Mexico Mission Diary - Day 1

Greetings from your missionaries in Weslaco, Texas! We have completed our first day of work in the colonias and have enjoyed Diane's wonderful homemade fresh salsa and guacamole, which by the way are reason enough to be on the Mexico Mission trip! Everyone else has gone to the showers and settled in for a few moments of "clean" and reflection on the work we are doing in Mexico. Before I tell you about today's work, let me share just a little of our travel here this past week-end.

As most of you know, we met at 6:00 p.m. on last Friday night to load our spectacular church bus. David P. was on hand and actually did most of the heavy lifting, as he was the one organizing and arranging our baggage. In no time, the bus was loaded and we circled up for a prayer with David. Before we departed for the evening, we each chose a t-shirt from the 21 shirts which were created during the week. (Myra, Diane, and I met Monday morning to tie-dye the shirts, each of us taking 7 shirts home to complete the process and to hand letter our church name and our mission.)

Saturday morning, Don and Diane started the bus run from their house, where Karen had spent the night. At 5:15 a.m., the bus stopped at my house to pick up me and the thermoses of coffee which Doug had prepared. Next, we picked up the Pinsons, around 5:30, and then headed straight to our local Donut shop for "our breakfast." Imagine our surprise, when Jaina tapped on the bus window and told us she was buying our breakfast. Loaded with donut holes, fritters, and both cake and glazed donuts, Jaina boarded our bus. She also presented us with our very own Jesus action figure, which she tied to the front rail on the bus, so Jesus could travel with us to Mexico. . . and guess what? Jesus speaks, telling a few of his more famous stories and quoting scripture. Actually, He was great company, and prone to talk to us without us doing much of anything. (Many times, He spoke without us even pushing his "button.") What a wonderful gift, Jaina, and the donuts were good, too. Before leaving, Jaina also prayed for us and for our mission in Mexico, and we were on the road by 5:45.

In Birmingham, we stopped to pick up Karryl Anderson and to make a group picture; then, we were headed west. Saturday's driving was mostly unimpressive, except for the amount of time it took us to get from Slidell to Baton Rouge. We had at least 3 slow-downs and perhaps one general stop on our drive through that part of Louisiana, making that portion of the trip a little longer than usual. As we traveled, conversation topics include our ages, (Kayo and Karen are the "babies" of the trip, both checking in at 55,) and how we each met our husbands/wives. Every time we stopped, we all had opportunities to share our mission, sometimes with other ladies in line to use the rest rooms, and sometimes while waiting for our "fast?" food lunch. In the afternoon, Myra and I did a few booktalks on the books we brought to share on the trip, resulting in The Hunger Games, Okay for Now, and Heaven is for Real being chosen as afternoon reads. (Diane read another book, Keeper on Sunday.) Those who chose not to read took some time to catnap as we completed our first day's journey. We arrived in Baytown around 6:00 that evening, and after taking a few minute to freshen up, we gathered again for dinner at Carino's.

Sunday morning, we ate breakfast at 6:00 a.m. and worshipped at 6:30 a.m. Don brought pictures of our family, as well as a few photos of our family's current home. (On Saturday, Don also shared photos from Google Maps. Wow! There were actual photos of intersections in the colonias, as well as the church compound and the street where our family lives.) After a brief stop at Starbucks on our way out of Houston, we were on the road to Weslaco. Four of us whiled the time away playing a few games of Rook, using the giant Tupperware tub of trail mix as our card table. (Because we have found the trail mix is the perfect mid-morning snack, Diane made a giant container of it for the trip and for our stay in Weslaco. It's great, Diane, as you already know, and the tub makes a perfect table.)

We arrived at the First Presbyterian Church in Weslaco a little before 3:00 that afternoon, and after unloading our bus, we made our shopping trip to Home Depot to pick up tools and to WalMart to get the food necessities, all of which was completed in a little bit over an hour! WooHoo! We had just enough time to set up our sleeping spaces before David Rodriguez arrived to brief us on our work across the border. David brought his wife Nancy and his two children, as well as Omar and his son Diego. Together, we spent a little over an hour talking about what our days would look like this week, and then David and Omar answered any questions we had about anything. Our host Dick, who is our liaison from FPC Weslaco had prepared lasagna, salad, and bread for all of us, a meal that was delicious and much appreciated. Following dinner, we had our Eventide worship, which concluded by 8:00, leaving enough time for an ice trip, loading the water coolers, and prepping the breakfast and lunch-making tables. I think we were all in bed by 10:00!

Just a little note about David Rodriguez's time with us . . . It actually was a mini-devotional on the importance of the work of Ministerio de Fe and our very important role in the work of that organization. What a motivational talk he gave to us! Here are a few of his quotes: "The vision of Ministerio de Fe is to bless people." "You are going to tell that family how much God loves them." "God has chosen you to be an answer to their prayers." "our God is an expert in miracles." ( . . . and I could go on!) While these are hard times for Faith Ministry, the church is growing. And they have added a nutrition program for children with adults to be added soon. Still, they have had to let go several employees this summer, the Board of Directors is doing all they can to keep this valuable ministry going. The ministry is trying to hold on to those employees who have been most loyal to the Ministry: Pastor Castillo, Angel, Lupe, Ezekiel, Nurse Betty and the Doctor, and Dora who now helps out in the clinic with the nutrition program. In contrast to previous years where 80 houses were built, now only 20 - 25 houses are being built. As David R. says, "We want to do this for one more soul, and Faith Ministry is depending on God and people like you."

Our family is Jose and Susanna, a really cute couple who act a little like newlyweds in their actions together. It was not unusual to catch them with their heads together, engaged in a private conversation, sometimes even whispering and giggling together. They have four adorable children, Maria Susanna (8), Hassllyn Suzette (7), Hugo, Jr.,(3), and Irving (8 months), and we did have time to play with them today, which was too much fun!! This family has been trying for 6 years to get a house, and over a year ago, they submitted their application to MDF. (This year, Faith Ministry has selected 6 or 7 families at a time to receive houses. As the houses are finished, they then choose 6 or 7 more; right now, there is a backlog of 60 - 70 applications for homes. Because of the number of families who need houses and the lack of funding and work groups to build houses, Faith Ministry is only choosing families who are in extreme need.)

In the interest of safety, we adjusted our arrival time, at David's suggestion, to 7:00 a.m. (No, we did not get to sleep in, leaving at 6:15 for the border.) David, Omar, and Diego met us at the Valero gas station on this side of the border, and Omar and Diego rode across with us. We stopped off at the church compound to drop off Omar, who is still recovering from his foot infection from earlier this spring, and we followed Lupe and Angel to our worksite. It is in a rather depressing part of the Colonia, only about 4 or 5 blocks from the church compound, and the home lot is rather narrow. As in previous years, the first task of the day is to move blocks to the inside of the house foundation. For the first time I can remember, we did not move all of the blocks first. (In retrospect, it may have been a Godsend, as with only 6, it is kind of difficult to form a block line. Consequently, we were each carrying one or two blocks to the center of the house, where they were stacked.) We probably moved enough block then to do 4 or 5 rows. Then, as more block was needed, we carried more block in, perhaps enough to do a row or two. Eventually, one of the younger workers figured out he could load the wheelbarrow with 8 or 9 blocks, and move them in that manner. He was a hard-working angel among us, as that meant that Don and Kayo, as well as the rest of the Mexican male volunteers could continue to lay block. I think there were at least 6 teams working in the house laying block at different corners, and meeting in the middle of a row. That meant the Myra, Karen, and I, along with 2 fifteen-year-old guys and Jose did most of the mortar mixing, in between playing with the children and delivering water and supplies to the block-layers in the house. We finished up around noon, leaving only one additional row of block needed on at least two of the walls.

Today, we thought we were working without the benefit of a translator, except for the little Spanish we know and the little English our 12 Mexican volunteers know. We actually labored for almost an hour, when I asked a question, and to my surprise, Juan, our angel among us, answered the question in English. Imagine our surprise!! As it happened, not only could he speak English, but he also could push a loaded wheelbarrow. It was good to have someone who could clarify the names of the children for us and who could ask Angel or Lupe the questions we needed to have answered. Interestingly, he is 27 years old and currently living in Mexico with his aunt and cousins just around the corner. He revealed that since his cousin had to work to support his family, Juan was putting in the sweat equity for a future home for his aunt and cousin. Another surprising tidbit about this young man was although his mother was an American citizen, she had decided, for whatever reason, to give birth to him in Mexico. He was raised in McAllen by his mother, but was deported back to Mexico 5 months ago. He speaks freely and so far has answered all our questions, so perhaps there will be more to tell about him as the week goes on. I do know he is a very polite and respectful young man and a hard worker, and our work today was made easier by his presence.

The lunch format has changed a bit since we were last here. Now, there are 2-3 women who cook at the church, and the work groups and volunteers return there around 12:30 to share a home-cooked meal together. I think this is done in part to help some of the families and in part to preserve the manner in which the food is cooked. Today, we had flour tortillas, rice, and a chicken and vegetable soup combination. I thought it was quite good, and seasoned perfectly for me with just a little kick of spice, but Don is bringing his own hot sauce for the lunch tomorrow. We had a short worship service in the church, where David R., Kayo, and Pastor Alfredo all gave a short talk about our mission here in the colonias; of course, we also sang "This is the Day" in Spanish and English, as well as "Unidos."

After the service, we met with Omar and David R. to talk about what gift we could give to Susanna and her family. You will remember that 2 years ago, we had the awesome privilege of "making Victoria's day" by giving her beds for her children and a gas stove. We really want to do that again this year, only this time we are helping Susanna and her precious family. It was decided that a set of bunkbeds would be great for her family, and if we had enough money, a small refrigerator would be great. They are checking on prices, but a few of us have already decided in our hearts that if there is not enough money in the budget for both, we will make up the difference. Helping a family in need why we are here!

A few other tidbits . . . We still love our church bus!!! Thank you bunches! - We have learned there are a few advantages to a small mission group: No waiting for showers! Every passenger has his own bench seat on the bus! No need to claim your perfect shovel and protect it from being "borrowed;" your perfect shovel is always there! We know everyone, and cooking for 7 is just like cooking for a family. - There are also a few disadvantages, as well: No musicians, creating a small, tentative choral voice . . . boohoo. No days off; everyone is needed for something every day, (i.e. morning worship and eventide, loading the coolers, helping out in the kitchen, if needed.)

You will want to know there is no sign of danger; things at the border are the same as always. Still, we are being very careful, and needless to say, there are no "diet Coke or Joya" stops.

We love what we are doing, and we did such a good job today, we will be pouring the columns for our home tomorrow, as well as digging a foundation for house #8. On Wednesday, we will pour our home's floor, and on Thursday, we will pour the roof for house #6. Friday will be the last 2 rows of block on our home and a meal for our family, as usual. As your missionaries, we have the absolutely best job around; we are changing lives just by sharing our faith and our love, both for God and for our fellow Christians. Praise the Lord! Continue to keep us in your prayers as we labor to do the Lord's work in another country. Indeed, we are blessed to be a blessing!

In God's love . . . your missionary diarist . . . . Randi, (or as I am know by my fellow Mexican workers, Wendy)

Mexico Mission Diary - Day 2

Hola! from your fellow church members in south Texas and in Mexico. Today was a great day to be doing the Lord's work south of the border! Thank you so much for sending us to be your missionaries to those in need in Reynosa. It is indeed a blessing to be here!

Today, we departed even later for our work in the colonias, agreeing to meet Omar at 7:15 at the first 7-11 across the bridge in Mexico. And so we arrived at the church around 7:30 for our usual bathroom break and to drop off Miss Virginia's cake for Deantin. We also received the bid price for our purchases, a bunk bed and a small refrigerator; the total came in at $663.00, and since we had discussed expanding the budget for our purchases, we had almost enough money with us. One of your missionaries stepped up to the plate and provided the additional $13.00, so we went ahead and gave Omar our money and told him to purchase the two items. We emphasized that we wanted those two items at Susanna's house Friday morning, and he assured us that they would be there. This afternoon, Omar told us he had completed our shopping requests, and the items would be delivered to the clinic, and then to House #7 on Friday. WooHoo!! We are excited and blessed to be able to change this family's life for the better!

As previously mentioned, we were to complete the tenth row of block and pour the columns at our house today. After mixing a batch of mortar, two teams of block layers completed the last row while some of our Mexican volunteers formed the columns of the house. Then we mixed what seemed like a really small batch of concrete --- 3 wheelbarrows of sand, 3 wheelbarrows of gravel, and 2 bags of cement. (I think I mentioned that the house was on a rather narrow lot, so perhaps there was only enough room to mix that much.) Amazingly, we had enough to pour the columns, with some concrete to spare.

Not having worked with some of these volunteers, we were trying to show them how we like to take turns filling the wheelbarrows, allowing for each worker to have a small rest in between jobs, and no surprise . . . they liked our method a lot. We implemented the same format when we were turning concrete, as well as filling buckets with concrete. We discovered that Diego and I and Susanna and I make really good shoveling teams. As usual, the Mexican volunteers found it quite humorous when we got lots of concrete on ourselves, making jokes about our sloppy shoveling. Today, Diego received some concrete splatters as a result of that, and I promised the ladies that our best-dressed and cleanest volunteer, Raymundo, might get some concrete on him tomorrow. There are lots of animals in the yard next door: chickens, (both big and little,) roosters, geese, ducks, cats, and very sad-looking dogs; (Susanna has her own chicken which she keeps in the house, we suppose to protect it from being eaten or stolen.) Across the street is Little Orphan Annie's look-alike dog and a mother pig with her piglets. (The roosters in the neighborhood crow all morning long, and will even answer a human cock-a-doodle-do.)

We completed the columns around 10:00, just in time for a break. We were in the process of loading the necessary tools in the van to head out to the worksite for House #8, when we finally understood what Ezekiel had been trying to tell us. House #8 was just 2 houses down the street . . . we were walking our tools, coolers, and snacks down the very dry and rutty road/alleyway. Theoretically, our site manager was to have the foundation for that house already measured and lined out by the time we arrived. You know us, and we are such eager beavers, so we were disappointed to discover that nothing much had been done to prepare the area for our digging dynamos; naturally, we took our break and spent some time introducing ourselves to this family of 8: Lorenzo and Erika, the parents, and six children, two of whom had gone to the clinic. Four of the children were there, and we were surprised to find that Raymundo was one of theirs, as well as Karla, Manuel, and Emilio; they ranged in age from about 15 down to 2ish. (That, of course, explains why Raymundo was helping build at Susanna's.)

As the real construction workers were laying out the dimensions of the home, we began to fill wheelbarrows with the old patio/floor, which was being broken up with sledge hammers. The old patio floor was concrete with a slate surface, and so we asked if we might take just a piece of that broken-up slate as a memento of our work here in Mexico. The owner was happy to do that for us, and so Juan and Myra went to the next door lot and picked out 4 pieces for us to take back to Alabama. As they were laying out the foundation, a lime tree had to be trimmed, and let me tell you, it was chock full of ready-for-the-picking fruit. Again, Juan asked for one of our used ZipLock bags, and with the owner's permission, filled it to overflowing with key limes. Needless to say, Diane was thrilled with the gift and hopefully will be making some limeade to go along with our dinner.

Finally, we were ready to begin the digging, using a pick axe and a long metal rod of some sort, the dirt and concrete mix was broken apart; then, it was shoveled from the trench. Angel marked on our shovels how deep the foundation should be, and it was right at 2 feet, which in really hot weather and on a really hard surface is really hard work. Using the team approach once again, the macho men would break up the dirt and concrete, and the less strong workers would shovel the dirt out, repeating the steps until the trench measured 2 feet from the bottom to the string outline. With union mandated breaks and bossy co-workers, we paced ourselves with short rests in the shade and with lots of water. Amazingly, we completed the digging portion of this job before noon, having us at the church compound in time for a 12:15 lunch.
Today, for lunch, we had Mexican rice and a beef, tomato, and potato mixture with soft flour tortillas. (Yesterday, we had white rice with a chicken and tomato mixture and, of course, tortillas.) Both Don and Kayo commented to David R. that the food was not as spicy as they liked it. So today, the cooks had prepared a special sauce made of green chilies just for them!

Each morning, we have been making our lunches and mid-morning snacks, as usual. Normally, we would make a lunch for ourselves and an additional one for one of the Mexican volunteers. As there are only 6 of us making lunches, we decided that we each should make at least 2, and perhaps 3, additional lunches besides our own; otherwise, we don't have enough lunches to share with our fellow workers and the families. As it happens, we are eating and thoroughly enjoying the delicious lunches prepared for us at the church in the colonias, and giving all of our lunches away and never missing a bite of them. The food is really good, and for me, it is just spicy enough. Thanks to the generous baking of the Weslaco church, we have also had lots of great cookies to share with our new and old friends in the colonias.

Today, Deantin was at the church compound for the Tuesday afternoon worship, and as always, he is very glad to see us and remembers many of our group from year-to-year, always asking about those who are missing from the group this year. (Miss Virginia: As usual, Deantin was most grateful for the cake you sent, and even offered to share it with us, but we declined.) As always, Deantin insisted that we sit "uno American, uno Mexican" during the service, and so a little seat-swapping had to happen before we could begin. Deantin talked about the continuing work of Faith Ministry, in spite of the threat of violence in Mexico, and about how they have adapted their ministry to include more than just building houses. He is such a positive speaker, for both the Mexicans and the Americans, always translating so both groups understand his prayers and his messages. Today, he mentioned specifically that this October would be the 17th anniversary of Ministerio de Fe, and he continues to travel to promote this very special ministry. Deantin also told the story of the young Muslim girl who wanted to work with Faith Ministry, but was concerned that she would not be allowed because of her religion. Some of you will remember Ashley Abaie, as she worked two different years with us, and during that second year, she converted to Christianity and was baptized in the same church where we worship this week. Deantin will be back on Thursday when we will dedicate the house we are building this week.

I know I failed to mention some of the changes we have seen since our last visit 2 years ago. One of the starkest differences is the lack of traffic and workers bustling to get to work. Perhaps, part of that is due to the fact that we are arriving in the colonias about an hour later, and the work shifts have probably already started. Still, it is not news that the Mexican economy is not good, and we have noticed that some of the larger plants seem to be completely shut down. Another change, one that is for the good, is the increased number of roads that have been paved, both the city highways and the Colonia regular streets. There is also what seems to be a marked increase in the number of small shops that have opened within the colonias, many at the city edge and even some in the interior of the colonias. . . everything from a sort of flea market strip mall to a piñata store to lots of mini-supers and small taco stands. In the neighborhood where we are, every day we hear the call of a roving food vendor who sells chittlin's. On the way out today, we even saw a street musician, much like one we saw several years ago and from whom Bill purchased a guitar. We also saw the recycling man and watched as a "ginormous" plastic bag of mixed recyclables was weighed, after which the home owner was paid, and the recyclables were added to the truck. Money is tight everywhere, and that is just one way that families can add just a little to their income.

One other big change is the lack of work groups at the church compound. Used to be, when we arrived for our morning pit stop, the members of those groups and the summer volunteers would be just getting up and having breakfast, eager to share their story and why they are here. Now, there is no one, not even Dora and her rebar team, staying there. If groups come and want to stay on the Mexican side, Faith Ministry is housing them at the clinic, where it is air-conditioned and perhaps a little safer. Again, because we are the only group working there, our church service is only us and our dear co-workers, usually only around 20 or so altogether. There is only one house being dedicated this week, and that, too, is a little sad. We can only hope and pray that this non-busy time for Ministerio de Fe will soon change to the busy summers of past years when 4 or 5 work groups were scheduled each week, building as many or more homes during that week.

Without musicians, as a group, we are falling a little short when it comes to making a pleasing and joyful noise in our singing. This morning, Minga arrived in time to join us for our morning devotional, and after we had sung just one song, she graciously volunteered to provide special music for us today, and she promised to come back tomorrow as well. It is just one of the many blessings we receive every day we are on this Mexico Mission trip.

Ooops! I forgot to mention that David Rodriguez has invited us all to his home in Mission, Texas, for dinner tomorrow night. So, Diane gets a cook's night out, and we get to spend some fellowship time with David and his family.

Here are a few good things about being such a small mission group: We can all fit around one table for both meals and devotional time. Passing the documents out at the bridge takes almost no time at all! We really do know almost all the names of our Mexican volunteers and families. (Elise, you would be proud! We are talking with everyone and trying to speak some Spanish. Neal, we even have vocabulary lessons as we turn the concrete.) We get invited to the "Boss's" house for dinner. And there is no waiting for a shower!

Here are some not-so-good things about this small work group: You are not here with us, working hard, having fun, and sharing our love of God.

Tomorrow, we will be forming and pouring a ring, and then pouring the floor. Yes, we know it is a tall order, but we will be using the newly-donated cement mixer for that job. (Check back tomorrow to see how that goes with us. David said there are some groups that actually refuse the use of the mixer . . . not us!)

Our blessings every day are too numerous to mention, and we love working and dining and worshipping with both our old volunteer friends, as well as our new friends. (We had at least 15 Mexican volunteers working with us today, so the load is light.) Please continue to pray for safe traveling, good weather, and productive work days. Thank you again for having the faith to send us on this mission, which is so worthy and so dear to our hearts. Blessings to you all!!

Your Mexico Mission reporter,
Randi (but I think my Mexican name, Wendy, seems to be sticking!)

Mexico Mission Diary - Day 3

Greetings from your missionary group in Texas and Mexico! It is early, but we have already returned to our home base at the FPC in Weslaco. We are so grateful to our "stay-at-home mom" (Diane) and our host church's liaison Dick. Thanks to them we always arrive to the perfect end-of-day snack, fresh salsa and guacamole and a sherbet and lemon-lime cooler. The members here in FPC Weslaco have also provided us with ice for our beverages, a great assortment of cookies for dessert, a cool home with showers on site, and Minga, who cleans up after us and sings for us, too! We are so fortunate to have friends here to help Diane nurture and take care of us at the end of the day and early in the morning. Gracias!

Last night, Sonia, the interim pastor at Weslaco FPC, joined us for our especially yummy dinner of brisket, (it would melt in your mouth!), salad, green beans, and Texas toast. For dessert, we had the best black walnut and zucchini bread, (homemade by a member of the church here,) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Actually, the food here is reason enough to be part of the mission trip; there is a good chance that all of us will gain weight, even though we are working hard in the Mexican sun! Sonia also stayed for our Eventide devotional, participating in our discussion of the events of the day. What a blessing she was, especially since she could sing, and taught us a beautiful echo part to the song "Sanctuary."

It was Wednesday today, and those of you who have been on the trip before, will remember that this was 'hump day," a sort of day when your body begins to tell you that you have been working hard all week. Consequently, we were a little slower getting out of the starting gate this morning, but everyone pitched in and helped by making the lunches for those who were a little late arriving to breakfast. Because we are waiting until daylight to enter the colonias, we do have a little more time to do those morning duties of icing down the water, making lunches, and eating breakfast. Today, we left around 6:35, (Minga sang for us today again!) and still made it to the work site by around 7:15.

For the first time today, we actually noticed the streetlights on the first mile of road after crossing the bridge. Each has an individual wind-powered turbine sitting on the top of the streetlight. I will try to capture it on camera before the week is done. Needless to say, I did not see any of those on the American side of the bridge. Also, have I mentioned the piñata store that is on the highway edge of the Colonia? It has child-size piñatas of all the Disney princesses, as well as several of other Disney and cartoon characters. They are so big, we think we will need a passport for Snow White if we decide to bring one home.

I have not mentioned our bridge crossing each day, but so far it has been very humdrum. Coming into Mexico, we have received the "red light" only once so far, but our check was pretty much just a drive by the officials. On days when the van receives the "green light," we still have to pass by the posted militia there. (They are very serious folk with a very somber face for us.) Coming back to the United States, we are taking a slightly different path which puts us ahead of most of the trucks. Today, I guess because we were so much earlier, the line of cars was a little longer; as you know, an idling vehicle does not generate much cooling, so it is quite warm as we await our green light there. All three days, all of our passports were checked and matched up with the faces in the vehicle. Sometimes the back is opened, and today was one of those days, and today, we were bringing David R. some meat for our dinner tonight, which we had declared to the official. (Apparently, it is okay to take beef in, but not pork or chicken, so we were okay.) The border official, today, actually was quite chatty, telling us that a 3 van group from Alabama had been in his line yesterday. When he saw the four coolers, he questioned if we had beef in all of them, (we didn't), and then marveled at the fact that it took 4 coolers of water to get through the day. Possibly, he was the most personable border official we have seen in quite a while.

Today was a great work day; today was the day we were using the gasoline powered cement mixer!! After surveying the workers in our van, it was unanimous; all participants gave using the cement mixer a 10! It, of course, is kept under lock and key at the church compound, so we had to stop there and load the mixer into a pick-up truck. Today was apparently "let your pigs roam free day" in the colonias, as we passed a lot of pigs on the way to our work site. (I also had another "first sighting;" I spotted what I thought was a small, cute little kitten sneaking along the fence across the street. Actually, it was a rather large rat headed to his home through the pig pen. I knew rats were there, as we are just a hop, skip, and a jump from a rather large landfill and garbage dumping area, but it was still a little shocking to see one across the street.) Once we got to our house site, it was off-loaded about half way between the gravel and sand piles and the home itself. The first part of the day was a lot of waiting as the “real construction workers" built the frames for the rings and set the cages and frames in place. But once they were set, it was "go, go, go" until the ring was poured, and then "go, go, go" until the floor was poured. Karen, Myra, and I filled the buckets, and Juan graciously moved our filled buckets to the mixer. The mixer held water, and 4 buckets each of gravel and sand, producing about 3 wheelbarrow loads for each mixing. When the concrete was mixed, it was dumped into a large wooden box, from which buckets were filled and passed to the top for pouring. We were fortunate to have lots of guys and Susanna to handle this. Karryl was at the filling point, scooping the cement right into the buckets; others either helped to pass the buckets in, or caught the empty buckets when they were thrown down. (Raymundo was a bucket-catcher, and experienced Mexico missionaries will recall that this is one of the messiest and dirtiest jobs. When the ring was finished, he came over to show us that he was, indeed, a little dirty today. He even offered to hug us, but we chose to make his picture instead.) We are a great and very efficient work team, and we had finished the ring by 10:00 a.m., just in time for our snack break. After our work break, it was time to mix the concrete and pour the floor. As usual, Ezekiel worked in the house spreading the concrete in there, and he stole Juan from us to help in there. Not to worry; Norma and Aurelia helped with the sand, and Jaime and Diego took on the responsibility of carrying the buckets to the mixer. Kayo and Don pushed the wheelbarrows, but said it was not the hardest work they had done because there was usually a little rest time between each batch of concrete. We finished the floor around 11:30! WooHoo! What a productive and fun day for us today!

Myra, Karen, and I have been working with Diego and Jaime, exchanging English lessons for Spanish lessons, since both groups are lacking in speaking the other's language. So we point to something in the area or a part of a body or a piece of clothing and ask how to say that in Spanish; then we give the English word for that same thing. Today, Jaime got really serious about these lessons and pulled up a chair to us after lunch and quizzed us on the parts of the body we had already talked about. If we missed, he would make the "wrong" buzzer sound and start us all over again. He will not work with us tomorrow, as it is his mother Norma's day to work; however, both English and Spanish speakers will have a test on Friday. We, of course, told him we would study, and so should he!

On Monday, as is our practice, we gave Susanna a disposable camera to use all week. (Thank goodness Juan was there to explain what we wanted!) I think Susanna has put Norma in charge of documenting the week for her, and today she wanted a photo with all her workers and her, so we gathered on top of the sand and gravel piles for our group photo. Susanna is so happy; she will have all but the roof of a new home by Friday. (By the way, I think I assigned Susanna's husband the wrong name; her husband's name is Hugo, and I think the grandfather's name is Jose.)

Today was Susanna's day to provide lunch, and she provided a great meal for us at the church compound. We had some sort of vegetable, tomato, and meat stew, and, of course, tortillas, Mexican rice, and the hot sauce for Don and Kayo, although the meal today was spicier than all previous meals. In addition, Susanna had made some sort of fried pie or empanada, filled with cheese and onions, and she had an orange ade drink and a rice milk drink, which Myra says has a coconut or pina colada flavor to it. After lunch, Francesca appeared with her two adorable grandchildren, and so we had a few moments to talk with her. We had already asked about her and someone told us that she had some family issues, and so they had not seen her much lately. I rounded up Omar so Francesca and I could have a real conversation. She asked about mi hermana, Robin, and I explained she was not here, but maybe she could return next year. Francesca is cleaning houses in the city, and so she is busy most days, but since Karen and I both have a little something for her, she is going to try to be at church tomorrow for the dedication.

Please continue to pray for our work across the border, both in building a house and in sharing our love for our Lord and Savior. Although we have not felt danger at any time on this mission, we continue to be careful and use our best judgment in all our activities. (Sadly, that means we will probably not get to visit the families we have previously built homes for, nor will we get to enjoy Joyas or diet Cokes, as we stick to the main path and the pre-arranged plan. Thank you, again, for trusting us with this very important mission; we are working hard and sharing God's love joyously all day long!

From one of your missionaries along the border . . . May you be blessed as we have been this week . . . In God's love . . . Randi (aka Wendy!)

Mexico Mission Diary - Day 4

Hello, Friends! What a marvelous day we had working for the Lord today! It truly does not get any better than this, unless of course, you are here with us, praising God and giving thanks daily for all the many things we can do because of His love for us and His presence in our lives. We are so blessed, and we thank you, too, for allowing us to continue the mission of Ministerio de Fe which we started 18 years ago.

Last night, we headed to Mission, Texas, to have dinner with David Rodriguez and his family. What a treat for us! For me, it brought to mind some of the wonderful memories of that first mission trip in 1994, when we stayed at the Presbyterian Church in Mission. David had waited for us to arrive around 6 before starting his grilling magic, so that gave us some time to visit with him, as well as with his wife Nancy and his two sons. My family will be amused by the fact that Luis convinced me that I should take a turn with his Wii game, some sort of racing game with the Mario Brothers. I tried, much to the amusement of all who watched me; amazingly, I did not finish last; I was next to last!

Nancy had made charro beans that were simply amazing, and she shared her recipe with Diane. We also had grilled steak, accompanied by grilled tortillas and whole grilled onions. All of the food was delicious! As our contribution to the meal, we brought ice cream, filling the special request of David to include strawberry as one of the choices. (He seemed to indicate that if we brought him strawberry ice cream, he would insure that we would use the cement mixer again today.) Omar and his son Diego also were invited and shared the meal with us before adjourning to the living room for more of what I call "community Wii watching."

Another distinct advantage of a very small, and elderly, mission team is that we are a small enough group to invite over for dinner, and David really wanted to pay back some of the hospitality our church had shown him over a year ago when he came to get our church van. After the meal, we used the opportunity to talk about the work of Faith Ministry, giving David the third degree about how the Ministry is really doing, whether there will be summer volunteers, how the neighborhoods of Narajito and Miguel Aleman are doing, why we cannot go visit our friends in the colonias, and specifically, what we can do to help. David was very gracious in answering our questions, using his words to spread the gospel of Faith Ministry and to help us understand how we can help. Ministerio de Fe is a very viable and worthy mission project, and it is his hope, as well as ours, that we will be able to survive this "bump in the road" for the ministry, and then begin growing again. We also quizzed him about some of our previous families and the Ministerio volunteers with whom we had worked over the years. By the time we glanced at the clock, we realized that we had stayed beyond our "mission bedtime" of 9:00 p.m. (Remember! We are seniors!)

While David R. claims there are some groups who have been insulted when given the cement mixer to use for large concrete mixings, we are not so inclined. In fact, after the survey today, most would agree that the use of the mixer is an 11 out of 10! So the first thing we did today was pick up the mixer and take it to House #6 for the roof-pouring, which I should point out, "It ain't what it used to be." We probably had the same 12 or so volunteers today, plus 3 or 4 new ones, as we arrived at Alberto's house to pour his roof. ( I know you are thinking: Alberto did not have a house? We have worked along side of him for many years. Apparently, he never asked for one, since he is a single, and he thought MDF only built houses for families.) It was basically the same format as pouring any big mixing, except that we were lifting buckets to the crew on the roof. Just as in last year's work, a scaffold was erected on one end of the home and a wheelbarrow was placed on the roof. There were 4 or 5 on the roof taking the filled buckets and dumping them into the wheelbarrow. The scaffold had 2 levels with people on each side; the left side passed the filled buckets up; the right side passed the empty buckets down. Kayo and Don lifted buckets up; Karryl passed buckets down; I stood at the bottom, thumped the buckets, and handed them to the person who was scooping the concrete out of the big wooden box , (not a particularly hard job, but a constant one, and a very dirty one.) Myra and Karen were back in the gravel pile filling 6 buckets, which were combined with 6 buckets of sand, water, and cement. Having started around 8:00, we were completely finished by 10:15!! What a great team these six senior citizens are, especially when aided by our amigos from the colonias. I really think we could have done another roof, especially if we swapped jobs on the next one. We actually were done for the day, with only lunch and the house dedication to await.

We returned to the church complex, cleaned up a little, and waited for lunch. Today, we had refried beans, salad and some amazing tamales, possibly filled with chicken. (Green chili sauce was also available for those who needed more flame in their food.) Thanks to the wonderful bakers from Weslaco FPC, we have been providing the dessert of homemade cookies, sharing them with all who are eating in the dining hall. Around 12:15, we went into the church to prepare Communion and pass out some of the gifts we brought to share today. All who were present were given a New Testament, in Spanish; all of the children and some of the adults received colorful plastic crosses; and all of the ladies and girls were given a starfish on a ribbon that could be worn as a necklace, as well as a copy of Deantin's starfish story in Spanish and English. Alberto also wanted one of those silver starfish, and so he, too, received a starfish.

Kayo was the preacher today, and he delivered the perfect message for his meditation, closing with "God loves you, and so do your friends in Alabama," and Deantin translated as Kayo spoke. Our family, both Hugo and Susanna, all four adorable children, and grandfather, were called to the front and Deantin introduced them; as always, he gave them an opportunity to speak to the congregation. Hugo spoke for the family, thanking God and his Faith Ministry volunteers for giving his family a home, and closing with "I do not have the words to tell you how grateful I am." As always, the group who built the home was called to the front to lay hands on the family as Deantin prayed. Then we all returned to our seats to conclude the service by singing "Unidos, Unidos." At the end, all are then invited to welcome the family by shaking hands or hugging.

Susanna forgot to bring her disposable camera with her to the church, so we arranged to go by her house to pick it up before we left the colonias. Unbeknownst to her, we were on our way, with Deantin, David R., and Maricela, (she is the "official" photographer,) to the clinic to pick up our gifts for Susanna and her family. By the time we got to the clinic, Chewky and Lupe had already loaded the bunk beds and refrigerator onto the pick-up, so we stopped only briefly to shake hands with Dora, (who works in the clinic, now,) and then we headed to Susanna's. Although David and Omar had talked with the family about their special needs, the family had not been told for certain that they would receive any of those things. You really should have been there when the loaded pick-up pulled up to their fence! It was a little like Christmas morning, as Susanna, Hugo, and Hugo's father were overwhelmed with surprise, delight, and gratitude. Susanna managed to hold it together, but just until we told her we were bringing sheets, blankets, and pillows tomorrow. Grandfather's eyes were filled with tears as he personally shook each of our hands and told us how thankful he was. It goes without saying that a few of us were having our own little "come-aparts." In fact, my eyes fill with tears again, as I write this to you. How often does one get to make someone's day? It is an amazing opportunity, one that I hope you all will have the chance to do, too, perhaps even next year. Having done this type of thing two years ago when we were here, we all knew it was something we wanted to do again and again, if we possibly could. Any gift given in love is possibly the best blessing one can receive. Again, thank you for your part in this, as you gave generously to our fundraisers, enabling us to provide a life-changing gift to this very worthy family.

Today, Marta came to the church seeking prayer; her husband Enrico has been missing for six days, and she is afraid something very bad has happened to him; Deantin and Kayo both prayed for her and her family. She actually brought her 25 day old twin grandchildren with her, and they were beautiful babies, a boy and a girl. Francesca also returned today, as promised; she was a little later than arranged, so I know she thought she might have missed us. We had some toys for her grandchildren, as well as some starfish necklaces, a cross-stitch cross ornament, and some embroidery thread for her. Francesca and I both had a little come apart, as we each missed my sister Robin on this trip. I told her again, "Maybe next year." And those of you who remember Alma? We were told she is in the United States.

Tonight, we have a tall order to fill: we must get organized and get packed up, as we will load our bus in the morning before we head over to the colonias. We are laying 2 more rows of block, and having a house blessing, before heading over to the church for lunch. As in previous years, we bring lunch on Friday, and according to tradition, we are bringing enough brisket to feed the entire Colonia. Tomorrow, many have been invited to welcome Susanna and her family, so we do expect a crowd. Following lunch, we will give any leftovers away and return to Weslaco FPC to hop on the bus and head to Houston for the night. We expect to be in Athens Saturday night and in church with you on Sunday.

It has been a blessed trip for all involved, and we are so happy to have been able to mission in Mexico once again. I may not have a chance to send a diary entry tomorrow, so it may be Monday before you get the Day 5 report. Again, thank you Weslaco and Athens FPC for helping make our trip a reality this year. We hope we have served you and our Lord well. In God's love. . . . your faithful servant in Texas and across the border . . . Randi

P.S. By the way, Deantin sends his love and gratitude to all his friends at FPC Athens; he sends a special shout out to Neal, lovingly known as the parrot here in the colonias.

Mexico Mission Diary - Day 5

Greetings from your 2011 Mexico Mission Team! As I write this, we are all safely returned to our respective homes, and five of us will be delivering the Minute for Mission at FPC on Sunday morning. Our trip home was peacefully uneventful having spent Friday night in Houston before traveling the rest of the way today. We managed to stay ahead of the rain all the way home! Let me bring you up to date on our remaining time working to build a home and sharing God's love in the colonias.

Thursday evening is always a busy time for all of us, since we try to pack up our stuff, as well as complete preparations for our meal in the Colonia on Friday. In light of that, Thursday night is usually a baked potato and "leftovers" meal, as we try to "clean out" the refrigerator before our departure. The interim pastor at Weslaco FPC and her husband joined us for dinner, staying to participate in our Eventide. As we talked about our work with Ministerio de Fe, we began to discuss the possibility of some of the Weslaco church members perhaps joining us as we minister across the border, (something we have done previously with our sister church in Weslaco.) As you already know, many of the Weslaco members assist us in our mission by doing laundry, preparing food, providing ice, lending a van, and cleaning up after us, and we are so grateful to them for all of their contributions. We could not do our work across the border without the support of Weslaco FPC. Thank you bunches!

David Rodriguez and his wife Nancy also paid us another visit Thursday night. Nancy had made each of us a guardian angel to take with us as we traveled back across the border and then home to Alabama. (Please ask to see our precious angels when you see us again.) Their visit also provided an opportunity for Sonya and David R. to meet in hopes of building a future ministry relationship for FPC Weslaco. After we made final plans for returning Faith Ministry's van to them, we then set about getting our stuff organized, even loading some things on the bus that night. We also had to finish preparing the Friday noon meal and get everything wrapped for easy loading on the next day.

On Friday, as soon as we got up, we had to roll up our air mattresses, pack our sleeping bags, pack an overnight bag, and pack our suitcases. After a quick breakfast and morning devotional, all of us, including Diane, loaded the van with our usual water and enough lunch for all our workers and friends. If you attended the second fundraiser meal at FPC, you know that we had brisket, salad, bread, chips and Diane's fresh salsa, baked beans, King Ranch chicken casserole, and cookies. We also had a few small gifts for our family, and those of us who were giving away our boots had to make certain to bring along some footwear for the ride back to Weslaco. We were out of the building by 6:35 a.m.!

Friday at the work site is usually a very light work day, with our main task being the completion of the last two rows of block. When we arrived, we decided to go ahead and give Susanna and her family our other gifts: sheets, comforters, and pillows for the bunk beds, a set of Rubbermaid containers, and a soccer ball and some books for the children, plus her developed photos. As hoped for, the bunk beds had been put together and both the beds and the refrigerator were in the old house and being used. Susanna was more than happy to show us!! After moving the remaining concrete blocks into the house, mortar was mixed and scaffolding was set up to complete the final two rows of block. Myra, Karen, Karryl, and I "chinked" any holes in the block laying on both the outside and inside of the house, while Diane used her photographic talents to capture some great images of the day. We also took the time to have all the team members, the family, and the volunteers sign one of the pieces of slate flooring we had broken up on Tuesday at the house next door. (This was Juan's idea so we could have a memento of our work this week.) Myra will be bringing that to church on Sunday in hopes of placing it in the display case in the fellowship hall.

As is the custom, both Susanna and Hugo climbed up on the scaffold and laid the final two blocks of their home, and they were tickled to do that. At about the same time, Ezekiel came looking for me; he had prepped the plaque by the front door on which we usually write our church's name, the date, and then all who helped build the home sign that smooth mortar space; on the front, Ezekiel placed a smaller plaque and wrote the date and Casa #7. We lined up for the customary photo in front of the house with both the volunteers and the family, and then, we all went into the home for a house blessing; Kayo prayed and Juan translated. Hugo had made a stoop outside the door, but one of the children had already stepped in the wet cement. Hugo smoothed it over, and then, on a whim, Susanna, Hugo, and the children placed their hand prints in the stoop, sort of a new twist on assuming ownership of their new home.

Then we loaded Susanna and her children in the van, and we all went to the church to fellowship and enjoy lunch. We had a few of our t-shirts left, so we gave them to the volunteers and family members of the houses we worked on this week. Myra and I also gave both Diego and Jaime their own Spanish-English dictionaries, with the order to study up by next year so we can have a real conversation. (We also left a soccer ball to Omar for all the volunteers to use in their leisure time.) Our meal was set out, and Kayo blessed the food. Then a woman for whom we had previously built a house asked permission to sing and speak; she was there specifically to share a song and a poem she had written to express her thanks for all we had done for her. Although we did not understand much of what she sang and said, her appreciation was so heartfelt. I truly wish you all had been there to hear her. What a powerful testament to the work of Faith Ministry and your mission in Mexico. (She did give us a copy of both the song and the poem, and I hope to have them translated soon.) Some of you also will remember an older woman named Francisca; we built her home, too, and she came Friday just to see us. Because we brought extra food, we were able to send leftovers home with many, but especially with Susanna, (she has a refrigerator!), Erika, and Maricela, (she is the photo-journalist, as well as the cook for our lunch meals.)

As you can guess, it is so hard to say good-bye to these new friends and our dear family. There were lots of hugs, and a few tears, as we bid our farewells and our "see you next year's" to all of them. Perhaps it was the grandfather, Jose, who touched us the most, as he could not contain his emotions, hugging each of us and thanking us again and again for the home we had built for him, his children, and his grandchildren. Before we left the compound, Omar wanted one more photo of our group. If you have not checked out the Faith Ministry website, you should! Omar has posted several photos of our work group on both the website (www.faithministry.org) and on Faith Ministry's Facebook page; check them out! (Guess what we saw as we left the Colonia for the last time this year? A circus wagon with a camel and zebra riding around the Colonia! I almost didn't believe it myself!!)

And so we have completed another wonderful and productive week doing the Lord's work in Mexico. Never once, as we worked across the border, did we feel in danger! What we did feel was the faith you displayed in sending this "senior citizen" team to build a house and cement our relationship with both Weslaco FPC and Faith Ministry. What we did feel was the hope of our brothers and sisters for a better life, not just with a new home, but also following the footsteps of Christ. What we did feel was the love of our fellow Christians and the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We are grateful for your support and for the prayers you offered on our behalf. We are so fortunate to be able to share our blessings with others during this Mexico Mission. As I have said so many times before: it is a rich blessing, indeed, to be able to "make someone's day" this week. Please prayerfully consider joining this mission group next year as we joyfully serve the Lord.

Until next year . . . In Christian love . . . Randi