Well, we haven't been back a full 24 hours yet, but I figured I should write a little about our last night with the girls. Because it's been two days, I won't be able to give full details but I'd love to give you a little glimpse into our goodbye.
After I wrote the last post, I rushed over to pray with the girls before dinner. Before dinner every night, we all stand around the table, hold hands, and sing the blessing. Once that is finished, one of the girls starts praying. Most of it is just being thankful for the food, their new family members (us), and for all of the things throughout the day. This has been something I have really missed the most. My heart breaks a little every time there's a prayer being said and there's not a little girl holding my hands.
The tears started throughout dinner. At first, it would be just a few girls but once we finished our devotional and had a chance to talk a little about the week, everyone in the room had tears. Each girl would stand up and say thank you to each of us. Sometimes, there were personal messages and sometimes it was just a general "thank you". The best one was from Kiti. Kiti is nine and extremely hyper and goofy. She stood up though to thank us and it went something like this "thank you for coming to stay with us, and thank you for taking us to the beach...and *bursts into tears* thank you for the pizza". We had bought the girls Dominos the night before, and you would have thought we had given them gold. It became a joke all yesterday, as we continued to quote her, but it is such a good example of the trip. These girls were grateful for every little thing. Each water balloon, dessert, movie, they were even grateful for us cleaning with them. Nothing is taken for granted.
The goodbye was the hardest part, hands down. My heart broke into a thousand pieces as I hugged and cried with each girl. Every time I thought one of us was out of tears, it would start up again.
Each girl is so special. Their stories may involve sadness and difficulties, but it also involves rescue. If you love Jesus, you can relate. You've been rescued too, but there's something about physical safety right here and right now that can also transform you. We've left with some great memories, a TON of pictures, and some very special letters (ask us about our letters, that's something we would have to tell you in person), but we exchanged all of that a piece of our hearts.
Thank you for following our trip, I'll probably write one more post about our travels and include some pictures on the site, but your prayers and kind words have been so encouraging. I apologize in advance if you've asked me, or ask me about our trip. I haven't quite mastered talking about it without my eyes filling with tears (sorry again to those that were in Anchor this morning...something was clearly heavy on my heart). I miss the girls a lot. Everything has seemed to remind me of them and I've already started thinking about the next time I see them.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Last Day in Mexico: Post One
Buenos Tardes from beautiful Tapachula. We are on our last day and just two blog posts away from the plane ride home. We have just come back to the apartment to pack and shower before doing our last devotion and saying goodbye to the girls. It's gotten a lot harder to leave the girls each time to come over here. I didn't want siesta to end because that would mean that we would be heading into the last half of the day (not to mention when you are all cuddled up with them, you don't really want it to end).
This morning the girls finally went to school, but not before Torey led us in a devotion about our hands. She taught the girls hand motions for what our hands should be used for. They should be used for worship, hugging (or healing touch), and serving. I loved that she gave them something to take away from the lesson.
After the girls headed off to school, our team headed out on our adventure around the city. We went to the market (it was intense, people walk around carrying live chickens) then we went to a few other stores so we could get souvenirs to take home. We all got some great stuff: pottery, jewelry, and much more.
After our drive around the city we came back for our last meal at the home. Authentic Mexican food with rice and tortillas galore. We ended with a flan that one of the niños made (seriously, no words for how good it was). We ended the afternoon with our naps and enjoyed as much time as we could with the girls.
Even with the language barrier, we have learned so much about each one of them. We know parts of their struggles, needs, and what their hearts long for. They have considered us family from the moment we walked through the door. Not a second goes by without me hearing "Tia!!! Tia!!!"(which means aunt, or uncle if it's tio). They attach themselves to us, holding our hands, playing with our hair, and crawling all over us. Their love is unconditional and abundant (with the exception of a few from team trouble: fiesty). The next few hours will be difficult to say the least.
This morning the girls finally went to school, but not before Torey led us in a devotion about our hands. She taught the girls hand motions for what our hands should be used for. They should be used for worship, hugging (or healing touch), and serving. I loved that she gave them something to take away from the lesson.
After the girls headed off to school, our team headed out on our adventure around the city. We went to the market (it was intense, people walk around carrying live chickens) then we went to a few other stores so we could get souvenirs to take home. We all got some great stuff: pottery, jewelry, and much more.
After our drive around the city we came back for our last meal at the home. Authentic Mexican food with rice and tortillas galore. We ended with a flan that one of the niños made (seriously, no words for how good it was). We ended the afternoon with our naps and enjoyed as much time as we could with the girls.
Even with the language barrier, we have learned so much about each one of them. We know parts of their struggles, needs, and what their hearts long for. They have considered us family from the moment we walked through the door. Not a second goes by without me hearing "Tia!!! Tia!!!"(which means aunt, or uncle if it's tio). They attach themselves to us, holding our hands, playing with our hair, and crawling all over us. Their love is unconditional and abundant (with the exception of a few from team trouble: fiesty). The next few hours will be difficult to say the least.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
First and Final Update for Thursday
I promise, I wasn't slacking today...we went to the beach this morning (no school, again...can we say 'mini spring break'?). We woke up and headed to the girls home for breakfast and devotion. Senior Queso (Kyle) led on "the heart" which was perfect for him since he is in nursing school. He brought out a stethascope and let each of the girls listen to their heart.
I missed the second part to the morning due to a slight illness setback (it was super minor...literally lasted 45 minutes). Paige is telling me that they just played games and blew up beach balls. The girls home did run out of water and so the guys from the boys home had to bring over 100 containers of water. It was really neat to watch the boys serve by carrying the water upstairs and showed the ownership and family ties between the homes. George also mentioned how he got to hear the boys pray before their meal which was really firm. We normally just hear the girls do it, so it was neat to hear their booming voices sing the blessing.
At around 10, we packed up the vans and headed to a private pool area which was great. There were picnic tables, a pool, and private beach access. We spent the first hour down at the beach, collecting clams and catching waves. Then headed back to the pool and had lunch.
Our devotion was a bit longer tonight, and hopefully may carry over into tomorrow with some of the older girls. Kyle talked about the different chambers of the heart and how each one pours out and takes in love. He talked about guarding our hearts and how important it is to protect them. One of the older girls asked a great question about knowing when God is calling you to do something (that tug on your heart) and with the help of the others leaders (Catherine included for both translation and advice) we are hoping to go more in depth tomorrow.
I definitely struggled more today with the language barrier than I have the other days. There's so much that I want to communicate sometimes and in the end, my words are not going to be able to help this time (so difficult to realize when your love language is words of affirmation).
One thing I did notice at the beach were some of the major connections between the leaders and girls. We had to pick partners to watch out for in the water and each girl flocked to the adult they had been connecting with the most the past few days. When we were in the pool, everyone hung out together but in the end, the girls were the ones who had begun to take ownership over us. The love and connections between each of girls is strong. Tomorrow is going to be hard.
At our closing team time tonight, we talked about where we saw God. We mentioned some things that had really been tugging at our hearts. Eric's willingness to serve any and everwhere, Karen slaving away in the kitchen, Catherine translating for several people at a time. But one of my favorite moments today was with Catherine and Torey. Catherine and I have been praying together before dinner each night. Just kind of as a refresher to get through that last bit of the evening and tonight we were able to include Torey. It's so easy to keep busy when on a mission trip. Trying to serve and be with the kids every minute, but those moments where you step aside to pray for a moment are just as important.
I missed the second part to the morning due to a slight illness setback (it was super minor...literally lasted 45 minutes). Paige is telling me that they just played games and blew up beach balls. The girls home did run out of water and so the guys from the boys home had to bring over 100 containers of water. It was really neat to watch the boys serve by carrying the water upstairs and showed the ownership and family ties between the homes. George also mentioned how he got to hear the boys pray before their meal which was really firm. We normally just hear the girls do it, so it was neat to hear their booming voices sing the blessing.
At around 10, we packed up the vans and headed to a private pool area which was great. There were picnic tables, a pool, and private beach access. We spent the first hour down at the beach, collecting clams and catching waves. Then headed back to the pool and had lunch.
Our devotion was a bit longer tonight, and hopefully may carry over into tomorrow with some of the older girls. Kyle talked about the different chambers of the heart and how each one pours out and takes in love. He talked about guarding our hearts and how important it is to protect them. One of the older girls asked a great question about knowing when God is calling you to do something (that tug on your heart) and with the help of the others leaders (Catherine included for both translation and advice) we are hoping to go more in depth tomorrow.
I definitely struggled more today with the language barrier than I have the other days. There's so much that I want to communicate sometimes and in the end, my words are not going to be able to help this time (so difficult to realize when your love language is words of affirmation).
One thing I did notice at the beach were some of the major connections between the leaders and girls. We had to pick partners to watch out for in the water and each girl flocked to the adult they had been connecting with the most the past few days. When we were in the pool, everyone hung out together but in the end, the girls were the ones who had begun to take ownership over us. The love and connections between each of girls is strong. Tomorrow is going to be hard.
At our closing team time tonight, we talked about where we saw God. We mentioned some things that had really been tugging at our hearts. Eric's willingness to serve any and everwhere, Karen slaving away in the kitchen, Catherine translating for several people at a time. But one of my favorite moments today was with Catherine and Torey. Catherine and I have been praying together before dinner each night. Just kind of as a refresher to get through that last bit of the evening and tonight we were able to include Torey. It's so easy to keep busy when on a mission trip. Trying to serve and be with the kids every minute, but those moments where you step aside to pray for a moment are just as important.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Late Night Wednesday
I've been putting off writing all night and now it's 11:30 and I figured I should at least write something for the night. Siesta lasted over an hour today and a few of us had several chocolate covered espresso beans so I'm awake for the most part.
Amy finished our devotional on the mouth tonight and gave the girls a challenge that my small group at home would be very familiar with: for every bad thing you say to or about someone, you have to give them two compliments. While the girls are typically sweet and aren't too mean to each other (at least that we can understand), they still took the challenge to say some nice things about each other. I really enjoyed Amy leading again because she was intentional about asking the girls questions and they were much more open about answering them.
Karen cooked us a traditional Israeli dinner tonight with cous cous, chicken kababs, moroccan carrots, and more that I can't really remember but it was fun watching the girls try to figure out the different flavors and spices.
Before dinner, a few of us went to a coffee shop in town. We got to try a few baked goods and candy coated espresso beans (the only reason I'm able to really be awake right now) and buy coffee to take back home.
Eric and Kyle also started painting the roof since the rain had finally dried a bit.
This post seems kind of weak and I don't have any crazy stories for you, but I will tell you that our closing team time tonight was great. We got letters from home (thanks Julie!) and talked a little about where we saw God. George put it best when he said with much emotion that it hasn't been so much where we've seen God, but where we have felt his presence. Since there is so much affection to give and recieve, you can definitely feel God's presence just as much as you can see it (if not, more).
Great team, great day...tomorrow we are going to the beach, RAIN OR SHINE!
Amy finished our devotional on the mouth tonight and gave the girls a challenge that my small group at home would be very familiar with: for every bad thing you say to or about someone, you have to give them two compliments. While the girls are typically sweet and aren't too mean to each other (at least that we can understand), they still took the challenge to say some nice things about each other. I really enjoyed Amy leading again because she was intentional about asking the girls questions and they were much more open about answering them.
Karen cooked us a traditional Israeli dinner tonight with cous cous, chicken kababs, moroccan carrots, and more that I can't really remember but it was fun watching the girls try to figure out the different flavors and spices.
Before dinner, a few of us went to a coffee shop in town. We got to try a few baked goods and candy coated espresso beans (the only reason I'm able to really be awake right now) and buy coffee to take back home.
Eric and Kyle also started painting the roof since the rain had finally dried a bit.
This post seems kind of weak and I don't have any crazy stories for you, but I will tell you that our closing team time tonight was great. We got letters from home (thanks Julie!) and talked a little about where we saw God. George put it best when he said with much emotion that it hasn't been so much where we've seen God, but where we have felt his presence. Since there is so much affection to give and recieve, you can definitely feel God's presence just as much as you can see it (if not, more).
Great team, great day...tomorrow we are going to the beach, RAIN OR SHINE!
Wednesday Morning
It's still raining here in Mexico, so once again our girls have no school. As much as that kind of worried our team (they get hyper when they have to be inside for a long time), they have been very well behaved. Time out in the girls home is no joke. This morning, Lupita decided she did not want to pray at breakfast which bought her THREE hours in the corner. No toys, no books, no play. Needless to say, Team Trouble has been a bit more controlled this morning.
Our day is looking pretty similar to yesterday, but we played a few group games before sitting down to watch our movie (note: I almost just said pelicula...I'm starting to think in spanish. Also, caught myself counting the kids in my head in spanish). We played musical squares, a game I used to play in youth group (if you're reading this, thank you Joey) which turned out to be a huge hit. This ate up about an hour of our time, before they sat down to watch the Muppets (in espanol!).
Amy did our devotion this morning, which was really neat to see her teaching talents being used. She had the girls captivated for the moment we started, asking them questions and explaining how our mouths can be used to hurt others, but should be used to praise God and lift one another up. After our devotion time, the girls pulled books out (their favorite activity) while we waited to see whether or not school would be cancelled. I was struggling with one of the older girls (Kiti, about 9 yrs old) while reading a book in spanish, and came to the realization that she didn't know how to read. I called Amy over, and while we were both struggling to teach reading in Spanish, she was able to use her talents to help Kiti get through half of the book. I am admiring Torey and Amy's skills and can definitely see how rewarding it is to teach someone something and watch them have a breakthrough.
I'm grateful for the chance to write this blog because it gives me the opportunity to notice each of the gifts our team has. First of all, I'm not sure how I lived without Karen's cooking before this trip. And while George spends a lot of time cooking in the kitchen, it's also amazing to see all of the little girls climbing all over him. It's great to see Eric's patience with Team Trouble as he plays games with them (where they clearly break all of the rules) and it's so helpful to have Kyle and Paige who are able to communicate more than the few phrases the rest of us know. Glena, has this amazing ability to be in charge and take the place of Steve and Hope, as she keeps everything in order. And of course, I can't forget Catherine, who is so commited to translating that according to Amy and Torey, she has been speaking in Spanish in her sleep.
Thank you, Jesus for such an amazing and talented team! Adios, friends!
Our day is looking pretty similar to yesterday, but we played a few group games before sitting down to watch our movie (note: I almost just said pelicula...I'm starting to think in spanish. Also, caught myself counting the kids in my head in spanish). We played musical squares, a game I used to play in youth group (if you're reading this, thank you Joey) which turned out to be a huge hit. This ate up about an hour of our time, before they sat down to watch the Muppets (in espanol!).
Amy did our devotion this morning, which was really neat to see her teaching talents being used. She had the girls captivated for the moment we started, asking them questions and explaining how our mouths can be used to hurt others, but should be used to praise God and lift one another up. After our devotion time, the girls pulled books out (their favorite activity) while we waited to see whether or not school would be cancelled. I was struggling with one of the older girls (Kiti, about 9 yrs old) while reading a book in spanish, and came to the realization that she didn't know how to read. I called Amy over, and while we were both struggling to teach reading in Spanish, she was able to use her talents to help Kiti get through half of the book. I am admiring Torey and Amy's skills and can definitely see how rewarding it is to teach someone something and watch them have a breakthrough.
I'm grateful for the chance to write this blog because it gives me the opportunity to notice each of the gifts our team has. First of all, I'm not sure how I lived without Karen's cooking before this trip. And while George spends a lot of time cooking in the kitchen, it's also amazing to see all of the little girls climbing all over him. It's great to see Eric's patience with Team Trouble as he plays games with them (where they clearly break all of the rules) and it's so helpful to have Kyle and Paige who are able to communicate more than the few phrases the rest of us know. Glena, has this amazing ability to be in charge and take the place of Steve and Hope, as she keeps everything in order. And of course, I can't forget Catherine, who is so commited to translating that according to Amy and Torey, she has been speaking in Spanish in her sleep.
Thank you, Jesus for such an amazing and talented team! Adios, friends!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tuesday Night
For those of you who have been keeping up with our posts the past few days, I haven't been able to post pictures to the blog (the internet isn't strong enough), but I just uploaded a batch to Facebook that went through. If you are checking this and you have Facebook, but can't see the album, feel free to add me so you can see all of our photos. This link might work: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3398514530283.2134267.1492350054&type=1&l=7fd4598960
We had an early ending to our night since it had been such a long day. Having the girls home from school was so great for bonding, but exhausting for all. After my update earlier, I headed back over where the team/girls were watching Tangled. After our movie, we ate lunch and had siesta. It was so neat to look around the room and see each of the kids cuddled up to our leaders. Such a great reminder of the love that we are giving to each and every one of them. They just want to be held and cuddled with, even the older girls.
When siesta was over, we went back to playing games and making bracelets. We did a few group games like four corners (which I also had to learn in addition to spoons) and musical chairs (I had heard of that one before).
Devotion tonight was led by Paige and we talked more about how to praise God with our eyes and ears. One of the quotes from the book that Catherine translated was "Where you look, where your eyes are is where you're focused. Your focus determines where your praise goes." We then encouraged the girls to surround themselves with great things because it affects who they are and helps them reflect more of God.
We ordered Dominos for dinner and ate several desserts (in addition to the oreo balls Catherine, Torey, Paige and I were sneaking all day). The girls went upstairs to get ready for bed after wards and must have been so exhausted, they didn't come down to say goodnight. You can tell we are bonding with them because we went up to check on them and were so disappointed when they were already asleep. It's only our third full day and these girls have already become our family. We have inside jokes and nicknames for each girl (Team Trouble, I'm telling you...they run this show) and secret handshakes with some of them (we taught them how to do hand-hugs).
A few of us talked with Glena once the girls had gone to bed and got the background on how some had got to the home. I won't share the intimate details, but it put a whole new perspective on why we are here, why it's so important for us to hold these girls every chance we get. Every meal shared, game played, and hand held is one that has a lasting affect.
I hope these updates are helpful for those of you with friends and family on our team. Each person is having a unique experience that I can't fully capture, but hopefully I can share a little of our journey with you through this blog. But if I have any chance of getting up at 5:45 to work out on the roof in the morning, I'm going to need to have gone to bed an hour ago.
We had an early ending to our night since it had been such a long day. Having the girls home from school was so great for bonding, but exhausting for all. After my update earlier, I headed back over where the team/girls were watching Tangled. After our movie, we ate lunch and had siesta. It was so neat to look around the room and see each of the kids cuddled up to our leaders. Such a great reminder of the love that we are giving to each and every one of them. They just want to be held and cuddled with, even the older girls.
When siesta was over, we went back to playing games and making bracelets. We did a few group games like four corners (which I also had to learn in addition to spoons) and musical chairs (I had heard of that one before).
Devotion tonight was led by Paige and we talked more about how to praise God with our eyes and ears. One of the quotes from the book that Catherine translated was "Where you look, where your eyes are is where you're focused. Your focus determines where your praise goes." We then encouraged the girls to surround themselves with great things because it affects who they are and helps them reflect more of God.
We ordered Dominos for dinner and ate several desserts (in addition to the oreo balls Catherine, Torey, Paige and I were sneaking all day). The girls went upstairs to get ready for bed after wards and must have been so exhausted, they didn't come down to say goodnight. You can tell we are bonding with them because we went up to check on them and were so disappointed when they were already asleep. It's only our third full day and these girls have already become our family. We have inside jokes and nicknames for each girl (Team Trouble, I'm telling you...they run this show) and secret handshakes with some of them (we taught them how to do hand-hugs).
A few of us talked with Glena once the girls had gone to bed and got the background on how some had got to the home. I won't share the intimate details, but it put a whole new perspective on why we are here, why it's so important for us to hold these girls every chance we get. Every meal shared, game played, and hand held is one that has a lasting affect.
I hope these updates are helpful for those of you with friends and family on our team. Each person is having a unique experience that I can't fully capture, but hopefully I can share a little of our journey with you through this blog. But if I have any chance of getting up at 5:45 to work out on the roof in the morning, I'm going to need to have gone to bed an hour ago.
Lloviendo Martes
I hope no one reading this is fluent in Spanish, because I'm definitely not. I'm trying to tell you it's raining here though. So what does that mean for our girls? No school! Fiesta all day long :)
We started off our morning by Paige leading our devotion which was on eyes and ears. We talked about what others see in us vs. what we see in ourselves. We will continue our devotion tonight by talking about seeing others through God's eyes.
Next was breakfast and we got the news of school being cancelled so we all worked together to get our chores done so we could play games! The girls picked out what they wanted to play and we split up around the room. Some played memory, uno (I got creamed, blaming the language barrier), cards, and my new favorite: Spoons! Paige is concerned that they let me become a youth director without knowing how to play spoons.
Senior Bigote was put on duty of playing with Team Trouble (what we've nicknamed the 3/4 year olds) and when Paige and I were heading over to the boys home, there appeared to be some sort of uprising. He seemed to be enjoying it though.
Glena is currently at the store getting Tangled for us to watch with the girls this afternoon. After lunch, we will get them popcorn and spend the rest of our rainy afternoon watching a movie :)
I want to post some more pictures, but I'm updating from my phone and won't be able to upload any until tonight. I've included a picture of my view from where I'm writing though!
Love to everyone at home!
We started off our morning by Paige leading our devotion which was on eyes and ears. We talked about what others see in us vs. what we see in ourselves. We will continue our devotion tonight by talking about seeing others through God's eyes.
Next was breakfast and we got the news of school being cancelled so we all worked together to get our chores done so we could play games! The girls picked out what they wanted to play and we split up around the room. Some played memory, uno (I got creamed, blaming the language barrier), cards, and my new favorite: Spoons! Paige is concerned that they let me become a youth director without knowing how to play spoons.
Senior Bigote was put on duty of playing with Team Trouble (what we've nicknamed the 3/4 year olds) and when Paige and I were heading over to the boys home, there appeared to be some sort of uprising. He seemed to be enjoying it though.
Glena is currently at the store getting Tangled for us to watch with the girls this afternoon. After lunch, we will get them popcorn and spend the rest of our rainy afternoon watching a movie :)
I want to post some more pictures, but I'm updating from my phone and won't be able to upload any until tonight. I've included a picture of my view from where I'm writing though!
Love to everyone at home!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)