|
2007 Niños de Mexico
Missions Trip Report
(by Julie & Raul Muytoy)
Upon arriving
at Huntsville
Airport at 5 a.m. (2
hours before flight time for our International flight) Saturday, June 30th,
we were greeted with an additional 2-hour delay. But, God is good! Instead
of having a 3-hour wait in Atlanta,
we arrived with just enough time to get to our connecting flight. After a
slight delay with that flight, we arrived safely in Mexico City around 2:20 p.m. with our
entire luggage. Raul and Julie were the only ones to receive a “red
light” at customs, so we had a short moment of panic as our bags were being
inspected and our team was shuttled out into the crowd of one of the
largest airports in the world. The Lord was in control, though, as our
group gathered around Don Dowdy and we were soon spotted by Raul’s family,
who brought his mother to join our team, along with Mick O’Hanahan and Josh
Gordon from Niños. We then loaded up the “luggage” van and the “people” van
and drove 1 ½ hours to San Vincente where the Genesis House and School
complex are located.
We quickly
acclimated to our surroundings and settled into our rooms. We had supper
and then Mick and Lisa O’Hanahan (our hosting staff for the week) gave us
an orientation and tour of the facility. Genesis is the first of the four
group homes that comprise Niños. This complex includes the home for the
house parents of the older children (many of whom are in college), the
dorms for the older children, the K-12 school, the offices, the supply and
distribution areas, the guest area and dorms for the work teams. We were
housed here and completed our work project at this complex. Our main work
project for the week was to mix cement into concrete on top of the first
story roof and transfer it by buckets to the second story roof so it could
be spread around the edge of the building to create an angle for better
drainage. Prior to our work, the roofs were flat and water puddled and
leaked through.
On Sunday
morning, we started with breakfast and I (Julie) craftily scheduled the men
for clean up chores. After all, it would take us ladies longer to get ready
since we were instructed to bring dresses or skirts for church. We gathered
for a group picture and off to church we went. Worshiping God with fellow
believers was a fantastic experience, even though most of us did not speak
the language. We recognized most of the tunes and Spanish words were
projected on a screen so we could try to sing along. Then the Pastor
asked Raul to translate while he gave the message, so we were blessed with
an encouraging word on bringing God’s word to others. At the end, they
recognized June birthdays, so Gretchen and Raul went up front to
participate. We also attended Sunday school where Raul translated once
again. We really enjoyed the warmth and acceptance of brothers and sisters
in another culture. I was especially touched when I was able to meet the
young lady whom I help sponsor through the HUGS program. Maricela
and her two sisters were there and we were able to communicate (with Raul’s
help).
Later that
afternoon, we went to visit the Pyramids in Teotihuacán. It was a beautiful
day filled with many wonders. Our entire team made it to the top of one of
the Pyramids; some made it quicker than others. Back on the ground, we were
able to browse the many local wares of the people from this area.
On Monday
morning, we started to work. It was slow starting, but when we got a system
going, we were able to make progress. After a light snack, “Bocadillos”, we
had a walking tour of the local market and then went back to work. We ended
our work days at approximately 3:30 p.m. when lunch was served. It was
hard, heavy, work but God was good to us with very pleasant weather of
70-75 degrees everyday.
On Monday
evening, we had supper at the Genesis house. The older kids cooked a supper
of mostly finger food and ate with us. We learned the culture of eating 4
times a day with the largest meal being lunch. It was really great
interacting with the older kids and several of the team went into the
family room to watch a soccer game on TV with them.
Tuesday was
another heavy work day without the break of the walking tour. Our team
really made lots of progress this day and surprised Mick by catching up
from being a little-behind-schedule to moving ahead-of-schedule. Every team
member was able to find the work they could handle and by working together,
we accomplished more than the scheduled amount of work. This day was also
the day the dump truck of sand was delivered and we started hoisting it to
the roof. Dana and Theresa filled the buckets while Andrew, Pastor Isaias,
Jon and Raul hoisted them to the top. This is the day the maestro also got
us working two piles of cement mixing at the same time. So, it was quite a
site to see our team playing musical positions without breaking rhythm.
While all of this was happening on the roof, Sister Rosa and Mother Toni
were working downstairs sorting clothes, organizing closets, and helping in
the kitchen.
On Tuesday
evening, we went to visit the Agape house. The house mother gave us a tour
and told us a little bit about the personality of each child living there.
We learned that it was the house mother’s birthday, so we sang ‘Happy
Birthday’ to her. Then, we spent a couple of hours in a lively soccer game.
Several of us spent time with the younger children; some even played cards.
At this home, their yard was like a garden, with several fruit trees and
many varieties of plants. Bobby McFarling would have loved it here!!
On Wednesday,
we left for our trip to Downtown Mexico City. The weather was absolutely
beautiful. The entire team learned how to quickly get all members
out of the van. We walked past many beautiful buildings and found out when
it is time to cross the street you cannot hesitate. We saw the Zocalo
square (center of Mexico),
excavations, and many interesting street fares. We toured the Presidential
Palace and the Roman Catholic Cathedral (the 2nd largest in the
world). While we were in the Presidential Palace, a young guard
acknowledged the Old Glory shirts our team was wearing. He was very
animated and asked us several questions about our past Presidents, after
wishing us a happy Independence Day. We then walked to Sanborn’s for lunch
and several of Raul’s family members joined us during the meal. Later in
the afternoon, we were able to shop at a local street market -- the men
even enjoyed themselves.
That evening,
the new Field Directors, Bryan and Michal King, hosted supper for us. Bryan
and Mick gave us a history of Niños and then fielded a question and answer
time. It was a very informative and emotional time as we heard several of
the stories of the children. It was also very encouraging to hear that many
of those who grew up at Niños have come back to serve in some capacity or
are attending the church and serving there. Niños De México definitely has
a plan that works!
They had a 4th
of July treat for us that made us laugh until we cried. They took us to the
office and showed us a video created by previous year’s interns during
their visit on the 4th. It involved fireworks made at a
neighboring village, like the ones we heard going off at night.
On Thursday,
we were back at mixing cement and hoisting sand. After finishing the main
project, we divided up to complete some smaller projects. Theresa, Dana,
Julie, Gretchen, and Pastor Isaias continued the sand project. Jon and Don
trimmed a tree (I really think they liked those tools, big and sharp).
Raul, Andrew, Melanie (the intern),
Laura, and Chris swept the entire 2nd story and first story
roofs. Rosa and Toni were folding, labeling, and organizing the
distribution closet items.
In the late afternoon,
we went to visit Dr. Noe Flores and tour the clinic. We heard the story
about the start of the medical
outreach to Chilapa and other encouraging stories of this ministry. Dr.
Flores is a testimony to Niños De México, himself. Over 40 years ago,
he was one of the 26 founding children of Niños De México. Now, he is back
leading this important ministry. In Chilapa, they started with a medical
ministry and now they have a church plant there. Praise God!
We also had
lunch at the Bethel
house. The meal was loved by all. We enjoyed breaded beef skirt, spaghetti,
beans, salad, guacamole, and fresh fruit water. After a tour of the home,
we again participated in a soccer game, board games, and foos ball. One of
the girls here showed us items from her Quinceañera (15th
birthday party) and explained this tradition. Dana has decided she wants
one of these parties for her 16th birthday, better late than
never. Ha?
Friday was
our last work day; we only had 2 hours of hard work to complete. Half of us
mixed and spread the sealant for the roof project while the other half
finished the sorting of clothes and cleaning of that room. Then we were
able to play hard, as all of the children came to this complex while the
staff had a meeting. We had lots of fun entertaining them. At 2 p.m., we
were off to visit the Esperanza home and spend a couple of hours with them.
This beautiful home was converted from a large barn. The girls are housed
upstairs and the boys downstairs. It was really nice getting to know these
temporary house parents, Josh and Rachel Gordon, who are good friends of
Tom and Helen Kornegay.
Later, we
went off to Texcoco to visit the town square and shop at an indoor market.
We ate supper at Santa Bertha, a very beautiful restaurant. We had a
wonderful time visiting with our host family and discussing our week of
work and play.
We cannot say
enough about our week filled with “God sightings”. It was amazing how
everything worked out for each person to be there on our team. We know God
selected each one. It was encouraging to see the many new relationships
being built and old ones being re-established. When they heard
Pastor Isaias and Rosa were part of our team, two former students from
Colegio Bíblico came to visit them. One of them is the Pastor at the
newest Niños church plant in Puebla and his wife
grew up at Niños. Pastor and Rosa also knew the house father of Genesis.
Wow!! God is so good.
The Girl
Scout troop that Dana and Theresa belong to made blankets for all of the
children at Niños and they distributed them while we were there. All of the
children really loved these colorful fleece blankets. Dana and Theresa will
both receive a service award for their work, which is the second highest
award given to Girl Scouts.
Our devotion
time each night really made us reflect on having an attitude like Christ.
We look forward to sharing that attitude with our family and friends.
Saturday we traveled home and experienced customs in the United States.
Hopefully, everyone learned not to take their U.S. citizenship for granted.
Our group had
a magnificent time and the Niños staff is absolutely GREAT! They really
have the STM (short term mission) experience perfected with a wonderful
blend of work, culture / history, interaction with the children, and
spiritual components.
My husband,
Raul, was born and raised in Mexico City and
he said Mick was right on with his knowledge of Mexico City and its history.
We LOVE Niños
de México!
|
