Day 1

~Monday night I was feeling very afraid and doubtful that God could use me on this mission trip. I prayed that God would show me my gifts and that I would not be afraid. The first morning when we there some of the ladies stayed behind and organized the massive amounts of donations for Dulce. I washed used shoes, stuffed animals, and clothing. I told Lee that I got to use my spiritual “gifts” (laundry and organizing) the first day! We met Amy, who is the director for Time's orphan ministry, and her mom, Shirley, was here and I felt an immediate connection to both women.

~That afternoon we visited our first orphanage. There was a little girl named Lesly who sort of latched onto me and I painted her face and we did crafts together. She was 10 years old. The saddest thing about this orphanage is that the week we came most of the kids' parents had taken them for a week of vacation. The parents have the kids there because they can't afford to keep them. The kids that we visited did not have parents to take them or had parents that were in jail or didn't want them. It was a huge blessing that we came this week to play and love on the kids.

~New reflections... a year later...

I remember being afraid of not knowing any of the team before we left. It's funny to me now because I learned at the end of the trip last year that you really grow much closer, much faster to the people you serve God with. Also, I learned that it really isn't about me anyway...

One of the ladies that I met on the trip, Debbie, has become a very good friend and Lee & I had the privilege of being references for their upcoming adoption. And the man that led the team, John, is married to Rhonda, who went on the China GO trip.

I also noticed that the kids here in Mexico were more "standoffish" than the kids in China. I wonder if they were less trusting of adults because their parents come in and out of their lives.