Team Unity (by Janelle Hay)

Our Nutty Leaders

 Although a little nutty, Wade was our amazing team leader. Wade and Karen make a wonderful couple. Not only did we have a hoot with them but they are beautiful people with a heart for missions and a willingness to serve the Lord in whatever ways they can and in whatever country they are in. I wanted to publicly thank Wade for all the effort that he put into making the trip go so smoothly and for the example they were to us. 

Here is our team of fifteen from Trinity Baptist, Sherwood Park at the mission.

One thing that I loved about this week is that there were other teams from Alberta and California at the mission and everyone worked together and even spent their free time together.

Here are some of us in the back of the truck on the way to the Macadamia orchard... notice that we have a few extra team members.

 Once the nuts are ready, they fall to the ground. Some are green but most of them are brown and can be partially buried in the soft soil or hidden under the dead, prickly leaves. Picking up the nuts requires careful searching. Although they are easy to miss, every nut is valuable. These nuts are a source of income to provide for the needs of the children at the mission.

You may be wondering how a tropical nut can live and thrive in the dry soil in Mexico. The story is written in Charla's book but basically, it is a miracle. Macadamia nuts are a tropical tree native to Australia. It took years of experimenting and but these trees have built up a resistance and are hardy trees that can survive here. Bees had to be imported to pollinate the trees but they died in transport from the stress. Although very discouraged the people of the mission continued to pray. Seemingly, out of nowhere, God sent swarms of bees.

 It takes about eight years for the tree to begin producing nuts but each year after that they produce more and more. I believe that God is blessing the mission through the bountiful harvest.

Yes, those are the hard Macadamia shells on the road. No part of the nut is wasted. Even the bad nuts are used to get rid of pests.

Harvesting Macadamia nuts is quite the process.  The mission is slowly getting the equipment they need to crack these extremely hard shells and to sort the nuts.

 But most of it is done by hand.

 As you can see here, it takes a lot of man power to do it by hand and takes careful sorting. When we were not sure about the quality of the nut we were encouraged to try it.

Here is Karen showing off our sorted containers of whole nuts, half nuts and the bad nuts.

These two pictures were taken at one of the evening adult evangelism outreaches where we were able to work together as one big team to serve the community supper. After the meal, an evangelistic message was given through showing a film projected on the side of a van and then a pastor spoke.

At the end we were able to pray with those who came forward by laying hands on them.  We were told one night that there were about six different languages spoken by the people in the crowd. They live side by side but can not communicate with each other unless they know Spanish. There are about 360 different languages spoken in Mexico.

One More Flight

We're sitting in San Francisco waiting for our last flight, hopefully the other team is doing well too.

Hello Friends at Trinity and around the world,

Today is our last full day at the orphanage. This is my 2nd time here and  the blessings continue.  The orphanage has been her for 50+ years and has grown into a multifaceted ministry.  As needs were identified more ministries were developed. You can only understand the full impact of this ministry to the community if you come here.  The influence this place has had on  the people here is tremendous.  Paul and I have been able to contribute in our own small ways but have also experienced the blessing and encouragement of living in such a loving community.  Paul has spent time picking and sorting  macademia nusts , raking in the garden and digging a trench for  cables.  I have spent my days in the clinic. It is always amazing that in our small pharmacy god provides the very medicine that is needed for the patients seen. It is a blessing to pray with each patient before our consultation.  I have had to work with a translator but tha is also a blessing as I see how the staff here make an effort to meet needs .  As we travel home we covet your prayers

One of the mottoes here is  " You will never be the same"  It's true I will never be the same . I think every member on the team would echo this  

Out For Supper After Adult Evangelism

Since we missed supper (again), we are out for supper at Baja Fiesta.

Helping With IT

Just like any other organization, the mission here has technology needs. They have about 1.5 full time Information Technology staff, but I've been able to help them out a little.

Some of the biggest issues I see are bandwidth and Internet reliability (there's one fibre line for the whole peninsula), access to specific replacement parts (although some are available in Encinada and people are often coming from the US and Canada), and of course finances.

Other than that, though, it seems just like any other IT department. They manage servers and infrastructure, set up and fix machines, and provide user training. It seems again like the world is a small place and people have basically the same needs wherever you go.

Chicken Dinner Fundraiser

For supper tonight we walked to the bible college on a sidewalk embedded with the titles of bible stories and characters. A very cool idea that we're wondering how we can implement.

We had a very nice chicken dinner served by bible college students. Before and after supper a few of them shared their stories. The main point of the dinner, though, was to raise funds (and awareness) of the mission trip that the bible college students go on to Oaxaca every year.

Wednesday Night Church

Tonight was the service in the church next to the bible college. It was quite similar to services at Trinity, starting with singing followed by announcements, offering, and dismissing the kids to their classes.

The preacher was the same man that spoke yesterday and this morning at SALA. Not exegetical, but thought-provoking.

Of course there were many parts in Spanish, so we could use headsets that a translator was speaking into. The speaker, however, spoke in English with a Spanish translator.

Voluntourism

This mission is set up very well for what they call "guest relations". In a number of ways this feels like a resort, or perhaps summer camp, where there are activities scheduled for us. We have some choice, of course, about what we would like to participate in.

As I was picking macadamia nuts and shovelling a trench I had the thought, again, that we are not primarily here to help. We are not here to save them from poverty or sin. For the most part we are not here because of our special skills.

I think we are here to encourage, to experience, to be changed, to share out lives, and to tell others back home about it and about God.

What do you think?

Adult Evangelism

Last night (Tuesday) we went along on adult evangelism. We drove to an area just outside a town and served a meal and then showed an animated film about Jesus. After that, Pastor Max (pictured above) preached a message and then we prayed for whoever wanted prayer. Then the staff handed out Spanish bibles and we packed up and headed back.

I've realized that most of my blog posts here haven't been particularly reflective, they've mostly been descriptive. Hopefully others (and I) will be able to tell some more stories and such later this week and after we return.

Wade (1)

The sunset was fabulous tonight on the beautiful Baja. All if us are fairing well, even after two days of hard work.  Our partnership with this orphanage is a very great blessing to us.  Thanks for all of you who helped get us here.

Wade. 

My first mission arrival! (Jake!)

So wow! These last 2 days are compleatly overwhelming and we have only just made it to the orphanage. It was my first time flying (since I was 2) and I was nervous at first about the many things that could have gone wrong, but the entire journey has been flawless. Starting at the Edmonton airport it was different to be traveling internationally without mom and dad, but im in great care. We did not loose a single peice of luggage on the flight here, and no items didn't make it through security. The first flight was on a small 50 person plane, so there seemed to be an understanding that noise travels and it was a peaceful flight. The second one (it was a 757 dad, I was close enough ;P) also went well. Everything was nice (aside from the really sappy sitcoms) until the descent/landing. That's when the baby started crying a little, as well as when our ears started to pop. So a few of us had to deal with that, but we are all better now! After a night in a small motel, we drove down to the border, and after getting our tourist cards, we were in Mexico without a single interuption. It is a whole different lifestyle then I am use to. It's sad to see such poverty, but it's such a beautiful place. On the way to the orphanage we first stopped at a beach. The ocean is so beautiful here! That was a good time to unwind after the flights for a few minuets. Then we had to keep going for awhile until we hit a place called  (the blowhole) where water would come up through a small crevice in the rocks and spray up. There was a large market there as well, so I got to put all the bartering skills I learned to the test (thanks mom and dad). Well we were there, we got lunch at this nice little place. But on the way in, there was a guy with a python around his neck asking if I wanted to pet it. Well normally I wouldn't go anywhere near it, but there were little 7 year old girls petting it so my manhood was put at risk! But then before we could leave, he put the snake around mine and Hannahs necks. It was super scary, but after a few seconds it was actually really cool.  It was hard to pass up all the people who just wanted to sell something to make that little bit of money, but we went in and out again without any trouble. So at about 1:30, we left of towards the orphanage. 2 hours later, we stopped for gas, and met up with  by sheer chance! After a brief conversation, we drove down to the orphanage and had a chance to settle in. We havnt met them yet but we will after they finish church, so I am exited!! We went to this taco place while they were doing that, and there were a bunch of kids that were super young and cute!! They were selling bracelets and I descided to buy one, then another from one of the boys who was hungry, then another, then one from the cute little 2 year old girl... Needless to say, they are super cute and we stuck around and had some good laughs!! So we are about to head down to the orphanage again, and I am super pumped to start this week!!! This trip has been absolutely perfect so far!! God is more then just watching over us!! I can feel His presence at every moment so far!! Well I hope I get a chance to write again soon! 
Love ya girls mom and dad!!!

A Few of the Parts of the Mission

In addition to the orphanage, there are a number of other ministries, services, and businesses.

The biggest, of course is the macadamia orchard; it's the only place that grows macadamia nuts outside of Australia and Hawaii. And related to that is the gift shop, which is the primary place they sell nuts and nut products.

They toured us through the daycare, learning centre of disabled children, prayer garden/experimental orchard, sewing centre, and outreach centre. 

They also have a print shop that produces all of the monthly newsletters and any other printing for this site and other FFHM sites.

Next on our tour was the warehouse that receives all of the donations and the purchases of essentials that they need I keep on hand.

We also saw the shop where they make custom wheelchairs and bicycles, as well as the first responders (ambulance and fire truck).

I'm sure there is more information about all of this on the website and in Charlotte's books, but those are my recollections at this point.

Babysitting This Evening

This was the night that we all babysat in the orphanage to give the house parents a night off. Hopefully some people can share their stories.

The house that I was in had five to ten year old boys. There were five of us (three from our team) babysitting six of them. Thankfully some people had brought some games and activities, but we also played outside and let them watch a bit of a movie. The kids were quite enthousiastic, and we had fun too.

Some Photos

Our Work Here

A great quote from one of the workers, "The jobs you are doing are not important, what is important is the relationships you are building."

Barb Sinn (1)

Hello friends,

We have arrived at the mission   Praise God!!  Have had  nice times socializing in the  van and good tacos  to eat along the way The medicine I ordered was waiting at the motel and we were granted permission to bring the medicine into Mexico. God is good.  Enroute we met Edgardo on his way back uptoEnsanada. It was heartwarming to see his smiling face.Just waiting for our orientation meeting then a good nights rest will be appreciated by all :)

We are all coverting your prayers. Thanks. Blessings on all of you from all of us here lovin' the orphans in Mexico <3

Second Travel Day

This morning was an early start from our motel in San Diego, following a nice continental breakfast that even included a waffle maker. It was a relatively short drive to the border, where we declared the medical supplies and applied for tourist visas. There weren't very many people going through, and the border guards were actually quite friendly.

Driving through the cities in Mexico was occasionally hair-raising, but without incident. We also stopped briefly at a beach to take some photos and dip our feet in the ocean.

Back in the vans we travelled on all types of roads, from smooth asphalt to off-road construction detours. The scenery was beautiful, though.

On the way we stopped at a touristy market (Bufadora) for some souvenirs and lunch.

When we were nearing Vicente Guerrero we stopped for gas, and ran into Edgardo as he was on his way up to Encinada with his brother and a friend.

Arriving at the Mission, we took some photos then checked into our rooms (one for the boys, one for the girls). Then we went out for supper and tried unsuccessfully to access the Internet at the nearby cafe.

As I write this we're sitting in the common area waiting for our 8:30 orientation meeting.

The team has been great to travel with, and everyone has been getting along very well.

At Our Destination

After a long drive we went out for dinner in Vicente Guerrero as a team tonight.

Internet Access Here

We haven't been able to update much, since we haven't had much Internet access. I'm typing this on a staff computer, but I'll try the Internet cafe in town again tonight to upload some blog posts that people have written.

All is going very well, though. We had a tour of the facility this morning, and have spent a little time working on various projects this afternoon. I may have some of this wrong, but I believe this is what our team members have been doing this afternoon:

Picking macadamia nuts: Karen, David, Janelle, Paul, Jaden, Jacob, Alvin, Jay-Lyn, Nick, and Jett
Clinic: Barb
Housecleaning/helping: AnneMarie, Hannah,
Trench digging: Wade, Randy

There are, of course, others here helping as well. There's a team and a family from California, and an extended family from Sherwood Park.

The important thing, though, is not the work that we're doing, but the relationships that we're forming and that we are loving and encouraging the people down here.

Once again, everyone is doing very well, no sickness or injury, and we're all getting along very well. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Safe in San Diego

We all arrived safely in San Diego last night, and we're headed out to Mexico this morning.

Ready to Go

the first half of our team

We're at the airport, packed and ready to go. We've been immunized, learned some Spanish, and are as prepared as we can be.

REJOICE IN THE LORD

 

 

Claiming God's Words...

.with all our mixed emotions...all our heart most sensations....all our mind thoughts...our anticipations.....expectations...our certainties...uncertainties......Knowing THE ONE WHO IS

IN CHARGE....and GIVING US WHAT WE NEED for whatever HE HAS IN STORE FOR EACH

AND EVERYONE OF US AS AN INDIVIDUAL created in His Image...we claim HIS promise of Peace by:

Philippians 4: 4-9

REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS.  I will say it again: REJOICE!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  THE LORD IS NEAR.  DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT in EVERYTHING, by PRAYER and

PETITION, with THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD.  And THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING, WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS.  Finally, BROTHERS, WHATEVER is true, whatever is NOBLE, whatever is RIGHT, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is admirable--if anything is EXCELLENT or PRAISEWORTHY--THINK about such things.. WHATEVER you have LEARNED or RECEIVED or HEARD from ME, or SEEN in ME--PUT IT INTO PRACTICE..AND THE GOD OF PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU.

 

We love you Lord God and Bind us all together in Christ Jesus so YOUR GLORY dear Lord God Almighty will be seen in us...and that YOUR WILL will be done in every second we spend going on this trip to HOGAR PARA  NINO ORPHANAGE...in Mexico.

Prayer and Commissioning

Thank you to everyone who participated in the commissioning prayer during the church service today.  As we leave in less than a week, we continue to ask for prayer as our plans are finalized and everything starts to swing into action.

As seen in today's bulletin, there are some specific things to pray for each day that we are away:

November 9 - Travel: There are a lot of flights to catch, please pray for promptness and safety.

November 10 - A long drive on a winding highway, arriving at the mission. Please pray that our partnership with the mission will be strengthened.

November 11 - Work day, Outreach. Pray that each of us will make a friend, and that the team members will experience something new from God.

November 12 - Work day, Child Evangelism. Pray that we will be friendly, and that team members will be open to a new culture.

November 13 - Work day, Sharing with bible school students, Spanish Church Service. Please pray for servant attitudes that will be ready to help and reach of wherever needed.

November 14 - Work day, Outreach. By now we may be very tired, please pray for team unity.

November 15 - Work day, Leaving the mission and another long twisty ride. Please pray for cooperation, and for dealing with the disappointment of leaving.

November 16 - Travel day, Please pray as we cross the boarder back in the US, and for our flights with many more connections to make. And as always please pray for endurance.