On the Boat?

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to bring you some new light to maybe one of the most cliche Bible stories of all time.

I'm going to tell you about it in a way I have never thought of before.
A way I didn't hear a sermon about.
A way I didn't come up with on my own.
But in a way God taught me through a little boy today.

Noah's Ark.

I was invited to help at a tutoring program in a small church in Pitcarin once a week.
I went today, knowing it was something I wanted to do, but not sure if I would be able to make it an every week thing.
But I thought I'd check it out, see what I can do and how I can help.
Really just wanting to show God's love to these kids as best as I could.

I met some very special children tonight. All so beautiful, all wanting love, and all needing help with their homework :)

Quick recap:
All the children got there and got a snack.
We (all the volunteers) had this opportunity to talk to the kids and get to know some of them.
I learned a few names that I'll hopefully remember :)
Then they split the kids up into groups by grade.
I ended up with a boy in 2nd grade.
I had a blast helping him and quickly discovered what works and what doesn't when it comes to teaching and helping him.
We worked great together and I hope I will have the opportunity to work with him again.

After the tutoring time, all the children were brought into the church sanctuary for the Bible story.

This week's story was Noah's Ark.

The pastor told the story, which you can find in Genesis chapters 6-9 if you're new to this!
When he finished, he asked the kids, "Do you think it was scary to be on the boat?"
(The answer he was looking for was yes)
One of the boys shouted at the top of his lungs,

"No, it was scary to be OFF the boat!"

Everyone laughed and the pastor went on with his story, but that stuck with me.
That boy was so right.

Consider the boat parallel to being a Christian.

(Note: When I say being a Christian, I mean living full out for Jesus Christ. Believing in God and living like it.)

Sometimes it IS scary to be on the boat.
I mean first of all, Noah was riduculed when he was building that boat.
No one believed him, no one stuck by him. (except his family who came along for the ride)
He wasn't encouraged. It wasn't sugar coated fun building a boat with everyone helping you.
It was hard work.
No one was on his side.

That's scary sometimes, right?

It's hard to be a Christian in this world.
I will be the first to admit that.
Sometimes we feel so alone.
Sometimes we're made fun of and sometimes even persecuted for our faith.
It's hard work,
and the world isn't coming around patting our backs and saying good job.
They don't even want us most of the time.

They didn't even want Noah.
He stood out.
Majorly.
If we're doing it right, so do we.
Majorly.

Scary sometimes.
Unsure, to say the least.

And then when he was actually ON the boat.
Ummm, a straight up torrential downpour for 40 days and 40 nights?
Everyone else DIED?
He felt like the only person in the world, and he pretty much was.
Here he was on a huge boat with rain pouring down,
maybe thinking God, I did all this for you and this is what I get?
Everything is falling apart around me?
Where are you?

So I'm sure you've felt like this from time to time.
You might even feel like it now.
Like God, I'm telling people about you, I'm talking to you, I'm reading your word, I go to church, I'm living for you as best I can,
so why is ____________ happening.
Fill in the blank.
Why is my family falling apart.
Why am I losing friends.
Why is my grandma sick.
Why am I failing math.
Why is my world crashing down.

You know the feeling, right?
That's scary sometimes.
We're not God.
We can't see the big picture.
We're human. We freak out sometimes.
It happens.

We get frustrated with God when we should just trust Him.
He's got it under control.
But, like I said, we're human.

But you know what?
God came through for Noah.
The flood ended.
He sent a rainbow to promise that He would never flood the earth again.
God saved Noah.

And God comes through for us. Always.
The storms in our lives? They're not forever.
The'll end.
And we have God's promise that He will never leave us.
He'll save us.

All of us on the boat are going to Heaven, eternal paradise, to be forever in the perfect presence of God.
Where all our fears, all our pain, all our sin, all our sorrow, all our despair, will be GONE.
FOREVER.

Now, that little boy was right.

It's scary to be off the boat.

Noah had some hard times on that boat.
I'm not saying it was easy.
I'm not saying it's going to be easy for us.
But Noah was backed by the promise of God.
He had something better waiting for him, and he knew it.
So do we.
It's hard now, but after this life, (which is a drop in the bucket compared to eternity), we get out.
God's gonna save us from it.

But what about the people off the boat?

The people off the boat died.
There's no way to put that nicely.
They drowned. They suffocated in their own sin.
And they didn't have safety waiting on the other side.

The people off the boat. The ones who don't know the saving power and love of Jesus.
They're dying.
They're drowning.
They're trying to satisfy themselves, trying to make themselves feel better,
searching for and seeking some way to feel any amount of happiness, for however long or short of time.
It doesn't work.

And they don't have Heaven waiting for them.
They have hell.
They have eternal torture, worse than anything they'll go through here.

So, as hard as it is sometimes to be on the boat,
it's scarier to be off the boat.

Remember that.

Makin' Time.

Good morning everyone!
(Seriously, it's 5:28am...)

I am actually working on another blog post but felt called to post this one now.

This past week has been so busy.
Let's see.

Homework. Of course.
End of 9 weeks = every teacher wants more points so they pound out the work, leaving students frustrated and stressed and having a ton of work.
Math test, English test, History essay due, make up gym, homework, study for History and Chemistry test, try not to fail anything.

The weekend:
Friday- Got home at 2:50. Babysat 3-4:30. Cleaned/Packed, slept over grandparents 6ish-pm. Stayed up til 2am.
Saturday- Went straight from grandparents' house to Harvest Party, 3-9. Babysat 7-11. Got home at 11:30. Exhausted. Sleep.
Sunday- Woke up, got ready, church. Got home after 1. Felt sick. Nap until 3. Helped my mom clean, family came over for Steeler game 4-8. 8pm... oh yeah, history test tomorrow and english homework due tomorrow. Do English homework. Try to study. Make my lunch for tomorrow. Exhausted. Bed.

I'm not telling you  my whole schedule to get pity or anything but I know we all have busy schedules like this and I thought it'd be more relate-able than if I just said "I was busy this week."

So my point in this is making time for God when you're extremely busy/exhausted.

Let me be the first to admit I am horrible at this.
I know how to do it, too. But I'm horrible at it.
But it's something God can fix in me, and you too cause I think we all struggle with this from time to time!

But here's how you do it:

Read your Bible/worship/pray in the morning.

Before your day gets busy.

It's really as simple as that.

Once when I was in kids' church, someone did this illustration:
They took a bowl. And they kept naming things they did that day. For everything they named, they put a scoop of sand in the bowl. When they were finished, the bowl was full of sand.
Then they took a ball, and called the ball spending time with God.
They tried to put it in the bowl, but there was no room for it.

Then they did it again.
But this time, they put the ball in first. And then scooped in all the sand.
And everything fit.

That's really how it works. Put God first and everything else will fall into place.

Get up a little earlier if you have to.

Put on some Hillsong or whatever gets you worshiping and get out your Bible and read. Maybe one chapter. Maybe one book. Maybe a couple different verses in different places.
Whatever works for you.

You're probably thinking,
"I'll be exhausted if I get up any earlier. I'm exhausted as it is."
Yeah that's my argument too.

But then I remember I'll be exhausted no matter what if I don't spend time with God first.
I won't be refreshed.
I won't be ready for the day!

Here's another idea: National Anthem Prayer!

It sounds really funny but I bet your school does this (If you go to school).
Every morning you have to stand there and listen to the national anthem.
Take that couple minutes to talk to God! Give him your day and everyone you  meet and everything you do, ask for boldness to speak his name, ask for protection for yourself and everyone else throughout the day, pray for the teachers, whatever comes to mind!
I started this last week and am loving it.
Just a thought!

If anyone else has ideas, comment them and I'll add them to this post!
This is definetely an idea we all need encouragement about.

Just put God first.

And everything else will fit.

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
Worship Him with the day He made :)

The Cry.

Okay so pretty much everyone knows the song Enchanted by Taylor Swift.

Let me just inform you that I do not listen to Taylor Swift. Not that I have anything against her or anything. I like Taylor Swift. I don't hate her music. It's not like I've never listened to or heard a single Taylor Swift song in my life. I just don't own any Taylor Swift CDs, there isn't Taylor Swift music on my ipod.

Butttttttttttt, in the song Enchanted, there is a part that goes

"Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you."

Now, I've heard this a million times (my sister listens to her) and I've seen it on just about a million people's facebook statuses.
It's just a good line.

Cause isn't that what we want?

Well today it hit me.

I was walking down the hall at my school, and that line was stuck in my head.

Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you.

And then I realized, that is GOD'S cry to US.

You. Me. The people we pass in the hall. The people we work with. Our families. Our friends. The people we see at the store.
Everyone in this world.

See, we belong to Him.
He created us to love Him.

And so many times, we turn to the things of this world.
We look to music. To people. To alcohol. To tv shows. To ANYTHING that will satisfy us for any amount of time.

God is BEGGING us. Please don't be in love with someone else.

Please don't go to bed and text 'til you fall asleep.
Please talk to Me.

Please don't spend all your money on Starbucks and clothes and designer bags and video games when My children are dying of starvation on the streets.

Please don't waste your time listening to and watching things that will only bring you down.
Please read My word. Please worship Me.

When someone asks you about Me, please stand up for me.

Please don't be so in love with yourself that you're afraid what will happen if you're in love with Me.

If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Romans 14:8

I think you get the picture.

Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you.

Offended.

Good morning, everyone.

I woke up today to screaming.
Lots of screaming.
And I don't know about you, but that gets to me sometimes.
If you are a human being, your family probably fights.
Maybe you're the one screaming.
Maybe it's someone else.

Maybe it's your siblings, maybe your parents, your spouse, anyone really.

But it gets old real fast, doesn't it?

And sometimes the words they say hurt.
They offend you.

A lot of times it makes me upset, sad, hurt, or angry.
And I want to just not talk to anyone and that way they can't hurt me again AND they'll know I'm mad at them.

But I am constantly reminded of this verse:

Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”
   Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.
Proverbs 20:22 NIV

It reminds me to keep on loving everyone and talking to them even when I don't want to, even when it's hard.
This is God's battle, not mine.
He will deliver me.

So, life isn't always perfect.
In fact at times, it's the farthest thing from perfect.

But you keep doing what you know is right.
Reacting in love and not in anger.

Because this is not forever.

He will deliver you.

Called!

Hi guys, so you probably noticed I re-did my blog!

It's because I realized something.

I'm going to be a missionary, but more importantly, I AM a missionary. Right now.

We're all called to be.

Missions Convention recently ended, which left me with new thoughts.
A quote I love from one of the missionaries:

"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

That is so true.

I'm just me.
Paul was just Paul.

But through me, and through you, God can do amazing things.

I'll be writing about my life, trying my best to be the missionary God has called me to be.
Here and now.

I know a lot of you reading have recognized callings on your lives as well, and I hope my blog can encourage you, as I journey to become who God wants me to be.
As you become who God intends for you to be.

If you aren't sure what you're supposed to do yet, I hope this blog will just encourage you in your daily walk with Jesus Christ.

I'm here to pray with you, talk to you, encourage you, whatever you need.
We're in this together.

It's not always easy.
It's a struggle.
It's a battle.

God didn't promise us easy.

He promised us HIM.

It's going to be so worth it.



"With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we could ever ask or imagine." Ephesians 3:20 NCV

Mexico Day 8

The grand finale!!!!!

Okay I know this was the traveling home day and everyone figures that's just for wishing you were still in Mexico and being upset and sleeping on the plane and going home.
WROOOONG :)

We woke up Saturday morning around 3:30 San Luis time and 6:30 Pennsylvania time.

We packed up the last of our stuff and brought it outside to the trailer.

I sat by Carmen (feliz cumpleaños hoy!!!) on a bench and dreaded what was coming way too soon.
I listened to the rooster crow for the last time. I love that rooster :)

When it was time to go I swear I hugged her three billion times.
Then we left.

When we were driving to the border, I looked at Christina and saw a tear fall down her cheek.
We held hands and silently cried all the way to the border.
And that theory that when you're insanely tired you don't feel emotion.. we proved that wrong.
I've never been so sad.

The few minutes between the orphanage and the border are the most painful.

Our van had to go through alternate security, because we had the trailer.
It usually takes hours.
We literally got out in less than 10 minutes.
God is so good.

So, we were back in America. San Luis, AZ, and almost everything was in Spanish, but nobody minded.

We went to McDonalds for breakfast.
Okay.. there is something you should know.
I don't eat fast food. As in... ever.
If we go there I get yogurt or a wrap and that's all I can handle.
I have an insanely weak stomach and fast food makes me sick.
But for whatever reason, a stroke of bravery came upon me and I had a burrito.
.....We'll talk about that later.

I called my sister who was actually on a mission trip in Michigan with some other wonderful people from our church.
"The people from Michigan say to tell the people from Mexico we love you!"
"The people from Mexico say to tell the people from Michigan we love you too and we prayed for you!"
"Awwww we prayed for you too!!"
"Can I talk to Lainey?"
"Can I talk to Mikey G?"
"Can I talk to Ben?"
Etc.
I love my church.

We left, I called my mom, and we got on the road.
I fell asleep after a while, and woke up with a little bit of a stomach ache.
Then fell back to sleep.
Then woke up again, to a bunch of girls holding up a blanket, peeing in the desert.
I am completely serious.

I wondered if I should get out and puke but I didn't. (Sorry I'll provide less details.)

Then I fell asleep again.
I woke up a third time. We were at a rest stop.

I felt like I was going to die.

I have never felt so sick in my entire life, and I was nowhere near home.

Mexican water + fast food + driving for hours + cramps + being super sad...
just really does not work for me.

Miss Wendy (best trip leader/youth leader/person that has ever existed) gave me some drammamine.
Mr. Mike (another one of the best people in the world) came and prayed for me and I cried.
We got back in the vans and still had hours to drive and I was scared half to death.
I've never been sick away from home, ever, and I'm 15.
I wanted my bed and my parents
but I was on the other side of the country in a van with 9 other people.
Mr. Dan (also one of the best people in the world) told me to try and just look out the front window and let him know if he needs to stop.
Everyone was so nice to me and I'm so grateful.

Again, I love my church.

I fell back to sleep and this time I was drugged (Drammamine) :) So I slept better and longer.
I woke up and we were at In N Out. Which is a fast food restaraunt that you can probably guess I didn't eat at.
My stomach ache was gone and I felt fine, just zero appetite.
Mr. Mike's prayer worked. And Christina's. And everyone else who prayed for me.
I really love my church.

In N Out is close to the Phoenix airport.
I missed San Luis with all my heart (and I still do) but I really really wanted to be home.

This past summer, at youth camp, during one of the services, the speaker gave everyone keys.
They represented something and if anyone who went wants to help me out you can comment what it was all about because I didn't go, but I know they are really special to the people who went.
Christina wore hers around her neck.
When we were in the bathroom at the airport, the chain broke, her key fell off, and it got flushed in the toilet.
We laughed but I know she was bummed.

Keely, Benita, and I went on a search for Quiznos.
I am not exaggerating, every single year I've ever gone to Mexico I try to find Quiznos in the airport and it is like impossible.
There's only one in the whole airport and there are so many sections and gates and it's like.. a quest or something to find it.
We FINALLY found it and I got soup crackers and Sprite. Sick people food :)
That settled my stomach and I felt all the way better.

But GET. THIS.
When we were boarding the plane, somehow my sprite fell out of my arm, between the platform and the plane, and onto the ground.
Are you serious!?!?
The flight attendant laughed at me.
That would happen to me. :)

I sat on the plane with Christina and Katarina. Thank you Jesus. I really needed to not sit with strangers.
We had this brilliant idea that wouldn't it be so cool to pray at take off.
Start praying, and be lifted into the sky as you're praying.
SO COOL.
So we did that!
It was basically awesome.

OKAY EVERYONE HERE COMES GOD!!

As soon as we took off, we noticed that the lady in the row across from us was crying.
Something about her made me so incredibly sad.
I wondered what her story was.
So Christina and I decided to get out our Bibles and right down a bunch of verses about God's love.
So we did.
We folded it up, wrote "To the beautiful lady across from us on the plane", and prayed over it.
We put it on her tray when she was asleep. (She cried herself to sleep... so sad)
She woke up later and was reading it.
We were trying not to make it obvious and stare at her hahaha.
Katarina was giving us the play-by-play.. "She's reading it!" "She stopped crying!" "She's smiling!" "She's laughing!"
We were so excited.
A little later she came over and gave me a hug.
She said "You girls are so beautiful. I just wanted to give you this. Thank you so much."

AND SHE HANDED US A KEY ON A CHAIN.

What!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Christina JUST lost hers hours before!!
This lady had no idea!!

GOD IS SO AWESOME!!!!!!!

We ran to tell Miss Wendy what happened.
Then we went to tell the lady just how crazy it was, what just happened.
She told us her name was Lisa.
I'm not sure if she knew Jesus because she said "Yeah, life is crazy!"
But Christina was just awesome!

She was like "I just love how God knew you were upset and I was upset about the key and how He just worked this all out!"
She had such boldness and such a way of pointing everything to God.
I was floored.

Wow I love my GOD.

When we got off the plane, Lisa hugged me and said "I just want to thank you again. You girls are beautiful. You really brightened my night."

As it turns out, when we were praying during take-off, Christina had asked that we would be able to minister to someone on the plane.
I had no idea.

God. Is. So. Good.
All the glory to Him!!

Seriously I think that was my favorite part of the entire trip,
and it wasn't even in Mexico.

We landed, got off the plane, got out luggage, and drove back to the church.
It was hard to say goodbye to our team! I love waking up every morning and running outside to love on orphans with my best friends.

When I got home, I talked to my mom for a while and then went to bed. It was late.

When you go on a mission trip,
you expect to come back with an appreciation for what you have.
But I was ashamed.
Ashamed that, just the day before, I was talking to a woman who literally lived in a pile of garbage,
and I have so many things I can't even count them all.
Ashamed that I met a little girl in the village who loved to read, and I have an entire bookshelf of books I don't read.
Ashamed that an old man, all skin and bones, asked me for a dollar for some food. He could barely walk. He, a man, had to lay down every ounce of his pride to ask me for one dollar.
Yet I have instant access to food at all times whenever I want.
Ashamed that I saw a woman with tears in her eyes, sitting on the sidewalk with a ripped styrofoam cup that contained a couple pennies. Ashamed that SHE took MY hand and told ME God bless.

Just utterly ashamed for having so much.

I sat in the middle of the floor in my room and cried until 2 in the morning, just staring at all my stuff.

That week in Mexico taught me something.

I went to San Luis to give everything.
To give my stuff,
to give my love,
to give my God.
And He took that and proved Ephesians 3:20 to me over and over.
That same God is here, wanting to do amazing things here too.
And He will; He proved it on the plane.

For the rest of my life, my goal is to give everything.
My stuff, my love, my God.

Para siempre.

Mexico Day 7

Wow. Where do I even begin.

7am- Leave for dump.
Why did we go to the dump?

Because people live there.

Yup, you read that right.
People live in the dump.
They try to find recycleables or anything they could possibly sell.
They work all day in the hot sun,
and in one month make less than I do in a night of babysitting.
That gets me, every time.
There is something about seeing human beings living in piles of garbage that leaves your life never the same.
Steven, Aaron, Elaina, and Breanna did their testimonies, and every one of them was absolutely incredible.
People were very clearly touched.
We prayed for healing for people and then gave out beans, rice, clothes, shoes, face masks, etc.

You know what's crazy?
Standing in a dump on the other side of the continent with 38 other people in just your socks.

It'll change you, to say the least.

(Those are Natalie's feet, by the way.)


After the dump we stopped at the brickyard.
People make bricks there.
By hand.
I think the man working there said he makes $0.40 per brick.
That's pretty good money for San Luis, but still isn't much.
A lot of people got to make bricks.

After the brickyard we went shopping.
We went to a couple stores and I got some stuff to bring back for my family :)
I also got this gorgeous Mexican dress that I am still, a month later, thrilled about.
And a belt to go with it.

While we were shopping, I met the funniest man on the street.
He asked for money for his church, but you never know.
My Spanish knowledge came in handy, and the guy was so excited that I spoke Spanish.
Like, it was hilarious.
I was able to read his church ID and ask enough questions to make sure he was legit, so we could give him money.

After that, every time we walked past him he got so excited.
He would say "Hola, Yoanna!" and shake my hand every time I passed him.
I swear he wanted to marry me.
When we left he gave me a hug and asked for my phone number.
Sorry, bud ;)

When we got back, we cleaned our room and played with the kids.
I helped Isabel shred beef :)
Then we went to Frutal.
Okay... if you like smoothies, slushies, ice cream, milk shakes, frappes, or anything like that, you LOVE Frutal.
For real it's the yummiest thing ever.
Here is my mango raspado.

Oh yeah.

After Frutal, we went back to Bethel to play with the kids as long as we possibly could.
Because this was our last night with them.

Sooner than we would have liked, it was time for the fiesta.
The boys from Oasis came and we all ate dinner together at Bethel.
Fun :)
Then the kids did a piñata a bunch of people from our group pitched in and bought.
They LOVED it.
I had a video of it, but it won't load to my computer, so pictures will just have to do.
After the piñata, some people gave testimonies of what God had done this week.
Then Evelin, Pedro, Alejandro, and Dulce did a dance.
It was so great.
After them, Oasis did Vida, and then the Bethel kids did the Prodigal Son skit.
Best thing of my life.
Ricardo was the prodigal son and Alejandro was his dad, so funny.
Then we did our skit.
The kids thought it was so funny when Ashlee screamed "AYUDAME!"

After that.. it was time.
(Deep breath)
We lined up, and the kids lined up and one by one came up and gave us a card.
I got Luis's <3
Ricardo made an extra card so he could give me one.
It was hard to hold back the tears.

Then the kids got back in line, and came up one by one and hugged us.
Most people were bawling at this point.
If you've never seen 33 people from your youth group drop to their knees to hug little orphans... just wow.
When they got taller we stood up :) They line up by height.

After that saddest moment of all of our lives, Ricardo had to go to the church to put his costume stuff away.
He grabbed my hand and said "Come on"
We were walking across the sand, hand in hand, and Adalberto walked by and said "Ooooh!"
And Ricardo goes, "She's fifteen."
HAHAHA funniest thing ever!

I love him.

When we were in the church the kids from the skit were giving their costumes to Juana and we were all talking.
Ricardo asked her something in Spanish, and she said to me, "You sponsor him?"
I said yes, and his face light up, he gave me the biggest hug, and he said "Thank you" in english.

Wow.

If you are reading this, and I babysit for you,
I just want to let you know that thank you was for you.
I could never support him without you.
I wish you could all have been there in that moment.
The sincerety and gratitude in his voice was something I can't put into words, but I hope you understand.
Thank you so much.
From Ricardo and me.

When we were done in the church, we realized the Oasis van left without Ricardo!
He had to call someone on Juana's phone, he looked so funny talking on a cell phone.
Luckily Oasis came in 2 vans and the other one was still there, so he could go with them.
But thank you God for a little more time with my amigo :)

He gave me a huge hug and said "Bye"
<3
Hasta pronto.

When Ricardo left, I ran to find Carmen, and we were inseperable the rest of the night.
We took a walk around Bethel and talked.
I love her soo much. Mejores amigas para siempre <3

I never, ever, ever wanted to leave.
We had a short team meeting, and then we had to go to bed,
but first Rosita sang for us.
Everyone sat on the ground and listened.
The tears came.
She has such a beautiful voice and the song was so beautiful.
It kept saying "Te amo mas que mi vida."
I love you more than my life.
My heart broke at that.

When we went to bed, I cried myself to sleep with Alejandro's stuffed animal roosters.
And I dreaded waking up in the morning,
because that would really mean goodbye.

Canal where people get their water. That they drink.

Piles of tires outside the dump.

They are from America.

People live here.

Notice in the back of this picture. That's a HOUSE.

A chair, four sticks, and a ripped cloth for some shade.

Mexico Day 6

I know, multiple posts in one day, calm down.
But I'm trying to catch up. Hahaha. Bear with me. Take your time reading.

Thursdaaaay! My second favorite Mexico day!

Okay, our day:

I woke up early with some other people to help mop the church.
Actually, I was late. Oops. But Marcello put me to work :)

Then we went to Kino (the school we painted) to play soccer with the boys from Oasis.
Well.. I was a spectator. Hahaha.
Daniel broke his wrist and Mr Dan asked me to pray for him.
That's another Mexico thing I love.
"You. Pray." or "You're doing your testimony tonight." or "Go help ___ with ___"
and then jumping in and doing whatever you're told, no questions asked.
I think that's all missions trips, not just Mexico.
We should probably apply that to daily life.

Soccer turned into basketball and then Ricardo and I kicked a soccer ball back and forth for awhile.
Note: He is way better than I am.

Then back to Bethel, change, charge camera, sleep/journal for a little, cool down, then to Oasis for lunch.
They had MANGO. KOOLAID. True story.
Mango.. I just love mango. Ask anyone :P Mangos and flamingos are like my favorite things ever.
Yummmm. (about mangos, not flamingos.)

Ricardo took a picture of his eye and said "Green!"
Then he took one of mine and said "You green too."
I love that he has green eyes.
That's so cool to me.
It was really fun. I never wanted to leave.

Next stop, the blind center!
It was awesome!
The people there actually ministered to us.
They told US their testimonies.
They were great.

There are two people there who are getting married in October.
I think that is so awesome.
I've never seen two people so in love,
and they've never even seen each other.
They're blind.
Major lesson we should all learn.
A lesson in trust, faith, and true love.

The people at the blind center make all kinds of crafts, keychains and picture frames and much more.

They sell them and it helps support them.

When we asked what we could pray for, their only request was supplies so they can keep making their crafts.

Then we went back to Bethel.

Later... CHURCH!

I love love love love love love love church in Mexico.

It's great.

I was sitting with Ricardo and every minute or so he would look back at the door.
I knew he was looking for Raquel.

His mom.

She didn't come, and he looked so disappointed.

I gave him a hug and he smiled at me.

Church started, and the band started to play the worship songs.

Ricardo gasped and said "Gianna!!!!!!"

I looked, and his mom walked past.

I moved aside and he RAN to her.

It moved me to tears.

It's so easy to forget how lucky we are that we get to see our parents all the time, whenever we want.

Later, right before worship ended, I felt a tap on my arm.

I looked, and Ricardo was standing there, holding Andrea.

She's his baby sister.

I found out a few months before that his mom had a baby girl, and her name was Andrea.

I wanted to see her so badly.

Probably one third of my suitcase was stuffed with baby clothes in case I was lucky enough to get to see his family again this year.

I almost cried, again, when he was standing there holding her.

The smile on his face was priceless.

Such a proud big brother :)

She started to cry, so he took her back to his mom.

Worship was over, and Oasis did a dance.

I looked and saw Raquel in the doorway.

She kept waving to me.

I was so happy she remembered me :)

After we did our dance, Veronica, Maria, and I went outside to talk to her.

We eventually had to go back in and Raquel let me take Andrea with me and feed her her bottle.

She slept on me the whole service.

I felt like the luckiest person in this whole world.

A lot of people sponsor kids, which I think is so spectacular.

And I feel so lucky to actually know his family, hold his baby sister, write to his mom.

Right when service ended, she woke up, but this time she didn't cry.

She smiled at me and rested her head on my shoulder.

I brought her back to where her mama was.

She asked me to hold her while she got in line for food.

Um, YES OF COURSE :)

Veronica ran to our room and brought down our presents for them and we helped her carry them to her car.

Here's the list of all her kids:

Felipe (13)

Ricardo (12)

Alejandro (11)

Lupita (9)

Chuy (8)

Yareli (5)

Andrea Eskarlet (5 months)

(she was 4 months when we were there. Her birthday is in March.)

Sweetest kids you will ever meet.

And sweetest woman ever.

There was another family with them, and they had a white pickup truck.

All the kids and two men were in the back, with another man driving and Raquel in the front with Andrea on her lap.

This would usually be nerve-wracking to me,

but God gave me such an overwhelming feeling of peace that He is watching over them, and I am so glad.

I have nothing to worry about.

Such an amazing day. <3

(Please don't mind the puke on me in these pictures) :)