Compassion Mexico ME983 - Part Two

Today, I am going to continue sharing about our last full day in Mexico at Compassion ME983.

One thing we found at this center that was so different from the two others, these kids were a little more reserved...that is, until we started getting them to chase after us. This is when we saw the big smiles and started hearing the laughter! In the above video, Matthew and Rebecca had tons of kids joining them. Such a simple fun activity, and everyone enjoyed it!

Then it was time to do our VBS (Vacation Bible School) activities with the kids. A few of us had prepared songs, a craft, a skit, and a couple of games to play with these kids. The kids were separated into four groups to go through each of the stations in a rotation. Matthew went out with the game group, and I had the song group. Thankfully, we had a translator with us and had fun with the kids while we taught them a couple of songs.

I first learned this song in the summer of 2012 when our family was back at a Compassion conference in Colorado Springs. At that conference, Grant Norsworthy led the group of us singing this same song as we Skyped with a project in Guatemala.

This one was a simple song to teach the kids, plus with the motions, they caught on pretty quickly! We weren't really sure how the song time was going to go because the people here speak a slightly different dialect of Spanish. But for the most part, we seemed to do okay!

Love all these smiles!

Now, I can't remember at this point if I took some of these pictures before our VBS time or after, but I just have to share a few of them with before I finish up this post.

One more game of futbol

Matthew and Rebecca played a game of soccer with the kids. Do you see these kids are playing barefoot?

Getting ready to say goodbye

Much too quickly, our day at this center was coming to an end. It was time to load up into the back of the cattle trucks for our return trip to our bus.

Beautiful cloud filled sky

God provided an amazing day for us at this center, even with the travel set backs and language barriers. We were able to see the hope that Jesus is providing to the many families in this community. It was really hard to believe that our time in Mexico was almost over.

The kids running after us as we were leaving

As you can see, quite a few of the kids ran after us with cries of 'Adios!' I wonder if any of us will ever have a chance to go back and visit with these kids. I wonder what an impact our visit made on them. I know that I will never forget our time here, or at any of the centers we spent time at on this trip.

It feels so cliche to say it, but going on a Compassion trip truly is life changing. So many memories and smiling faces that are etched into my brain and into my heart. And I am so thankful for the many people who helped me to make this trip possible. God worked a miracle, like only He can do!

Compassion Mexico ME983 - Part One

Life has been incredibly busy around here since we got back from Mexico! Here it is two months after we left for the trip and I am finally having a chance to write about our last full day in Mexico. This day was full of adventure! And because there is so much to cover about this one day, I am actually breaking it up into two parts.

Before I tell you about our day, let me tell you about the community we were on our way to visit. Jol Sacun is a jungle community in Chiapas, Mexico with approximately 900 residents. Most adults in this community work on plantations and earn about $128 per month. Typical houses in this area are constructed of cement floors, wood walls, and tin roofs. The most common language spoken here is Tzeltal. At the time of our visit, there were 177 Compassion children registered at Sc'uxul yo'tan Cristo Student Center.

Unlike the other two days when we visited student centers, we were all together as a group today. So we loaded up on the bus really early in the morning and started our long trek to the student center. Well, once we left the main road, our large bus had a bit of trouble navigating the windy, basically dirt roads we were traveling along. At one point, the bus actually got stuck! We were on the border of a small village when this happened, which ended up being a really good thing!

Friendship bracelets for the children

While the leaders in our group were working to figure out how we were going to get the rest of the way to the student center, we started passing out friendship bracelets to the curious kids who were gathering around the bus. Before our trip, some of the young ladies at our church came over to our home and helped us make quite a few friendship bracelets. I wasn't really sure when or where we would pass these out, but God already knew we would run into this group of children. He is amazing like that!

So any guesses on how we traveled the rest of the way to the student center? Would you believe me if I told you we traveled in the back of cattle trucks? No? Well, here is a video to prove it!

Our group of 30 or so people divided up into the back of three cattle trucks and traveled an additional hour (yes! I did say one hour!) to the student center! I have to tell you though, it was probably the best way for us to travel for this portion of the trip. The area was so lush and green and beautiful, we would have missed so much being in the bus with the tinted windows.

On our way to Compassion ME983

We finally arrived!

A few greeters

By the time we finally arrived (about 2 hours after our anticipated arrival time!), most of us needed to make a quick pit stop before we all made our way into the church for the beginning of our time here.

Very full church!

They had all of us come to the front of the church and introduce ourselves and tell them where we live. The kids even recognized some of the names of the states, even in English!

Very curious, but shy children at this center

We were really behind our 'schedule' even before we arrived with our bus trouble. So after our initial greeting, we all made our way back to the cattle trucks. We split into three groups and went with three different families to spend a little bit of time with them, helping them with some of their daily activities.

Picking coffee beans

Our family group was paired with this family and we spent about 15 minutes helping them pick coffee beans.

Matthew doing his share of the work

Fifteen minutes worth of coffee bean picking

Did you know that coffee beans look like oval cranberries when they are ripe? I didn't either! Because we arrived so late, we only spent about 15 minutes with the family helping them pick the coffee beans. Then it was back to the student center for lunch and the rest of our afternoon, which I will share with you in part two. So stay tuned!

Compassion Connection

We are fortunate enough to attend a church where our pastor has allowed us to set up a Compassion table in our lobby.

Compassion display at our church

On the display table, I try to change things up at least once a month as I think of things that might be helpful for the sponsors at our church. We used to have monthly letter writing nights, but everyone seems to be so busy these days, so we are looking at holding more of a sponsor appreciation night twice a year instead.

In the meantime, I was wanting to create something to encourage sponsors to write to their sponsored children in between our get togethers. So here is what I came up with:

Compassion Connection

I put together this half page printable (which you are welcome to print for yourself and share!), printed them on colored paper, and put them on the display table yesterday at church. We had to leave early for my daughter's drama performance, so I not sure how they went over. I hope to put these together each month and share them here on my blog.

What do you do to encourage sponsors at your church to write to their sponsored children?

February Compassion Share &Tell

It is really hard for me to believe that it has been over a month now since my Compassion trip to Mexico! But it is time to share with you what I have put together to send to my sponsored kids this month. Because I like to send more than a letter, my daughter helped me with this video to share what I am mailing to Felix this month:

Did you enjoy the video? I sure hope you did!

So, here is what I wrote to Felix this month:

Dear Felix,

I was so excited to receive your first letter last month! In fact, I am enclosing a photo of me holding your letter. I love your drawings! In your letter, you asked me to pray for your family, so they will know Jesus. I want you to know that I have been praying for you and your family. I still remember that special time I was able to spend with you at your home on my visit to Mexico. You and your family are very special to me, and I want you to know that Jesus loves you and He is watching over you and your family.

In the Bible, in the book of John, there is a verse which says, "I am the resurrection and the life." - John 11:25. This verse is talking about Jesus and how He dies for us, because of our sin. But each one of us can have a new life in Him! He wants us to know Him and believe in Him. Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that He died for you and that He is your Lord and Savior? I pray that you do!

Right now, it is still winter where I live, but our very first daffodil bulb bloomed! These are plants that we put in the soil of our garden in the fall. Then in the spring time, we are blessed with these cheerful, yellow flowers that let us know spring is on its way! Are there any yellow flowers where you live?

Felix, I pray that you will continue to learn more about God, do well in school, and help your mom around your home. I love you and am looking forward to receiving your next letter!

In the video above, you can see some of the items I have included in the mailing this month. The photo idea of me with the letters came from a fellow Compassion advocate. She shared the idea on her Facebook page recently. The Easter coloring page and the Learn to Draw a Daffodil page are just a couple of items you can find on my Pinterest page or Compassion's Pinterest page.

I would love to read what you have written to your Compassion sponsored child lately. If you have a blog post to share, be sure to link up below

January Compassion Joy

Time to link up with my friend Jill at Compassion Family for her monthly Compassion Joy Dare link up! She encourages each one of us to post about the blessings we receive as sponsors through Compassion, and this past month was an incredible month for me!

Meeting my Compassion child Felix and his family

Most of you know that I was able to go on my first Compassion Sponsor Tour to Mexico where I was able to meet our new sponsored child, Felix! I still have at least one more post to write about our trip, hopefully it will be ready next week.

First letter from Felix!

Received our first letter from Felix after we got home from our trip! I love that he wants us to pray that his family will know Jesus, definitely my constant prayer for his family.

Thank you note from Olive!

Received a sweet thank you note and pictures from my friend, Olive! I was able to attend her graduation from Denver Seminary in December. She has been a Compassion Leadership Development Program Student. Now that she has completed her studies, she is back in her home country, Uganda. Lord willing, I would love to visit her there one day.

Compassion Bloggers went to Uganda in January

Speaking of Uganda, were you able to follow the Compassion Bloggers on their trip to Uganda last month? Wow, such powerful stories they shared with all of us! Now that I have been on my own trip, I sure do have a new respect for them. How they process their day and write those posts each night just amazes me. God has surely gifted each one of them with incredible writing talent. I pray you have time to read through some of their posts!

Shirley was sponsored last month!

One last thing to share with you! Not only was Shirley sponsored by a family at our church (and she attends the same center in Mexico as our Felix!), Rendy from Indonesia now has a sponsor by another family at our church!

January sure was a month filled with Compassion Joy for me! Be sure to head over to Jill's blog to read about the other Compassion Joy's being shared this month.