Adventures of the Final Day

February 15th

9:52 PM: We just got a campfire going out here (in a pit behind the dorms), so I'm now writing by firelight. Today was our last full day in Mexico! And a full day it was...

It all started with Sala, led today by the week's visitors. Afterwards I had the opportunity of working with the groundskeeper, Norberto, tending the Prayer Garden. He showed me which colour of bougainvillea makes good tea, and which leaves and pods you can boil with it.

The garden-fresh tea had a buttery smell
and distinctive "wild" taste.

My last few minutes of working in Mexico over, I crawled out from under the bougainvillea bush I'd been cleaning, took my armfull of tea-making supplies and hustled up to the staff lounge for team-building.

We had lunch up there, and then promptly filed into the white YWAM van to begin our afternoon expeditions.

First stop: the market.

Next Stop: a pinata store.

                                    Third Stop: another camp

The camp was set up as rows of concrete houses built around a central sand courtyard. Clothes lines stretched out around many of the entrances, as today was "washing day." Most of the washing was occurring in tubs in an open building near the front of the camp, while we meanwhile were distributing the rest of our stickers, bubbles and string to the fun-loving kids.

 (Please click "Read More" to view the rest of the day's events...)

Day 6, Part 2: The Second Migrant Camp

February 14th



Special thanks to our friends from Minnesota
 for sending us the pictures of the evening!



As fun as daycare had been, the day wasn't over yet! After a macadamia-sorting session and a lunch of potato tacos and beans, we all piled into vans bound for the next migrant outreach. (For information on the Migrant Camp situation, please read this post of our last outreach.)
Destination? A large camp called Los Brisos.



The Lineup for Supper





Because of somebody's donation*  we were able to serve a meal again tonight. While it cooked, some of us went in groups (led by Spanish-speakers) to walk up and down the long rows of joined houses, giving out toiletry items and inviting people to dinner.
We returned to the main area, slid behind a long table, and had the privilege of serving 500 meals, including seconds. As is the system, our fellow volunteers walked along the table as we filled the plates they held, which they then took to serve the people in line.

 

I was on "nacho-doling duty." Before long my hands were covered with salt,

but I loved every minute of it!



Skipping Rope Before Supper



The camp is divided by a concrete basketball court on which we set up for the meal and movie. On this side of the court are the joined rows of corrugated tin houses for temporary working (migrant) families. On that side of the court are the separated brick houses, electrical wires running among them. These, we are told, are for local (Spanish-speaking) workers.

This court is where the New Testament animation played after supper, projected on a screen on the side of a van. The evangelist offered the hope of salvation to those who remained, after which we handed out Bibles to the new believers.

I can still see the one guy up there--the first to stand up to confess Christ tonight. Later, I even got to give another fellow a Bible! It's easy to really feel like you're working for God in a place like this, even though we're to serve like Him wherever you are. To think that tomorrow is our last day here!

*(At this time, it only takes $200 dollars to feed an entire camp! Please click here for information from the Foundation for His Ministry website.)

Day 6, Part 1: Daycare

February 14

Never underestimate the potential of a plastic chicken leg.

This morning Mrs. LaFrance and I had the opportunity to help out at daycare, for kids that would often otherwise be home alone all day. First came bath time--it was the girls' turn today--during which I hung out with the boys. As I untied one of the little girl's shoes before bath, this quote came to mind. 

The girls returned for us to brush and style their hair, after which came breakfast. Outdoor playtime, a sing-along, reading time and indoor play all followed... 

Daycare photo taken by one of our Minnesota friends

...But the most hilarious time of all came when we played outside one last time after snack! Not only would little hands sneak up to tap me to initiate a round of tag (they would run away from my turbo-charged ticklegun braids), but we also got into more colourful conversations on teléphonos.

The devices? A plastic chicken leg and a toy mirror. 

Day 5: Midweek in Mexico

February 13

9:15 PM: I'm here in a happy, laughter-filled staff lounge where most of the group is involved in hearty conversation and banter. A few buckets of icecream have been produced, as well as card making supplies. The valentines we're making tonight will be given to some of the women staff tomorrow.

Earlier this evening we went to the Bible School's "Kickin' Chicken Dinner," a fundraiser for the Bible School students' trip to Oaxaca. As we ate, the students put on a program including games, testimonies and music. We even had the opportunity to listen to a song in a Oaxacan language!
After dinner, we all walked over to the church for the Wednesday night service.


Scenes from the Dinner Fundraiser

Otherwise, the day involved sorting macadamia nuts in the morning...

Sorting out whole nuts, half nuts, uncracked nuts and shells

And another Child Evangelism trip with a milk and peanutbutter distribution in the afternoon:

Pouring milk for los niños

This time I made sure to bring LOTS of string to do figures with the kids! As usual, we had lots of fun with the "mosquito" figure, and I also showed them a new one, "la cruz"--"the cross."

Day 4 Continued: Migrant Camp Outreach

Following Child Evangelism, we had the opportunity to serve in a migrant camp during the Adult Evangelism program. Here is some background information about the migrant situation:

The Migrant Workers' Plight

Migrant camps: these are the sites across the Baja produce belt where thousands of workers--mainly indigenous peoples from Oaxacana, Mexico (pronounced Wah-HA-ca)--are brought in to work the produce fields.  

Although promised fair wages and acceptable housing, the labourers arrive to work 12-hour days in the fields for only a few dollars a day, and to live in substandard houses. The provided homes are often without plumbing or electricity. To ensure that the working families cannot leave the labour ranch, the ranch stores sell food and goods at inflated prices. The low wages and high prices keep the workers indebted to the ranch.

An informative paper YWAM sent us before our trip provided these additional startling statistics:

-Over 80% of such workers are exposed to harmful and carcinogenic pesticides. (Additionally,

most workers do not have access to clinics and medical insurance, and cannot afford health care or medicine.)

-25% of these workers are children under the age of 14.

This is the situation to which Foundation for His Ministry's Adult Evangelism program provides outreach twice a week. To read further information about migrant workers and the Mission's ministry to them, click here:

http://www.ffhm.org/our-ministries/reaching-the-lost/adult-evangelism/

The program involved serving a meal to the entire camp, engaging with the kids, showing a film projected on the side of a van, and distributing toiletries and Bibles in the Oaxacan language. 

For PICTURES of the event, please click "Read More."

Day 4: Snails, Milk and Peanut Butter

February 12

Lantana, canna lillies, geraniums...all of them are plants I had gotten to know at work last summer. But here I was now, working over them in Mexico! In February. This groundskeeping, Lana's and my morning assignment, let us meet all sorts of interesting characters, including several snails and a lizard.


   Our "Temporary Pet" Snail        Cleaning Lantana and Bougainvilla       A Hiding Lizard   

 

With the afternoon came the opportunity to go out to the villages on the Child Evangelism outreach program, involving a milk and peanut butter distribution.

 Lana and I made our way into a dark blue van with two other team members and two staff teachers  to enjoy an "adventurous" ride to a nearby community! Up and down the uneven, hilly dirt streets we drove, past rows of backyards enclosed by carefully-built homemade fences. Little faces sometimes appeared between spaces in the fences as the van drove, dogs running ahead, while a leader invited the kids to class with a megaphone.

To hear a clip of the siren that invited the kids as we drove towards the village, please click "Play."

For pictures of the event, please click "Read More."

Day 3: Welcome to Mexico!

February 11

Don't you love waking up in the morning to find yourself in a new country?

I sure do! I walked outside early, excited to get a look at the Mission in daylight. The first thing I noticed was the air: not only did it smell heavily of dew, but it also fairly rang with birds' choruses. The next thing I noticed were the bougainvila flowers billowing up the arches of one building! It's still February, right?

After I had gotten reaquainted with the grounds, the time came to head over to the main courtyard to await the 7:00AM breakfast bell.







This flushing wall is a favourite hangout for ringneck doves.



Many highlights filled the day, but first, a few observations:

5 Things in Mexico that Aren't in Canada

1) Cactus ranches

2) Orange, lemon, lime and guava trees

3) Flat-roofed buildings (no snow to worry about!)...