Mexico, Memories, and Musings

Today is my second full day at home in Connecticut, and while I am really enjoying home, relaxation time, working out, internet, and while I cannot wait for the fall semester to start, my heart still longs to be back in El Tejaban with all the children with whom we've formed relationships.

I never got the chance to share with you what our last week in Mexico had in store for us, so let me take a moment to do so now...  Our very last week brought in a short-term team from Fort Worth, Texas, as well as a group of street kids from Acapulco through a program called Sobre El Puente.  An unfortunate bout of sickness due to the bite of a virus-carrying mosquito resulted in me not really meeting anyone until the fifth night of their stay, but once I got to know them all, the kids just blew me away!  They were hilarious and some incredibly intelligent, and it was a joy talking with them, sharing meals, and putting on a talent show together.  We interns shared our last day in Mexico together, getting our last taste of the amazing Tacos Roy and our last sight of the lively Jardín in the city of Guanajuato before packing and leaving the camp at 4:30 in the morning.

Mary Frances and me with Felipe and Juan Carlos,
two hilarious street kids from Acapulco

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention... we finished the wall!

So after a few days in Atlanta for debrief at the MTW office, I'm finally home.  My overall reflections?  If you were to ask me what I would list as highlights from my summer, I'd say this (and um, yes, I decided to try and be clever and begin each one with the letter P):

1. Power: God taught me to strip myself bare and come to him completely vulnerable and completely in need; he taught me to rely on his strength alone.  But he didn't just bring me to that point and leave me there; he showed me that when I have nothing and empty myself before him, it is then I am most filled with him and his strength, which is unfailing and always victorious.  This all gave way to what I deem to be my personal theme verse for this summer:

But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'... For when I am weak, then I am strong.  

~2 Corinthians 12:9-10

2. People: Going into this summer, I knew that our time in GTO would be focused on relational ministries, but thinking back, I am still amazed at the wonderful friendships that we made.  The Tejaban kids, our friends in English Club in GTO, our friends in English Club in León, the short-term teams from the U.S., and the street kids from Acapulco...  I feel so blessed to have met so many amazing people this summer, and I am sure that God has sown seeds, however great or small the size, wherever we went, and I am excited to see how all our friendships will grow in the future.  Friends, I miss you all, and you're in my prayers now.

Cristina, from El Tejaban 

León church

Isidoro and Eme

3. Possibilities: One week ago, on our second to last day in Mexico, we ran into a Korean family that lives in León and attends the Korean church there.  If you want details of this really exciting encounter, I'd love to tell you in person, but here in this post I'll just say that I am just pumped about the future possibilities of bridge-building and relationship-building between these two churches that have been in León for years but until now never made any connections with each other.  With a bridge built between these churches, the idea and the possibilities of God's gospel going out from León into other cities in Mexico that so desperately need God is mind-blowing.

And now a message to my sisters, the other five interns: Tori, Elisa, PH, Kaitlin, and Laura -- thank you for sharing God's light with me this summer.  You have been an incredible encouragement to me in everything that's happened, through prayer and hugs and laughter.  Not only could I not have lasted these past two months without you, but this summer would have been as dull as heck without the Deadly Six.  I will always refer to myself as your little Asian (of course, a generic term, since... well, you know), just as long as you never call me "amorcita".  You've changed the way I think forever: when I hear "Africa", I think "dance".  When I hear "Laura", I think "snort".  When I hear howling, I think "cállate".  When I hear "Canada", I think "insignificant".  And when I hear "freaking", I think "freaking please come back because I miss you".  I love you all; you're my sisters forever!

To my readers: thank you for faithfully following my blog throughout the summer.  Your support and encouragement has meant the world to me, and there's nothing better than knowing that there's a group of friends back at home interested in what God has been doing in my life in Mexico and praying for me all the way through.

I miss the stars of El Tejaban.  I miss the children.  I miss the rickety bus rides to the city.  I miss the streets of Guanajuato that come alive at night.  I miss the colorful houses built into the mountainsides.

God blessed me with a beautiful summer.  All I can say is "thank you" and ask him to continue to have his hand over my life that is always working promises that leave me awestruck and in wonder and praise of his name.

Time flies when you're having fun

It's already our last stretch; we have one and a half more weeks in Mexico, and this is the last time I'll have Internet access until we return to the States -- a strange thought.  Of course, there's still so much to do, so we'll save the closing remarks for another time.  At the close of this week of our normal English classes/clubs in El Tejaban, Guanajuato, and León arrives another short-term team from Texas, along with a group of street kids from Acapulco, Mexico.  They will be here for a week, and we'll work alongside the team in ministering to our friends from Acapulco.  I say "street kids," but their ages range from 13 to the mid-20s.  While I hope and pray that a week of activities at our camp and away from the street will be reviving for them, we've been warned it is also a great struggle for them to be here due to drug withdrawal.  Please join me in praying that God would bless the friendships that we form and that He would multiply our enjoyment and time of fun activities.

Now let's backtrack a little and see what this past week has been all about.

El Tejaban

Well, what a week it's been with these kids!  We held English classes on Tuesday and Thursday as usual, but because last week was their final one of real school before vacation, and now that they are on vacation, the boys are working in the fields and the girls are up to who-knows-what, and so we haven't had as full of an attendance.  On Thursday, we interns prayed and took the opportunity to teach the class vocabulary relating to the church, and through the use of Bible verses and song proclaimed the gospel to these children who attend the Catholic church in El Tejaban.  Boy, was Satan all up in our business.  It was a tough day, with attitudes all over the place, and tempers crossed more than once.  But praise to God, because His mercies are new every morning.  We opened up the camp yesterday not for classes but for recreation, and God brought the children back with new friends and completely blessed our friendships.  I truly love getting to know these kids, and am sad to think that this Thursday is officially our last time to see them.  But praise God for his victories!

María and Cristina

my Tejaban chicos

León

We were invited for fellowship at their church before English class normally begins -- or so we thought.  When we arrived empty-handed, we discovered that it was Mariana's quinceañera, the Mexican equivalent to the American sweet sixteen.  But Alex and Maggie snuck out to get her a gift, and English classes proceeded, and all was well.  I really love my English class in León.  It only consists of a few people, but their eagerness to learn just blows my mind.  Last Saturday I used a similar lesson plan as with the Tejaban kids involving the gospel, and we just enjoyed it so much.  Thank you, God for an awesome group of people.

Interns

I also cannot forget to thank God for this amazing group of interns.  All of the girls are so supportive and encouraging fun and God-driven and the list could go on.  He has truly blessed our team with unity, and I am convinced of prayer and His sovereignty to have had a hand in it.

I think this was a rather dull post to read, but I promise a more exciting one when I have more time to think back in the States rather than blurt out words.  Please consider these things to pray for:

1. Team unity:  Again, praise God for blessing us abundantly with this, and I would love to keep praying for this.

2. Last meetings: we have one more day with the Tejaban kids, two more English Clubs in GTO including tonight, and two more classes in León.

3. Our week with the Acapulco street kids and the short-term team

4. Physical wellness:  Elisa and I have both taken turns staying at home for the day with various symptoms, and Tori is also going through some rough times.  We've been here a long time, and all of our physical strength is failing.  Please pray that God would strengthen us and keep us strong for the final week and a half.

5. Travels back to the States: it feels strange to say that, but as it is the last time I'll have internet access in Mexico…  We'll fly back to the States the morning of the 25th.

See you back in the U.S.!

Yes.

Things to which one would say "Yes":

1. Catch Phrase at 3am:  Hands down, one of the greatest things in life is playing Catch Phrase when you're slightly sleep-deprived.  If you ever need a quote for the back of a t-shirt, try it out, because funny things come out of people's mouths at this time of night when intelligence is put to the test.

2. Pierced ears:  So I decided it must be done, and now it has been done.  It was also done with a needle, and with fainting on the side, and then of course with laughter at the ridiculousness of it all afterward.  But now I have pretty little punctures that were "Made in Mexico".  Yes.

3. Koreans:  (Who would say "no"?)  On Sunday we invited the León church (where we teach English classes) to fellowship at our camp, and they brought great tidings of… Koreans!  Apparently there is a good-sized Korean church in León, and apparently the Korean population of the state of Guanajuato is even larger than that of Chinese.  Unfortunately, I have had sightings of only Chinese and no Koreans in the city, but I can always hope… I have three weeks left.  Once I get the address from my León friends, I am going to scout out that Korean church (and communicate with them in Spanish).  Yes!

4. Pollo Feliz:  Along with these great tidings, the León church also brought with them boxes and boxes of food from Pollo Feliz ("Happy Chicken").  We have been wanting to try this popular chain ever since the beginning of the summer, and I can tell you right now that it's some of the most delectable chicken I've ever tasted.  Yes.

5. McDonald's french fries:  While I'm on the topic of food, last Saturday I also ordered some french fries ("papas a la francesa") from McDonald's.  Now, Mickey D's isn't my favorite thing ever, but those fries tasted heavenly.  Culture shock?  Mmm…  So -- french fries: yes.

6. Hot water:  We have not had hot water for the past three days, but today it finally worked!  You have never seen a more grateful group of interns.  Yessss.

So as I mentioned earlier, friends from the church in León visited our camp in El Tejaban on Sunday, and it was some of the greatest fellowship I have ever experienced.  We expected ten to fifteen guests; about 40 showed up!  They were so generous and brought lots of food (which was a relief, since we only had enough for the ten or fifteen guests we were expecting), and we had the most wonderful time playing volleyball, soccer, and singing and sharing praise songs in Spanish and English.  I am really excited about the friendships we are building with this awesome church.

Yesterday we had our first English class with the Tejaban kids for the first time in a few weeks (due to the short-term teams' presence and activities), and although the roll call was rather short, we praise God for a smoothly run, fun class and a good time of playing with the children outside after class.  This week is the children's last week of actual school before their vacation begins, so they are all busy with graduation preparations and festivities.

Things to pray about:

1. Tejaban:  We only have three more days of organized classes and free time with the kids, which makes me terribly sad.  Please pray that our friendships can continue to build, that they would be uplifting to the children, and that we would be able to share the gospel with them more and more.  We are starting to integrate more "Jesus" into our classes, which have so far been just English lessons.  I wish I could stay with them forever, but seeing as I only have a couple weeks left with them, well, I don't want to miss out on a second of hanging out with them.  I love these kids so much, which leads to the next prayer request to bring…

2. …Full-time missionaries:  God has burdened our hearts with the people of the village, and we are just praying so hard that God will send a full-time missionary to stay in El Tejaban.  I'm so thankful to be here for two months this summer, but at the same time I hate to leave a group of children that often have fathers in their family who are not very present.  This week, a family from Atlanta, GA (the father is Mexican, the mother is American) is staying at the camp, and they are considering long-term work here.  Please pray with me that God would call them to stay here and that their hearts would be moved for the people of this village.

3. Alex and Maggie:  These two lovely people are spending the week in Acapulco doing other mission work.  Please pray for their time there and for safe travels back here on Friday.

STRONGER

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  for the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

On Tuesday during crafts time with the Tejaban kids, I made a bracelet for myself that spells out the word "STRONGER".  For the rest of the summer now, whenever I look at this word I will remember that there is One who is stronger than I am and whose strength I can depend on to flow in and through me.

I guess the "hump" of any experience comes right in the middle, and goodness, has it been a difficult week!  More than once (or twice, or thrice) my strength just failed, my mind was unfocused, my heart wanted to be somewhere else.  Patience was tested, emotions were pushed to limits, prayers were cried out.  Through it all, God has been encouraging me to give up all my strengths and simply let Him fill me up with His, which is greater than anything I could muster up on my own.  While it's something that I am continually trying to remind myself every moment of each long day, simply put -- it's difficult.  When I put up my hands and say, "God, there's nothing more for me to give up to You," He always makes me realize there's still more that I'm not surrendering to Him.  He says, "No, come find strength in Me alone."

He is so faithful.  He has pushed me to the point where I am just drained, drained, drained, and empty of all belief in my own capabilities -- what a gracious, cruel gift!  "For when I am weak, then I am strong."  When I can do nothing but admit that there is nothing in me that is sufficient, that can carry me, it is then that I see God the most and am filled up with His strength the most.  The greatest victories for me in our ministries have come in the times when I cannot lean on my own capabilities because of just being so drained and it is only and simply God working through me.

There is One who is stronger than I.

Things to pray for:

1. Physical health/safety for the team:  Now that we've been here for about five weeks and are reaching limits of our strength, it's easy to fall ill (and also just to fall).  Laura also sprained her ankle on Monday while we were playing Ultimate in the rain, but she's been awesome in thrusting herself into God's ministries here as hard as ever.  Our new friend Warren from the Nashville short-term team dislocated his knee within 12 hours of their arrival and has visited the hospital.  God's worked a miracle on my ankle and I ran up a mountain with Laura, Kaitlin, and Elisa yesterday, but it is yet to be fully recovered.  Please keep all of us in prayer!

2. Unity for the team:  Something we are continually praying for.  Please keep in prayer our leaders Alex and Maggie (happy one-day-belated anniversary!) and David, our translators Monse and Lina, and our team, which includes: Mary Frances, Laura, Victoria, Elisa, Kaitlin, and me, as well as our "short-term" interns Sam and Emily.  Sam and Emily leave for home today, so please keep their safe travels in your prayers, as well.

3. Trust:  That as my strength fails and my heart is distracted, God would supply me, fire me up again for His ministries and His kingdom here in GTO.  That He would continually grace me with renewed energy, patience, and His own love and strength.

4. Relationships: That my relationships with the children of El Tejaban and the youth of the church in León (where we have English classes) would grow.  These two ministries in particular have been such a blessing to me, and I love the people we interact and work with.  Please see pictures below for faces!

ili, Vasti, me, and Israel, a family that comes to English classes in the León church.  I just love them, and love getting to know them.

Esmeralda, me, and Elisa.  Esmeralda is a girl who also attends the León English classes; she is so sweet, and I am excited to be forming a friendship with her.  Their family opened their house to the church for an helote party (helote is like corn on the cob) on Sunday.

Crafts time in El Tejaban.  On the right is the designer of the beautiful artistry on my face, María.

Chava, one of my best buddies here in El Tejaban, showing off his dragon.

We hiked up the mountain again to see the sunset last night, and it was the most glorious one we've seen yet.

My lovely interns, Elisa, Mary Frances, Kaitlin, Laura, me, and Victoria, and our "Uncle" David!  And some members of the Nashville team creepin' in the background.