Stefanie: July 2008

In June, I went with my church on a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico! There were more than 25 of us in Monterrey for a week. There were about 5 departure times from the States - some people driving all the way to Mexico from Moline, IL, some flying to Texas and driving the rest of the way to Monterrey, and others who flew to Monterrey from Chicago with a stop in Dallas/Ft. Worth, all the groups leaving on different days. I was a part of the latter group, and after nearly missing our plane in Dallas, we made it to Monterrey!

Last summer, I spent over a month living with Erika and Nils Clauson and their two sons. (See this post for an overview of my time there.) The first two days in Monterrey were spent with them at the Foundation, which is where the Clausons work alongside two other Covenant Missionary families, the Restrepos and the Welds. We spent the first two days doing various work projects - mostly painting different areas of the building - while the men of the group worked in the basement laying a tile floor. This group of men went back to the Foundation everyday that week until the job was finished - great work, guys!

Because our time was limited, Erika pulled me aside and took me home with her for a few hours. I hadn't seen the boys, Matías and Lucas, in almost nine months, so needless to say they changed quite a lot! It was so great to spend time with them - I was able to eat lunch with them and spend time playing with them. Matías is talking a lot more, and Lucas is walking and understanding so much. I wish I had more time with them, but I was able to put Matías down for his nap and had a little time to catch up with Erika. I miss all of you, and I hope to see you again soon!

The rest of the week was spent working with the ministries of La Roca de Salvación church (The Rock of Salvation). This is a local church in Monterrey that has outreach ministries in quite a few neighborhoods. We stay with host families from this church, and I stayed with my same host family from the last two years I have gone. It was great to see them again - one thing about going to the same place year after year is that we grow strong relationships with the people down there. Pastor Flor, the pastor of La Roca, is such a sweet woman, and she is so appreciative of all of us - not because of the work we get done, but because we are all part of one family through Christ.

Our work projects when we were with La Roca were to go to one of the main ministries, Escobedo. At Escobedo, La Roca runs a community center building. This building houses workout classes and craft days for the women, a computer room for children to learn basic computer skills, resume writing workshops, community development workshops, after school programs, and provides meals for many children in the community. We worked on preparing the roof for future construction by demolishing part of an over-hang, and painted the entire interior of the building with bright new colors. During the afternoons, we hosted a VBS for the children in the community. We performed skits, sang songs, made crafts, and played games. I absolutely love all the kids! It was wonderful to be blessed with getting to see the smiles on all their faces and practice a little Spanish with them. One thing I love about kids - even when you tell them that you can't speak Spanish very well, they are patient enough and care enough to try to hear what you have to say, and if you are never able to communicate what you want to say, they will still smile at you and play with you. To them, language is a much smaller barrier. I understand better what Jesus was saying when he said you must come into God's Kingdom as a child...

All in all, it was another wonderful, blessed week! I feel like it flew by - having been there for over a month last summer, I was not prepared to leave so soon. I hope to get back next year - the people, the relationships, the experience, the heat, : ) the mission team, the beauty of Monterrey... I could go on and on! Enjoy these pics!