March 8, 2008

Hello everyone,

The final blog for our journey in Mexico comes a little late as yesterday was a long day for everyone.  It was a very interesting travel day for us as we almost missed our flight home due to multiple reasons at the airports including everything from paperwork for soiled seats that were removed from the plane to not having a gate to get into mechanical difficulties with the plane in the gate prior to us.  We found ourselves running or riding–whatever it took–to make it to our final connection but we did and finally arrived home safely.  Well, most of us, that is……Vic and Justin decided to do a little sight seeing in Houston!  Actually they were unable to leave the airport in Houston due to the weather conditions at their connecting site in Memphis.  (See, Vic, that’s what happens when you rub it in to us that you will be home sleeping by the time we get to Detroit!)   Anyway, we’d like to thank all of you who prayed for us and kept in contact with us while we were gone–it truly meant a lot to us to have your love and support.  We were all affected in some way by the experiences we had while we were on this trip as those of you who have gone in the past are well aware.  Please feel free to stop any of us as you see us on Sundays or whenever to ask any questions you may have or to learn more about the trip.  The pictures are phenomenal and I’m sure there are many more that are not on the blog that we will be able to share with you as well.  God bless.

March 7, 2008

Our final working day here in Mexico has come to an end and it has been bittersweet for all of us.  We have made new friends and formed new relationships which we will never forget.  While we know that we will be in their prayers and them in ours, it’s still very hard to think of us not being together again for awhile.  Many things happened today including additional work on the new classrooms, the finishing and dedication of the library and, of course, lots of food!  (Although we were finally able to turn the tables on our friends and serve and feed them for dinner this evening thanks to all the wonderful food that Shar made for us–Ramon asked us if it was “revenge” for all the times they kept asking us if we wanted more!)  Some of us even got a chance to work on our tans some more (ask Justin about his tan lines!) We will spend our last few hours in Mexico tomorrow morning again welcoming the children for the usual Saturday breakfast that Templo Belen provides and then it will be saying our goodbyes once again before we head off to the airport.  We miss all of you back home and look forward to seeing you all soon. 

Thursday’s Story

So far Patty Turner has been keeping up this portion of our blog site each day.   THANKS, PATTY!  Since the rest of the group has not yet returned from Progresso I will take my turn.   This afternoon Ron B. and Joanne and I stayed behind as the rest went to this Mexican Flea Market.   We joined Ron is picking up some supplies for our project and Joanne and I just spent some quality time together and having dinner here at the motel.    We had a great time.

This morning we continued our work on the school addtion project and on the library.  They have begun to stock the new libary shelves with the boxes of books we brought from Michigan.   The group is enjoying this project a lot.  It is particularly enjoyable to see the excitement of the Eagle College students when they see the books.  Frequently they will pick up a book and bring it to one of our team memmbers and say, “Read it.”  This library will be a very helpful tool in the education of these students.  See the pictures on the other pages and you will see the library coming together and you will see the excited children.

The work on the classroom addtion is continuing and the daily progress is impressive.  Hopefully we will be able to get the sheeting on the roof and some more siding on tomorrow (our last day of work here).  Perhaps we will get some electrical work done too.  Ron and Jane Brouwer will be here for another week and Ron’s brother will come and work with them to finish this addtion as much as possible.   I am so thankful for the safety of our group during this project.  If you look at the pictures you will understand why. 

Please pray for us during our last day of work here on Friday.  Friday morning I will be doing some “magic” and ventrilloquism for the whole school.   We hope to finish the library project and get a lot more done on the classroom addition project.   I hope we can do some more tutoring too.   Also pray for our journey home on Saturday.    And please pray for the leadership and staff at Eagle College.  They have a big job and a grande vision.  God is obviously using them to change lives.   Almost everyday we have been here I see parents stoping by to get information about enrolling their children in this school.  Because of the limited space, it is hard to imagine that they can add more to the 106 who are presently attending.   Tomorrow I plan to meet with Pastors David and Ramon to discuss how the people at Victory Point can continue to be an encouragement to their life-changing ministry. 

I am so thankful for the people on our team.  God certainly knew what he was doing when he placed us together.  There are so many gifts and they all have a postitive, energetic, and passionate attitude.

Thank you for your continued prayers.       Art VW

March 5, 2008

It was another beautiful day here in Mexico and we again accomplished a lot.  The library shelves are almost complete and ready for the books that have all been sorted and categorized and the painting in there is done as well so it will officially look like a library soon.  More work continued on the new classroom additions and many of us have the sunburns to show for it!  We continue to praise God for the weather he has given us to accomplish our goals thus far since we have been here.  It will be difficult to return to the cold and snow after all of this.  Tutoring is also going well and the children are enjoying the additional attention as well.  This evening we attended a prayer and worship service that Templo Belen offers every Wednesday and it definitely stretched some of us beyond our comfort zones but we know that we are blessed because of it.  It is so amazing to see the hearts of the people down here and their unselfish and serving nature–many of us feel humbled by the way that they praise God and celebrate each and every day.  An early start awaits many of us tomorrow as we will be breaking from work a little earlier than normal for some fellowship time and shopping in Progresso.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you back home and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

March 4, 2008

What a beautiful day God put before us today.  The sun was shining all day and we were able to accomplish many things.  Work continued on the new classrooms and also on the new library as shelves are now being constructed and books are being organized.  The kids loved seeing all the books we had as we sorted them so it looks as if the library will be utilized quite frequently!  Some of us learned how to make tamales today (not that we can remember it) while everyone got to enjoy eating them for lunch.  (Yes, we’re eating again!)   After our projects for the day were done, the men and women attended separate gatherings.  The women went to the “colony/compound” for a baby shower for one of the women that lives there while the men went to an addiction rehabilitation facility.  The main excitement for the day had to have been when the guys were stopped by the militia on the way back to the hotel.  Fortunately, everyone made it back safely but it was surely an exciting experience.  Hugo Vasquez also stopped by the school today to say hello to us and that was a wonderful surprise.  We are anticipating another busy day tomorrow as our week is beginning to shorten and we will soon have to look to heading back home.  More again tomorrow.

March 3, 2008

Today was a very busy and productive day for everyone.  We accomplished many things including the beginnnings to the addition of the new classrooms, the library, helping the teachers, and cooking.  We served dinner at the prison and even played a game of volleyball with them which was a lot of fun.  The weather has been challenging today but God made it possible for us to get done what needed to be done.  Of course we’re still eating well–Lety and Mari never stop cooking for us (those of you that have been here before, definitely know what I´m talking about!)  We are looking forward to another fruitful day of work tomorrow along with a couple of special events that the women and men will be attending separately.  If you have not had a chance to do so, check out the pictures on the site for more on what our trip has been like so far!

March 2, 2008

It’s day 2 on our journey here in Miguel Aleman.  Today was a day of worship and my do they know how to do it right down here!  It’s very humbling to watch these people as they give everything to God without reservation.  We seem to be caught up in how we worship, i.e do we sound ok, do we look foolish, etc., but there is definitely none of that here.  To say the services are energetic would be an understatement (I’m sure those of you that have been here before can vouch for that!) and you definitely know that God is truly in this place when you step into the church.  We attended both the morning and evening services today with a little bit of a siesta in between.  Some of us enjoyed the sun, some of us truly did take a siesta, and still others hit the soccer field with abandon.  The day came to a close with a visit to an authentic taco stand and a bit of reflection back at the hotel when we were done. It was truly a wonderful day and we are energized as we look forward to this week ahead.

March 1, 2008

Let’s see…where to begin…I guess there’s a couple days to catch you up on since, by the time we ended our long day yesterday, we were all tired and didn’t get a chance to update you. We all arrived safely yesterday although not as timely as we would have probably liked. The group of us that left from Detroit ended up leaving about an hour and fifteen minutes later than scheduled. That lovely white stuff that kept falling from the sky caused us to be delayed and de-iced at least 2 or 3 times. Although we were still more fortunate than Vic and Justin who got a late start on their flight out of Grand Rapids and missed their connecting flight in Memphis. They ended up spending about 3 1/2 hours in Memphis waiting for the next flight. We all made it safely to McAllen finally where Ron and Jane were waiting for us and drove the remaining way to Mexico. Believe it or not, all three vehicles made it through the border crossing without being stopped! We met Pastor Ramon and Lety at the church for dinner after getting checked in at the hotel and then returned back for some much needed rest after our extremely long day.
Ok, that was yesterday and now on to today…We awoke early to begin preparing breakfast for the children that were being picked up in the neigboring areas. Many of us went with the drivers to visit the areas that the children lived and to see more of their environment while the others stayed back and actually helped prepare the food. Once the children arrived, Art began entertaining the children with some magic and then on to a Bible story after that. We served the children breakfast and then Archie (Art’s dummy) made an appearance much to the delight of most of the children. The children were taken home after that and we then began to sort out what was going to be done as far as our other jobs that day. Some cleaned classrooms while others helped prepare lunch and still others began construction on the new classrooms above the playground. We broke for lunch around mid afternoon (yes, they feed us a lot while we’re here!) and then finished up our projects. The construction was shortened by some rain showers so everyone returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening. We were then off to Ron and Jane’s apartment for dinner and conversation to reflect on the day’s events. We shared what we have seen God do in just the short time we have been here so far and how we have already been blessed by our time here (and this is only our first full day!)
Tommorow we will attend the worship services here and enjoy the fellowship with each other and our friends here and prepare for the week ahead. Thanks to all of you who have sent your blessings and prayers so far and we will talk to you more later!

Well, we’re on our way….it’s 10:50 and we are at the airport in Detroit waiting to board our plane and watching the snow fall.  We all decided (even us skeptics) that it was definitely the right choice to leave last night–especially after seeing a few cars in the ditch this morning!