Forget-Me-Not-8: Mexico Missions Trip

"The Ninos"

Alright, so here is a little better picture of our camp:

Here is our "Dinning Hall". We were all sitting at the picnic tables when we first met the kids we'd be working with for the week.

This is in the inside of the girls dorm.

Every day that we stayed at the camp we would get up and have breakfast, then the ninos would come in the vans and we'd spend until the afternoon with them. Then they would have to go back home while we did construction at the camp. After dinner we'd sit around the campfire and talk and sing songs. During the time between these events our team would have "free time". We played a LOT of frisbee and a littl football during our time off. After mastering pretty much every frisbee trick (except the one were you catch it in your mouth; that's hard!) I guess you could say we're pretty much all pros now... pros with bloody lips. :)

...
So, it was after breakfast, and we were all gathered around the picnic tables on what would be our first full day at camp, when the vans that were bearing our kids pulled into the gravel driveway. The ninos all came trooping down and shouted excitedly all in unison: "Good morning! How are you?"

The camp leaders had all the kids sit down at the tables amongst us and one by one, amidst a loud drumroll of hands against the tables, our names and those of the ninos were called to pair us up. It was actually raining a little bit, off and on, but everybody was smiling like it was the most beautiful day in the world!

This Dayanah, and Dania. Danyanah was my little girl (above) and Joanna and Dania were paired together (below).

Looking back now and remember the fun that we had together, to me, those are the most beautiful faces in the world!
:)

That first day, we spent playing with the kids and getting to know them. It was amazing how well everybody comunicated even through the language barrier. By the end of the day it was like we'd been best friends for our whole lives.

The playground equipment was as big a hit with the ninos as it was with the bigger kids :).

We laughed together and played games and the gospel message was presented to the kids while we were eating lunch.

And meanwhile...

We saw TONS of these:

Many, Many of these:

And even though we only saw one of these, it was enough to scar us for life:

Dayanah and I.

The second day, we planned to climb a mountain with the ninos. When they first told us that, all of us kids from Alaska just about passed out. It turns out the mountains in Mexico are a lot differant from the ones in up here. :)

Trooping toward the "mountain".

On our way up and down the mountain we found a LOT of lizards... we also found them later in our dorms... hmm :)

At the top, there was a cross. We all sat down and watched as Alihandro did a really neat object lesson demostrating how Jesus washes our sin away.

On the third day, we took the kids to a beach. The beaches in Mexico are also a lot differant from the ones in Alaska. We were collecting shells for a craft we'd do the next day.

It was a day that none of us will ever forget; walking along the surf, hand in hand with our kids... then running around in the sand, and drawing our names side by side...