We got up around 4:30/5ish to get dressed, grab breakfast, and head out to the school where we were painting!
We painted the basketball court, volleyball court, bleachers, and playground there last year, but this year we painted the actual classrooms.
It was an exciting time!
Warning: If you're looking for a serious ministry story, you might want to skip this part.
If you have never experienced Mexican oil-based paint, oh it's lovely ;)
The fumes are like super intense so we had to make sure to take breaks every once in a while and drink lots of water.
The rooms had air conditioning but most of them weren't on, so we had some pretty shady fans in there while we worked :)
After a while I was super hot so one of the leaders took me to get some water. There was an orange water jug identical to ours, so, assuming it WAS ours, that's where I got my water from.
I started chugging it, because I was super thirsty, like, I was gulping it down man.
Then someone yelled "THAT'S NOT OUR WATER!!!"
Ummm, WHAT.
So I just drank Mexican water, yum! :)
(For those of you who like to know gross things, I was quite sick when we got back to America, but I'm over that.)
When we were done painting, I went to the bathroom (as in, the Mexican school bathroom).
And I went to wash my hands,
right when I reached for the thing to turn the water on,
a giant cockroach SHOT out of the drain.
I almost had a heart attack!
Woo!
I love Mexico!! (For real I do)
Anyways, despite all the morning fun, we headed back to the orphanage around lunch time, had lunch, and played with the kids for a while.
One of the littlest girls, Sarita, was laying on the ground.
I asked her if she was tired and she shook her head yes.
I held out my arms and she snuggled up and fell asleep.
So so sweet.
Apparently while holding Sarita I lost track of time, majorly.
I heard our trip leader, "WHOEVER IS GOING TO THE DRUG REHAB LET'S GO NOW!"
What!?!?
So I hand Sarita to someone else,
and head off to the rehab center in my disgusting paint clothes, with no water bottle.
Woo!
Adalberto (one of the most amazing men in all of San Luis) told us that the drug rehab is about 80% Christian, just because of groups coming down!
I think that is something to praise God about!
Anyone who has been on a short term mission trip who thinks one week cannot have a huge impact on a community, you can officially think again!
Megan and Lauren did their testimonies, and they rocked it.
Ladies were crying and clearly touched.
Adalberto spoke, awesome as always.
He talked about how Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven.
His words were so incredibly powerful I can't even begin to explain it.
When he asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts,
many ladies stood up.
I counted 10 the first time, 15 the second time, 13 the third time :P
Everyone was moving and I was sitting in the middle so it was hard to really count,
but numbers don't matter at all compared to the fact that
lives were touched and lives were saved.
One of my favorite things ever in San Luis is when we get to pray with the ladies at the rehab who want to ask Jesus into their hearts.
The lady I prayed for, Betty, held my hands so tight and cried the whole time we were praying.
I prayed for her in English and Spanish, and she turned out to speak BOTH!
How awesome is God!?!??
There was a lady in the rehab, sitting close to the back.
Her face was completely emotionless and expressionless the entire time we were there.
She was a bigger lady and I could tell she had a lot of walls up in her heart.
Nothing in the service seemed to affect her on the outside, but I know seeds were planted.
She didn't raise her hand to ask Jesus into her heart. She didn't stand up for the prayer.
But God put her on my heart the whole time.
She needed an actual touch, a physical touch.
I was determined to give her a hug and tell her God loves her before we left.
When we were done, everyone said bye and waved and headed out the door.
But I couldnt go.
I hugged one lady, and everyone in her row of seats reached for a hug too.
I had to hug every single lady in that room.
Everyone stared at me like they were so desperately hoping I would hug them too.
Except that one lady.
But I was determined.
Our whole group was gone and I was getting worried but that was the devil,
and I had to get to that lady.
I finally reached her, and instead of looking like all the other ladies, she almost looked disgusted by me touching her, but I couldnt stop now.
I gave her a big hug and told her "Dios te bendiga".
So simple, but she smiled.
And that smile meant more than a thousand words ever could.
The moment lasted no more than 5 seconds but it was a 5 seconds I will never ever forget.
Lesson learned: If God tells you to do something, no matter how simple, do it.
It'll be worth it.
God doesn't tell you to do things just for fun.
There is always a purpose.
So I ran outside as fast as I could because I knew everyone was leaving but a lady stopped me.
She was a lady who worked there.
She thanked me so much for coming, she hugged me over and over as she wiped tears away,
and she told me the ladies look forward to groups coming and she just kept hugging me.
I thanked her for letting us come and told her God loves her so much, she hugged me one last time before she said goodbye and that she hopes we come back soon.
I got outside right when everyone was getting in the vans,
perfect timing thank you Jesus!
We had dinner when we got back to the orphanage (enchiladas = best things ever)
and then headed out to the village for our first night of village ministry!
I saw this church on the way there.
They have services Tuesdays and Saturdays.
It says "Mission. "Voice crying in the desert."
Wow. Think of that compared to your fancy church.
Eye opener?
Clearly God was all over this, because so was satan!
One of our vans got stuck on the way there. That was fun!
Some Mexican guys came and helped, but what satan wanted to be a disaster turned out to be super funny and those Mexican guys got invited to our program!
Well, after driving around for a while, we made it to the place where we were going to have our program.
It was so amazing.
One of my favorite things about village ministry is getting to sit with the kids.
Something about Mexican children: They are gorgeous.
Haha but for real, they are. And they're so sweet.
Village ministry is one of the times where you realize how different America is.
In San Luis, you can ask someone to hold their baby, and they smile and hand the baby to you.
They are so trusting and loving and just genuinely happy, though they have less than half of what we have.
People know each other. They talk face to face. Families are close, because family is all they have.
It makes me wish we had less sometimes.
There was a little girl who reminded me so much of one of my cousins.
I don't remember ever seeing her before, but she ran to me and hugged me and I picked her up and she just stared at me, smiling.
It was so sweet.
Here's how the programs usually work:
Ken introduces us, we sing Yo Tengo Un Amigo Que Me Ama, a song every single person knows in San Luis.
People give their testimonies, (Yeah Ally and Chiarina!) Ken preaches a little, we do a dance/ministry skit, we pray.
We give out beans and rice to the parents, candy to the kids.
They love it :)
Funny story: Everyone was praying, and I felt something pounding on my back. It was a dog like attacking me :P How scary. I didn't know what to do cause we were praying! Thankfully it got bored and ran away.
Anyways, we passed out beans, rice, and candy to the parents and kids when the program was over.
Usually this is when it's over, and we leave.
But this year was different.
Everyone stayed longer, played with the kids, talking to the people.
The kids were running everywhere, screaming and laughing. They had so much fun.
And the parents LOVED it!
I met a lady standing with her kids, she was really shy but she had a beautiful smile and beautiful kids.
She told me some of them were her kids and some were her nieces and nephews.
She also told me that her littlest daughter didn't get any candy.
So I went to see if we had any more, and, how great is God, we had one bag left :)
She was so grateful.
A couple of us brought Spanish Bibles to give to people.
We had them sitting on this like.. wood thing on the ground.
I noticed a man walk over and pick one of them up.
He opened it and started to read it.
It had "Jesus te ama" and "Dios te bendiga" written in the front, so I knew it was Christina's.
I watched the man read it for a while.
When he saw someone coming, he hid it behind his back.
When they walked past he would take it back out and read some more.
I watched him do this a few times, and I went over.
I asked him if he had a Bible. When he said no, I told him he could have that one.
For me? he asked. Si!
He paused. "Muchas gracias."
He read where Christina had written "Jesus loves you" and "God bless you" in the front cover.
He looked at me and asked, "Is God love?"
I said yes.
He asked, "Does God love ME?"
I said yes again.
He stared at me in amazement, then at the Bible, then at me. "Muchas gracias."
Before he left he gave me a kiss on the cheek.
He was such a sweet old man.
Part of my journal entry on day 3:
"We ended up gving out 4 Biblias, lots of frijoles y arroz, and lots of God's love. Giving and getting actually. What an amazing night."
That pretty much sums it all up. I hope you are enjoying hearing about this awesome trip, keep reading!
Love you all :)
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