Crazy past few days (Alex)

On Tuesday we all got up early to walk several blocks and get fresh tamales. We got 4 different kinds, a green salsa with either pork or chicken (we didn't know which), a chocolate mole sauce one, a hot salsa one (I didn't try this one. Probably no surprise to those who know about my low spice tolerance haha), and a strawberry one. I personally liked the strawberry one the most, I liked the other two that I tried, but I liked the strawberry one the most for breakfast. For the work part of the day, I stayed at the main house to work on some of the cars while everyone else went to work on the roof at Agape. The van that had broken down the night before ended up being a bad alternator, so I replaced it and it now runs without dying. I also replaced some parts on two of the other vans and inspected another van. After I got done, I realized that Steve and Janet had left, which made me the only American here for a couple hours. This is probably the most awkward I have felt on either of my trips here, but it helped take me out of my comfort bubble. Later that evening we went to the Emanuel house to have dinner and play with the kids. This house is an all boys house, so we mainly just kicked balls around.
On Wednesday day we had french toast for breakfast and had all sorts of toppings to put on them. I put a caramel sauce and another sauce called la lechera, which is like a thick sweetened condensed milk sauce. After the castle we went to Chapultepec castle for our sight seeing. It was really eye opening and awesome to see it and hear the history of it. After that we went into Mexico City to the market. We had lunch at a restaurant in the market, and then we got to walk around the market to buy souvenirs. Even though I can't speak the language very well, I love getting to walk around and experience the culture here.
For Thursday we went and worked back at Agape. We were able to get one portion of the roof completely finished, and another section of the roof completely scraped and we were able to get the first layer of sealer on it. After that, we went to the house of Bethel for lunch (this is an all girls home). Lunch was amazing (just like every other meal we have had), and then we went out to their soccer field to play a game. Its was the Americans (and one older boy that was helping us with the roof work) versus the girls from the house. If it wasn't for the older boy we would have been dominated, but we were loosing by just one. Then the intern who was living at the Bethel house (who was on our team) collided with one of the little girls and got a very bad concussion. This was probably the scariest thing that has happened on either of my trips here. We ended up taking her to the hospital, which was right across the street. The doctor said that she would be fine and just needed some rest and ice on the impact location.
Tomorrow we are going to have just a half day of working. We are splitting into three groups the that, half of the group are going back to Agape to finish the other part of the roof, three of the guys are going to the location where VBS is happening to help set up, and I am staying here to replace the rear shocks on one of the vans. After that we are going to the pyramids for our last sight seeing activity, and then we will go to another restaurant for dinner. This trip has been a whirlwind of emotions. I cant believe the week is almost over, but I am so excited to get to see my family again.

Day 4 (Stacy)

    You guys… I’m not a big “feelings” person, but this week is seriously giving me all the feels. I don’t even have the words to express the love I have for this place, this ministry. There are over 100 kids here at Ninos right now, and they are loved, clothed, fed, sent to school. They came from unimaginable situations, but now they have everything they need. Sometimes, as Americans, we think “if only other countries had what we had, then they would be happy.” This week has shown me how ignorant I really am. The Mexican culture is beautiful. They are loving, hospitable, very devoted to family, care for their sick friends and neighbors and love on these previously unwanted children. They don't need any rescuing from us. They don't need (or want!) us to come down here and teach them how to live like we do. If anything, I’m going home having learned so much from them. This world is amazing, and each country, culture and people group are beautiful, and the differences are so wonderful to witness, take in, and learn from (FYI, I’m embarrassed and ashamed that I had to learn all of that…). We did not come down here to teach anyone our ways, just to help with repairs and maintenance, love on the kids, and fall in love with this wonderful, beautiful ministry. 

    I used to be slightly opposed to (maybe “confused about” is a better way to put it) short-term mission trips. We raise quite a bit of money to go on these trips and I have always wondered why we don't just send them the money instead of using it for us to go down for a week. Aren't people just doing it to feel good about themselves and to check “going on a mission trip” off their Christian to-do list? I’ve learned over the past years of friends going to Ninos and Eyes That See that these ministries WANT us to come. I’ve heard both Matt Ness and Mick O'Hanahan say they would prefer a group over a check. The reason is that when people come to these places they inevitably fall in love and end up sharing about it with their family, friends, and churches which in turn brings in sponsors/ donors who support their ministry. Tonight Janet, one of the leaders here at Niños, talked with us about child sponsorship. It once again opened my eyes to the beauty of Niños de Mexico. It costs $25 per month to sponsor a child. This money goes toward their food, clothing, school uniforms/ supplies, etc. And while the money is obviously good and MUCH-needed, they most impactful part of sponsorship comes from the relationship between the child and their sponsors. You can write back and forth with the kids, send them small gifts, send bigger gifts (like games) for their house to share, and even come down to Niños to visit them! They said that some sponsors even fly down here to see their child graduate from high school. How awesome is that?! 

    When I was in one of the girls’ homes earlier in the week, a little girl showed me a picture of her sponsors. She was SO proud. It was a picture of an older couple standing in front of a tree, and you could tell it was one of her most prized possessions. She wanted me to look at, turn it over and read their names off the back, and then she proudly took it around to show everyone on our team. Calli told us that a lot of the kids have a special box where they keep all of their letters and pictures from their sponsors. Janet also told us a story of one of the older boys here whose sponsor is a lady in her 80s. The boy is funny and loves to goof off, but never really opens up about anything serious here at Ninos, but he tells this 80 year old lady things that are on his heart, and tells her that he wishes more than anything that he could repay her for all she has done for him. He tells her that if he could, he would move to the states, come live with her and be her caretaker. I was seriously tearing up just hearing about it. Some of the people on our team sponsor kids here and it was so cool to see the kids light up when they saw them. They run over and give them hugs and love to play with them while we are visiting their houses. When the boy that Colby sponsors saw Colby, he ran up to him, gave him the biggest hug, and said, “Colby! Mi Amigo!” It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. Our money can definitely makes a difference, but the relationships built through sponsorship are what have the ability to have a lasting effect on these kids. 

    

I fell in LOVE with Niños De Mexico (Rosie)

I am so amazed with Niño De Mexico, I fell in LOVE with this community! I have seen God's work in every house we visit.

The Children are so happy and full of joy to see us! It's hard to believe children here are tossed away from their family's or abused so bad from people who are suppose to love and care for  them. This gift from God is now in the hand of Christians and sponsors to care for them.  I am blessed to have this opportunity to be here and experience this trip! I will be coming down again, to see the young lady I will sponsor! I know in my heart, she is in God's hands with an amazing future.

  This team is so fun to be with! We are always laughing even when we are tired from scrapping, scrubbing or painting the roof.  God continues to give us all strength to keep going through the day. I also believe we give each other strength knowing we are going to a different house to play with more children.

There is so much to say and write. It's late and I'm tired plus we have another big day on the roof tomorrow. I hope we can finish it!

God Bless everyone! Thank you for your prayers and contributions to make this trip happen

Day 3 (Stacy)

    We started today by going on a tamale run with one of our leaders, Juan. It's a tradition at Ninos to take the groups to get tamales every Tuesday. We walked about 20 minutes from Ninos to a place that you would never know was a tamale place. The streets are lined with large, solid gates leading into the individual houses. Juan went up to one, knocked on the door and a man answered and let us inside. The gates led to a very tiny courtyard which had a two-burner cookstove where the tamales were made. Their house was just beyond that and the wife and mom were inside prepping tamales. They had TONS of birds in cages all over the courtyard and four Chihuahuas. One of the dogs were on the roof, apparently it's common to keep dogs on the roof here to ward off/ alert of intruders. The tamales were amazing, as all of the food here has been. We eat four meals a day and I think we should probably adopt this tradition in the States. Seriously, why do we only have three?! And why don't we put EVERYTHING on tortillas?!

    After breakfast, we went back to the Agape house to work on the roof. We switched things around today, so I was scraping instead of painting. It was really hard! The roof has layers of old sealant on it that have dried, cracked, and peeled and we are on our hand and knees scraping it up with putty knives so we can apply a new coat. Again, I will never take a pressure washer and proper tools for granted!! 

    Later in the day, we visited one of the boys' houses, Emanuel. The house parents were SO friendly, and the boys were very helpful and polite. The houses are all mixed ages, they do that on purpose so the older ones can help the house parents and be role models for the younger ones. It's been so cool to see how the kids get along so well and work together, even though there are 10-18 of them in a house together. Even the very littlest make their own beds and are responsible for keeping their clothes and shoes organized. I think I'm going to have to try some of it out on my kids when I get home;). I played Uno with a few of the boys from the house. It's a fun challenge to try to learn rules of a game when you don't speak the same language (their Uno had some different cards). One boy kept trying to cheat when I wasn't looking, but I kept catching him (because I'm competitive like that LOL). We had some good laughs over that. Smiles, love and laughter are sometimes the only form of communication you need. 

    Juan, our group leader, has one of us get out to open/ close the gate for the van whenever we leave Ninos. He always closes and locks the van door and doesn't allow us back in until we do a dance. We love to close the door on him when he gets out, too. He's a good sport and always does a dance. I think he's more talented than any of us! Tonight Calli and I learned the Floss (a dance) via YouTube and we volunteered to open the gate tomorrow so we can show off our new moves. I'm sure you'll see a video of it at some point! lol. Our group has had so much fun together this week, I'm really enjoying getting to know one another better. We work hard, we play hard with the kids, and we laugh together a LOT. This week has filled my heart with joy in so many ways. 

    Tim, give the kids hugs for me. Good luck camping with the kids tonight, you are such a good Daddy<3 I'm grateful to know the kids are in good hands, I haven't had to worry about them once this week. 

    

Nich Post 2

Now that we have the blog up might as well write, am I right, We spent today with some more working on Agape and then spending time with the emmanuel house.

THOSE KIDS ARE SO ENERGETIC.

All caps might seem a little more than necessary, but when you get done introducing yourself and the first thing one of the kids says to you is "wanna play tag?" and you say yes, you will be running for the next forty five minutes. But be warned, the game might switch from tag to soccer, to some game where three kids run top to you and start hitting you with large balls that they sit and bounce on. Then its back to tag. So much fun, though I had to repeatedly stop to catch my breath and tell them "Uno Momento". This boy Gabriel was fantastic with his english and he happened to sit across from me during dinner, so we talked about soccer and the team he plays on, how he enjoys living in the house, and his other interests. We spent a lot of time talking over dinner and then playing soccer in the yard, really a game of keep away. He came over before I left and we played tether ball and I thanked him for spending so much time with me and talking with me. He likes American football, a surprising amount of boys at the house liked American football. I got a couple laugh when we were throwing one back and forth and I yelled "Tom Brady" and threw it across the yard. But probably because I looked ridiculous. One of the new boys, Jose, did not have a good life prior to Ninos, and he came a month ago, yet it is amazing how he is open to playing, and laughing, and wanting you to play and laugh with him. At one point he asked Colby a question and Colby told him 'Uno momento' which I then said in a low voice, he thought that was the funniest thing. So we proceeded to do that for the next 10 minutes. We also played a fantastic card game where you get some cards and you all have to place one down, then randomly grab them back up until you have all of them. I won once and gloated quite a bit. Today also marked the return of tether ball, which I think is the reason for all of the swollen bruises on my forearms but Im not 100% certain.

Spending time with all of the boys really made me think of my brothers and my family and miss them. But I felt like realizing that they were like my brothers helped me reach a point that I could love them at a different level than some kids we were hangin out with for the afternoon.

Tomorrow is a tourist day which I am very excited for, but tomorrow also marks the mid point of the week. The past two days have gone so fast, part of this just feels like I am at camp if I am honest, I have roommates who we laugh about everything, we are staying in a house, far away from my home. You even look forward to the smell of sewage when you walk out of your room in the morning, think of it as leaving your old cabin and getting a wife of the fresh pine air. Only this pine air makes you a little queasy to your stomach at times. Im not certain how I am feeling, most of this doesn't feel real, and I know it will be over before I know it.

I look forward to down time to journal about my day. There is so much I want to put in here that I can't find the words for, yet I routinely fill five or six pages a day putting down thoughts and just recording the day.

At this point I am just rambling so I will cut it short as I need to go to bed, I haven't been sleeping well, mark it up to a couple different reasons but I am hoping tonight I can sleep through the night.

SAM- Thank you for your note, it was much appreciated. Tomorrow is wednesday and then it is just a quick blink before I am back home. and yes I wore that hat all day while working. I can't wait to see you and tell you about the trip. I love you so much, I have so much I want to say and I can't find the words. Mark it up to the tiredness, or the jumbled emotions I am feeling as I write this. But I know I can't wait to see you. You are a freaking rockstar, and I bet you are killing it this week. I hope the letters are  helping a bit. I love you so much. Can't wait to talk with you again.

Until next time,
Nich

Relationships (Darrell)

Whenever we bring a team down here to Niños de Mexico, there are always those who wonder if the expense of it all is worthwhile. The common question is something like, “wouldn’t the money be better used if we just sent it straight to Niños?” I have a few different responses, which starts with the fact that Niños wants to us to come, then includes an attempt at explaining the importance of relationships. It is that concept of building relationships that is often lost on us in the U.S., but for those of us that have gone on this trip, we fully understand its value. 

Personally, I was reminded today that sponsoring a child at Niños is about far more than sending money so their needs are met. I was reminded when the two girls that Sandy and I sponsor, saw me and, with huge smiles on their faces, came to give me a hug. They gave me a hug when I was able to give them gifts and they gave me a hug when we left. There was not much communication beyond that, because we are working on the roof of their house, but those hugs were more enough! Those hugs also tell me that Vanessa and Valeria treasure the relationship and seeing one of their sponsors is a gift in itself.

Each person that comes on this trip learns quickly that the gifts we bring and the work we do is good, but the relationships that are formed, even if only for our short time here, are more valuable than anything else. For those who sponsor a child and come back, they are reminded that their sponsorship is about far more than money. For many who come on this trip, they learn that the value of the relationship is not just for the children of Niños de Mexico, it is for us as well. And anyone who has ever gone on this trip would never question its value. 

The last two days have been a great reminder of all of that.

Cami's thoughts of the day...

Just finished day three at Ninos and I wanted to share with you what I have learned :)

Colby- all the kids love Colby and he laughs ALL the time. His laughter is infectious and its impossible to be in a bad mood around him.

Darrel- He is our trusted leader, the one we look to for direction and answers. He is also willing to take one heck of a soccer ball to the nose. Never one to shy away from 'taking one for the team':)

Scott- He loves God and his family and he will share about both to anyone without reservation. Its pretty cool to see someone with his devotion.

Alex- He is the instigator of the team. If there is the something to be tried, he is the one pushing someone else to try it, possibly for his own amusement??? He also loves the kids and it shows.

Callie- She is our unofficial team mate interning at the Jirah house. We got to borrow her for the week. She has such a big heart and a love for what she is doing. So refreshing in someone so young, and inspiring. What an impressive young lady.

Rose- She's our caretaker. She works so hard with little thought of herself and witnessing her connect with others is touching.

Stacy- Those of you that know Stacy may laugh at this, but I really thought she was quiet and shy. I was wrong!  She is so energetic, has the best Olivia and Amelia stories and has the greatest laugh, which she shares with us often.

Nich- He is our team comedian. He plays a mean tether ball game and spares no one. He is super fun, has everyone laughing, and yet takes the time to connect with whoever may be sitting of by themselves.

I have so much to share about the houses, the kids, and the importance of what we are doing here.
But today, I am just feeling so blessed to get to know these eight brothers and sisters in Christ.
I want to say a special thank you to all of you for making this possible and for this team and their willingness to leave their families and comforts to share in this experience.
I sometimes (often) struggle with connecting with others, but I have been given such an incredible opportunity to connect with and get to know these people one a deeper level and I am better because of if.

Thank you again ~
Cami