My Week with BAY HILLS

Last week I worked with a Youth Group from California. We worked on a solar house in the morning at RAV and then we did a Sports Ministry in the afternoon.

The first afternoon we began with 7 children and ended with 15. The second day we had around 25 kids and by the last day our numbers were close to a hundred. By Wednesday we would see kids flocking to the soccer field to join our camp. I had the wonderful opportunity to just walk all around the neighborhood inviting kids to join.

This is a picture that I took in the evening after a church service. We worked with a local church in the area.

On Thursday afternoon there were hundreds of Mexicans of all ages swarming the soccer field because usually the American groups give away free things and this happened to be the day in which we were giving out soccer balls, jersey's and cleats. My job on this day was to be security. So I was set at the far entrance of the soccer field and I had to monitor who came and went making sure no soccer balls disappeared. Well, there were some older men sitting up on the hill sending kids down to steal balls and the next think I knew there were clusters of dirt being thrown down at me. I really didn't mind, I just didn't want to get hit in the head with one. So I had the group leader, Eddie, who was well over 6ft and 300 pounds come guard. They stopped throwing rocks at me!
Later I was sent to guard another entrance. I encountered similar problems only with teenage boys. This day was so frustrating to me. It was the first day in which I truly felt like I was not 100% safe and where I felt like I was treated differently because I am white. I was so frustrated with how I was treated, but I really think that God used this experience to teach me something. He taught me that I really am on the mission field and that my security rests in him not 300 pound men!


This is a picture of the neighborhood we were serving. I took this picture from the soccer field. Between the neighborhood and soccer field there was this huge space filled with garbage and what not. The soccer field is visible from every part of the neighborhood.

This is Becky, my favorite Group Coordinator at Agua Viva. I had the pleasure of working with her. She is a missionary here and will remain at Agua Viva for another 2 years.


This is us just being silly waiting for the service to begin. The girl on the far right was one of the group members. We called her Elmo.

I usually attend a service during the week and I attend youth group on Saturdays and then the regular service on Sundays.


This is Me, Becky, & Vasti. We worked together in translating for our group. Vasti was our main translator.


Overall, I had a really good experience this week. It was a hard week in that I think I finally "hit the wall" but I believe that it was a crucial week to my overall experience. I learned that there are many who are not Christians and that MEXICO is a mission field just like any other place!

Fun>Fun>Fun

Sorry this photo is so dark. But if you can see it you'll see that I have my arms wrapped around Tommy. This is one of the boys from my group this week. As a part of the summer staff I have to do a skit and I happen to be the one who has to go out and flirt with someone in the audience. It's usually the highlight of the campfire and the talk of the week! And no, I have not really found an audience member to hold on to!



Yes, I do have fun! Last Saturday night we went to the beach and I loved it. The water is much warmer here. From Left: Linda, Melissa, Liz 1, Me & Liz 2. These are just a few of the staff from Agua Viva.
This is Liz 2 and Me. She is my alarm clock in the morning. If it wasn't for her I would never be on-time for breakfast to make announcements!
This is a more recent picture of the summer staff minus the newest addition. We like this picture better than the first because we actually like each other now! =)

FUTBOL not FOOTBALL

Hello Everyone! I'm just writing to update you a bit. I'm working with the first youth group of the summer. There are 16 youth. Thus far I have really enjoyed myself, I've been named V-dog by them. (Although that doesn't sound lovely, I think it's a sign that they like me) hehehe

Today we worked at camp and completed a lot of tasks. This afternoon we went to a neigborhood and walked around and invited people to our soccer camp. I was the only one who spoke spanish in the group so I had to do the inviting. But I really liked it. We were able to round up some kids and then I was able to tell some of the families about it. The exciting thing is that an hour or so later one of the families showed up!

Anyhow, I'm sure that I will have more to share as the week progresses. Please just pray for this group's ministry. Pray that they will contiue to seek God and keep their hearts open for the work he has in store! Thanks!

Week three

I woke up this morning to realize that I have been here 21 days. I only have 5 more weeks and I know that time will pass quickly.

I am really enjoying myself here. I absolutely love Mexico and it's hard to think about leaving. This past week I got to work with a small group from Arizona. We did work projects at a church in the city and then we did a VBS in a poorer colony. I had so much fun just hanging out with the children. I also feel that my Spanish skills have improved. Children are a lot more difficult to understand but by the end of the week the kids and I were communicating just fine.

I am happy to report that I have recovered from my sickness and am doing well. I think this experience is good for me and my spiritual state. I feel as though I see the glory of God more often here. Mexican Christians are so passionate and they find their comfort and security in Him. Often in the U.S. we seek security and comfort from available sources that we have like money, food, nice home, hospitals. But here, those sources are not as readily available to the common folk. For example, when someone gets seriously hurt we think "get them to the hospital" but here, as I've witnessed, they stop what they are doing and they pray. ALWAYS!!!

Sometimes when I get to thinking I wonder why I am actually here in Mexico. It is hard for me to believe that I am here. But I am confident that God has a plan for my life and I am confident that he has a plan for me while I am here in Mexico.

Please be praying for me this next week. I will be helping coordinate a group that is coming to Agua Viva for the first time. I will also be doing more translation this week. My group will be doing construction at camp and then we will be doing a sports ministry in Ensenada.

Once again, thanks for all of your prayers and support!

Finally.........Pictures!

So here are just a few pictures. I hope to take lots more this next week and update you all a little more!


This past week I worked in a very poor neighborhood. This is just a snap shot of it. I worked at a church that was called Agua Viva. The church building was no bigger than my living room at home. We had about 50 children of all ages.

This is one of the darling little boys I got to work with. His name is Fernando and his sister is Mirian. You'll see a picture of her below. They are beautiful!





The kids love having their picture taken but it's so hard to get the older ones to smile. I felt quite successful when I asked them to make silly faces for the camera and they did!


These are two of the little girls who would not leave my side. This Jqueline and Mirian. We had lots of fun playing hide and go seek and hop scotch. The children here are beautiful and they teach you so much. And..... they absolutely love having their picture taken. It was hard to say goodbye, I don't know if I will see them again.

Reptiles and Insects, oh my!

So the weather is getting warmer here and the snakes are beginning to appear. I have yet to see one for myself and I'm praying that I will not be introduced to a Rattlesnake. My fellow summer staff had the pleasure of seeing a snake that was 5-6 ft long!
This morning I was jolted awake by my roommate who was hopping around the room screaming. There was a humongous bug crawling around the room. I started freaking out and I told her to kill it. So what does she do? She grabs MY shoe! After she killed the bug we smelt a lovely aroma, she had killed a stink bug! Yuck!
Anyways, I have always found flies annoying but they are quite frequent here. They buzz around you all the time and they never leave you alone. When I first arrived here I thought they were bees so I would frantically run around trying to escape them. People looked at me funny. Now, I just put up with them and I let them land on me. They're still gross but there are way worse things here....

2 weeks down...

I can't believe that I only have six more weeks to go. Each day seems to drag on but overall time is flying. Today is my first day where I have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do. Sadly, I woke up this morning to discover that I am sick. =( Most everyone has gone into town to hang out but I'm still at camp taking it easy.

Well this past week was my first week in which I worked with an American group. I definitely have some improvement to do, but it was a good experience. My favorite part of the week was doing the vacation bible schools. I love spending time with the children! I'm looking forward to this next week. We will be working at a church in the morning and doing a VBS at one of the poorer colonies.

Please be praying for my health, Spanish, and trust in the Lord.