Continuing to Serve… Orphanage and House Build..!

Thursday morning I awoke to one of the students not feeling well… which was a complete bummer since it was the day we were going to the orphanage and Sabrina was so looking forward to playing with the students and taking picture of them. 

Before heading out for the day Ron gave another message.  This time is was about radical living which he described as responding to God one day at a time and obeying in the little things.  We can either choose to live the “American dream” and only obey God when it is convenient or we can be willing to do whatever God asks of us.  God started to really soften my heart today… I know that He has so much more for me to learn and experience on this trip.  

Mail Call again... even some of the leaders were blessed..!

Before arriving at the orphanage we took a trip to a local market to buy food to donate.  Our group had the opportunity to pick out a variety of vegetables.  We then were able to tour the market for about 15 minutes to experience a little of the Mexican culture.  

Mexican Market... 

Our next stop was at the local grocery store where a couple of the leaders went inside with caravan staff to buy more food for the orphanage.  While we were waiting in the vans a police officer asked us to move the vehicles since we were parked in the delivery truck location.   Fuego got all of the drivers to quickly move the vehicles once a semi showed up with a delivery to avoid any conflict with the police.  It took forever at the store so most of the youth fell asleep waiting in the hot vans.  Many of them were starting to not feel well. 

A little exhausted... don't you think..?

We finally arrived at the orphanage called Casa Hogar Rayito de Luz y Esperanza.  Since I was the only Spanish speaker I had to apologize and ask the helpers if the students had eaten lunch since were 1 ½ hours late.  They were waiting for us so a handful of students got right to work making sandwiches and cutting apples to feed the kids.  The rest of the students instantly started playing with the kids who were super excited for us to arrive.  I loved watching the interactions… especially my brother interact with the kids.  

Living the Gospel... Feeding the Hungry..!

Loving the orphans... 

When the food was ready all of the kids sat quietly at the table as they prayed and waited for the food to be served.  Once the kids all had their food our team was able to eat alongside the kids.  We also made sure the workers had food.  

Ready to eat... yummy

After lunch I spent some time holding Aldo, who I later learned from one of the missionaries working at the orphanage that he had an eye problem that they recognized a couple weeks ago.  They are trying to find a way to get him into the United States to get diagnosed and treated.  If you have any contacts I would love to pass the information along to them.  Otherwise, please keep Aldo in your prayers.

Pray for Aldo... such a sweet boy..!

I spent the rest of the time at the orphanage translating for Carmelo, the director of the orphanage as he gave Jimmy, Weston, and I a tour of the facility and shared the testimony and vision of the orphanage.  Carmelo and his wife Sarah started the orphanage about 5 years ago.  They have such a passion for these kids and for God.  They are trying to break the cycle in the lives of the students by teaching them about the love of God and have even committed to read them the Bible in a year for the past couple years.  Currently they have about 35 students and are renting the buildings.  Recently they were donated a larger piece of land and were trying to raise money to build a facility that would provide more room for the kids as well as allow for them to almost double the amount of kids they could house.  If you want to donate money to the orphanage please let me know and I can find a way to get you connected to them.  Their passion for God showed through and the orphanage is run completely on donations. 

Before leaving we took a picture of everyone and then prayed for the orphanage and workers.  I loved how the adults all joined in on praying once I started praying in Spanish.  This was a unique part of the culture that the students had not experienced until today.  What a privilege it was to spend a couple hours at the orphanage and to bless them financially, with food, and by showing them love.  This part of the trip was especially impactful to students and leaders alike… we debriefed the trip right after dinner so everyone could have time to process what they saw and felt.  

Group Picture at the Orphanage..!

Saying goodbye to the kids was hard... 

Carmelo and Sarah - Directors

The message that night was powerful and convicting and the worship time was amazing.  Brad gave the message about how God wants all of us… not just a piece of us.  God is to be #1 in our life… there should not be any close competition for # 2… not my husband, not my family, not my friends… nothing comes close to God.  Does God have absolute Lordship of my life..?  Does he consume my desires..? 

I was exhausted by the time we were released for bed.  I got ready as quickly as possible and fell asleep shortly after my head hit the pillow.  I even slept through problems with the water tower in which we lost all the fresh drinking water (thankfully, there was a solution by morning so we no one got dehydrated the next day).  

Amazing worship and message... 

Friday was our last work day.  Unfortunately, a handful of our students started getting sick.  Sabrina was feeling better but two from the other build site were up puking all night.  As the day went on they started dropping like flies.  They were finally able to narrow it down to something they ate on Tuesday, as members from another church that ate with them also started getting sick.  By the end of the day we had five students sleeping in the nurses tent (later we found out that they took care of each other as the nursing situation was not as it should have been…) 

The morning message was from Brooks Buser about living without regrets and how God will break our plans for his plans and how obeying Him requires sacrifice.  One of the quotes that struck me, “We are the best representation of Jesus on earth… how well am I representing Him..?”  It also hit me hard that there are tribes that are asking for a missionary to come to them… and unless they ask for a minimum of five years straight they don’t even make the list to receive one.  The harvest is asking for messengers… pray for missionaries that are willing to go out..!

Sunrise was beautiful... every morning..!

We had our most complicated build today as the foundation was not only too small but it also had pipes and rebar sticking out all over the place including the edges where the walls were supposed to go.  By now we were professionals so we got the house up quickly and even worked around the challenges.  Maria’s daughters wanted to help out with the painting and her son helped bring out the wood for us.  I found out that her husband left her alone with the kids.  She left after lunch to head to a job interview.  I pray that she was able to get the job and that God continues to provide for their every need.  

Complicated foundation... 

Working on the house... 

Sabrina had to take it easy today... but she got to work..!

I noticed this shirt in the pictures and LOVE it..!

Fuego fixing part of the problem... 

Lunch time... sure will miss this..!

Raising the roof..!

This was the first day the students had to raise the roof instead of building it on another roof and just transferring it over.  It was a lot of fun to see the students working and how everyone seemed to have their roles throughout the day.  We completed are build early enough to get ice cream on the way home… yes, we ate it before dinner and it was sooo good..!  

Our painting help... they loved painting their house..!

Sabrina got attacked..!

The finished product..!

Enjoying some ice cream... 

After dinner we headed back out and got in a quick shower before the evening message.  Eddie Passmore gave the message on launching out in discipleship… and how Jesus is worth losing everything for..!  Some of the main points are that disciples choose to follow Jesus, surrender to Him, and are committed to God.  Disciples say no to the pressure of people, collecting “stuff”, ways of the world, focus of money, buckling under busyness, and careless Christianity.  Disciples say yes people that put Jesus first, using belongings for a spiritual purpose, walking the way of Jesus, submitting to and studying the Scriptures, Lordship lifestyle, and loving the lost.  I could have listened to Eddie Passmore for hours as his passion for God and the lost is contagious. 

After the message we had another church time to help process all that we had learned throughout the week and the commitments that were made in regards to following Christ.  I also took some time to visit the five students in the sick tent and make sure they were settled in for the night.  Graham, Abby, Alaina, Maria, and Erica were all stuck in the sick tent for the night.  It was hard to see them suffering and miserable.  My prayer was that Satan would not be allowed to distract or discourage them from all they were to learn on this trip.