We are ready to fly out and have condensed the luggage down a great deal. Thanks to those who gave or offered fixes to the airport and who came to see us off!
A view of the beautiful skies we were flying through.  Smooth sailing compared to the time we flew over the hurricane. That was some wicked turbulence. 

We safely made it to Mexico and the rain left before we arrived which is nice. An answer to prayer is that we were able to easily get through customs. In the past this has proven difficult because of the language and cultural barrier.  One of our team members, Steve, got the same customs agent who previously made us pay a lot to get our equipment into the country.   But on this occasion the agent recognized Steve and commented on how he comes often.  Steve shared that he loves the people here and come to serve and help where he can. The ability to connect in that moment helped the rest of the process be expedited and made what was a 45 minute ordeal last time, turn into a 5-10 minute process. So glad that prayer was answered!

I (Megan), may not be as adventurous as some when it comes to the fantastic breakfast offered at our hotel, especially on Sundays, but this is a sampling of some standard fare offered in the mornings. The veggies are fantastic and I particularly like the beverage combos (carrot juice combined with orange juice and hot chocolate combined with coffee). Now we are fueled and off to church!

The preaching was so good I didn’t grab any pictures until the closing song. (This church is a missionary one, so the sermon was in both Spanish and English.) We have heard a lot today about how the Christian life, while it does have joy, has suffering also. It’s using those experiences to grow both ourselves and others that matters. The music was fantastic as always, especially when you can sing a song you know in another culture (see here Oceans by Hillsong.) 

During part of this afternoon and evening we setup all our stations to make sure everything is in order. Shereen and Megan wanted to make sure they could teach making tassel earrings tomorrow so they has to make some samples, for demonstration purposes of course, haha.  We are all packed and ready to head out bright and early! 

Day 1 of The Mission

When guests first arrive, they go through registration and then family photography. This allows the team to get to know a little about them (information at registration) and for them to get to know a bit about us through photography (our own desire to bring out people’s best side.) 

After their picture, our guests then move to the eye glass clinic where their distance and reading vision are checked.  You’ll see the tumbling E (can look like E, M, W, or 3) being used to check distance vision and those sitting at a table to check reading.  Finally they will go to the last station where everything is checked (more pictures to come on that station.) 
We were even brought a very small sight from one of our small guests!

After a quick lunch and drive to our afternoon location we are setup and ready for our pupils to come to class.  

Betty and Laura ready to greet their students. A little later here they are going over materials in their English class.  

Shereen and Megan are working to teach tassel earrings and knotted bracelets (depending on age and skill) to their students.

Doug and Cindy are working to show these young people how to use a computer instead of just a screen, as so many are used to anymore.
Steve and (the ever elusive) Ruth are teaching photography to their students.  There was instruction given a then much practice to test camera settings.

We can’t wait to continue working with our students and greeting more people in the mornings as well! 
Also, a few pictures of the beautiful scenery mixed with the city in close view. 

Day 2 of The Mission

Shereen was helping a mother and son today at the reading station, and the little boy was so excited to have a chance to speak Spanish with her for as long as he could.  She loves to connect with the kids and listen, talk, and play with them.  

When Cindy was checking the prescriptions for reading before handing out glasses, this one older lady was reading the line she was shown while Cindy covered the next line (as per usual.)  When the lady reached the end of the line she tapped Cindy’s hand to get her to move it so she could keep reading “her Bible”, since all the reading lines are different Bible verses.  She was so adorable and excited to be able to read her Bible again.

One gentleman as he was getting his glasses to leave asked our missionary how much this all cost.  Charlie told him it was free and the man did not understand and asked again. When he got the same response he asked why?  Charlie shared that it is because of God’s love and then had a chance to connect more with the man and gave an opportunity to share the gospel with him.

As we were leaving for the day, a gentleman stopped Steve to offer some words of encouragement.  He wanted to remind us to not be afraid and be strong in the Lord.  Steve was feeling the presence of God while talking to him and called over Charlie, our missionary, to speak with him also.  It turned out he was a Presbyterian pastor and he wanted to share that he has also been working in the area and was so encouraged by the kindness and love we showed to the people he also loves. This was another blessing in the form of connection in the community where Charlie is trying to minister to the people.  God is definitely working through this trip!

Today the Hokey Pokey was an inter-generational source of fun as the English class learned about body parts.  From ages 6 to 70+ and from heads to feet went in and out and were shaken all about.  It’s always great to make learning fun and interactive.

There was a local orphanage that we were not going to have a chance to visit but wanted to, so instead many of the girls were able to join us in the afternoon for jewelry making.  They were such a joy to work with.

More photos from the day

PUEBLA MEXICO

Day 3 of The Mission

This morning, after some very long days with little time to catch up, we took some time to re-organize for the rest of the week and got the opportunity to grab a few souvenirs and have lunch near the pyramid.

After lunch, we were off to teach more classes.  You’ll see the English classes working on days of the week (I still remember the song I learned the days of the week in Spanish to from high school.)

The photography class was working on many different subjects, both outdoors and in.  You’ll see the combined efforts of two classes as the photography students take pictures of the jewelry class student and their fringe earrings from today’s class.

We are looking forward to the last two days of ministry and working with the missionaries to keep this momentum going.  Until tomorrow! 

Day 4 of The Mission

This morning we were back to doing eyeglasses and photography and had right at 100 people come through in the 3-4 hours we were setup in the morning!  One quarter of that was another school class that came through for pictures and an eye exam.  The space was a little small, so to take a class photo, we momentarily moved outside for the group picture.

Each afternoon, as we drive from one ministry location to another, we encounter traffic where 5 (or 6 depending on how you view the shoulder, haha) merges down to 1 lane.  You’ll see below a common view during this commute.  It makes me appreciate mine a bit more.  

In the afternoons the English class continues to be interactive with music and dance to learn words.  The computer class is using games to teach different computer skills.  In photography class you’ll see them using the jewelry supplies to take perspective pictures and work on focal length.  And the jewelry class is continuing to make a variety of earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.  It’s been a great week working with the kids (and adults) on improving their skills in different areas.  

Can’t believe the week is rapidly coming to a close and know that tomorrow will be a long day full of wrapping up projects and saying goodbye for now to friends, both new and seasoned. 

Day 5 of The Mission

We had a busy day of wrapping up our different projects and re-packing all of our team and personal luggage.  We are ready to head home but know that a piece of our hearts will stay here with the people that we love.  Goodnight and see you all soon!