Bloggers from June 30

July 30, 2008 – 11:30 pm

Good Evening,

First - more pictures are on Flickr!!!

We hope you have enjoyed the blogging and pictures. Along with this blog post, we will post more pictures to Flickr. We have had many experiences while here and while some have been stressful, the overwhelming majority of the trip has been fantastic. These kids, our youth, have been smiling and interacting, and just spreading the message of love and good works. Praise the Lord! I am SO incredibly proud of these kids and until a week ago , I didn’t know many of them. But, they are in my heart so completely now! I am so impressed with their ability and excitement. I just can’t even articulate how awesome these youth are…so I think I’ll quit trying! :^)

Today – what a day. Today I thank the Lord for a few things. I thank Jesus for all of our kids who can speak Spanish, but today, I need to especially thank Jesus for Zac and Mason. We had a health situation and needed to get things rolling and taken care of. Zac was able to run over to Pastor Juan’s this morning with me, Rob and Alex and convey what needed to happen. We hijacked Mason from his group and he made the trip to Laredo with Rob, Alex and I and was able to clearly articulate our needs and purpose to all the checkpoints and border agents along the way. There is not a doubt in my mind that Mason’s being with us on this trip was part of God’s plan. Without him here, I fear we would not have made good time and may have been held up.

I also thank Jesus for Rob and Alex. Though they had to leave Mexico today, there is no doubt that in the short time they were here, they made a difference with these kids and also that Jesus worked in them. I thank God that Alex is doing well tonight and that we will hopefully meet up with them on the way home and share the end of the journey with them. I also thank the Lord that Josh was able to join us. He has picked up Rob’s group and is leading it, wonderful as always. I also thank the Lord for Reuben, for his big heart. His first question when I returned today was “ Is Alex going to be okay.”

Tonight, I also thank the Lord for Jen, Brianna, Jessica, Cassie, Rachel and Hannah. I appreciate their reflective nature and that they have taken the time to think about the reasons we are here, reflect and write on their experiences. I do not know if they will decide to share any of their feelings on this blog, but they are impacting the kids and are inclined to record their experiences. That is something I did not do when I was their age. Not a day goes by that I do not wish I had recorded my thought and feelings, and I know they will look back at their journals and have wonderful memories of this experience.