Back home!

We were given a warm greeting back to Manitoba by many parents and family members when we landed on Thursday. We needed that warmth, because we experienced a 60°C temperature change in one day! We are thankful we are all happy and healthy and we get some time to rest up before getting back to the normal routine!

In Calgary

We have landed in Calgary, a little behind schedule. The flight to Winnipeg should be leaving on time though. We will be boarding in a few minutes. Looking forward to see loved ones at the airport!

- Mr. Stoesz

Mexico team has arrived safely at their resort and are enjoying time at the beach before heading for home tomorrow.

Day 8: Thoughts from Alison

Waking up this morning, there [were] a few people who were sick, [but they were well taken care of by Mr. Ferguson and Mrs. McCutcheon. By the afternoon they were feeling much better]. After breakfast we went to Galeras. It is a community were the migrant workers live during sugarcane season. The families there are very poor. We set up a table [covered] with clothes to give away. As the parents were going through everything on the table, we played soccer and basketball with the kids and handed out stickers. After everything to give away was all gone, we performed the Daniel program. It was very hot when we were dancing and doing the skits and we [had no shade. Steven did well in sharing his faith story.] As soon as the program was done we moved everyone to the shade and made balloon sculptures and painted the kids faces. Then we distributed food bags [and prayed for] the families in the community before we left.


Some of the local kids at Galeras



MaryBeth chatting with the
kids before our program




Hillary enjoying making eye contact
with a new friend




Josh and Nic being mobbed by boys

 

This girl spent nearly the
entire time with Kayly

  

Our awesome dancers



Kids copying our dance moves




Travis gets into his "tempter" character!

 

Nebuchadnezzar (Nic) is served
by his servants



Shadrach, Meshach, Abendnego
 (Nathan, Brittany, & Trent)
are joined by a fourth figure
(Megan) in the fiery furnace





Steph, Danica, & Nic with their puppets




Mr. Ferguson & Mrs. McCutcheon chat with
Vernon & Jennifer - missionaries from Alaska




David, one of the guys who joined us on many of the
mission sites, showing off his face paint art



Mrs. McCutcheon & Mr. Stoesz soaking
up some rays while supervising




Megan makes friends with one of the kids

after the program



Danica and Steven pray for one of

the women in the community



After siesta we were at Valle de Nayarit at a church [planted by La Fuente about seven years ago] where we performed bits of both of our programs. [The team put a lot of energy in their last chance to put in a program in Mexico, and they were great! The kids responded well and participated in the songs. We had nearly everyone in the church joining in the last song! Kayly and Kaitlin shared their faith stories.] Everything we had was put into today, the mood this morning was a bit sad as we each realised it was our last day in Tepic. No one wants to leave but we are looking foreword to sharing our experiences and bringing what we have learnt back home.     

 - Alison


Steven and his sidekick, Alison
(or is it Alison and her sidekick, Steven?)
performing an illusion




Kaitlin and Kayly sharing their
faith stories (translator: Rebecca)



Day 7 - Thoughts from Kenzie, Steven & Mr. Stoesz

Thoughts from Kenzie

Today was really great. We woke up a little later. We were all very excited to sleep in until 8:00am.  After breakfast (at 9:00 am) we headed off to the hospital.  We handed out food bags and a brunch type meal to the families outside the entrance to the hospital that had loved ones inside.  It was very touching to see that we could bring some light into people’s lives that had so much going on.  To see their hurting faces have a smile on them was the best sight ever.  After handing out food we were going to go inside the hospital to pray for the patients inside.  We were about to go in small groups of four  when a doctor stopped  us.  He explained to us that they did not want all of us to go in for some reason, and that only Selena (the woman leading the hospital mission) a translator and one student could go inside.  I was privileged to be that student.   We went in and met a beautiful three year old girl named Brittany.  We prayed over her and then her dad came and explained that she had just started chemotherapy for a cancer in her stomach.  Her dark hair had been cut short and her big brown eyes seemed to glow with excitement to see us.  I played with her for a little longer and then we prayed once again for a miracle for this beautiful little girl.  I then said goodbye, not wanting to leave her side, as she waved goodbye to me and smiled.  We then moved on to a room of tiny babies, we prayed for their mothers who were glued to each crib cradling each of their babies.  We exchanged smiles and then said goodbye, the feeling in that hospital was pretty gloomy but when we had prayed I could feel a glimpse of hope and I knew that God was working in each of these precious lives.   After praying for Brittany and the babies we moved on to a gunshot victim.  We went in and prayed for him, it was amazing to feel God’s presence in the room. After we had prayed, Selena and the man were talking and something in their tone was moving.  She then began to pray for him and he repeated.  As the prayer came to an end, our translator told me that he had just accepted Christ in his heart.  It was amazing. We then left him with some goodbyes and then walked down the hallways to leave. As we were leaving we saw the gunshot victim’s mom coming down the hall and we prayed for her as well.  God was working in that hospital and it was amazing.

-          Kenzie

Luiz and Celina Guzman; leaders of
a hospital ministry

Beans & Chickpeas: some of the food
we served

Alison, Rebecca (La Fuente ministry
leader), Brittany, & Kayly serving food

Ms. Stahl holding a newborn baby,
allowing his mother to enjoy the meal

Thoughts from Steven

Today we went to the Hospital to hand out food, clothes, and prayer. When we got their Selena wanted 6 of us to go in with her to invite people to our tables. I was lucky enough to be in that 6. We walked in and right away saw the gunshot victim that Kenzie was talking about. We said hi, told him about our missions, then left to go and find more people. We walked down long hallways with 4 rooms on each side. In each room there were 8 different people. They didn’t sort it by age, sex, height, injury, nothing. You were put where there was an empty bed. I walked into a room with 7 woman and 1 boy. I thought I would get to know the boy a bit. His name was Jorge and he had gotten into a motorbike accident. His leg had pins coming out from it and he was in ok shape. He asked where I was from and then asked how the temperature was. I said really cold and he laughed. Walking down the many rooms all I saw was gloomyness, hopelessness, and very little joy. When we walked in Selena, with her big smile would say, “Buenos Dias” and all the patients would smile at that. It felt really good to bring a smile to someone that we didn’t know and were there was no joy to begin with. An example of this was: We walked into one room with a mom who had delivered her baby 2 days earlier. The bed next beside her was of a lady who had lost her baby. She was very distressed and very sad but Selena went over there and prayed for her. By the time we left that room there was a smile on her face. It also felt sad when we walked into a room and on one side of the room one patient would have loved ones beside them, while the person across from them had no one. It felt really awesome being able to make someone’s day by doing the simplest thing that I know how to do in Spanish saying the word ‘Hola’. By the time we finished and got out of the building the food table and been cleared and the clothes table was being soon diminished. It was a very humbling moment watching how we feed the poor, clothed the naked, and healed the sick. One more quick thing about the hospital. As Kenzie was inside praying over people Mrs. Alaska (Jennifer, but they are from Alaska so I call her Mrs. Alaska) told us this story about a group of people who went in to do the same thing we did but was only aloud to pray over 4 people. They did that then they left. A few days later they got a call saying that everyone in that wing that they prayed in had been healed. That story encouraged us so the rest of us, so we started praying for the lost inside. To hear that one of the patients had accepted Christ and to know that we were praying for that outside showed me and a lot others just how powerful prayer is.

In the afternoon the guys went to a drug rehab place while the girls got to go to a girls home. Since I’m a pretty young guy I wasn’t allowed to go to the drug rehab place so I was lucky enough to go with the girls to a place called “Nana’s house” - a girls home. There was one boy there, though, that I would be able to hang out with. The first day that we got here we went shopping for things for supplies. Mr. Stoesz came up to me and told me about the girls home and how there was a guy there. He then came up with the idea that that I should get him a little gift bag, so that’s what I did. I had found a Manchester United shirt that I wanted for myself but then Mr. Stoesz came up with the idea that I should get one for my friend and show him that me being Canadian want him being Mexican to be the same. So I got him the same shirt and a soccer ball. As we got to the home I noticed the ball right away and to my excitement he had been one of the boys that came with us to all the different kids programs so I had gotten to know him pretty well. We got there and we headed to the park. I played soccer a bit with the boy and even some of the girls. The girls played with the other girls in a game of duck duck goose. We soon decided to play freeze tag. That was the most tiring game I’ve ever played. Those girls were really fast. We played that for about half an hour then rested. Jennifer told us that we had ten minutes left and then the girls were going to get a makeover. Well one girl didn’t want a makeover she wanted to run. So for that next ten minutes I was chased by a mob of girls. We got back to the home and the girls started doing their makeovers and I started playing dominoes with Ociel (boys name). He loved it very much and soon a few of the girls wanted to play. By the time we had finished we had played dominoes for 30 minutes. I then gave Ociel the jersey that I had for him. The look on his face said it all. He loved Manchester and loved red. It was a really awesome feeling to do that for him. I won’t be forgetting that moment any time soon. While I’ll was doing that the girls were doing the other girls’ hair, nails and even my nails. Yes one girl thought it would be funny to paint my pinkies so they soon turned purple. One girl even did some of our girls’ hair. She was really good and could do things that we couldn’t. Also I was told that she was very fast at braiding hair. Taking pictures of it all was really fun too. One girl Candy wouldn’t allow me at all to take pictures of her. Jenifer then explained that I wanted to remember her beautiful smile and that I wanted one picture. In the end I had gotten the picture that I wanted. Even though I’m not a make-up, hair & bracelet kind a guy, it was fun to do that with the girls, and the guy. Over all it was a lot of fun and the fun that I needed to keep going. Who knew going to a girls home would be a lot of fun? Keep prayer in mind for the girls, they have been through a lot but have a spirit of joy in them. Their names are: Ociel, Dulce, Teresa, Isabel, Candy, Itzy, Maria, Selena, Yareli, Adilene. Thank you all.

-          Steven

Thoughts from Mr. Stoesz

While the girls and Steven were at Nana’s house, the rest of the boys went to an addictions rehabilitation shelter. The men who come to this shelter, ranging from teenager to retired, come voluntarily. Most who come are not Christians, but are exposed to the love of Christ through the workers and special guests. They have had some men who gave their lives to Christ while in rehab – one even deciding to become a student at La Fuente’s Bible School. Celina and Luiz, the couple who led the hospital ministry that morning, were also there this afternoon to deliver food and clothing. We brought soap to distribute, but our main role was to share our testimonies. Mr. Ferguson had prepped our guys that they will ask three or four of them to share their testimony. It turned out that all the guys shared their testimony in front of these men. This was a big step for some of our guys and we are very proud of them. Afterwards, some of the men came up to our guys to ask for prayer, which our guys were happy to do.

In the evening, I read out the current blog comments before debriefing our day. The team has really appreciated the amount of traffic that has been to the blog and especially the comments.

It has been a very impacting day!

-          Mr. Stoesz

Note: internet connection is slow right now, so we will have to wait until a later time to include pictures. KS

Day 6: Thoughts from Kenzie



Some of the 21 people crammed into
a 15 passanger vehicle



On the way to Puga

Today was great, and also very long J! We woke up at 6 am to clean out our rooms to make space for Sunday school this morning.  After we were all cleaned up and ready we headed off to church in Puga. On the way a couple people that had stayed the night in Tepic after the youth group the night before had to go back to Puga...thus we only had one van available to us...and a couple seats in the other,  so we crammed 21 of us into a 12 passenger van. Bonding time J!



One of the team performing their dance
to the kids in a tiny classroom.



Walking through the decorated streets

in Puga



We drove along the twisty, bumpy, and crazy roads until we got the small town. The town was beautiful, colourful houses and handmade decorations streamed across the narrow streets, giving the town tons of character before we even got out of our vans. We talked to some of the teens from the church and then walked around the town streets inviting little “ninos” and “ninas” to our program at the church.



Raela and Josh entertaining the kids

with their puppet show "The Trap"



Worship service in Puga



The program went great and we had fun getting to know and playing with the kids.  Those of us that were not involved with the kids program stayed in the wonderful service and once again experienced the inspiring worship. We then headed back, some of us had to go into another vehicle and got to talk with some Mexican teens. We talked the whole way back about American bands, and who was the best.   Apparently Justin Beiber is greatly loved by the girls but hated by the guys here.  It was a lot of fun to try and communicate with a language berrier, it was alot of fun. Then we got back to the church and had lunch...and a much needed extended siesta. 



Hillary chatting with a new friend



We then attended a prayer time before the evening service and then walked to the nearby coffee shop. (I think they are beginning to know us by name we are there so often...Mr. Ferguson!) We came back to the church for the evening service where we met up with a couple people that we had made friends with earlier. orship here was once again extremely touching.  Something about singing a song that you know and have heard back home so much and then singing it in Spanish is so beautiful.  

Tacos!

After the service we headed off to TACOS! I think this was a highlight ( food-wise) for many of us.  They were the best tacos I have ever tasted.  Then we all went to bed after yet another great day here in Mexico.



Day 5: Thoughts from Kayly



Alison, Brittany & Kayly
preparing Tortas



Serving breakfast on a
basketball court

 Most of us can’t keep track of what day it is, the trip is flying by so quickly.  Since today was Saturday, we had a ‘fun day’.  We started off the day with a yummy pancake breakfast at the church.  Then we headed off to La Cantera, where we were made a breakfast for the kids around the church.  The church there hosts a kid’s breakfast every other week.  



Steven hanging out with some
of his new friends



Jon playing football (a.k.a soccer)
with local boys

  When we got there we split into several groups. Some people went off to invite kids to the breakfast, some of us made the food, and some played with the kids.

               



"Armour of God" team doing the
Amare dance



Travis sharing his testimony
in Spanish (no translator needed!)

 We served breakfast (Tortas - a grilled bun with sour cream, tomatoes, onions, and ham), was enjoyed by the kids a lot.  After they ate we did one of the programs that we had been practising at home.  They loved the balloons and face painting that we did after. The balloon swords were extremely popular.  The little boys there had so much energy that a few of the guys from our team (e.g. Josh) were pretty played out by the time we left.



Mikayla & Kayly drawing chalk art
for the kids



This girl was so nervous that her
balloon armour was going to pop!

 Of course, there we many new little friends that we had made that were hard to say good-bye to when we had to leave. We got back to the church earlier than we had expected so we had even more time to hang out and relax before our afternoon at the market. 



Caleb being "mobbed" by kids
wanting his balloon art



Kayly painting a "mariposa"
(butterfly) on one of the girls



The market was a new experience for a lot of the team.  We had fun watching the locals make intricate beaded bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and key chains.  It was hard to barter with the language barrier, but we managed to communicate by lots of gestures and writing numbers out on paper.  A few people found good deals on knock-off soccer jerseys, etc.



Nic showing off his Canada flag
face paint



Buying souveniers at the market

 In the evening we went to the youth group.  It was the biggest youth group that I have ever been to.  The average attendance is 200 kids.  I was talking to one of our translators and she said that is all of the La Fuente churches combined.  The age range was generally 13-30.   The pastor said that at times there have been over 400 people at a service!



Worship music at La Fuente's main
church in Tepic



Chatting with new friends during the
break at the worship service.

 There was amazing worship time.  It was the highlight of my day for sure.  I love how you can worship God even if you can’t understand what is being said.  I am learning and realizing that worship is not just for us.  It should be a time where we focus our hearts and thoughts on God.

There was a little bit of time where we got to mix in with rest of the youth.  We found some girls that spoke very good English.  We had fun talking about the differences between the two cultures.  We got to stay for part of the service as well, but had to leave early.  Sunday morning was going to be extra early, and we all need sleep!!

We are all safe and for the most part feeling well.  It is fun to share such a huge and exciting experience with a great bunch of friends.  Hope that everyone at home is doing well...and not missing us too much. J 

- Kayly

P.S. We are running out of time before our next session. I will update the captions on a later date.  - Mr. Stoesz 

P.P.S. Captions are now updated. Enjoy! - Mr. Stoesz