Simple Blessings

In my head I knew it would happen.

I've been on mission trips before. Sure, it's been years (more like decades - but who is counting) since I served on a mission trip. I have visited orphanages before. Growing up in a military family we were fortunate enough to be stationed overseas. We lived in Spain and while there our youth group would go out and play with the kids at the orphanage. So I had this vision in my head of what I "thought" it would be like to come to Grace Children's Home. But it was nothing like it.

As we crossed the border into Mexico you quickly saw the differences between living in a suburban area in the United States versus living in the areas we passed through. While there was clearly a difference in the construction of housing, we also passed some beautiful resort areas on the beaches. Such a stark contrast from each other. But what was consistent in the scenery was the awesomeness and beauty around. The sky, the beach, the clouds were fantastic. Such beauty in the midst of all the different stages and types of buildings provided the constant reminder that God has placed us all in the midst of beauty if we step back and view our surroundings as the whole picture instead of just a little thumbnail.

My children were taking in all the sights, just like the adults. We were looking at everything we passed, making comparisons of how things were here vs there. It was very interesting listening to their observations. Then we arrived. We pulled in and were shown to the area we would be staying at. It was nothing like what I had pictured. But then again, my mental picture doesn't usually live up. The reality is always better.

I spent the first two days cooking and cleaning. My husband and boys have been working with the construction team and my daughter has been around . . . helping. Last night was the first time I really got to talk with the children here, but I had already found out by now just how off my mental image of coming here was. Between the tour of the facility both at GCH and the newly completed Babies Home I am in awe of how amazing it is here. These children are so blessed and loved. They are a family. A big big family. God has provided abundantly for these children and those who are here to serve them.

After dinner (which I am so so so happy they liked my sweet potatoes and that my ham and turkey cooking passed!) we were treated to a play about Thanksgiving by the children on our team, a ballet performance, a lovely soloist and the most fantastic time of sharing what we are grateful for. Each time the children spoke they shared how thankful they were for their family, their blessings and those around them. It was evident that they are beyond content. They know the fullness of God and you can see it in their faces, even the silly mischevious ones.

I wanted my children to come here, to experience serving others, to see how people live in other countries. (And partially to see just how blessed they are, even if they don't think they are.) No matter how much you have had something explained to you, seeing and living it firsthand is always more effective and more meaningful. I know that cultivating a sense of service and a heart for others is something that will benefit them for their whole lives and what a joy to learn that now, at a young age, instead of as an adult. But what I found is that I need to step back and see how blessed I am. I have so much more than I need, yet I don't always recognize it.

As I was typing this post a little girl named, Alma "found" me. She came in and started talking and singing to me. My first reaction was to tell her I had to finish what I was doing. But instead I stopped. I listened more to her, asked what she wanted to do, and then went to spend time with her. I decided to choose what was better and to enjoy the moment. This is something I struggle with at home with my own children. I need to spend more time - stopping. Enjoying the everyday blessings that are so easily overlooked and unappreciated.

So I knew it would happen, but I forgot to prepare myself to realize that I was the one who was going to be blessed by the people I came to serve.

Ginny Haynie

Thanksgiving Friday

I guess if the pilgrims had landed in Mexico and been helped by the Indians, perhaps there would be a national holiday to mark the occasion here in Mexico. As it is, life goes on with it's normal rhythms at Grace Children's Home. Thursday and Friday are school days with homework and academic competitions. The teams was at work cleaning, organizing, digging trenches, building fences, and compacting soil for the planned amphitheater which will sit between the children's home and the educational building.

Many continued to work on the Thanksgiving dinner preparations which started on Thursday and ramped up on Friday. Coordinating dinner for 85 people is no small task, 3 turkeys, 2 hams, mountains of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (made from an old family recipe), stuffing, corn, rolls .... it was a feast. Our teams was joined by all of the children at GCH, George & Stacey, the aunties and uncles, and their families, Juan and Alicia, their family and the crew from GBH, and others that were visiting from the United States. It was a wonderful time to blend so many different cultures, and experiences and come together to celebrate and give thanks to God. Each of us has been blessed in many ways.

I reconnected with Esmeralda. She has been at GCH since I first visited back in December 2005. She was just a little girl back then, and now she is in 5th grade and is bursting with energy. All of the children are thriving in the care and love of God that they live in everyday. At a time of sharing after dinner, a little boy who is the newest arrival at GCH (6 months), said he was thankful to finally have a family. His whole life he had never known the what it was to be part of a family. It was a reminder to me of the many things that I take for granted because they have always been a part of my life. Friends, family, food, shelter, are blessings, not entitlements. Today I'm thankful for the chance to serve and be served here at GCH.

It has been great to work along side the team from WestGate. We are getting to know one another better as we work on tasks. So much of what we do can't be accomplished without many hands chipping in. At the end of the day we crawl into bed ready for a good night sleep.

God is good!

Dave Larson

Unfinished

I've crossed the border many times. I've been to Mexico for a wedding and for family trips to Ensenada. My dad was born here, and every time we came, he always made a point to drive through the poorer sections of the places we visited. We always saw the differences between our home and the homes there and appreciated what we had.

But this trip was different for me. At 21 years of age, I can now really understand what I am seeing, really comprehend the differences and the reality of what is going on.

My uncle called me about a week before I was supposed to leave for the trip, telling me that I shouldn't go unless he knew where I was going; he also promised to tell me where I could and could not go around town, based on his familiarity with the area. He even wanted to know where the home was so that he could come visit me, to make sure I was safe. I hadn't really been worried about my safety on the trip until that point.

So I prayed, and I prayed hard. For peace for myself and for peace for my uncle. And God was so faithful to give me peace about going. He had prepared the way for me to go - from not having to work to my professor's approval to miss class on Monday.

This morning (Wednesday), I woke up extremely excited to hang out with kids!

Isaiah 1:17 says, "learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause."

I have a heart for justice. We are called as followers of Jesus to bring justice and to correct oppression. Hearing stories about the children and the reasons why they are in this home was heart-wrenching. But it's such a blessing to see how God has turned their lives around. Some came from families with drug involvement, others with prostitution. God does not intend for His children to live in those environments, so the obedience and sacrifices of the Palaus and the tías here shows how the love of God can be transferred through people who love Him.

We are CALLED to be a part of His movement. Our calling is to share his love with people. James 1:27 says that pure religion is sharing that very love and grace with orphans and widows. God believes in justice, and we should too!

Crossing the border this time was an unreal experience. In less than a mile, things changed -- they shifted. They went from hollow "completeness" to humble unfinished works.

I think this metaphor often rings true in the American church. We get there on Saturday night or Sunday morning, put on a flashy smile, say hi to our friends, receive the message, then leave. We have fooled ourselves into believing our lives are perfect, when that could not be further from the truth. We have created a culture of hollow completeness. We're not really complete, and we may struggle, but we often keep that to ourselves, pretending life is great. But God doesn't expect or ever say that our lives will be perfect!

Psalm 34:19 says, "MANY are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

God doesn't expect that our lives will be squeaky clean, hollowly "complete" and free from any kind of challenges, as though we've got it all together.

The buildings around here are unfinished. They're scarred by graffiti, battered by time, and imperfect. But so are we. We each have our own scars, our own challenges, our own imperfections. But God isn't done with us yet.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

There is a reason I'm here. He is not finished with me yet! I'm so excited to see what that means for me, especially on this trip!

by Ana Acosta

Restless Night

We'll it's the night before we leave for our trip to Mexico, and it's always tough to sleep as the anticipation builds. Grace Children's Home will be teaming with energetic kids, and Grace Babies Home has it's first baby in residence. I can't wait to see George, Stacey, Juan, and Alicia and hear what God has been doing since our last visit. There will be 25 of us from the San Jose area heading down at 5:00 am. We hope to arrive before dinner so we can unpack and watch the sun fade into the Pacific. Please pray for safe travels and a chance to connect with the children we are going to serve.

I'm hoping to have several people from the trip blog so you will get many different windows into our experience.

Blessings,

Dave

Ephesians 2:10

A mural for the school yard

We had the great pleasure to paint a mural in the school court yard. Kristie wanted something in French and children surrounded by Jesus. This is what we came up with.

In this photo: Chad Artery, Kristin Artery, and Tish Lopez

In this photo: Kristin Artery, Jessica Thompson, and Tish Lopez

The verse we felt was most appropriate is one that WestGate stands on:

Luke 6:40

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Shoe Distribution

Monday we started with the shoe distribution. This specific day was for children that attend school on the compound. We met with Kristie at the nutrition center where she introduced us individually to a student. One by one we lead them into the worship center to pick out a pair of shoes. It was absolutely heart breaking to see their blistered feet, and how they have bent toes just so they can squeeze their feet enough to fit in their shoes.

It was also very humbling to see how color or style has nothing to do with the shoe they select. I remember on a few occasions boys took pink or purple sandals; team members tried to look for other colors or give them a different pair and they would hold on to their shoes so tight. They did not want to let go. There was a point also when we ran out of the sizes that we needed. Most of the shoes were sizes 6 or larger when we needed shoes for smaller kids. Some team members were very emotional and in tears. Their hearts wanted to serve these kids so desperately. We prayed and waited patiently as Mike Morales and other team members searched for more shoes even if it was one pair (during the shipping process we had put shoes in random boxes for weight purposes). By the grace of God we didn't just find one pair of shoes, but one whole bin! God just kept showing up in ways like this throughout our trip.

 

VBS/VBC

We made made salvation bracelets with the kids. Black to represent our sin, Red for the blood shed of Jesus, White for the cleansing of our sins by the crucifixion of Jesus, Green for our growing faith through Christ, and Yellow for heaven where Jesus wants us to be someday.

We also sang tons of songs, played games, and had a play about David and Goliath.

First day orientation and overview

Kristie shared her and JeanJean's testimony and walked us through the compound. When they returned to Haiti following the call that God gave them, they only had $300 and a half built home when they arrived.

They saw the need for food and rationed their food so that others could eat. What started as a once a week food distribution became a three times a week process. They eventually were able to build a nutrition center. Kristie said there were times when there would be one child left to feed and literally one scoop of rice left. God has provided for them by providing so much like a nutrition center, housing grounds for missionaries, five classrooms, and an apartment for the teachers.

This is a basketball court that currently is being converted to regulation size.

This is one of five classrooms which have cement flooring. In later photo's you will see that we were able to E-Proxy the floors.

Kristie also explained that they no longer want to provide "relief" but instead "development" through educating the community. They have a agriculturalist that has taught people how to graph fruits and vegetables. They use bat droppings for the compost. They also urge planting of tree's if someone cuts one down since most of the tree's have been removed.

These are just a few of the herbs that are being harvested.

On the left is an apartment with four rooms. The teachers are provided with housing. In the back of the photo and on the right are the classrooms. Tuition is $100 for the school year. The children are taught French and English.

We were able to dig a trench for a power line to go from the worship center to the classrooms. We literally finished the day before we left. There was going to be a Youth Bible Retreat and Kristie really was praying that they could have power in the classrooms. Praise God for allowing Carl to be on our team (he's an engineer and is amazing!) We also give praise to God for our team working so hard to dig this 18" deep trench every opportunity that the weather permitted.