i <3 mexico recap

Dear friends and family,

I hope that this letter once again finds you all doing well. The Mexico City team has been home for a month, and our hearts still long to be with the people there. What a blessing it was to be vessels for the work of Christ’s Kingdom in a city full of idolatry and sin. You can read more detailed accounts of our time there on these blogs: "official blog" and Katie's blog. I have also posted lots of pictures from the trip on my personal picture site.

Our team had a very early start on the morning of Saturday, July 5th. We all met at the Van Nuys Flyaway to sort through luggage and make sure everything was intact before we headed off to LAX.

The Lord’s hand was over our travels as both flights to and from Mexico City were relatively smooth and uneventful. Upon arrival, the team went through Customs and Immigration quickly, and we were greeted by Luis Contreras and our host families. Our first evening was spent with our hosts. Katie and I had the blessed privilege of being a part of the Contreras family for two weeks!

Our three Sunday mornings were spent at Iglesia Naucalpan, where Luis Contreras serves. We helped to lead worship, and some of our team members helped with the children’s Sunday school while others attended the pre-service Bible study that Luis teaches. Our two weeks were spent working with a children’s VBS and then a young adult youth conference. The VBS’s theme had to do with changes, so every day the children “visited” a different country. Stories were told about different characters in the Bible and crafts and snacks were tailored to the specific country. The youth conference theme was Colossians. Josiah Grauman preached, and our worship team had the opportunity to collaborate with a Mexican worship team. Our weekends were spent in fellowship with one another and our host families, and throughout the course of the two weeks, we were able to paint and clean the Contreras home as well as the Godoys’ home.

Things of Note and Prayer Requests:
* The Mariscals were in a car accident on the morning of our first Sunday. Lety, the mom, had an injury to her head and Omega, the son (driver), was taken into custody even though it was not his fault. He spent several nights in jail, and he is currently in the process of dealing with that situation.
* Attendance at both the VBS and Youth Conference increased!
* Only a couple of team members became ill over the course of our trip!
* Sarah and I both were able to share our testimonies in Spanish thanks to Jhaneth!
* The worship team collaboration was SO AWESOME!
* Praise God for Christ-honoring unity and team work!
* The Contrerases are back in the states for a yr-long furlough, the Graumans have one more year in Mexico City, and Antonio Ortega is manning the pulpit at Iglesia Naucalpan while Luis is away.

Well, I think that’s everything in a very small nutshell! Feel free to email me and check out those blogs and pictures for more details on each day of our trip. Thank you all for your prayers and support! Dios te bendiga!