Esperanza Viva - Mexico 2012

I apologize for not keeping you posted with my Mexico trip. The place where we stayed didn't have wi-fi so I had no access to blogging. So here I am, ready to blog. This blog may be long, I'll categorize it so it'll be easier to read. Please bear with me. :)

Monday, July 9 - Off we go. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:45pm. We all met at Redeeming Love Church (RLC) at 4pm. As I arrived to the church, I found out that one of our girls, Aliyah, was not able to go. After 2 years of fundraising, the sheet she was suppose to have signed, she misplaced it. I was so bummed to find out, not just that, I had to break the news to the group. After 10 min, Aliyah pulled up to the church with her mom to say their goodbyes. Soon enough, they went to talk to the pastor of the church about the situation and before you know it, everything worked out. Aliyah was able to go. Praise the Lord. The timing to the airport was perfect. We had enough time to relax, grab some snacks and hangout. As the time started to go by, we found out that our flight was delayed 2 hours. We didn't board the plane until 9:30pm that night.

We landed in Houston, Texas around 12:45am. Our next flight didn't leave until 9:45am so instead of going to a hotel to sleep, we decided to crash at the airport. We found an area that looked like this:

As you can see, my girls were sleeping. Once we found this location, my sister and I decided to take turn staying awake to guard the area. She stood up for 3 hours and woke me up at 4am. At 4am she fell asleep as I stood awake for the rest of the day. That morning when everyone was awake and ready for the day, 2 securities approached my sister, Kao Hle about that hall way. They mentioned how our hallway was a very 'popular' area for cockroach and if we saw any. Oh man, our girls were FREAKED out. It was surprising to my sister and I because... well, I didn't see any when I was awake. As for my sister, that made sense because she killed one on her shift. What an interesting night. Onto day 2.

Tuesday, July 10 - We arrived in Puebla, Mexico around 12pm. When we passed through custom and security, I was hoping that someone would be waving the RLC sign. As we ALL walked past the gated area, no one was waiting for us. Our group was a little confused. As the group leader, I had all the girls go sit and hangout while I figure some things out.

I found a pay phone station, but I had no pesos (Mexican money). Some lady that was working on the phones directed me to a security who didn't really know what to do with a foreigner (me). So she talked to the person who was fixing the pay phones and they said; "You have 1 min to call your person". WHOA, praise the LORD! I got a hold of our group leader for the trip and she said she was on her way, she was stuck in traffic. How amazing is that? The Lord gave me boldness to approach someone to help me out and they did. With the little Spanish I knew - I was able to get by. Hallelujah!

We made it to Esperanza Viva just in time for lunch. We spent the rest of the day relaxing, touring the building and hanging out with the kids. Oh, I didn't mention this but our group was the FIRST to stay in their mission house. Not just that... We were the first young ladies group ever. How cool is that?

To be continued...

Counting down the hours.

I can't believe I leave to Mexico tonight. Time went by so fast, it felt like yesterday when I got the news about going to Mexico. I'm really excited to go to the Orphanage. We are going with an organization called AIM (http://aim.ag.org/) which is partnering with Esperanza Viva. Check out their website if you are interested: http://lovehopemercy.com.

Earlier this week as we were preparing for the trip, we were short on donations. I was so worried that by Saturday morning we wouldn't have anything to pack. Praise the Lord for a great friend of mine, she donated 8 bags full of clothes, toys, jackets etc. Since then, we started getting more and more donations. Some of the stuff I'm taking it on my carry-on. Lets hope I'll have enough clothes for the week. I'm glad I have my sister going on this trip with me, we can share clothes.

Well... Its roughly 2:50pm and I have to be at the church at 4pm to meet with the girls before we head to the airport. I just finished packing. Am I ready, lets hope so. Bible: CHECK, Clothes: CHECK, Camera: CHECK. I think I'm set. Please keep all of us in your prayers. There is 9 girls: Anna, Annie, Alyssa, Aliyah, Allie, Bethany, Hannah, Kao Hle and I. Pray that I won't get any of the girls name mixed up. As you can tell, I have a lot of "A's" to remember. Also, pray that our flights will go by smoothly. Tonight we get in at Houston around 10:30pm and we fly to Puebla 9am. We are planning to sleep at the airport, pray that the girls will do okay with that. Overall, a covering and protection. I love you all. I'll keep everyone posted. Until then, have a wonderful week! Dios te bendiga.

The remaining 2 days...

I can't believe Mexico is around the corner. The past few weeks the girls and I have been trying to find donations for our trip. Donation as in... Clothing, shoes, books, etc. Nothing really came in until this week. Just today I received 8 bags full of goodies but not just me, my sister received 4 bags of school supplies. Earlier this week, all of the girls and I got together to get organized for our trip. We went shopping for our activities that we were going to do with the kids when we get down there. We learned new things, like making friendship bracelets but on your hair. We learned how to face paint and make fun crafts. I'm excited. Everything is slowly coming together. It looks like we won't be leaving until Monday night around 7pm and getting into Mexico until the next day. We have a huge layover in Houston, Texas. More like we have to find a place to crash for the night, honestly I don't know what to do. I still have to get some stuff situated before we leave but they're nothing too big.
Tomorrow the girls and I are getting together at church to start packing and getting things together before we leave on Monday. Yay!

The past month or so now, I've been thinking about work. I think I'm going to step down from the title as the "Assistant Supervisor" at ACR Homes. I feel like I don't work enough to know my residents anymore. I'm only at work a few hours a day and that still doesn't give me enough time to know them. I feel like it's selfish of me to keep holding onto something that I don't deserve. Starting in August I'll be a normal staff, no more Assistant Supervisor title.
I'm not upset nor happy about it. I'm just like... eh. I don't know what's next but I think I'm making the right choice. I feel at peace with this decision. I know most people will continue to work up the ladder, but I don't feel like this is going to be a long term job for me. I feel like my time with  ACR is coming to an end soon. I don't know when but soon.

Faithful to the end

Tuesday around 12pm I arrived at the frog town house, a place where I volunteer in the community. As I arrived, I was told that todays mission was to go out to the community and play a game called "treasure hunt". If you have never heard of that game, let me explain. First off... You pray with a few people and ask the Lord want He to show to the group, then you either write or draw what you see whether it's a heart, a dog and/or a descriptive clothing (whatever it is). Once that is done, your mission is to go out and find this person that the lord wants you to go pray for. Tell him/her what the Lord want's you to say to them.

Here we are out in the community doing our mission in 90 degree weather. Me and heat don't go well together. So after a good hour or so, a few friends and I walked into The Salvation Army thrift store too look round. In other words, to cool ourselves down. As my friend, Jen and I was headed out the door we saw a camera case that she had gotten a while back. Before this scene, my friend Jen was talking to me about that case and how I should have gotten one. Here we are, in this thrift store cooling off and there were a few camera cases, brand new with the tag still one. Wanting to buy it, I couldn't because neither of us brought money. So we started to head back to the entrance. As I was about to go join with the team outside, this Latino lady grabbed my shoulders and stopped me. I was unsure why she would do such a thing, it was so unexpected I didn't even see her. Then she said, "mi country. I want your shirt". I looked at her and laughed and said "I want it too". With that statement being said, who knew that within the next 30 minutes of my time the Lord was going to bless me.

After a good 5-10 minutes of talking to this lady, I found out that she moved to the states 5 years ago from El Salvador and left everything she had down there even her family. She saw my El Salvador shirt and wanted it. To be honest, I did not want to give it to her. This was my favorite shirt from El Salvador. My comfy, workout, conversation starter shirt. I couldn't just give it away. Well, before I knew it I told the lady that I'll be back Friday to give it to her, first I had to wash it. And yeah, she was cool with it. Then we departed from one another. Outside we (my friends and I) go.

As we were all about to leave back to the community house, my friend Jen asked another friend for money to buy my camera case. So... here I am walking towards the store again. But this time I was on a mission for the camera case. Then it hit me buy a shirt, change into it, and give the shirt to the lady as a surprise. So that's exactly what I did, grabbed my camera case, grabbed the shirt and headed towards the register. Well... that lady caught me and took the shirt I was going to buy and said "me buy, you wear, and you give me your El Salvador shirt." I couldn't say no because she took it away from me and insisted me to go get changed. Then I told the lady I had to buy my camera case before I leave to go get changed. Then she took that away and purchased it and gave it back to me. I was like WHOA, should I have let that happened? I mean, I got my El Salvador shirt for FREE. If anything, I should have given the shirt to her without expecting anything back. And that's exactly what the Lord wanted for me. He was whispering in my ear saying how He wanted to bless me. Then it reminded me of the verse in 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

As I walked away I was blessed with not just one but two items, a new shirt and a camera bag. She was blessed with a shirt that I wore that day, that was originally from El Salvador. And that meant more to her than something I could have bought her for here.

Wow, Abba is so Faithful. Earlier that day I was complaining about the heat and everything. All I asked was... "Lord it's hot and I can't do anything. Can you do something." Never did I expect this to happen. Praise HIM!!!

I pray tonight that the Holy Spirit may open our eyes to see the little things & the big things that our Father in heaven wants to bless us with. Pray that we may rejoice in every situation, even when we have to give away our most prized possession. I pray that we continue to relay on you as our strength and the provider of all. Faithful to the end is who you are, Abba. Amen. 

& it continues...

Praise the Lord

I mentioned how my sister and I were presented with this opportunity to lead 7 girls down to Mexico in July. When we were first approached with this opportunity, not one bit was I concerned about the financial part. I was more concerned about the girls getting all their stuff ready for this trip that I forgot to write up my support letter. Well... Praise the LORD. I was told today that someone donated $2,300 for Gaohle and I to go on this trip. Like OH MY!!!!! The Lord provided like He always does and I can't seem to grasp it all. I'm so happy right now. YAY! Tomorrow my sister and I meet with the girls about the trip. Everything is coming together very smooth. Please continue to pray for this trip.

On a new note: I haven't had a car for 2 weeks. I gave my car over to my uncle and aunt to use while their car was in the shop. While my car was with them our family was down 1 car, so we had only 2 cars to use. Man oh man was it hard. But thankfully I have a great friend by the name, Neng, who was always willing to pick me up and take me places. God Bless you Neng! Today my Uncle stopped over around 8pm to hand over my car keys. Yay! I have my car back!!! 

On a side note: I have 7 weddings to attend this year. Pray for all the marriages that are to come and has already begun. Pray for strength, wisdom, patience and everything for all the upcoming newlyweds. Love you all!

Overall, I had such a great day filled with so many blessings. God bless you as well! Love ya!

It's Official

My next mission trip will be located in Mexico from July 9th through the 17th.

Never did I expect to go back to Mexico again. I'm in awe of what the Lord is doing in my life right now. Just yesterday a friend that I just met this past weekend invited me to the twins game. Not knowing that these tickets were season tickets. Meaning these were good seats. My friends and I literally sat right behind the dug out. The funny thing was, earlier this week I was about to purchase my first twins game tickets. Praise the Lord I didn't. He knew exactly what I wanted to do. Next on my list is the Vikings game & the Timberwolves. :)

This past weekend at the Kingdom Generation conference, Pastor James from Redeeming Love Church approached Gaohle (my sister) with an opportunity to go down to Mexico. This morning around 10am, Gaohle and I sat face to face with Pastor James. We talked about all the logistics for this trip and from the sound of it, it looks like Gaohle and I will be going. Here's the thing, I thought Gaohle and I were going to just be chaperones on this trip, but we found out that we were going to lead this team of girls down to Mexico. Puebla, Mexico to be exact. 

How crazy is that? Here I am, asking the Lord what's next in my life and KA BAM, Mexico. "Never did I expect to go back to Mexico." Praise the Lord for all the opportunities that He is putting in front of me. 

As I was sitting in that meeting with Pastor James, it hit me. I just applied to a few jobs and I haven't heard back from any of them. At the moment in my mind, I knew If I said yes to this trip, something was going to happen. Well... I said Yes and a few hours later Metro Dental Care called me. Man oh man...

Financially, I don't know how I'm going to fund for this trip. What I've learned in the past is that, if God calls me somewhere, He's going to provide. So I know for a FACT that my Father is going to provide for this trip, with NO doubt! **Watch out for my support letters. ;)

Abba, I praise you in every situation!! 

"Always be ready"

Since being back, the Lord has opened so many doors. It was hard to comprehend it all, but it's been good.

A friend that I met once, who now follows me on Facebook. She decided to donate a gently new/used stove that's worth over $600 to me. My job is to sell it and whatever profit I make out from it, I can donate it to the El Salvador base. How cool is that. So if you know anyone interested in a Black Maytag Electric stove, let me know!

As silly as it sounds, I felt like I gained boldness from this mission trip. In the past, I hated speaking in front of people. Like seriously, I strongly hated it. My mentor would always put me in front of a crowed and make me pray for them. I wanted to be obedient to him so I did it, but at the same time thoughts were running in my head; "What am I going to say. Will this even make sense? What if I messed up. Oh no all the attention is on me. etc..." All those thoughts would always race through my head when I'm on stage. Since being back, I've been given so many opportunities to speak about my trip. At first, I didn't want to do it. I wanted to plan it all out and be ready. Then as I started praying about it, the Lord revealed to me that I should ALWAYS be ready. Always be ready to give a word. Jenn Johnson said, "If you were saved for 10 minutes, you were saved 10 more minutes than someone else." In other words, there's no excuse to not share Jesus to anyone. Since I had that encounter with the Lord, I don't hesitate any more. I go with the authority that the Lord gave me, trusting that the Holy Spirit will speak through me (which he usually does). Within the past month or so, I've spoke twice. I can't wait to tell the kids at youth camp what the Lord did in my life and what He can do in their life.  "Always be ready!"

This past weekend we had another Kingdom Generation conference, our third conference that Young Adults Koinonia hosted. Every time we host something like this, it gets better. The role I play in this conference is the "Event Coordinator" along with assisting the director with any issues that he has. This past conference, we had Sean Smith from Jesus Culture who was one of our main speaker. Wow, was I blessed. I got to know him on a personal level and he was so chill and cool. I'm not trying to bash on any speakers or anything, but usually if you're a well known speaker you want to hide from people. Avoid the commotion etc. This guy got down at our level, walked through the front door and chilled with us until the conference started. He was so real. I love that about people. Anyways, another person we had was Father Craig Vasek from Bemidji. Praise the Lord for what He's doing in the Catholic community. Overall, it was a great weekend spent with great people. I met a lot of wonderful people as well as building a stronger relationship with others.

When I was in El Sal. I met some people in Iowa who wanted to me visit their base when ever I move back to MN. So here I am in MN waiting to see what's next in my life... The Iowa team messaged me asking when can I visit them. So with that being said, I'll be visiting the Iowa CFCI base sometime this summer.

Here is something new: My sister and I was presented with the opportunity to lead a youth team down to Mexico. I'm praying that this the next step in my life. How cool is that? It's not quite official or anything. I'm praying about it and we'll see what happens after this. I mean, I am learning Spanish for a reason, right?!

A lot of people will come into your life and ask you what you're expecting in your life within the next 5-10 years. Of course you would give them a rough estimate of your life plans. I would do that too. But you know what, I can't be upset with my life. Every day I experience something new, gain new memories with my family and friends that I probably wouldn't have imagined 5-10 years from now, and build new relationships. I know it's great to dream big because our God is big. But it's also good to enjoy the moment. Media & Society will tell you that you have to stay productive and make money. Money will lead to success and happiness. Honestly, I'm happy where I'm at in my life. Yeah, I may still live at home but hey I'm still enjoying life, I pay bills and I'm just like everyone else. In other words, God has a plan for you whether you can see it or not. He's not going to reveal it to you because we, as humans, are very critical. What I've realized is that, He likes to surprise us. Through our trails and happiness, that we may continue to praise Him. So keep trusting in the Lord because He has great plans in store for you. Never in my life did I expect to go to Mexico and El Salvador with it all being provided financially. If He can do great things in my life, so can He do it in your life as well.  Stay encouraged my friends! Love you all.

God Bless! :)