Me, Omar, Ryder and Steph (my best friend) and Ste
A year ago I made two very dear friends when a couple British blokes named Jon and Stephen (Ste) decided to come spend a couple weeks in Ensenada with a mutual friend. Ste was turning 40 and wanted to do a landmark event for his 40th birthday. This is what brought him to Mexico where both of them quickly fell in love with the people and the country. During that time, a dream was born in Ste’s heart, a dream to bring youth from England to serve the nation of Mexico. I am happy to say that Ste’s dream was realized when I had the opportunity of meeting him and the 18 other people joining him at the airport a couple weeks ago.
It was such a joy for me to be able to join the team in Ensenada as we partnered with a few local pastors to minister in the community. One of the ministries we worked with is a day care center for children who’s parents are absent working or living somewhere else. The kids receive a lot of love and are taught about the love of God by the woman who runs it. One day as we played with the kids on the beach, which was incredibly exciting for them, Ste pulled me aside to help him interview Vicky who runs the day care center. For 20 minutes I got to translate as Vicky shared her story and how God had called her to these children. This was a very exciting step for me as far as speaking the Spanish language goes! I found myself translating more and more as the week went on and enjoyed so many wonderful conversations with people all in Spanish!
One day we were doing some fun activities with the children of a certain community in a local church. I was elected to teach English classes at the spur of a moment and was delighted to have a mother and daughter join me. Ariel and Yvonne. They were both so eager to learn and were so joyful. But what impressed me the most was their precious relationship. Yvonne had Ariel at an older age and almost could have been her grandmother. But despite the age difference, the two were like best friends, giggling together, encouraging each other as they learned new words and just having a lot of fun with everything they did together. It blessed me immensely.
Right before I left for South Africa, the team started building a home for a beautiful young family and I was able to get out a build the whole first day. After working 110% all day long, it was time to leave. I knew that I would not be back the next day and wanted to thank the family again for the delicious fresh juice they had made us at lunch time and also bless them before I left. As I spoke out a blessing on their home and their family, Rapahael, the father, welled up with tears and began to cry. He said to me that he never expected when we arrived that he would receive more than just a small basic house. But instead what he saw before him was a beautiful home that had been made with so much love. He then told me that his home was my home any time I needed and that I would always have friends in him and his wife. WOW! I was definitely the one who was the most blessed as the three of us stood there talking
What a perfect week it was! And now, here I am in South Africa. I’ve left summer behind and am nestled in winter clothes and a blanket with a steaming cup of Rooibos tea. More to come on my South African adventures!
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