Si Senor!

Hola Mundo!
(Hey World!)

It is currently week three of ministry and I am loving it so mucho grande. Last sunday our team moved down south an hour to a city called Ensenada. We are staying here for 10 days (It's been 4 days already) and we will be engaging in the community, serving the people and building homes! On Monday & Tuesday, we went to a migrant camp, which is an area where people stay at when they travel across Mexico to cross the border but then change their minds. The houses were probably 4x4 meters in total area, with a dirt floor and no electricity. We painted the whole interior of one house for a family and it totally lit up the room, since these houses have no windows. Our prayer is that the light in the house will be more than just painted walls, but hope and faith for the future. On wednesday we ran a kids programme, doing dramas and games with the kids. It was cool, It seems that every time we go somewhere and do a similar programme, it is always different in some way, and something different stands out to me. =] In the past week I have been blessed beyond measure and I am praying that each day will hold a new challenge, giving me a chance to grow in different areas of my life. It's hard at the time, but the end result will be a happy one :) Our teams plans for the next few days is to be helping out with the national Mexican holiday 'Dia de el nino' -Day of the child. This day is set apart to honour kids and thei existence. Our team has been invited to take part in abit of this celebration in the city we are staying at. Over sunday and monday, we will be building a house with homes of hope. the $5000 has been provided to build he house, which is a miracle :) I am so grateful for all of your prayers, love and support, physically and emotionally.

Buenas Dias!

-A brother and Sister I saw sitting together

-Orphanage

Hanging out in a poor community, with a newly made bathroom in the background

Dios te bendiga!

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out all fear." 1 John 4:18

Semana Dos

Week two of ministry has passed! This last week has been very challenging and testing for all of us. This is a run down of what we have been up to:

Monday; On this day we went to a street kids programme where there were about 15 children aged around 6-12. They spent most of their time on the streets because there was no-one to look after them at their homes. We played with them, did crafts, games and showed them a drama. On our team we have a 4 year old boy called Eli, and he felt like he should give away his shoes to one of the street kids. They were his most favorite trainers, but he decided to give them away to a boy who had no shoes. The little boy's face just lit up as he recieved these new trainers, and he was finally able to safely run around. He did this proudly, and it was so precious!

Tuesday: This was a free day! This was also the day that my computer decided to hate me! On this day we just wandered around a near-by town called Rosarito. We looked through the markets and their mexican Wal-mart!

Wednesday: This was probably my best day so far. We woke up at 5.30 to go to the orphanage again, and we made quesadillas. It was precious. I just want to steal all the babies away! In the afternoon we went to a poor community and looked around and prayed. We would be working there, building bathrooms in the next few days so we wanted to check out the area. All the houses were made up of cardboard.. random wood.. random bricks.. nothing the same. The guys on our team spent the rest of the week digging a hole to provide a bathroom for a family. In the evening I went with the team to the feeding the homeless ministry. It was so intense, I was praying the whole way through. There was around 50 homeless guys who had lined up for food, and we served them until there was none left over. Many of them were doing drugs but the sad thing was that many of them were under the age of 30. Meh. I pray for them often.

Thursday & Friday: These days were just prep for the weekend. We did shopping for prizesand also helped some Mexican children with their homework.. interesting days!

Saturday: On this day we went to help a church clean up and serve their community. We painted a wall that had graffiti on it, all white and then our talented aritist, Flow, Did a design on it that preached the gospel. It was magnificent! Later on, we went around to random homes and planted trees for them, and offered to pray. 

Sunday: Best church I have ever been too.. It is hard to explain.. let's just leave it at that. In the afternoon we did a kids programme with games, prizes, cake, drama's, dances, etc. This weekend had been so tiring! But so productive. :) This is the run down of last week! Now to get personal... This has been a more emotionally exhausting week for me, there is alot of stuff going on that is affecting the team which must mean we are doing something right? If this week has been stressful then I am just thinking about the 5th week of ministry.. God help us! Anyways I am shattered so this is all for now folks! Thanks for taking the time to read this :)

'Though a mighty army surrounds me
My heart will not be afraid,
Even if I am attacked
I will remain confident' -Psalm 27:3

week numero uno

SEMANA UNO en mejico J

It is Sunday night and it is close to being our first complete week here in Mexico, Tijuana. Seeing as it has only been around 5 days of ministry so far, I have had my heart so moved & changed already and I am so excited for everything else that will come! What has happened so far:

Wednesday: 5.30am wake up, to get ready to go to an orphanage to serve breakfast to some children there. We arrived a little late so we couldn’t actually make breakfast but we ended up just hanging out with the babies. There were 19 small babies/toddlers and 18 older children. When I saw the babies I just wanted to steal them all away. The children there were the most joyful, smiley babies I have ever seen in my life, and this is not an exaggeration. They would all beg to be hugged, cuddled, tickled, fed... It made me realise how much we take for granted... and also how blessed I am to have parents. I also just wanted to praise the orphanage workers who are giving up their lives to invest in these young people. J How great their reward will be.

Thursday: On this day, all of the girls in the team went to a girls prison inside the city. There were about 6 girls there and as a group we just sang Spanish worship songs, and then two DTSers and two of the Mexican girls shared their testimonies. However, the saddest thing was that the two girls weren’t even in prison for justified reasons. The rules had been tilted and unfair, which makes me realise how much justice affects the world... and the lack of it.

Friday: On this morning I went to the Orphanage again to serve breakfast. I helped Emily, Michael & Eli with school work, and then we went to the town of Rosarito to hand out flyers. We later had wonderful authentic Mexican tacos and burritos... MUY delicioso!

Saturday: This day was a crazy busy day but so much fun! A local church had been planning to do a skating event in the town of Rosarito and our team got invited to be a part of this. This was wonderful because it meant we got to share some dramas and dances with the estimated 500 teens & families there! It was wonderful, everything went smoothly. Praise the Jesus.

Sunday: Today we went to a church to be a part of the kids programme, do a drama and share a little bit. This was a 4 hour long time! However I enjoyed every second of it, the children were so precious, the Spanish worship was wonderful and even though the music failed in the drama, the team picked it back up very professionally =]

I am so blessed to be on this outreach and with all the wonderful people here! On our team there is people from all over the world! Literally... America, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China/Russia, France, England (YES) , Sweden, Korea.. (: Its so great to bring all of our talents together and make something out of it.

Anyways, this is the first weekly update about what is happening!

Love you all!

<333 

This is the day!

Today is the day!

For this is the day that the Lord has made

We will rejoice and be glad in Him!

Today I begin the great adventure to Mexico! Right now I am in Oahu and in a few hours I will fly back to Kona to join the team and then go from there. I have been with my family in Oahu on a holiday for the weekend but it has been the most intense, stressful holiday ever! Our flights have got cancelled, booked, cancelled, re-booked and this was all in the first hour! Jonny and I went to a water park on Saturday, as a late birthday present. On Sunday we then did an Island trip and I have never realised how beautiful Hawaii is! Just on a few tiny Islands there is nearly every single climate group all within a few miles of each other. I think that when God created the Earth, he decided to go crazy and just create everything in one small place. I have been blessed to call this place my home for a few months and I sure hope to come back and live here once again. Mahalo!

On a second note, today is my last day I will be spending with my family until the end of May but hopefully I will grow a lot in this time, and learn so much. I am still unsure of what to expect so I’m just going to dive into the deep end and get ready to be surprised! This is all for now. There shall be a new post within the first week of being Mexican-afied.

Mucho amor, to you all <3

'If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.' Jeremiah 29:13