My View from The Sidelines:

So as I write to you now, I’m sitting on a bench in the church with my left foot elevated and a bottle of extra-strength Advil beside me, so I hope this makes sense.  Pastor Terry has asked me to tell you about the past few days that our team has been through.

Monday July 26 : Monday was the beginning of our construction ministry at Monte Sion. Our tasks on Monday consisted of cleaning out some of the upper rooms in the back of the church, cutting rebar and hauling bags of cement. A pulley system was put in place that would prove to be a very useful tool over the next few days. On Monday it helped us get all of the rebar onto the roof which was then tied together by a group of dedicated, hard workers who continued on through many blisters and cuts. Tons of wood had to be sorted through to decide which pieces were still usable, and which pieces should be taken down to the dump. Dave stepped on a nail while sorting through the wood, which led to some blood and pain, and for him to go for his tetanus shot the next day.

The weather on Monday was undeniably God’s perfect timing. It was overcast for most of the morning, but by lunch time, the skies opened and it poured. We weren’t sure if we’d be able to do anymore work because of the rain, but by the time lunch was done, the rain stopped and so we were able to continue on for several hours. As we got closer to the end, God decided to show us when it was time to stop by

For me it was great to finally be able to give back in a tangible way to these people who have blessed our team so much over the past few days. It was so cool to be able to see the progress we were making and the help we were able to offer to these people.   

Personally, Monday started out pretty bad. I woke up with a wicked sore throat and very quickly totally lost my voice. God silenced me for a reason though, and I’m so grateful that he did.  God taught me so much in that day, and I’m praying that the lessons I’ve learned will stick with me as I re-enter life back home. 

Tuesday July 27 : Yesterday was a very productive day for the team and for the people of Monte Sion. The weather was absolutely beautiful! It was the weather we’d all been waiting for since we left Edmonton. It was sunny and warm, and it was fantastic to be able to feel the warmth of the sun as we worked. Yesterday we moved a large pile of sand, another pile of rocks and several bags of cement from the ground to the roof using the two pulleys that we’d set up. A crew was up on the roof unloading those supplies while others continued to tie together the pieces of rebar in preparation for laying the cement down. Jesse was also very busy all day working on the electrical aspects of the construction. To be completely honest, I have no idea what that entails, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.

At about 5, we played a Veggie Tales video for some of the community families. It was a great way to share a little of the gospel with these people, and also to promote the presence of this church in their community. It was a fantastic day all around, fully of service to our Lord, team building and growing, and overall, lots of memorable moments.

We got home at about 8 last night, and started our team meeting while we waited for supper to come. We started talking about the things that we have gained and learned during this trip and what we want to take back home with us. I think for several of us, it hit us really hard that we’d be leaving for home in less than 36 hours. I know for me, I remember counting down the hours until we left for Mexico, and it’s surreal to think how quickly these 11 days have gone by. After we talked, and worshiped a little bit, we ate some pizza and then were instructed to head to bed a quickly as possible because they were anticipating a very early start to today.

Wake up call was at 4:50 AM today, so that we’d be able to leave for the church by 5, and hopefully start on work before it rained.

Those are the past two days as I remember them. Seeing as I missed typing out a blog post last week when most of the group did, so I will just do a quick personal note too.

This trip has been… I don’t even know what words would best describe the past 11 days. Challenging, amazing, wonderful, incredible are just a few words that could begin to describe this trip. Culture shock definitely hit me during the first few days here which was very challenging to me, but as I started to grow accustomed to the way things are done here, I started to settle in more. It’s difficult to put what God has done in me and through me on this trip into words.