As always we began the day with the routine of cereal at 8:30, quiet time at 9:00, and then small group at 9:30 am. We were told to be ready to leave for the Cadareta at 10 am, so we decided to start small group a little early. I spent my quiet time writing a letter to myself that will later be mailed to me, to remind me of the things that God has taught me in Mexico. As we started small group we went over some of the questions, like how we could take our offer home. We talked about how hard it's going to be when we get home, and how much we are going to need each other. At that point I realized Kaitlin was not talking all that much, and so I asked her if something was wrong. Immediately she began crying, and she admitted that she had been feeling something since we left the children's home the day before. She felt like she had not made an impact on any of the kids like we did, that she was always in the background, and that she felt very empty leaving the children's home and not sad at all...Honestly, I got a little passionate/angry. I told her that if I could just name just one child that she had impacted I would, but instead I would have to name 23. I basically yelled at her, and started crying myself telling her that I have never met someone as light hearted and caring as her, and there is no way that she didn't get something through to those children. By the time we had finished our small group time Ellie, Kaitlin, and I were crying and we prayed while in a group hug... lol. That's our dysfunctional family for ya!
By then it was time for us to leave for the Cadareta, which was a shanty town about 45 minutes away. We had to pack our lunches after breakfast (PB&Js, cheetos, and oreos), and were told that we would stop at a gas station on the way there to eat our food. All the gas stations in Mexico are very clean, far beyond what are gas stations are here, and this one was no exception, lol. We literally stood outside by the Suburban and ate our lunch. It was about 12 pm at this point.
Today we were travelling with Gabriel (Gabo) and Katey. About 10 minutes from the town, Gabo told us we would be moving about 600 cinder blocks inside the area where they are building a church and kitchen, because the blocks kept getting stolen. These people had nothing, so it was convenient for them to take the blocks to build up their shanties. Gabo introduced us to the ministry there at the Cadareta. A pastor and his wife minister to the people and help provide them with anything that they have to give. The faith of the people in this town is so strong because of the things that they have to deal with everyday. These people are still happy though because they know what love truly is.
We started our work with loading the cinder blocks 3 at a time into the wheel barrows and then they were carried up a small hill into the unfinished building to be re-stacked in a corner. This was quite a feat for 5 girls to accomplish but we kept on trucking through the pain and through the injuries. Glory strength in the Lord was the only thing that kept us going. Gabo and another guy there, Darren, helped us with the last of the loads. They were taking 9 and 10 at a time! Once we were finished we felt very accomplished, but from there we went straight to serving the people in the Cadareta. All the children had been hanging around and trying to help us, and being very loving. At one point I saw the children playing with Styrofoam and it almost appeared as if they were opening presents on Christmas morning, they were so excited.
Today we were travelling with Gabriel (Gabo) and Katey. About 10 minutes from the town, Gabo told us we would be moving about 600 cinder blocks inside the area where they are building a church and kitchen, because the blocks kept getting stolen. These people had nothing, so it was convenient for them to take the blocks to build up their shanties. Gabo introduced us to the ministry there at the Cadareta. A pastor and his wife minister to the people and help provide them with anything that they have to give. The faith of the people in this town is so strong because of the things that they have to deal with everyday. These people are still happy though because they know what love truly is.
We started our work with loading the cinder blocks 3 at a time into the wheel barrows and then they were carried up a small hill into the unfinished building to be re-stacked in a corner. This was quite a feat for 5 girls to accomplish but we kept on trucking through the pain and through the injuries. Glory strength in the Lord was the only thing that kept us going. Gabo and another guy there, Darren, helped us with the last of the loads. They were taking 9 and 10 at a time! Once we were finished we felt very accomplished, but from there we went straight to serving the people in the Cadareta. All the children had been hanging around and trying to help us, and being very loving. At one point I saw the children playing with Styrofoam and it almost appeared as if they were opening presents on Christmas morning, they were so excited.
We split up into 3 groups. Betsy and I went with the pastor's wife, Katey took Kaitlin and Lauren, and then Ellie and another girl Hannah went with Kelly, Gabo's wife. She actually said that she tries to come out once a week to visit the people. We went down the three different aisles of houses and let the people know that we would be serving food at 3 pm. It was amazing to see the pastor's wife interact with the people. She knew all their stories and all their names. She was very much invested in their lives and cared about what they were going through. The houses were awful... just some cement with whatever else they could find to throw on there. Some garage doors, fences and sheet metal along with blankets and some cardboard. It was truly amazing that these people had such a strong hope in their conditions. It was beautiful to see the children playing in the streets and having a good time, and also helping their parents with the daily chores. They took care of one another.
When we got back to the unfinished building where we would be serving food, the people already started to come out and line up. I was on drink duty with Katey, Darren on doritos, Kaitlin on salsa, Ellie on crema, Betsy on queso, and Lauren on cabbage. We were to serve over 350 people, mostly children. It was hot and we were tired from the cinder block moving but it was so worth it to see the faces of the children light up when they knew that they were going to get food. They were all so friendly and wonderful, and just wanted to be loved on. It took us an hour and a half to serve all of the people, and then it was time for us to pack up and go. The kids swarmed us and we got to play and hang out with them for a little bit before we left. We then gave the leftover food to the pastor and we were on our way.
We went from the Cadareta to B2B to drop off the trailer and then to EL POLLO LOCO! A much anticipated restaurant for our trip. The food was amazing. All the chips and salsa you want and smoked chicken. It was terrific, and like always I scarfed down my food. We got to eat with all the staff workers and even the pastor and his wife. We said our goodbyes to them after dinner as they thanked us with the usual Mexican adios (kiss on the right cheek). Then we went back to the facility to unload the trailer and clean-up the stuff that we had taken with us to the Cadareta. On the way home we saw an interesting parade. Gabo told us it was for Easter coming up, since there were nuns with microphones involved. It didn't take us long to clean up and then we were allowed to shop at the market that was set up outside the LBM. It opened as soon as we got home and finished at 7 pm. We shopped for about an hour or so and then Cathy told us that we would be debriefing at 8:30 pm at her apartment, so that we could shower and whatnot before we started.
We got up to her apartment just upstairs from us, and she had bought us ice cream and all the fixins for ice cream sundaes. Greg was there to greet us as well and we reminisced about Sabinas and all the fun that we had there. We got our ice cream and we were able to get the tour of her house, and her family (Mark, Luke, and Ben). We sat down and ate a little and then just told some stories from Sabinas and the Cadareta that day. Glory strength seemed to be our theme for that day, and we were able to tell stories from the day, and how God had kept us going when we didn't have anything left to give. We each were told to get a stone and then to say one thing that God has taught us. The stone would serve as a reminder to what God was teaching us when we got back to the states. My stone represents all the dependency issues I have, and being able to accept people's love and help. God definitely worked on me this week, and revealed to me how I would have been useless without my awesome girls and the leaders from B2B.
Katey came up to visit a little with us and we made her share her Valentine's Day date story. Let's just say that Rene is one amazing guy... she told us that we would be leaving for the airport at 8:15 am the next morning, and Rene would be coming with us! So we finished our debriefing with an overview of more ways we can help B2B and with prayers all around. We were exhausted from the days work so when we got back to the room we packed a little and then we were ready to crash.
"As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us." -Colossians 1:9
-k10
When we got back to the unfinished building where we would be serving food, the people already started to come out and line up. I was on drink duty with Katey, Darren on doritos, Kaitlin on salsa, Ellie on crema, Betsy on queso, and Lauren on cabbage. We were to serve over 350 people, mostly children. It was hot and we were tired from the cinder block moving but it was so worth it to see the faces of the children light up when they knew that they were going to get food. They were all so friendly and wonderful, and just wanted to be loved on. It took us an hour and a half to serve all of the people, and then it was time for us to pack up and go. The kids swarmed us and we got to play and hang out with them for a little bit before we left. We then gave the leftover food to the pastor and we were on our way.
We went from the Cadareta to B2B to drop off the trailer and then to EL POLLO LOCO! A much anticipated restaurant for our trip. The food was amazing. All the chips and salsa you want and smoked chicken. It was terrific, and like always I scarfed down my food. We got to eat with all the staff workers and even the pastor and his wife. We said our goodbyes to them after dinner as they thanked us with the usual Mexican adios (kiss on the right cheek). Then we went back to the facility to unload the trailer and clean-up the stuff that we had taken with us to the Cadareta. On the way home we saw an interesting parade. Gabo told us it was for Easter coming up, since there were nuns with microphones involved. It didn't take us long to clean up and then we were allowed to shop at the market that was set up outside the LBM. It opened as soon as we got home and finished at 7 pm. We shopped for about an hour or so and then Cathy told us that we would be debriefing at 8:30 pm at her apartment, so that we could shower and whatnot before we started.
We got up to her apartment just upstairs from us, and she had bought us ice cream and all the fixins for ice cream sundaes. Greg was there to greet us as well and we reminisced about Sabinas and all the fun that we had there. We got our ice cream and we were able to get the tour of her house, and her family (Mark, Luke, and Ben). We sat down and ate a little and then just told some stories from Sabinas and the Cadareta that day. Glory strength seemed to be our theme for that day, and we were able to tell stories from the day, and how God had kept us going when we didn't have anything left to give. We each were told to get a stone and then to say one thing that God has taught us. The stone would serve as a reminder to what God was teaching us when we got back to the states. My stone represents all the dependency issues I have, and being able to accept people's love and help. God definitely worked on me this week, and revealed to me how I would have been useless without my awesome girls and the leaders from B2B.
Katey came up to visit a little with us and we made her share her Valentine's Day date story. Let's just say that Rene is one amazing guy... she told us that we would be leaving for the airport at 8:15 am the next morning, and Rene would be coming with us! So we finished our debriefing with an overview of more ways we can help B2B and with prayers all around. We were exhausted from the days work so when we got back to the room we packed a little and then we were ready to crash.
"As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us." -Colossians 1:9
-k10
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