We're Home

Just a quick note to let you know we are all back!
Thankyou for your prayers and support.
We will be wrapping this up over the next few days, with a few stories and some pictures.

Keith

Day 7

Another productive day at the jobsite with almost 1200 blocks laid. Were thankful that the wind wasn’t blowing as much as the previous day, although plenty of sand monsters showed up for lunch. We lost a few people to back spasms and general malaise but overall everyone is holding up well! The day was unique in that we ate dinner at the colonia and spent the evening interacting with people. The men and boys got together for a rousing game of somewhat chaotic hockey, and the karaoke was a blast! There was a little boy, who just loved the microphone, and he decided to give us a little concert, it was really cute. The boys in our group started a little rap session and they were really good at it!!!!!!


The girls had fun to putting their dreams on colored paper and decorating it, the little girls loved the cameras and were thrilled to be in the pictures showing off there artwork. The women that came enjoyed watching their children and some of us were able to communicate one on one. We were so blessed to have Erin from Seattle in the group as
she is doing an awesome job with the Spanish she has learned. Then after all that excitement we had a fun game of tug-a-war first was the Mexican girls against the Canadian girls, well unfortunately the Canadian girls lost, booohooo. Next we had the Mexican boys against the Canadian boys…it was over quickly we lost again waaaaa!! Then the greatest war of all- Mexicans against the Canadians…we suck- they won, someone called best out of three, oh the pain—they won again. we all went home happy to lose against them…knowing we’d made some connections and shared some fun together.

Day 6 - Wednesday

Well it’s my turn to blog, but I have to keep it short. We are going out for supper tonight. This will be a first time ever trip to a restaurant with a “surprise” after dinner all arranged by the magnificent Yvette from Kings Kids. We all pre-ordered our meals and I am just realizing now how much I’m looking forward to it after a day of eating SAND.
Honestly the blowing sand was relentless today. Most lasted a few hours before retreating to the VBS program in the afternoon but a surprising number of us stayed out, laying our block courses while trying to keep the grout moist and workable. On the bus ride back while were all busy digging sand out of our ears and eyes and nostrils (and with the help of a shower, other unmentionable places) we all wondered why someone would choose to live in such a place. The answer is obvious of course, they have no choice!

Last night was special. We spent time in praise and worship together and then celebrated Lords Supper in our family groups. Sharon Ages is the mom and I’m the Dad in my family group and it was great for everyone to open up to each other and commit to each other through this very special act. Speaking of family…. Hello Jolanda! Wish you were here! Alida and Avery too, I miss you all! Abi is really in her element here, and not just because the low price and variety of candy and pop. She helps me out with construction in the mornings and then with VBS in the afternoons where she has made several Mexican friends.

For those of you who know him, Dave Arnold, our construction guy, is with us again coordinating the work site and making sure the team is all prepared for the day. We know what keeps him doing this, we just don’t know why! Seriously, he is awesome and a great inspiration to me. Previous bloggers told you about the work site but it was today that we realized the wall is 600m long! We now refer to the project as the Great Wall of Juarez.

Henry Doornberg

Day 5 - Tuesday

Go figure, we travel over 2500 km to get to Juarez and another team of 51 (mostly young people) are at work on the same site as us…and they are from Edmonton…and they are CRC young people on a SERVE project. They were connected to the same ministry as we are but through the CRWRC and a local CRC in El Paso. God does indeed have a sense of humour.

Today the work crews continued on the ‘Great Wall of Juarez’ project. We laid over 750 blocks to put a wall around the new 4 acre plot of land recently given the ministry by the Mexican government. The site is sand, 20 feet thick according to Dave Arnold our YWAM El Paso Construction Coordinator. The Edmonton team works ahead of us digging trenches and laying the foundation. We follow and are building a 5’wall of cinder block.


Why are we building a wall? Well, Mexican law allows people to ‘squat’ on land that is not in use and once they are there, they cannot be removed. It is important to complete this wall so that squatters cannot make a claim on the land. Also, due to generous donations made by our supporting churches, Dave was able to hire local workers to put the roof on the skills training center. That’s OK, it may have been too dangerous for us amateurs to undertake.

We had a very inspirational talk from Tim Gamwell, the visionary for the project. He challenged us to look at what we are doing as not just laying bricks or building a wall but rather to see the vision of the completed project. This includes a medical clinic, a mission school and dorms for visiting missions groups.

We are staying at Centro Vida, a Christian School with dorms that are unused at the moment. They also have a staff that prepare meals for us and large meeting rooms so we can get together to worship in the evenings. School is still in session. As we are getting into the bus to go to the Colonias, we see parents drive into the parking lot to drop off their kids.

John S.

Day 4 - Work in the Colinia!

Day 4 – Work in the Colonia!

It was a late start for all of us, and for the most part we didn’t know what to expect because of all the changes in our schedule. But the most refreshing part of it all is we were able to sleep soundly and praise God for our safe arrival in Juarez, Mexico. The best feeling to wake up to knows that you’re going to start the day by thanking God and showing him how much you love him. (What would you do to show God, your father how much you love him?)

It’s always a treat to have breakfast together as a big group and really connect with one another and bond, sharing stories, and encouraging one another. We met this morning more formally with plans to head out right away and get the day started with service work. We met for devotion and prayer and had a fellow come speak to us a bit about the Colonia, what to expect and what we maybe should not do. (Be tourists in a poverty stricken place; take away responsibilities of the Mexican family…) We headed out a little later than expected but that did not disrupt any plans for the working day.

We had three teams today, and I believe this might be how it is for the week. A group of people leading a sports ministry, a group leading VBS, and a much larger group involved in construction. I can tell you how it was for construction from my perspective:
It was so wonderful!!! I am not usually the construction type, but I gave it my all mixing up concrete and mortar, I can’t explain how much ‘’Joy’’ it giving me to give my heart fully for God’s work in serving this extraordinary place. It was quite hot, and uncomfortable at times but all you want to do is dig deeper, shovel faster, build higher. I can honestly and happily say no one was injured today, just a few minor cuts and scrapes. Thank you Lord! We all worked hard in the morning and took a nice break for lunch, and they are continually blessing us with great food and snacks. We went back to work and finished our day feeling like we accomplished a lot. God is good!
Our day was unexplainably fantastic, and I look forward to tomorrow, and what how we will continue to serve this area in Mexico.

Day 3 Journal

Our wake up call came at 5 a.m. as our leaders thought there was a time change due to Daylight Savings but they were wrong. (Part of our boot camp experience.) The early start did not go to waste as we had 870 km to drive to Juarez. It was a very windy day blowing the bus all over the road. We drove past rocky hills and sage brush where the antelope played. Our bus driver, Jim, pointed out the yucca plants that have been increasing in size as we continue driving further south through Colorado and New Mexico. We hit Sante Fe for lunch and the boys always bust out the hacky sack and football whenever they get a chance to stretch and release some kinks. The rest of the day we drove straight through New Mexico and had one last stop in Anthony which is right on the state line of Texas. That was our second visit to a Flying J truck stop and we snacked on beef jerky and fried chicken wings. They also sell all kinds of trucker delights such as jumbo bagged pickles and bumper stickers that read “Don’t Mess with Texas”. We arrived at El Paso at 9:30 pm where we were met by a fleet of vans to transfer our group across the border. Due to new border laws, our bus was not permitted to enter Mexico. It was great to finally arrive at Centro Vita Juares where we had a delicious Mexican meal and settled into our dorms for a well needed rest.

Cindy J.B. & Claudine

Day 2 Journal

It was a bright sunny day and we had a nice view of the nearby cliffs of Billings when we woke up early and had a quick breakfast. Each day on our bus trip we have quiet time and devotions which gives us a chance to read from our Mexico devotion books. We also pray for our trip and any special requests including praying for: the Mexican people that their hearts will be opened to receive our messages and that they could be able to develop a relationship with Christ; Dave and Tim who lead the community development in Juarez; and for health and safety for our team on this outreach.

We passed endless miles of ranchland alongside the Big Horn Mountains and the North Plat River which was the main route for pioneers in the early settlement of North America. We stopped for lunch in Wyoming. The weather was a bit windy but we found some snow and had a furious snowball fight! All afternoon we drove straight through Wyoming and had a big dinner at Wendy’s in Denver, Colorado. Then it was off to our next pit stop at Hope Church in Colorado Springs. We called it a day and were off to bed.

Day 1 - Journal

Buenos noches from Billings, Montana! After our first day marathon road trip, we arrived safely and received a warm welcome from Barb, our host at Cornerstone Community Church and Billings Christian School. We are staying the night and will be up early to head to Colorado Springs tomorrow. Our day began with family and friends bidding us a misty morning farewell from First Christian Reformed Church at 7:30 a.m. We left Calgary after picking up the rest of our group at Mackenzie Town. Our 61 person team includes a vibrant group led by YWAM (Youth With A Mission) leaders and their students in Principles in Child and Youth Ministries plus a motley crew of members and friends from Epic Ministry, New Hope Church, First Christian Reformed Church and Covenant Christian through Lethbridge we had an unexpected two hour delay at the border. In Reformed Church. From babies to grandparents, we are blessed to have such a dynamic age range as we build community and head south.

We are traveling in a bus and van convoy and after passing previous years the group has proceeded through customs quickly but this morning we had to unboard and it just meant that we unfortunately we reached out destination much later than planned.

It was a good start to Spring Break and we cruised across the vast prairie landscape shouldered by the Rocky Mountains as we slept, visited, played cards, read, had quiet devotion time and watched the movie Chicken Little. We had a pit stop in Moore, population 200, and both there and in Billings, a few locals were surprised to see a group of Canadians with funny accents enroute to Mexico.

After a hearty pizza feast, we had time to shoot some hoops and toss the football around before bed. I’m really enjoying getting to know new friends and our team is gelling together. We are all eager to get to Juarez and see what God has in store for us!

Cindy JB

Day 1-Billings

As a teenager waking up before 7:30 is not easy. Waking up at 6 and having to socialize and make a good first impression with the people you have to spend the next two weeks with is even worse.

The morning started as the first lot of us were picked up at first crc. Before loading onto the bus we dispersed into a circle and spent time in prayer…why we had to do it in the bitter cold is personally beyond me. We loaded up and continued on our journey to pick up the next lot of us in Mackenzie town.

The toured through the vast unchanging sights of the Alberta prairies; from Calgary to Lethbridge to the border. When we reached customs it took and unexpected long time. We all had to file out of the bus and one by one get scanned. In addition to this all of the non Canadian citizens had to spend some extra time in there. I don’t know exactly what went on, but a few of them came back with very frustrated looks on their faces.

After finally leaving the border, It took a while to get back into our comfortable positions (us intelligent teenagers decided that cramming ourselves in the back of the bus by the garbage and toilets was a great idea… this is what happens to us at 7 in the morning). At one point there was even four us piled into a two seated area. Although claustrophobic, the literally up close and personal bonding experience was quite entertaining.

For personal entertainment the movie Chicken Little was played. I watched about 3 minutes of it until I was completely passed out from a combination of boredom and utter exhaustion from my early awakening. I woke up suddenly to the sounds of chickens singing during the credits of the movie, and from the sounds of things I didn’t miss out on a lot.

When I finally was completely awake, we stopped for a pit stop at some diner/mini store. I was pretty stoked because I wanted to experience the American sweets and beverages that aren’t safe enough to be legal in Canada. Disappointed by the selection, I settled with a blue power drink and tortilla chips. Little was I to know the chips were the highlight of my day.

The group of teenagers I was hanging out with had obviously become more comfortable with each other though the day because by the evening we were much more sociable, chatty, and comfortable around each other. The last stretch of the trip passed by much more quickly.

When we finally reached the destination, I was moderately disappointed because it had only been a few minutes beforehand when I discovered the most comfortable position to sleep in on a bus.

We were to stay in a church called Corner Stone Community Church located in Billings, Montana. Exhausted, all I wanted to do was rolled out my sleeping back and go to sleep yet I was easily convinced to stay awake with the idea of hot pizza. After a day of barely anything to eat, the thought of greasy American goodness was warming to my senses.

After our meal we all got ready for bed and ended the night with a prayer and hope for an enjoyable day tomorrow.


Maria- Rose