Reflections from June 2010

It dawned on me the other day, that approximately one year ago I was in Mexico.  I was living amongst a people whom I'd never met, in a culture that was so differently from mine, but whom I loved instantly.  It was an unreal experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.  The feelings I had, the people I learned from and the gratitude I experienced is something that still affects my daily life.  I don't know that I'll ever be so grateful to stand in a shower without shoes on or drink straight from the tap, or have access to free public restrooms.  (Yup.  There are people who are grateful for them.)

Here is a walk down memory lane of my Mexican Adventures from June of 2010:

First day in the village of Bautisa Grande. They had an incredible cultural show prepared for us.  The children were amazing and touched me right from the start.

Ooh!  We got to go around and meet them all... well, rather we let them touch our hands and we took pictures.  They were absolutely adorable!

My ninas.

Teaching in the schools was a beautiful experience.  They were like little sponges that wanted to soak in everything!  The kids wanted to learn English so much.  Later in the week they followed the Spanish speakers in our group around and asked them to tell them the English version of specific words.  We made flash cards for them on the bus ride and left them with the school supplies.  Ahh!  I miss them!

Butterfly and animal puppets

Cute kids at the school

San Cristobal.  This is a view of the city where we lived.

A church in San Cristobal as we walked the markets our last Sunday in Mexico.

Me and Shmance

More of the beautiful city, San Cristobal.

Ah!  We all fell in love with the kids in the village. :)

One of the projects we worked on was a mural that was inspired by the children.  This is the finished, sealed product.  I'm excited to see pics of it in this years trip down there.

This is the school yard. Those buildings in the background are the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms.

More adorable children.

This little guy was a hoot.  He was doing cartwheels and all sorts of other tricks for me.  As I'd take pictures he'd want to see them all.  It was priceless.

More of the school.  This is more typical of what the yard looked like - even during school.

Another project we worked on was digging and laying the foundation for a free-standing bathroom for the kindergarten and pre-k students.  (Those are their classrooms in the background.)  The tarp is covering the hole that was being dug for the well.  YouthLinc partners with a rotary clubs and they provided the money for this project.  The locals provided the manpower.  It was AWESOME!

Our dorms.

Nancy on a... llama?

THIS is where we washed out laundry.  I will never, ever whine about doing laundry.  The water was COLD and I hate starchy butt jeans.

Playing at the playground at La Albarata (the name of the school where we stayed).

Walking to the banos to take pictures showing how short the showers were here.

Yumm!  There are the sinks where we spat when brushing teeth and washed hands.

THESE are the lovely, state of the art showers we used. 

Okay, seriously... Nancy is the only one on her tippy toes.

Our room.  I think it had like 9 bunk beds.  It was a little like glorified girls camp here.

Merritt's and my Chaco tan lines.

Adorable children!

We loved to play games with them.  I think the favorites were Duck, Duck, Goose (pato, pato, gillina) and  Ring Around the Rosie.

Me and my little Victor.  He managed to steal the heart of just about every girl in our group.  He was so tender and could tell that he just wanted to be given attention and love.  I pray that someday I'm able to meet him again.

The reality is, I've been given so much... we've all been given so much. The odds are that you're reading this post on a laptop - not in an internet cafe, which means you have significantly more than the majority of the people in the world and all of the people I worked with in Mexico.  For that you have reason to be grateful.

Remember your blessings please.  Thank God that you've been given so much.  Look for ways to bless the lives of those around you, because you don't have to leave the country to make a difference. My experience allowed me to go elsewhere to love and serve and being among these children and their humble circumstances reminded me over and over that there is a God in Heaven.  He loves his children (whom we all are) and He wants us to come back to Him.  As I watched drunken men come stumbling into the school yard (which is essentially the city center) it became abundantly more clear to me that true happiness is found through the entirety of his Gospel.  I hope that someday when I meet my Heavenly Father again that I can account for the time I've been given with joy as I am able to see what I allowed him to make of me and my abilities to love and serve.

Do your best to make a difference for the better and do what you know to be right. :)

This is Brittish Knees signing out.