Jen and I split up on Thursday, so we have different accounts of the day... But both of us started the day with this little dude... They call them rhinoceros beetles and they're huge... They are the size of at least 2 quarters laid next to each other... Jen said that one almost ate her...
So Jen went to the zoo (more on that later), and I went to the pool... We drove through the mountains to Cadereyta and picked up some kids that we took to the pool nearby... We did a bunch of work that morning (essentially finishing up everything for House 3), so John and his son Gus were both really tired on the bus ride!
Cadereyta is a relocation project... Basically all the people who were knocked out of their home during Hurricane Emily had no where to go... So the government designated this piece of land for those people, which gave them a place to build a home... 
There are good things about Cadereyta and there are some not-so-good things... One good thing is that it's relatively cheap... The government pours a slab of concrete that the families rent and can build on... One bad thing is that Cadereyta is pretty far out of town... It's basically located on the furthest outskirts of Monterrey, so getting places can be really hard... There is a pastor who is living there and investing in the community... He has chosen to stay there, immerse himself in their context, and spend his life serving and meeting needs in Cadereyta... He's a really great resource for letting us know how we can help the people there...
So we loaded up the buses and drove everyone to this oasis pool about 10 minutes from Cadereyta... It was huge! We played and played and it was wonderful... Then we grilled hot dogs and cut up watermelon and made a meal of it! 
The group from Horizon was great, great! Here's a picture of Matt McKee (He's Daniel McKee's brother)... It was great to get to know him a little during the trip! I didn't tease him at all about being a hillbilly, even though I wanted to...
There were enough hot dogs for seconds and thirds, so everyone was definitely well fed... Gus Guckenberger was manning the watercooler... What a stud!
Gus worked with us in the morning, played in the pool all day, and still found the energy to help serve... I love this kid...
It was great to talk to these people and watch them enjoy one another... They looked like totally different people, like something was lifted off of them... Their faces softened, their eyes brightened, and their laughter grew louder and louder... There's something magical about this kind of joy...
Right before we left we lined up for a group picture... I took the picture because I had the big camera, so I'm not in there... We loaded onto the bus and headed back through the mountains... 
On our way back I got a good shot of this cave... It holds one of the largest bat populations in the Western Hemisphere... I wonder why they all hang out here...Alright, onto Jen's version of Thursday...
We loaded up at 10 am and went to Rayitos de Luz...the smaller, new orphanage that NSV has fallen in love with! We picked up Puri & Esteban (the house parents) and their 16 kids in a couple of buses and went off to the zoo! We brought lunch with us and ate inside before splitting up and scurring around to see every animal possible -- oso grizzly (grizzly bears), tigre (you can figure that one out), monos (monkeys), and elefantes (I'm sure you have that one too). 
These kids had never been to the zoo...so literally we sprinted from one area to the next to visit with the next animal. The animals were a lot more up close and personal...strange, but really fun. 
I got to be with Jose again...he was so excited to be near these animals he could hardly stand it...he kept saying "no lo veo" - "I can't see it"...so i would lift him up so his feet could be on the edge of the fence, practially in the space where the animals were. I asked him if he wanted to live with the elephant and he said he wanted to ride it! :) 
After the zoo we took the kids to McDonald's for dinner and to play in the playland. They played for 2 1/2 hours. I sat with some ladies as Jose and his friends climbed through tunnels and down the slides...and about every 4-5 minutes, he would make his way back to my table, give me a hug, steal a couple of papas fritas (french fries) and a sip of my coke and run back to play. It was precious. I'm beginning to taste motherhood...it's welling up within me...I am enamored by these kids...I can't imagine what I will feel for my own. I'm beginning to sense how deeply the Lord loves me as I can't help but love the fatherless...that is something there are no words for...it's indescribable...but I love how it feels...I guess that is just a sliver of what God feels moment by moment...
The last picture here is of Jim (a full time B2B staffer) who fell in love with a sweet Mexican woman here, Betty. There were engaged during the two week period I was home...they came with us to the zoo with Betty's two daughters...such a cool couple with an awesome story on how the Lord has begun to weave their lives together...Friday and Saturday are coming soon!! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment