when they are very young.
Let them participate in events where there is a good chance they might take a step spiritually, like summer camp, missions trips, or weekend retreats.
Oh, and one last word of advice for those with teenagers—stop lecturing and start listening. Stop giving direction and start asking questions.
As a parent of 2 kids this post really makes me think about the fact I need to cherish every moment I have and use it to make the most impact I can in their lives . . .
This is a little boy who lives at The Garden with his mother and sister. The kids who live at The Garden have become like second family to my family since Jan. when we opened and I started doing bible study every week with the families. This past Monday a dance party broke out and I just happened to have my new flip video there to capture it . . . Enjoy!
