Muchas Gracias
Early on the morning of August 17th 8 0f us started out on our quest to reach Welcome Home Outreach Ministries (WHO) 175miles South of the Border. We picked up the other 6 passengers of our hodge podge crew along the way. On August 19th we all crossed the border into Mexico to begin an adventure that would forever change our lives.
Our 24hr road trip was met with no complications, despite the many changes in our transportation plans in the week prior to our departure. We arrived in Vicente Guerrero and made our 3mile drive to the beach for a little R&R prior to beginning our week of hard labor. Monday morning we awoke early, drank an excellent brew of coffee and had breakfast with the children. We then headed out to what would be our job site for the week. The house we were to build for Pearl and her small son Guiel was ready for us to begin. The foundation was set and 3 of the walls were started for us. Tony, the foreman for WHO and Peter, an intern quickly showed us the ropes and we all dived in to begin sifting sand, mixing concrete and laying blocks. It was quite amazing to see how quickly the house began to take shape.
Most nights we had an activity planned for us. We visited 2 rehab centers, one voluntary and one that was a non-voluntary locked down facility. Both centers were Christian based. It was exciting to see and hear how God is working in these people’s lives. On the 4th night we visited a migrant camp north of town. I don’t think there was a dry eye among us. The children ran to our vehicles as we pulled in to camp. They were anxious to see what we had for them. We went in to a court yard of sorts where the pastor in that camp holds VBS for the residents there. The adults were inside the church and the children were outside seperated into age categories. So many of these children did not even have shoes and those who did were wearing much too big or much too small ones. After the VBS portion the children went to the missionary there and recited their scripture verses from the week before and if they said it correctly they received a notebook. The kids were so excited to receive this gift. Their mothers lined up and received a bag of food that was purchased with some of the money that our church raised. We then unloaded all the donated clothing and gave it to the pastor to pass out to those in the most need. I can honestly say that I have never felt like I had given a gift that was so greatly needed before in my life.
On Friday, we finished our house and outhouse for Pearl and Guiel. It was an extremely emotional experience to watch a crying Pearl see her new home for the first time. We couldn’t speak to eachother through words, but our hearts communicated that day.
We would just like to thank the church congregation for all of their support for this trip. We never could have done it without you! All those who helped with the fireworks fundraiser, the car wash, monetary and clothing donations and last, but definitely not least, prayer support.
Thank you again,
Mexico Mission Team 2007
