A New Look on Life

Zach McKibbin: We have just got done with dinner on our first day
of work and this place changes your prospective no matter what.
For me it is that fact that you can look out the window in the
dining hall and see the lights from Texas, you can see America,
our home but feel like you are a million miles away. All we did
was cross a small river and then you are in a whole new world,
everything is different, even the food. I am not joking–you could
have the same brand of a product (like Coke Cola), but it will taste
totally different.

So like I said we have just got done with our
first day of work and it was a truly changing experience, and not
in the way that you may think. What I did was paint the girls beds
from this chipped black paint to this bright purple that just lit
up the room. And the whole time we were doing this all the girls
were watching us, not the TV that they had in their room but us,
and the whole time they were saying what I hope was that it looks
so cool. This whole trip has only started but my whole perspective
of Mexico and the way these kids have to live everyday makes me
feel home sick and thankful for what I have and wish they could
experience the same thing.

Dust in My Nose

Teegan Fiedler: Today we started our physical work. The main project that I worked on was “Yellow-washing” (think white washing – except yellow) a few of the walls here at the home. There were about 14 people who either scraped the old stuff up (so the paint would stick better) or applied the paint. I was mainly working with Ellen, Kendra and Emily on the court yard wall. We scraped the whole wall clean so it was ready for painting. One of the things that we ran into was the amount of dust that we created was intense! We all have wall dust in our noses now. Pete and Andy did a great job getting the internet working for the home (some of us were going into wwww – worldwidewebwithdrawal). Toward the end of the day we were out playing with the kids and one of the little boys asked me to go down the slide while he followed me down. He liked the way I went down the slide so much that we did it 30 more times! These kids definitely love having us here and need the attention and love we can give them. Here is a shout out to my sister Hannah: Happy Birthday Hannah – we all sung happy birthday and had brownies for you! (well ok….Dave was the only one who sung, but everyone did eat brownies for you!)

We are having a great time down here!

Precious Memories

Judy Kurtzweil: Today was eventful, productive, and full of “precious memories”. The morning started early with watching the entire group of school children in a weekly flag ceremony mandated by Mexican government. It was amazing to see how orderly and respectful 100 kids could be during the half hour production. We enjoyed a tour of the Emmanuel Ministry home and school and were reminded of the various ways that God continuously has blessed this ministry. The stories were uplifting of how many people have been moved to contribute both monetarily and physically. Grouting tiled floors, scraping and whitewashing outer stucco walls, building roof rafters, extending roof lines, updating electrical, and painting beds were just a few of the various activities our group performed around the facility. Even through all this physical labor, many opportunities were taken to love the children. The laughs, listening to them reading stories in Spanish, watching them tie their shoes, chasing bubbles, and applauding their tricks were some of the blessings we received. The hugs, the kisses and glowing smiles are the “precious memories” that will be engraved in some of our hearts for years to come.

Today

Kendra Benner: Morning: As I sit here at the dining table while munching on my bacon, I look around and see many interesting things. I see Kim chastising Ritch for not finishing eating his giant pancake; I see Alyssa S. deep in thought while doodling on her devotion notebook; I see Dave, slightly stressed, trying to organize everything; and I see a beautiful landscape of jagged hills and small houses. This, I must say, is quite calm compared to our previous day. There is nothing like serving hot dogs and condiments to 100 ravenous children! Earlier that day, we had water games for all the kids. By the grace of God, it was a definite success! It was awesome seeing some of the adults get more into it than the kids. Once we finished the activities, everyone got candy. A word of advice: If you ever go to Mexico and want to make fast friends with any of the children, bring Swedish fish.

Evening: Today was a definite adventure! This morning, Sarah, Enrique, Tyler, Beth, Dad, and I did a craft with the first and second graders. We made sun catchers, where the kids could paint the plastic and then when it dries, hang it in the window and the sun shines through all the colors. Our first session…wow. Lots of chaos. Paint splatters, flying plastic, and lots of screaming “Yo quiero!” Luckily, we regrouped for the next round. Second session…much better! The second graders were much calmer. At times we actually had to say, “It’s okay if you use more paint!” Must give props to Enrique though. The kids really appreciated a fluent speaker riling them up for the activity. This was followed by my dad introducing himself as Maria. (No worries, it was soon cleared up that his name is “Juan”.) But to everyone back home, all of us truly appreciate your support, prayers, and blog comments. Every morning and evening, Pete reads through the comments and they’re always met with laughs and smiles. Please keep praying and reading, you guys really a part of this journey as much as we are. Good night!

-Kendra