Day one and two

So it’s the end of day dous! The team is tired and when straight to showers and bed. I am alone in the sanctuary as I write this. I will give you a quick break down of both days and some thought from the team members about each day.

The first thing I want to mention is that our God is incredibly creative. Traveling from Calgary to Pheonix and then on to Hermosillo truly shows you a diverse landscape and a beauty in both the refined and the rugged. We have seen sights that cause us to be envious of the culture and other sights that stretch out limits to comprehend how a life can be lived in such a state and we are only two days in.

In air towards Phoenix

Day 1: We met at the church at 6:30 am and gathered everything together. We prayed with the parents and departed. Everything went incredibly smooth and we arrived at Calgary with more than enough time. We went through customs which was a first for me as I have not traveled outside of Canada aside from the odd trip to Seattle. However I feel that doesn’t count as it’s basically identical to the Greater Vancouver Area. Kendra Alm was grilled but the rest of us where threw in minutes and God gave her the answers to get threw unscathed but a little rattled.

Waiting at the Airport

The plane ride was just fine we got a little bored near the end and Annelise, Taya and myself did a little ploga = plane yoga in the isles. It was a bunch of fun and the stewardesses did not mind. Although after a bit the seat belt sign came on but we will just chalk that down to coincidence and decent procedures. Another great thing about our landing is that Christine screamed every time the plane hit turbulence and dropped causing our stomachs to jump into our throats but if you ask Jacob and Blaine that was the best part of the plane ride. Once on the ground the whole group enjoyed walking really fast on the motorized sidewalks in the airport. God was with us from the beginning of this trip. Apparently lane did not feel it was important to communicate with Greg and Shelli the airline or flight number of our plane. Of course it would help if I had told himJ. It was a case of miscommunication but Shelli and Greg were waiting there for us at the right terminal and so it started that God showed his presence with us while traveling into Mexico.

We had our first truly American experience eating In and Out burger. There was a cool secret we found out. They have a scripture verse on their cup, burger wrapper and fry wrapper. It was very cool. So with bellies full we got to the border crossing. They have a random automated light. Red you are pulled over and checked green you go through. We prayed as the van for green and the Lord provided. There was a second check stop when we had to buy our visitor’s visa. At the visitor visa stop we all had to go get our passport stamped and then I had to go pay for our visas. Greg walked me up to the counter where I paid and then he stepped away and went to talk to our group to see if they wanted to wait in the van. I do not think I have switched from being ok to praying my face off so fast. I had to immediately depend on the spirit because by myself I can communicate a little less than a toddler here in Mexico. Luckily Greg came back before I had to speak but it was a very humbling experience. We hoped back in the van and went had to cross another random check stop. This time we got a red light and they could have asked to see our luggage or taken us all out of the vehicle. Instead they talked to Greg opened the trunk for a quick look and let us go. Again praise be to God for an easy check stop and that Greg and Shelli where there to pick us up and walk us through. They are amazing.

The rest of our travel to Hermosillo was uneventful. We saw shanties, we saw mansions, and we saw military with machine guns it was stretching and each student had different thoughts. We were sardines in a van that blew hot air instead of A/C at us every time Greg accelerated but the youth were in great sprits and the traveling was fun. We had a diner of ham and cheese sandwiches upon our arrival which were the best I have ever had and then we unpacked. Shared our thoughts, showered and went to bed.

Now I will share with you some thoughts from the students.

Spanish sign with Nogales in the background

Shanty house but not the worst we have seen

Blaine: its hot! But not as hot as it could be. Some Spanish came back from my last visit but not much.

Jacob: the car ride was too long and my legs are too long and it’s hot…. But it fun

Taya: it was a long day of travel. TONS of fun. Good unity as a group and I just wanted to praise God for all the miracles he worked today I was extremely nervous for crossing the border.

Shannon: I thought today went smoothly, more smoothly then I thought. I expected it to be really stressful but God was with us and made it run smoothly and just flow.

Day :2 We woke up between 7 and 8am and breakfast was served at 8. It was AWESOME. The huevos chorizo (eggs with chorizo sausage), cantaloupe and papaya was sooooo good, although some of our youth found it a tad too spicy. We were able to enjoy fresh homemade tortillas and refried beans to smush onto our tortillas.

The Breakfast Club

Then it was English church. We met in their youth room and Shelli challenged us with a message. It was about walking in the light of the cross. If we are walking in the light of the cross people will be able to see the shadow of the cross behind us. But if we have idols infront of the cross in our life people will see a morphed shadow from our lives and be confused since we claim to be Christians when it is convenient but our shadow does not show the cross. Judas’s idol was money, Pilates was popularity, Peter was passionate but distracted and didn’t want to be ridiculed alongside Christ, Mary Magdalene was so consumed by Christ and her love for him that she went into a place she wasn’t supposed to be to worship Jesus and to give him the glory and honor he was due because she loved him. Her shadow was a cross. It was a good challenge and some of our youth said that God spoke directly to them through the message as Shelli looked directly at them and then continued on with the message. The Holy Spirit was present today.

We then enjoyed Mexican church where we were all introduced and then sang both in English and Spanish. It was fun to clap and sway back and forth. It was also fun to try and sing along with the Spanish words when they would switch back and forth. Church went from 11 until about 1:30 and then we visited with the church people who were especially friendly and welcoming. One little Nina named Sarah reminded me of Jacob. She was 2 and would run up and play the drums and sing into the micro phones. She made faces at me and we played peekaboo. It is great to engage toddlers because they communicate at the same level as I do in Mexico jajaja (their version of lol).

After we ate a quick lunch and had a siesta time. We took time to journal and have devos. I know I grabbed a quick 20 minute nap which was amazing. Our rooms are like little pieces of Canada since we walk in and go ahhhh! It’s a freezing 20 degrees in our room with the A/C cranked and a cool 43 degrees outside today. We went up onto the mountain top that gives you almost a 360 view of Hermosillo and the Mexican youth came up and joined us. We had fun and tried a pineapple concoction of pineapple, Japanese peanuts, tamarind and Motts Clamato. I loved it and so did Jacob Barton he scarfed the rest of mine down.

The tastiest pineapple snack you will ever have.

I wanted to cry a little. But I didn’t…… maybe just one but it was wind up there and it made my eyes water I swear. We joined with the Mexican youth and prayed over Hermosillo that God would just bring his kingdom to the city and that the gates of hell could not stand against the combined might of Christ’s bride the church.

We then went down to the plaza and ate tostitos in a bag with pulled beef, tomato, cabbage and nacho cheese all in the bag. It was pretty much the tastiest thing in the world, you can ask all the team. You may say dear team how were the tostitos and they will indeed inform you that they were they tastiest in the world. The food was great, we enjoyed buying things from the vendors for family, friends and ourselves. Although we were all too afraid to barter. Shame on us. The night life was amazing and the culture of the city was contagious it got inside of you and you just wanted to be around the plaza at night for the whole evening.

Tostitoes with nacho cheese, tomatoes, pulled beef, lettuce and a beautiful cathedral in the background

Eventually we thought it would be good to go back to the church to get some rest before our big day of prepping everything for vbs. So we drove back, had a quick prayer time and let everyone go to bed. Everyone but this poor martyr who stayed up typing away until his fingers bled so you may know what has gone on so far. Just kidding it was fun to write this blog update although it was indeed long. I will also close this section of the blog with some of the youth’s thoughts.

 Jocelyne: Ahhh there is a bug

Jacob: Hey there is a lizard lets catch it. (So we tried but it was fast and sneaky like a ninja)

Annelise: My highlight of the day was praying on the mountain. It was a time to reflect on Gods beauty

Jocelyne: The language barrier stood out today both at church and buying goods at the Plaza

 Well…. I will Sign off. Its 11:59pm here on July the 6^th and I stink. Im gonna go shower and hit the hay and ill post again tomorrow night from a free wifi spot in town or hopefully the church wifi will be back up and running. Blessings to you all back home. Continue to pray for us as we serve and pray that the children we serve would come to an intimate relationship with Christ.