Redo

Hi,
I'm sorry for starting over again but I forgot my password and log in for the last new blog I started.

We are back from our trip to Mexico. It was fabulous! The kids loved it as well and it was terrific learning experience for all of us. We have seen both sides of Mexico now, the tourist and monied side and now the very poor side. The people of Mexico are wonderful any way you look at it. They are hospitable, friendly and kind.

For this trip, we went just East of Tijuana with 82 adults and students from our church youth group to build 4 houses. Many of those that went on the trip had been before and had an idea of what to expect. We were not among them so we went in totally open for nearly anything. The organization that puts together these trips is called Amor. They do a terrific job of getting the workers (us) across the border, to the camp sights and then to the work sights.

Our initial thoughts about the area we worked in was that we saw extreme poverty with trash everywhere and a smell that wasn't so pleasant permiating the air. The people we worked for lived in little tiny homes, in most cases smaller than our living room and made out of left over wood and tarps with an outhouse thrown together from scraps somewhere on the perimeter of the property. The lots were tiny as well, with people crammed in next to each other. There were mangy dogs with open sores wondering the streets. The streets were rutted, rocky dirt roads winding from here to there. Our van will never be the same.

The families we worked for were wonderful! They were so welcoming and friendly. The children all played together and Moriah and Caleb enjoyed there time. Some of the highschool students from our group brought coloring books and crayons as well as some great ideas for games to share with all the kids. At one point there was a vigorous game of duck, duck, goose going on.

We loved our time south of the border and can't wait to go back. It was so great to focus on things that matter, namely people and relationships rather than stuff. It's a lesson we hope to take to heart more thoroughly as we live out our daily lives.

Here are some photos of our trip. Hope you enjoy them. I will post more later. Most of them are on my work computer so I will post them when I get them home.

Love,
Rikki