Wrapping Up

We are officially back.  We are not done...the rented vans still need to be driven to San Jose, the first aid kits need to be restocked, the craft box needs to be unloaded, and 25 people have to do piles and piles of laundry.  But we are back in the United States and I am sure that there were 25 sighs of relief when people were reacquainted with their beds...instead of their sleeping bags.  If anyone made it to stay awake past 10:30 P.M. then they may have realized that their lights didn't flicker once...just before the electricity was turned off until it was dark the next evening.  There may have even been sighs of relief when toilet paper was flushed instead of thrown away in the garbage can next to the toilet because the plumbing couldn't handle it.  Having water from a tap that doesn't guarantee to make you sick, not having to remember to not rinse your toothbrush with the tap instead of your water bottle, allowing water to get into your mouth in the shower...not going to miss that.  I myself nearly heard angels singing when I drank my first glass of ice water in a week.  I can also be fairly certain that none of the people who are back in the states will be making themselves a serving of beans for breakfast anytime soon.  

Yes, there are many many things that are not going to be missed.  Some of the more individual things were, bugs in ears, nails in feet, poison oak, a day of not feeling well, bumps with boards and hammers, sunburn, sore muscles, snack-stealing mice, and even being bitten by a spider.  (That last one was me...and don't believe everything you see in the movies...I do NOT have any super powers...Yet!)  I'm sure that if we sat down to talk about things that were not our favorites we could make this list grow.  But I was privileged enough to be there for all of it, and I was there when we got back to our stopping point in the states (where we spent the night on the floor and woke up at 4 so we could be home at a reasonable hour...see the list gets bigger and bigger).  

I saw the faces of everyone who went as we debriefed.  When Matt asked us all to share about the week, none of this negative list came up.  People shared about the impact helping those kids had on their lives.  People shared about the wonder of being part of beginning a church where no church existed before.  People talked about building relationships with others in spite of language, economic, and background differences.  People talked about becoming closer to others in our group that cannot happen once a week for a couple hours at a time.  People talked about gratefulness seen in the smallest act of kindness.  People talked about doing more physical labor than they thought they would have been able to do...in a week's time...with very little experience.  People talked about the satisfaction of a job well done.  There is a very nice volleyball court where there was pile of sand and lots of weeds.  There is a cement slab and a large pile of re-usable lumber where there once was an unsafe building.  There is a very sturdy awning attached to two of the cabins (named, Holy Ground Left and Holy Ground Right) where there once was a broken leaf gatherer.  There is sheetrock on the ceilings and in the skylights of those two cabins where there once was none.

We talked about the first church in a neighborhood and the family whose dedication to follow their vision of God's plan led them away from America and to boldly begin without the typical expectations of a roof, or walls, or even a floor.  We talked about the first church service and seeing five people step forward and accept Jesus into their lives.    We talked about God and His mercy.  We talked about and how this trip was amazing.   And as people get up today and begin their typical day to day routines that have varying degrees of difficulty and sacrifice and enjoy a certain amount of 'luxury' as compared to the places we visited I can imagine one more thing.  If I were to offer the opportunity to go on this trip again I can tell you that my answer, along with 24 others, would be simply...Yes!

Thank You to all who have followed us on this journey through the blog.  Thank you to those who supported us with their finances, their resources, their time and their prayers.  Thank you to those who included us in fund raising opportunities (especially from myself...who had my entire family of four go)  Thank you to families who allowed members to be away from them for a week...including Easter Sunday!  Thank you to the wonderful staff at Agua Viva who took care of us, fed us, and allowed us to be part of a new church plant.  Thank you to Liz from Agua Viva for being a faithful servant and our guide and escort through checkpoints, borders, back roads, and even roadside taco stands.  It helped us (and parents back home) feel more secure that we were being watched over.  And mostly, Thanks to God for allowing us to work in His kingdom and to learn and grow and be touched and moved.  

For the Mexico team, as I am signing off for the mission trip of 2013, I would like to say one final thing...

~~AGUAVIVISIMA!!!~~