Heavenly Highlights

1 Peter 2:9
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

(Our last day at YWAM-Ensenada)

Dear Family & Friends,

We are grateful to be back. This past Sunday, some of our team members were able to share their Mexico Missions experience at the youth service.

Here are some of the Highlights from our missions trip:

Dramas & Songs

Each of us were able to learn multiple dramas and Spanish songs and use them at our outreaches.

(For the "Good Samaritan" Drama, our guys were so good at the training, that they literally tore up Justin's socks. Now that's real "acting.")

(Here's "Jesus Is Our Superhero" at one of our very 1st outreaches)

Work Project#1

We helped Pastor Carolos & his wife Alma-Rosa at their church-Puerta del Cielo with a VBS program & a painting project. It was wonderful to see team members use their Spanish.

(BEFORE: The painting & weeding)

(AFTER)

Work Project #2

We assisted Pastor Pacifico (who is a "roofer" by trade) in replacing a roof for a lady by the name of Patricia & her disabled husband.

(Talk about being on a "hot tin roof."

Pastor Pacifico worked so fast)

 (BEFORE: we tore off the plastic covering)

(AFTER: A nice rolled roof)

Orphanage

Our team members were having so much fun and loving on the children. 

Cleanest Award

Out of all the dorm rooms (Guys & Gals), we won for the cleanest room. Our CCIC girls were able to bring home a Gigiantic bag of Cheetos. Try bringing that through the Mexican border.

Thank you to our adult leaders: 

Gene Lee, Kirstie Lee & Sarah Lee for their care & love on this trip. 

As well as our YWAM Staff: Corrin Paré, Danny Lloyd-Jones & Nahely Vasquez.

They were right there with us all "leading by example."

Last but not least, thank you Pastor O for leading us on this trip to Mexico and cultivating in all of us the "heart of compassion with Christ."

To all our supporters, thank you for your support and prayers. We have definitely returned with a lot more compassion for the "lost."Thank you for going on this "adventure" with us.

--- 2014 Mexico Missions Team---

Noah's Noble Notebook

Hey, my name is Noah,

I am the beloved nephew of Owen and Grace and the cousin of Faith and Hope. 

Being one of the last few to blog, I have had some time to reflect on everything God has bestowed upon me this week. 

During this missions trip, I have been away from many distractions such as worrying about my future or watching sports events. I have been able to see some of the most beautiful traits of the One true God. For instance:

1. God Is Everywhere.

When we were putting on a church service this past Sunday, there was a language barrier. Yet, through the translator, we were able to understand one another and at that moment when the translator was translating the things that the Pastor was saying into English, I realized that the God I worship is the same God that people in Mexico and throughout the world worship as well.

2. God Will Speak To You If You Listen.

When we left on this trip, I was reading Matthew 7 and it said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." So on this trip, I was able to give all of my attention to what God wants to teach me and I learned to listen.

3. God Is Humble. 

The truth is that God does not need us. He is self-sufficient and can do everything on his own and yet He is so humble. 

One of the nights on this trip, we had an activity where a leader had scrubbed our feet and explained to us that we need to humble ourselves just like how God humbled himself. That has been on my heart, and He has called me to put my selfish desires and motives down, and live my life for God and live according to His plan.

This trip has been amazing, and as we all go back to our respective lives, I hope that we can not only be a missionary in Mexico, but we will take up the challenge and do the work of God back at home too!

Noah

Timothy's Teachable Tales

Hi, this is Timothy,

I will be sharing about how I saw God this week. 

During the week, we went to a lot of outreaches. I saw a lot of people that didn't have as much as we did, yet they were still happy and possibly happier then we are. 

(Passing out Peanut Butter & Jam sandwiches to kids)

It showed me that no matter rich or poor, we are all humans, and that we should help them out regardless and that we shouldn't judge them by how much they have. 

That is where I saw God this week.

Sarah's Spiritual Story

Hi, this is Sarah! 

Over this past week, we have done so many activities involving kids and adults in Ensenada such as singing worship songs, painting houses, and roofing. 

Through all these experiences, I believe I was able to see God the most through WORSHIP. He showed me that anyone is able to praise Him and worship Him anywhere. 

When we went to the church, Puerta del Cielo, there were kids humming the spanish worship songs as the adults sang. Even though we were not able to understand the meaning of the songs, we were still able to worship Him. 

At that moment, I felt like God was able to bring two different cultures together to worship Him and that was one of the best moments I had experienced in Mexico. 

Another amazing way I saw God through worship was on our last night at the YWAM base. The worship team asked everyone to go up to the front and just worship God. Everyone was so excited and glad to worship Him and everyone was dancing and worshiping together. In the beginning of the trip, the groups on this mission trip did not really interact, but during our last time of worship, everyone was able to come together to worship. 

This missions trip had shown me that God is an amazing God. He was able to bring everyone together for the greater purpose of worshiping Him and to me that is amazing. 

Marisa's Marvelous Moments

Hi guys, Marisa here!

Today has been a really rewarding day! After the morning session, we went to the orphanage to show God's love and bless the kids. I have never been to an orphanage before so I felt a little apprehensive. We were given a tour of the vicinity. Walking around in the orphanage really helped me see God's presence in Mexico. There were so many kids and all of them had a smile on their faces even though they had to share "parents". It makes me feel blessed that I have my own house and parents that love me. 

I was stationed in the baby room and I would have to say that after a whole hour in there, I realized that kids are really hard to take care of. But, their cuteness made up for it! 

In addition to staying in the baby room, we also did our skits and danced to the songs that we learned a few days ago. I was really surprised that the kids were amused and paid attention! 

This past week has been a life changing experience and I am really glad I had a chance to come to Ensenada. Thanks to everyone who supported us financially and through prayer support! 

Marisa

Owen's Observations

Hi Everyone. This is Owen. 

As many of you may not know, I love to "People Watch." My team likes to say I "Supervise" them with frequent pointers on how to get the job done.

Today was not my day to supervise, but to just love on the kids we visited at a remote Christian daycare.  This little girl, Baleria caught my eye as she just woke up from her nap.  She was crying because she had a dirty diaper.  After we changed her, she was attached to me and I can tell that she was happy by her huge smile.

Although I can't speak Spanish, I know that I can show God's love simply by holding and comforting Baleria.

I am so happy that today I was able to step away from observing and supervising & instead just "being" with my team.

Overall, my observations of our team is that we have bonded together and learned to love people in any language because God loved us first.  

Day 7-Lucas's Life

(Working on a roof in Ensenada)

Hi, my name is Lucas. God has used this missions trip so far to get me out of my comfort zone from messed up showers to having to dance with Angie in a skit. But God impacted me most through the people I was "supposed" to impact.

I met a boy named Saúl on Sunday. He lived in one of the colonias of Ensenada. At 11 years old he was the perfect "little brother". His family wasn't too open to God nor did they go to church regularly. However his older brother ran a small grocery shop across the church we served in. 

Saúl would regularly play around there and the pastor knew him well. He had learned about Jesus and some worship songs like the "Mustard Seed" and "Abre Mis Ojos O Cristo" (Open the Eyes of My Heart). He was also a strong Christian. When we were painting the church he'd always help us.

I remembered we were up on the roof and he stood near the edge. I yelled, "Cuidado, yo tengo miedo que tu vas morir" (Caution, I'm scared you will die). He looked up to me and smiled and said "Yo no tengo miedo porque yo voy con Dios" (I'm not scared because I know I will be with God if I die). There was such conviction and faith in his words. 

He also offered me grapes from his father's fruit stand. Money was scarce and I was impressed that he would give me, a random person, something so special. That is the love that God calls us to show. He may not know this but God used him to teach me about faith in Him. 

Faith doesn't have to be logical and reasoned, with Saúl he just believed it and had a child-like faith (Luke 18:16). In a missions trip, we'd expect to make an impact on the people we serve, but Saúl if you ever read this, thanks for making an impact on me.

(Saúl and me)

Kirstie's Kinship

 Hi friends! This is Kirstie.

A week has passed by so fast; I can't believe tomorrow's our last day of outreach. We've been incredibly blessed as a team to get to interact with different people: first, a community of kids, second, a pastor, his family, and his community, and today, a tri-generational family and the kids around them. 

We've been tired, working extremely hard on tasks that we're not accustomed to. And yet we have had so much fun serving together and getting to know each other as one body! 

The YWAM team has also made this week so much about equipping the youth with the Word, cultural awareness, and a missional heart. The night sessions have been so powerful for all of us to end the day with. The Mexican culture here is awesome too-- the tacos are amazing haha. 

The thing that I have been extremely blessed to see and am so amazed at is the youth's heart! I love love love hearing them pray for the people we are serving and learning from, and I love seeing how much God is growing each and every one of them away from home, out of their comfort zones. 

My prayer for them is that this week is not just a trip during a summer, but is really truly an experience that they have to allow God to speak to them. One more day left! May God continue to break our hearts for what breaks His. 

Day 6-Justin's Justice

Hey I'm Justin. 

We're having a blast on our sixth day of our mission trip. Something that really stuck out from Pastor Jason's message was about "Saving a Life." He shared that in order to do so, we have 4 difficulties that we would have to overcome. The one that stood out to me was that, you would have to go through Discomfort. 

    Honestly, we have gone through several discomforts. As a church, a lot of us have been bitten by bugs many times. Personally, I've had by far the worst bug bites in both numbers and size. I've got plenty of kisses from the mosquitos all over my body. 

Also, today we had to overcome extreme heat, sore knees and sitting on a hot roof.  In other words, some of us had "hot buns" while we replaced a roof for a family. In general, we had to go through a big language barrier in our outreaches. 

     However, it is the result that matters. Knowing we gave a needy family a new roof feels awesome. In each of our outreaches, the happiness of the people we impacted which puts a smile on our faces. 

Lastly, even if we speak two different languages, we have something in common. We are all beautifully created and no matter our living situations, God has a purpose for each one of us. 

Jerilyn's Journey

Hi, I'm Jerilyn! 

Today, we went back to the church to finish painting and doing other things. 

Back at base camp, we listened to the guest speaker, Pastor Jason, about how to save a life. We also split up into 2 groups and talked about labor trafficking and other things.

I have seen God today when we were at the local church and prayed for Pastor Carlos's family. Also, when we were dancing with the kids, I think that we got out of our comfort zones to serve God.

Adios!