New Youth website

After what seems like an eternity, the youth website is finally up! Check it out at www.westvanyouth.com

We're super stoked about our next Mexico trip in 2015! Stay tuned to the youth website for details.

Adios amigos!!!

Another beautiful day. People are feeling a little weary today with a few upset stomachs, a bit of car sickness with those bumpy dirt roads, etc. We're just generally pretty pooped after a GREAT week, but all feeling so so satisfied. 

The day started off with a trip to La Bufadora, the marine geyser we've made a habit of visiting. The sun came out in full force as we arrived. We spent the next few hours watching the ocean flow in and out of a small rock crevice, creating explosions of water everywhere, shopping for little trinkets to bring back to family and friends, and enjoying a nice team lunch. This year, I think we overprepared the kids for the bartering experience, because at first, no one dared go into the shops - a far cry from the year we underprepared the kids! Haha.

One of the highlights was some of the girls deciding to get temporary (ie. not real) tattoos (let me say that again, dear parents - TEMPORARY - NOT REAL! haha) to commemorate their experience. A few of them got one or 2 small birds spray painted. Ben and Ryan, not to be outdone, went all out, with Ben getting a slightly larger cross, and Ryan going for the full-on sleeve. Toni, if you're reading this, be happy Ryan didn't go for the Mike Tyson face tattoo he saw when he was done! Hahaha. And again, just for good measure - TEMPORARY - NOT REAL! Hahaha. All of these will be faded and gone within the next week or 2. 

After leaving La Bufadora was yet another highlight of this week: seeing the houses we'd built previously. Unfortunately, the people from our first house (2011), were away, but the house still looked beautiful! The house from last year....oh wow. We arrived and parked our vehicle a ways away. The boys must have seen us come out of the van because they came RUNNING down the hill to greet us with HUGE smiles. Marta, the mother, was hanging clothes on their new clothes line. She was just BEAMING, waving her arms frantically at us as we walked towards her. Mateo, the husband, was also just overjoyed and was SO excited to show us the new retention walls they had built. They also planted new lime trees, an apple tree, a tree for shade, avocados, and a few other things we couldn't quite understand. The great miracle and major Holy Spirit moment was that we actually seemed to be able to understand one another even though none of us spoke Spanish (though Wes faithfully pulled out his Spanish dictionary all week, which was great!), and they don't speak English. It was amazing. 

Marta got a job, the boys have all grown up and look much healthier. Mateo was the biggest change: last year, he was silent most of the week, rarely cracking a smile. Today? He was looking healthy, laughing, smiling, running around showing us everything. The moment we got inside, they pulled out our group photo to show us they still think about us every day.

Anyway, we're just about wrapped up here. We leave tomorrow to head back home. Please pray for our ongoing health (we found out our first year that waiting at the border with an upset stomach is definitely not enjoyable). Please also pray for our travels, for safety, easy crossing with no troubles, catching our connecting flights on time, etc.

Some of us will hopefully be with you in worship on Sunday. See you then! And thank you for reading, praying, and every other way you have made us feel loved and encouraged to do the work we set out to do: building, but most of all, loving. 

xo

Arriving at the market.

The team at La Bufadora!

The girls checking out the selection of temporary tattoos!

Chris getting her airbrush tattoo!

The ladies showing off their (TEMPORARY, NOT REAL) birds. ;)

Ryan, not one to be outdone, was NOT going to get a bird. ;)

This actually happened during lunch! Yup, not a cardboard cutout!

The 2011 house! They even have a dog now! :D

The new garden at the 2012 house. :)

Those of us from last year's team with the 2012 Family!!!!!! So heartwarming. :)

BEAUTIFUL

What a full full day!!!! Oh man. So much to write about, so little energy to do it with! Haha. Let's just say the day was so full we arrived back at the campus over 3 hours late. Oops!

When we arrived this morning, our crew leader Ricardo read the Scripture of Jesus washing his disciples feet. He then handed us all a paper towel and asked us to kneel in front of one another and wipe each other's boots, and then to give them a hug, thanking them. Oh man. I got down in front of a 7 year old kid (ironically, Im just realizing now his name was Jesus. Haha!) and slowly wiped his dirty shoes clean. It's a moment I hope I never forget. Many tears were shed, and it was only 10:00am!

For lunch, the family surprised us with DELICIOUS home made fish and/or shark tacos. :O Fresh guacamole, cilantro, onions, lettuce, salsa (of the picante kind!!). It's just incredible to me that these families who live in a neighbourhood referred to as "The Skunk" served us with such joy and generosity. I mean, the husband earns under $10 a day for a day's work. 

The rest of the day consisted of painting the interior of the house, finishing the roofing, putting up the trim around the doors and windows, finishing up the electrical (which worked!), burying the wire in the ditch David had dug with Chris and Ben, etc etc. All this while Dylon and David ran a few errands for our family. In the end, we ended up adding several small additions, including 2 awnings over the windows, a clothes line, a counter for a kitchen area, and a small 2nd counter for the stove we bought for the family.

Thanks to your generosity and kindness, we were able to buy a stove for the family, along with a basket of food. We also had toiletries for the mother and dad, tons and tons of school stuff for the kids, soccer balls (we even had 15 soccer uniforms donated by the West Van Soccer Club!), storage cabinets, etc etc. The house looked BEAUTIFUL by the time we were done. 

Wes had gone around the neighbourhood to collect funds for the trip, and with the proceeds, we were able to buy food baskets for the family that will be delivered for the next 8 months! We also bought a food basket for the neighbour who made us tortillas. She was thrilled, mostly because this meant she had a bit of extra food she could give to a single mom from the area. 

The day ended with the key ceremony. This is always such a powerful moment that I always wonder how anything could ever top previous years. This year, I finally learned that it's not about it being better, but trying to see God in the differences. The team is different, the family is different. And once again, the handing over the house was steeped in goodness and joy (and lots of tears!). The keys are passed from hand to hand, with each team member being given an opportunity to say a few words to the family. The father, Moises, started crying from the moment Dylon started speaking (and he was the 1st to speak!). His lips quivered the whole time. So did mine. Haha.

Upon entering her house for the first time with her children, the mother burst into tears, saying she never thought she would live in such a beautiful home. It makes me tear up just writing about it. They were simply overjoyed. The mother brought out small bracelets for us that she had made for each one of us - so that we would never forget them, as they would never forget us. They even asked if they could keep Ryley's Canada water bottler. :) 

When we left the house for the last time, the dad looked at me and just put his hands on his heart, with a beautiful, large smile. 

Ryan begins painting the blue bedroom for the kids!

Sam won the award for most covered in paint. Oh for sure.

Manuel, the pastor we were partnered with, preparing the shark tacos.

Ricardo giving a final little pep talk to the roofing crew prior to putting in the last nails.

And there you have it: the last nail goes in. 

After scraping the gunk off the floor, Sam and Nicole were tasked with the cinderella-esque chore of washing the floor clean. :O Rachel, our intern, said she'd never seen such a clean floor!

LUNCH TIME!!!! The mother, Veronica, is on the right. :)

Putting up the last awning.

Jesus tried to join the roofing crew. We said nice try Jesus. ;)

Waiting for the key ceremony!

What the living room looked like. :)

A cross from Jerusalem, and the parents' bedroom in the background.

The boys' bedroom.

After a first look at the house - a tearful round of hugs!

Veronica bought hats for the 3 ladies on the crew - Chris, Rachel (our AMAZING intern and translator!) and Katie.

Katie, Dylon and I - so so so proud of our amazing team.

The beautiful family - Aron, Veronica, Andres, Moises and Jesus.

The 2013 Team!!!

Tomorrow is our day off! WOO! We head to a market to check out the local culture and will spend one last night as a big group before heading back home Saturday morning. Ill update the blog again tomorrow evening before we head out! Until then, please pray for ongoing health, safety, and lots and lots of LOVE. 

Children Everywhere!

David: Man of the Day

So, every evening, we wrap up the day talking about our day and our hopes for the next. David, it turns out, had mentioned that he was hoping that today, he would be challenged to do something he wouldn't want to do. Well, turns out a ditch needed to be dug from the house to the road (downhills, maybe 150 meters long?). Without grumbling, David spent several hours with a pick axe, then a shovel, then a jack hammer trying to get this ditch done. And he did. We gave him a seated-standing ovation (since we were in the van) and the honourary title of "Man of the Day". (feel free to pray for a good night sleep for him tonight!). He was so tired he fell asleep tonight with his light on, full dressed.

Today was a full and busy day. We got to the site a little later than usual, trying to price out how much it would cost to run electricity for the family. So we got started at a leisurely 11am after beef burritos for breakfast. Mmm mm mmmm. Our goal for the day was to put up all the trim around the outside, finish the drywall + taping + mudding, paint the wooden frame for the beds, and get as far as possible on the shingling. All of that before a 3:30 wrap-up for tonight's church service. And guess what?! WE PULLED THROUGH! What an amazing feeling. The family is so so thrilled.

We got home in time for the annual tradition of Poblano's Tacos: you place your order of 1 to 5 tacos. The shells and everything is made right in front of you, as the taco craftsman sends dollops of salsa and guacamole flying through the air onto the taco. Sprinkle with a little bit of lime and you are SET! :D

We then made our way to a local church that the family we are building with is connected for a 2 (!!) hour service! Every year, the service ends up being an AMAZING experience, so I had my expectations set pretty high. It started off a little rocky, mostly in that at first, our team were the only ones there. But slowly, people trickled in until there was a healthy congregation of about 40 to 50 people - LOTS of kids again. Sadly, people had stolen their music instruments, so we were treated to simple worship. We all got a good chuckle out of the awful awful clapping rhythm we all had. It seemed as though the evening would be fairly normal after all.

The team was asked if anyone wanted to share a few words. Ben got up first, and spoke like a true minister (*coughnewcallingcough*). He spoke on using what God has given him, and us, to be a blessing to others. Then Wesley went to the front and shared a profoundly emotional message about his late grandpa who taught him how to build things - great preparation that allowed Wes to be here. Sam went up and talked about his experience of Mexico, and blessed the congregation for helping him feel safe and at home with them. Ryley shared about the deep joy he can see in these kids who have so little. Chris shared a passage from Scripture, and Katie closed off with a prayer for the congregation. I just sat there, AMAZED. In past years, it took a lot of coaching and prodding to have 1 or 2 kids share. And this year, 6 people from the team went up in front to tell of God's faithfulness. ALL of this, through a translator. I was also asked to preach, which went really well. I sometimes get this feeling of being in the little bubble when Im preaching, and this year was the first time I felt like the translator was a part of that covering too. Really fun. :)

Anyway, we wrapped up the night with children hanging off of us. There were tears from the kids in the church when we left, which led to tears on our team in the van on the ride home. As we pulled out of the parking lot, the kids were asking us "Casa mañana?!!" (which means "House tomorrow?"). Yup! We'll be there!

Hard to believe tomorrow is our last day of building. I am so grateful for the things God has done this week in the team, in myself, in the family and their neighbours.

Please pray for the key ceremony tomorrow, that the team would be transformed in whatever way God has prepared for us. Please pray for continued safety and health, for openness, for joy + love. Thank you all so much - here a few photos to wrap up this sunny day!

This picture is for Wes' sister. :)

Photo taken by one of the kids that ran around with my camera. :D 

Ryan, Nicole and Zoe rocking the shingling!

Chris really connected with the neighbour, Carmen. It's going to be a tearful goodbye! :(

Aron turned 2!! There's a tradition where the celebrant's face is smashed into the cake. Aron was obviously not keen on this, so his brother Jesus stepped in. Jesus always does. ;) hehehe.

Wes had a little accident with the drywall mud: the bottom of the bucket fell right out!
He felt vindicted though when our crew leader's cell phone went off while Wes was praying us out for the day. Ha!

LOVE lunch time: great conversation, great people, and great food!

The roofing crew!

Rev. Ben, preaching up a storm!

Kids everywhere!

A while after the service, we thought we should take a photo with whoever was left. This gives you a good sense of the joyful chaos that surrounds us. :)

The Day In Pictures

Well, here we are, day 2. I CANT believe once more how fast this is going by. Today we set up the entire roof, minus the shingles, and did most of the dry walling inside. All of this while hanging out with the kids and family. There seems to be a real joy surrounding this team this year - everywhere I look I see smiling faces.

One of the things I try to do is create a playlist for every trip that can set the theme every day as we head to the work site. Some of it is fun, some of it is more serious. But it usually ends up in these really funny singalongs. I told the team this would end up on the blog, which explains perhaps just how ridiculous this one is. But this is for all of you reading at home:

One of my personal highlights today was that Sam, Mary and Katie really took to the photography, which, surprisingly, freed me up to do some really great work on the roof. That is - until my pants ripped at an unfortunate spot, much to everyone else's entertainment. 

Everyone continues to be safe thus far, and it's great to see the kids digging a bit deeper into worship, which we open and close every day with. The songs are unfamiliar, but this team has been embracing newness since we got here, and it has been amazing seeing them grow in these new ways. :)

For dinner: fish tacos with incredible spicy salsa, Mexican salad, and cupcakes for dessert!

Tomorrow evening, we'll be heading to a Spanish church service. The team has been asked to share a few testimonies of what they have seen God do here, so please pray for that! :D Please pray for continued safety and health

Photo by Sam: ZOE! An absolutely incredible woman on this team.

Photo by Mary: Wes, taking a break with the kids.

Photo by Sam: Everyone was impressed because I was "actually working" (instead of taking photos). Ha!

After spending more time teaching the girls some reading, Anna gave mudding a try. 

David and Dylon finishing up the initial part of the roofing.

Photo by Mary! SO. SO. ADORABLE!!! :D

Photo by Katie: Lee, our fearless cut-crew leader.

Ryley and Wes helped the kids with a little propaganda. ;)

Ryan, Ryley and Ben putting up the dry wall.

Our crew leader, Ricardo, and Moises, the father we're building for.

Chris and Mary painting (only because I promised Mary Id post pictures of her "actually doing something". Hahaha!

Photo by Mary - Katie hanging out with the women, making tortillas for us!

A first this year: staining! (to match a table we're having made of the same colour). 

Lunch time!

Mary promised many women yesterday she'd buy a bracelet from them. She wasn't expecting the crowd of ladies waiting for us at our arrival at the site!