Mexico- Short Post

    Today is an irregularly short post, not because amazing things haven't been happening, but because we're trying something new.  We recorded about an hour of interviews with our youth today to be placed on our blog talk radio network.  Please take the time to listen in because God is doing AMAZING things here and we wanted to share it...you just can't write all of this good stuff down!


The show doesn't start until 4pm today, but you can listen to it then or anytime afterwards!  Below is the link.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/acacthreads/2012/08/08/missions-in-mexico

Mexico- Wonderful Day!

  WOW, what an amazing day! I love seeing God move and our students hearing and seeing Him move as well.  My (P. Marv's)  portion will be short because we have some great sharers who desired to give a full portion of their day...it's GREAT STUFF!  Below after the post is a video form Melissa Karl who also has an amazing testimony! Thanks for your prayers, keep em coming!!  Muchos Gracias!

Hola! Como estas?

And now that I've reached the extent of my knowledge of the Spanish language, I'll begin my actual blog post :P 

Today has been a very awesome day (actually, it's been an awesome 19th birthday, to be more specific). A lot of us started our days really early (6:00) and climbed up one of the hills near our mission site. I didn't make it to the top of the hill, but the view from about 3/4 up was magnificent. Even as dry and dusty as Ensenada is, I still find the scenery beautiful. It's great to be in an area that is completely in contrast to Pittsburgh but has just as much beauty...God didn't leave Ensenada out when he made beautiful places (although I would have minded if he had made the paths to his viewpoints a little less steep)!

After the hike, breakfast, and chores, we were all off to our worksites. I was on one of the construction crews, where we began to build a purple house. Literally, the house is going to be purple. How cool is that? We almost finished an entire wall today, so we were very productive. There were also a lot of kids at the construction site, so a lot of us took small breaks to play with the children. There was a 5 year old girl who showed me her collection of things that have Dora the Explorer on them, and then handed me an adorable little kitten. A bunch of the boys in our group kicked around a soccer ball with the neighborhood kids as well. Playing around was a great way to break up the work. I'm looking forward to seeing how much we can finish on this house before the week is over!

After that, we came back to the center, quickly changed into our VBS clothes, and headed over to Renario's church to lead about 50 kids in worship. We sang songs with them (Cristo Me Ama, Jesus Ama a los Ninos, and Yo Tengo Gozo), performed a short puppet show (today's was Jesus Loves the Little Children), and helped them make a craft (a paper plate decorated with hearts and the phrase "Jesus me ama"). After all of the organized activities were finished, we were able to play with the kids with soccer balls, bubbles, jump ropes, badminton rackets, and whatever else we could find. I think this was my favorite part of the day. The kids had the brightest smiles on their faces, and you could tell how happy they were that we were playing with them. There were several kids who stuck to our students like glue, and many others who were very open to having little conversations with us.

I think one of the most surprising/exciting/miraculous things I've seen is how well we are able to communicate with those who don't speak the same language as us. I, for one, am severely limited in my Spanish, but I'm very excited that these kids are so open to listening and having small conversations, even if I sound/look ridiculous when trying to communicate. I keep remembering the part from The Little Mermaid where Ursula says "Don't underestimate the importance of body language." The difference a small smile, wave, or hug can make for these kids is obvious. I also think God is blessing me (and I would guess others on this trip) with allowing me to remember more Spanish than I thought I knew, so that I can ask the kids things like "What character is on your shirt?" or "Is this your Dora the Explorer doll?". It's little things like that that the kids seem to enjoy talking about, and I'm glad that I have the ability to do so. 

I could probably go on for a lot longer about how amazing and inspiring everything else has been, but Marv is already making fun of me for writing a novel on this blog post, and dinner is in a few minutes, so I'll sign off for now. Love to all back home (thanks for the birthday wishes, family!) and hasta luego!

-Michayla

P.S. Mom and dad, if you're reading this, we're having mole for dinner. Bring back memories?

Mexico- Church Day!

Hola!  Today was a great day full of fun, worship, playtime, testimony sharing and much more!  We woke up, spent some time in the Word then dug right into breakfast.  Shortly after we ate our breakfast we were filled in on the chore list and who was in charge of what job...yes the students are doing chores and yes they've been doing them with smiles!  Hopefully this excitement will translate into home chores ;)

  After we did our chores we headed to church where we worshiped God in a whole new way!  Half of our group had a translator and the other half did not so the experiences were wide in their difference.  Also, one group was able to help with the Children's ministry whilst the other was in a service with kids involved.  Below are two wonderful stories of these varied worship experience.



-Luke
Well, today was wonderful. At church, I was shocked that people were actually dancing, yelling out loud and blowing the horn (shofar) at worship. I didn't think the Holy Spirit actually moved people like that. Even though I couldn't understand all of the songs, it didn't matter because everyone was so into worshipping God. Moreover, today some of us taught a few Mexican children how to play ultimate frisbee and they loved it. Right now I'm the happiest I've been for a long time. I can't wait to go pray with people and hang out with kids at a boys home tomorrow!


-Sema
As soon as we got to the church this morning, one of the interns asked us if anyone wanted to help out with Sunday school for all the kids after worship. A few of us volunteered and I was one of the first. When the kids ran downstairs for Sunday School they held our hands, toting us behind them. I sat next to a little guy who told me his name was Bebien. I later found out, he either had a bad case of ADHD or a few too many candies for breakfast. This kid was bouncing off the walls. While I was struggling to keep him interested in the lesson, learn his verse and color his coloring page, I was amazed at how the pastor was so patient with him. He didn't reprimand him when he danced on the table or ran out of the room. He laughed. The people here are so filled with God's Spirit. The love they have for each other spills out and I'm so incredibly thankful to be able to witness it. 


 Once we were finished with church, we headed to lunch at the missionaries home. We ate, relaxed and discussed a bit of our worship experiences together.  We headed back to our "Center" to change and get ready for some soccer!

  We played soccer for two hours with many Mexican people where we mixed up the teams so Americans were on the same team as some Mexicans.  Here we interacted also with little kids who were not playing soccer.  Andrew Reay was able to experience a Mexican outhouse while Aaron Bliss, Noah Walburn and others ran around the track!  Here we were able to speak the same language of sports and entertain many great conversations!

  Afterwards we headed to dinner, VBS practice, chores and Tacos Pablano's to cap the evening off.  I (P. Marv) was the designated orderer for everyone but I managed to eat a couple tacos myself as well!


  Here and now we are all going to bed to start another day.  Continue to pray for God ordained conversations and a desire to expect God to do amazing things in our midst!

Mexico- Safe and Sound

Dougie and Levi ready to conquer the flight

  Good Morning!  Yesterday was a pretty crazy day...up at 4am, traveling from 7:30am-9pm, with flight delays and all that but God is Good!  We are here safe and sound and our Spirits are high!

  We had a big lunch/dinner at In and Out Burger in San Diego, then drove from San Diego to Ensenada Mexico where we met another delicious meal waiting for us!


  On the plane from Pittsburgh to Chicago, one of our folks was talking to their neighbors and shared all about what we were doing in our blue shirts and where we were going for God's glory.  By the end of that quick flight God moved the people sitting next to our ACAC person and they gave $50 to the cause...just at random, no prompting.  They were Roman Catholic and were overjoyed at the prospect of helping God be glorified.

  That is one small story of God's goodness already.

  Once we got our tummies full, the leaders Brian and his wife Erin brought us up to speed on culture here, our tasks and the schedule for the week.  Let's just say this week is going to be busy but AMAZING.

  We wil be doing construction in the mornings, VBS in the afternoons and many other great things.  As we go on in the blog we will have students voice their thoughts via video and writing and we will continue to update via pictures as well.  It's exciting to have this opportunity to share this journey with you.  Please pray for our students to depend on the Lord for strength, courage and deep love for both the people here and one another as well as safety as we travel and work on houses.

  After all the scheduling and orientation here onsite, we headed over to Tacos Pablanos to get a little night cap of authentic tacos, before we headed to bed and yes they are very very delicious!

  If there are any questions, please feel free to comment on the blog here and we will answer them.  We have lights out soon here in Mexico but let me finish by saying: Dios Le Bendiga! (God Bless You!)

- P. Marv

Happy even AFTER delays!

View from our BEAUTIFUL Drive

Jarod sharing his WEALTH of knowledge

Mexico- Delayed flight

Hey everyone!  Just thought to give a quick update.  We are still in Chicago due to plane issues.  Our pilot noticed the caution light on, so we pulled back into a different gate.  After review of the plane it was thought we would be delayed for 2 hours until they could resolve the issue. Praise God we were offered another plane and are now boarding 2 hours later than scheduled. We are all still chipper and ready to go, so it hasn't dampened our spirits!  Pray for a safe flight to San Diego and check back tomorrow morning for your morning update on Ensenada!


P. Marv

SMO Toronto 2012

Thursday:

Wow!!! Who would have thought a week would go by so fast. In this week we have served, had fun, built and developed great relationships with other church and united in the wonderful name of Jesus. We were able to lean on one another through the loss of Adrian's father, to pray for their church and to send them off in a loving way. Pastor Joe is going to post more information on the trip once we arrive back at church. But we have a very early wake up in the morning (6am) to clean up the building before we leave. We will be arriving back to the church at 6pm. Please make arrangements to be there to pick up your wonderful students as we return from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has a been a blessing being here. God had made a definite impact on our students and futures. 

SMO Toronto 2012

Tuesday & Wednesday:

Who would have thought the days would pass by so fast. But in these pass two days, the heart of our children have been touch, changed and transformed. Audrey Luciana's group has started serving at a new soup kitchen called St. Francis Mission. It is run by two priests (brothers as they refer to themselves) John and Tim. Brother Tim was on location at a parish right in our area out by Allison Park a few years back. He is an avid Steelers fan!! On the otherhand, Brother John is a huge U2 fan and a old looking version of Marvin Nelson. (You can tell me your thought on this picture later.) I did not say that comment but a few student did mention he looked like Marvin..Sorry bro. But like the other soup kitchen we have come alongside them in serving food but in a very significant way. To preserve the dignity of some the less fortunate people who attend, each person pays a $1 for an amazing hand cooked meal and the waiting staff (ACAC volunteers) serve them restaurant style.

At Booth Industries, where Starr Tucker-Nibbs was leading a group, saw an immense change in the hearts of our students. The desire to go beyond themselves to serve in this capacity became emotionally overwhelming. Lauren Wiles, while serving there said, "How unfortunate it is to see so many people with a desire to work, but not being able to understand the disadvantages they experience. But the work, find joy in those they work with and love when they make even the smallest accomplishments."

Gary Gazica and team stayed at the YouthWorks facility to provide a day camp for some of the wonderful children in the near community. You hear some of the comment from students, "These kids have too much energy" -Josh Dever "I can't handle these kids. They are nuts!!" - Joey Luciana With all of the craziness of kids, they made the children smile, have fun and learn that they are and once were like these kids. They have seen many of these kids come each day earlier and earlier just to hang out with the students leaders of camp. They are so anxious to spend time with people sharing time and love for them.

For Jan Davis' group, being at the various women's and men's shelters has been an eye opener to the poverty in our world. To see how the homelessness is not just affecting men but a huge number of women seeking aid for not just themselves but for their children as well. A perspective for Vivian Jones:

        It is not easy to look at the situation each person is facing. But in looking at them, talking to them, and hearing their stories,  you experience their heart to want love, care and comfort. By being there, we have been the hands of Jesus Christ to comfort them through some rough patches.

Joe Luciana seen the heart of some people, ages older than him be filled with so much joy at the senior center Cummer Lodge. They have gone door-to-door to sing, prayer and just have fun with many of the patients. They have faced opposition with an older lady saying, "Stop all that racket!!!" But on Wednesday, she came around to be joyful playing bingo and a balloon toss game.  (For both Jan and Joe sites, picture have been minimal do to the nature of care.)

Tuesday night was a great night at huge park where we played ultimate frisbee, sat talked with the various church groups and relaxed for the night with songs. But with a solid day of work, fun and fellowship Tuesday night, word came in the morning to everyone that the father of a Toronto church student had passed away. The young man, Adrian, left the site and went home to be with his family during this time. His father had fought the numerous battles with brain tumors for over 10 years. But late last week, the admitted him to the hospital because they found him in bed unresponsive. It was heart breaking to hear, but the suffering was over to where he could rejoice with the Lord.  The Toronto group will be leaving early tomorrow to head North to their church to be with Adrian and his family for the viewing Thursday night and the Funeral on Friday. May you please be in prayer for Adrian and His family. Prayer for our students as this opens past wounds of losing a loved one.