Safe and sound!

EDIT: Please note that the following posts, and those below, are not from 2012, but from our first trip in 2011!

The eagle has landed! Yes yes, after a few glitches in the Alaska Airlines system that cancelled our flight, we made it home safe and sound. It is nice to be back.
Aside from a few upset stomachs throughout the week (including a rather dramatic presentation by Alex this morning), everyone was feeling great by the time we got back, and I am happy to announce that the most serious injuries incurred were Katie cutting her finger on the stick she used to crack her birthday pinata open, and the rugburn I got on my knee while playing Ninja during group time. All in all, not bad! haha.

Thank you again for all your prayers. I leave you with these last few pictures of our trip.
If you're part of the West Van community, we'll be celebrating the trip during the May 1st service, so come on out to hear more stories!
Thank you for reading. Till next time!

Alex, Sam and Robbie in our pad, preparing for Katie's birthday celebration.

Maja, Judy and Vivian enjoying tacos on our last evening.

Alex and Robbie at the taco stand.

Oh Poblano's - how I will miss thee. :)

Katie taking a swing at her flying horsedonkey pinata.

A little firework closing ceremony.

Brother and sister on the plane.

A joyful homecoming. :)

La Bufadora!

It's weird to be leaving such an incredible experience so soon, but it is with joyful hearts that we return to a wonderful, life-filled community.
Today has been a blast. After a slow morning, we packed the van and did the 45 minute drive along the coast all the way to La Bufadora - a marine geyser/blow hole. All around it are these great Mexican markets. Let's just say next time Ill be hosting a seminar on good bartering. ;) But hey, at least we can celebrate the fact that we supported the Mexican economy in spectacular ways!
We stopped at Habanna Banana for a wonderful team dinner. Unfortunately, Brian and Vivian were feeling under the weather, and then the rain/mist rolled in, hampering a bit of our shopping time. But, it's all good - we drove back to Ensenada to see the sun roll out in brilliant ways.
We're planning on going to a local taco stand for dinner, followed by a few surprise celebrations (Katie's birthday/end of trip).
We then wake up at 5:00am and make our way back across the border to catch our 12:30pm flight out of Seattle. The plan is, if all goes smoothly, to be back in West Van at around 8:00pm! Yikes! Looking forward to seeing all your smiley faces. :)
By the way, Alex, Dylon and I were talking, and just to the three of us, we have over 3000 pictures...and that's not counting all the other cameras around! Get ready for the longest slide show of all time. ;) Hahaha.

Claire, Brian's daughter, made this painting for the family, which we dropped off today.

The team at the market!

Small explosion from the blow hole.

Reaction after the blow hole exploded majorly over everyone.

Yes, this really happened...

Katie - not a fan of bartering.

Ben and Robbie showing off their purchases.

"Want a churros?!"

Yes...we went there.

Fiesta! Fiesta!

Wow. WHAT. A. DAY. The struggle of the fourth day is always that it can easily feel crammed - you set a time for the dedication, and you work hard to meet that target. We were way way ahead of schedule, but then the small details got in the way and we ended up being about 45 minutes off. But really, compared to everything we did and saw? Who cares! hahaha.
Today was finishing the 2nd coat, fixing the electrical, cleaning the floor, and setting everything up that Katie, Robbie, Brian and Tito went out to buy. We ended up furnishing the house with a beautiful wood table, 4 chairs, a lot of food, storage containers, etc etc. For the family, we bought Rosaria (the grandfather) a swiss army knife, for Jaqueline (the mother) we bought a bunch of shower stuff, and for Juan, we got him an awesome bike and a soccer ball.
The dedication ceremony is always just so powerful. Brian started by holding the keys and saying a few words of dedication. He then passed on the keys to Dylon, and so on until the keys went all the way around the circle. I made a hug effort to keep it together, but alas! haha. It is just so amazing to see the amazing work that God does, and how he can take pain and tragedy to make the most beautiful of things. Brilliant.
We wrapped up the day with a great fiesta, with food made and prepared by the local church. Ben and Robbie had a "salsa" challenge, which ended up with Ben eating an entire bowl of spicy Mexican salsa! It was nice after 4 days of hard, hard work to celebrate and spend time with people we now call family (and hey! we now have an open invitation to their new home!).
Thank you again for allllll your prayers. What an awesome thing it so to serve a God that challenges us to step out and bring life to those in need of it.
Tomorrow is our free day. We plan on heading out to a local market, enjoying a nice lunch together, and a few other surprises.
To all you parents out there, just so you know, there has already been talk amongst the teens about "next year". Stay tuned? I think so! haha.

PS. I debated whether I should put this in the blog, so Ill just say this. Sometimes, in Mexico, when you eat a lot of foreign food, you have certain...needs that become...urgent, which may or may not have lead me to sit on a freshly painted toilet. ...awkward. Haha. On that note, some pictures! :D

The gang, getting ready for last night's church service.

Our trusty rental.

Lee and Katie, proud of their good purchase - a camper stove.

The dudes in between tasks.

Lee worked all morning with Juan, showing him how to do electrical.

My least favorite job of all time: scraping the entire floor to remove plaster. OMG.

A small group took the family for a walk around the block while we loaded up their house with gifts from the congregation.

Glenn and Katherine: here are the school supplies you donated!

The family during the dedication.

Emotional moment.

FIESTA FIESTA!!!!!!!

This kid was hilarious. His treatment of this dog was not so hilarious. Haha.

Juan enjoying his new soccer ball.

A new home, and new friends. :)

Totally shocking

A quick update on my previous post. We got back from what ended up being a 2+ hour church service. Knowing the team was having a hard time adjusting to more evangelical worship, I was anxious to hear their reaction to a service full of testimonies, flag waving, communal praying, dim lights, yelling, etc. etc. The result? THEY LOVED IT! It really was an incredible experience. At the end, they had us stand at the front so they could all come and hug us. Amazing.
They also asked us to pray for a girl, whose name is (in English), Little Angel. She was born with severe disabilities, and was abandoned by her mother. The pastor and his wife are caring for her. So, Im passing this on for your own prayers. :)
Anyway, as I said, the service was great. Robbie, Brian and I shared via translator about the amazing things God had done in our lives.
All in all, goooood times!
Goodnight!

A little bit of lime and a little bit of salt

What a day! I love that we came down with a small team, as everyone seems to be getting along really well - even meeting people from other schools (Ben is currently being lovingly teased by some of the guys on our team about a girrrrl on another team - oh teens). ;) Haha.
We're ahead of schedule, and the house is looking beautiful after shingling the roof in a day ("get your shingle on" what our theme), sanding, texturizing and painting the interior. Full day, great day. We came back to a dinner of freshmade tacos, sprinkled with fresh lime juice and salt. Good stuff. We're off to a Spanish church service where as few of us will be sharing via translator. Yikes!
I've really been enjoying our evenings, enjoying group time and really great conversations. Every night, we go around the group expressing our rose (highlight), thorn ("lowlight") and our bud (our hope for tomorrow) of the day. It's been really great hearing everyone's experience, what they are finding difficult, and what they are enjoying. We just end up spending a lot of time laughing together (mostly at my expense). ;) hahaha.
Oh! I should add that Brian, Judy, Katie and Sam went into town during the afternoon to pick up some things to bless the family with, which we will be giving to the family tomorrow during the dedication which takes place tomorrow. Already. Wow. We're still looking for a bike that we could buy for Juan, who has outgrown his.
Anyway, Im hoping to add pictures to this update later tonight, so make sure you come back - we're about to head out for church. Cant wait to see everyone, and thanks again for your prayers. What a journey it has been. Ill leave you with these words from Brian who just pipped up from his room: "Those tacos were fantastic!"

Sam and Vivian learning the ropes of roofing.

Roofing crew 2011!

Lee covered in dust from the always incredible job of sanding.

Judy picking up new skills!

Jaqueline and her father Rosario helping out on their new home-to-be.

Jesus, the neighbourhood kid.

Vivian playing with Jesus.

Abel, Rosaria, Jaqueline and Juan (the family), along with Tito, the Yugo guy who works with us.

Robbie, painting away!

Thats right...TACOS!

Me, getting my shingle on!

Brian and the guys painting away.

Comparing sunburns...

Just a quick update here to say we are now comparing sunburns. Im still King Lobster, but probably not for long! Today we were blessed with a full day of sunshine, which was a blessing for those who wanted to tan and spent the day on the roof, and a blessing for those who wanted to avoid the sun and worked hard on the interior (drywall, taping and mudding all in a day!).

We've had some good laughs on our trips to and from the work site, listening to the most inane music courtesy of my iPod. My song dedications are slowly becoming legendary! ;)

For lunch today, the family prepared us the most amazing burritos, which were devoured in a flash. Good stuff! 

On an emotional and spiritual level, everyone seems to be doing great. Some are wrestling with the more evangelical style of worship, others with the sermon style - things that are essentially "different" from what they might be used to. But in everyone, there seems to be an openess and a willingness to love, which is great. We're on day 2 of the build and I am continually amazed at how blessed we are to be here doing this work. The family keeps expressing how touched and moved they are by our presence and our willingness to PAY to work, when it's usually the opposite!

One of the moments I thought I would pass on was a lunchtime conversation I had with Sam about safety. As we enjoyed our burritos, he just said "You know, I think it's funny how everyone made such a big deal about safety, because I feel so safe here." Same with Vivian, who expressed "When I feel at home, I tend to think less about my actions, and I feel so much at home here. So, if someone sees me approaching a dog that looks like it has rabbies, please let me know." Hehe. Of course, that is not to say that we're making rash decisions and putting ourselves at risk unecessarily. But I thought I would share these things to say "so far so good!" So please continue praying for our safety, for our health, and most of all, that God would continue the good work of transformation that He has been doing for ages. 

Alex posing with Rosario, the grandfather, standing in what has become a classic pose.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially a man: yes, I shed blood on this project. Haha.

The house and the neighbourhood.

Maja and Katie laughing it up.

Ben and Vivian putting up some drywall.

Trapped in the drywall box.

Brian and Dylon.

Classic pose #2.

Robbie and Alex, posing on the roof!

Gord: you can add this to the list of renos you can make Judy do to the cottage!

Dylon, Vivian and Lee laying down the tar paper.