Mexico

Before last week I had never ventured South of the Boarder... and no I'm not talking about the amazing place you pass on your way to Myrtle Beach :) I've travelled a lot in my day but had never made it to Mexico or Canada and now I've been to both.

Bellevue Baptist in Owensboro, KY took their anual trip to Juarez, Mexico to work with Pastor Amaya and his family. We conducted a Vacation Bible School in the mornings, enjoyed a siesta after lunch (which may have consisted of a nap, building a cement wall, trying to assemble a basketball goal, or driving around Juarez to find ice cream!) and then conducted an Upward Soccer Camp in the evenings. It was an amazing journey. Not only did I meet some cool people from Kentucky - who knew there were so many?? ;) - but fell in love with the Amayas and all the kids down there who soaked up all the love we could give them. I make many mistakes as I go along in life (MANY mistakes) and I am far from perfect, but Jesus has given me his perfect love and I try and share it as much as I can. But, even in doing that I fall short. However, I was able to see that same perfect love while I was in Mexico as other believers lived out their lives.

Some highlights: spending hours around the table with Pastor Amaya and Chela trying to communicate as they spoke Spanish and we spoke English; eating plenty of "real" mexican food and trying to avoid the really hot stuff but not always being successful; going to a Mexican wedding whose ceremony lasted for 2 hours in a tiny church that had 100 people crammed into it; going to the wedding reception to see the largest wedding cake known to man; hearing the kids try to immitate Billy Joe's Woody Woodpecker laugh!; singing Cha chacha cha chacha cha chacha cha chacha FIESTA! with somewhat unwilling 12 and older kids :); climbing to the top of a VERY high haystack at Jose and Betty's house after lunch; trying to bargain at the market and not always doing so well with it...; receiving more love from those kids and adults than I will ever be able to give in return.

Be on the lookout for more pictures... I'll probably put them online somewhere to make it easy to go look at them :)