Mission Trip - Day 7

 

The kids began their trip home today.  They drove from the Mission Center in Pharr, TX and headed to San Antonio.  Big Lou's Pizza was the site for lunch, with four 42" pizzas to serve the 34 kids!  Yes, they do serve normal 10" pizzas but what fun is that when you can have a 42" pizza!

 

The kids were able to check out the Alamo, but since Caleb has been there before he headed out with a group down the Riverwalk. Apparently some of the girls helped him get his swag on.  What! :)

 

The finished off their day with a devotional back at Hilton Palacio del Rio. 

he sent for him and had him brought in.
He was glowing with health and
had a fine appearance and handsome features.

I Samuel 16:12

Mission Trip - Day 6 - South Padre

With the hard work behind them, the kids headed to South Padre for a little fun.  This was Caleb's first time to see an ocean.  He said he was amazed at how far he could see nothing but water.  He enjoyed building a wall of sand to watch the ocean take it away. 

 

He loved swimming in the water but wasn't a big fan of the salty water.  I think it took him by surprise the first time he swallowed a big gulp. 

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

Psalms 148:7

Mission Trip - Day 5



9 kiddos in this home

Singing VBS Songs

 

This was Caleb's last day for painting and playing Pack Mule for his group.  Along with his new nick name, Mrs. Edwards also taught Caleb and the group the secret of  La Chancla.  Very funny, check it out on the link for a quick 1 minute video.  

 

This was the largest night for Vacation Bible School attendees. Don't you know these kids are worn out.

one party took off his sandal and
gave it to the other. This was the
method of legalizing transactions in Israel

Ruth 4:7

Mission Trip - Day 4

This was day two for working in the morning and VBS in the evening.  Caleb's group completed the coat of primer on their house and then began with the house color. 

 

Yesterday they had 83 children from the area attend Vacation Bible School and for today they had over 100 children.  The adult sponsor drove to the communities loading up the church vans and bringing them to the church and taking them home.  So many sweet faces!

 

During this trip Caleb and the other youth do not have their phones with them, so they can focus on the work and the people they are with.  I am blessed that Ms. Edwards has been posting pictures on Facebook along with notes from their day.  I can't wait to hear Caleb's stories!

“Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Luke 18:16

Mission Trip - Day 3

Today the real work began.  At 7:30am the kids left the Mission Center for the various job sites.  They were broke up into several different groups, one group poured concrete blocks, another worked on the roofs and three groups primed and painted various houses. 

Caleb was on one of the painting crews.  His adult sponsor, Mrs. Edwards nick named Caleb 'Pack Mule' because it was his job to lift and tote.  Each of the kids in his group had their own nick names along with funny stories to accompany. 

In the evenings the youth group members were cleaned up and conducted Vacation Bible School for the area children.  Caleb and other youth acted out the Bible story followed by crafts, snacks and play time. 

My mom heart is so grateful to the adults who accompanied these kids on this wonderful adventure! 

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
    who find great delight in his commands.

Their children will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.

Psalm 112:1-2

Mission Trip - Day 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

This morning the youth began their day leading worship services at the Iowa Road church of Christ.  It was a new experience for many of the kids as Matt presented the lesson in English and Jesus and Andrew would translate into Spanish. 

 

In the afternoon today the youth passed out fliers inviting residents to the Vacation Bible School they would be leading throughout the week.  What an eye opener!  These homes some much smaller than most of these kids living rooms.  Inside the home would be six to nine children plus their parents. 

 

There is no way to walk away without feeling so blessed!

 

Now you have been pleased to
bless the house of your servant,
that it may continue forever in your sight;
for you, Lord, have blessed it,
and it will be blessed forever.”

I Chronicles 17:27

Mission Trip - Day 1

Evening devotional at the Mission Center

This morning thirty-four of the 10th-12th graders from church began the long drive from Plano to Pharr, Texas.  They met up at the church building at 6:30 this morning and arrived at the mission center in Pharr, TX.  Pharr is located near McAllen. 

 

Upon arrival the kids enjoyed a great home cooked meal and then settled into the dorm areas.  Later they finished up their day with a devotional and final instructions for their week. 

be confident of this, that he who began
a good work in you will carry it on
to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

Towel Animals

.

I have loved seeing the fun towel pets on friends blogs, so in a ode' to the towel, here is a peek at what we found on our bed in the evenings. Each animal would be set out beside our itinerary for the following day and chocolates. There was even a class on the Lido Deck on 'How to Make Towel Animals.'

.

Today we returned to Galveston, well rested and ready to return to normal, . . . well, sort of ready.

Mexican Sunset

.

.

Our last full day at sea! This was a relaxing day, we did well what you do on a cruise . . . enjoyed ourselves. We hung out by one of the pool and took on a slide our two. I stopped off at the spa for a mani & pedi (and a Diet Coke) and then checked in with the kids via my laptop in the Library. Jon stopped off at the Rolls Royce Cafe for coffee, and later struck a pose by the Harley outside of the casino. The ship is just beautiful, but what's not to like, clean sheets, fresh towels, chocolates on my pillow, cabana boys that deliver Diet Cokes . . . I'm sure the kids are taking the same great care of Granny while we're here!

Lawn Ornaments Don't Swim

.

.

.

.

Cedric and Guinevere grabbed their passport and joined us on the Catamaran. Since there wasn’t snorkeling gear in their sizes they enjoyed a little sun. On the return trip to the cruise ship the two acted out their favorite scene from Titanic! Those crazy kids!

Hidden Jewels

.

.
.
.

This morning we came into port at Cozumel. The ocean is so amazing, at Progresso it looked like a London Blue Topaz and in Cozumel it is a Blue Sapphire color and in Galveston it was more of a green Jade.

Today’s big adventure was snorkeling; this was a first for both of us. We took a Catamaran out to a beautiful reef with coral and sponge. We saw so many different types of fish and even an eel. It is so amazing that sitting on land you look out at the ocean and it is so very pretty. But there is a whole other world that is just as remarkable under that gorgeous water. We snorkeled in about fifteen foot of water, for about an hour. It is something I would definitely do again!

Following our snorkeling adventure the Catamaran took us to a private beach on Cozumel where we went Kayaking and played on giant inflatable trampolines and water slides. We did take in a little shopping before returning to the ship.

I Laughed, I Cried, You Moved Me Bob

After a full day at Progresso we returned to the ship for some pool time in the late afternoon. Dinner was another elaborate meal. I may have a tough time getting Jon to eat Hamburger Helper again! The evening’s activities included a comedian. He did a lot of physical comedy and I laughed and laughed. Most of it was silly humor poking fun of people with tattoos in foreign languages; body piercings; and people from Arkansas.