Day One.
I always sleep goofy in Monterrey. I toss and turn and then its morning. I love the mornings though because there is so much time to eat breakfast, read my bible, read my book, pray, and polish that off with some small group time.
I’m in a small group with Brad, Steve, and Nate. I’m on chapter 2 of my book “7 Things You Should Have Nailed Down before All Hell Breaks Loose”. After our small group time we loaded up the shuttles and headed to the Cadarayta.
The Cadarayta is a neighborhood of squatters who were placed there by the government. The houses, (if you would call them that) are cement blocks. There is no running water, electricity, or any kind of health facility…yet.
It looks like the neighborhood is getting bigger since I was here, and it looks like electricity might be on the way. DC entered someone’s home and saw a small tv hooked up to 2 car batteries. A new added obstacle would be the rain which has turned the streets into pure mud. Thick mud that truly illustrates that these folks are just plain stuck.
A group of us walked from house to house inviting guests to our makeshift church service with Pastor Jose, and after that we would feed them lunch. I’m proud of Allison Reynolds, because she took a chance and invited folks while August the intern whispered her the correct Spanish to speak to them.
Another group started making lunch. Lots of lunch. We were estimating feeding 300, so it was ham, cheese, bread, watermelon, and water for our friends. When the group who had done the inviting returned, they began playing with a good handful of kids just standing around. A lot of piggie-back rides were happening at that time. Another group of guys started digging in the foundation of the community center that is slowly erecting in the Cadarayta thanks to Back2Back. We will be pouring cement there later in the week.
So “church” started with some songs, some prayer and an encouraging word from Pastor Jose. Then lunchtime hit. The whole team helped with feeding everyone. There was very little pushing and shoving. Actually, the students were surprised at how polite everyone was.
Before we left, I grabbed DC, Ted, Nate, and Colin and we prayed for Pastor Jose. He was feeling very discouraged, and needed a renewing of Jesus inside of him and his wife. That was a moment for us as we prayed. Later on, Jose would tell us that he didn’t know a word we said but knew it was powerful, knew that we were connected, and felt like he was given the “strength of a buffalo!” I would be thanked later by those students for letting them be a part of that prayer.
We finished that project, cleaned up our mess, and headed to Momma Connie’s house. She and her husband Chewie run a home, (when at full capacity-42 kids!) My first summer here in 2004, we came to Momma Connie’s house to dig some foundation, paint, clean, and then pour a cement roof addition. We came in 2005 to put some type of weather sealant-goo on her roof, paint, clean, and play with kids. It had been 2 years since I had since the kid’s home, but we spent time with Momma Connie last summer.
A handful of jobs needed to be done before we left. A new patio would be poured, doors and cabinets would be painted, along with the ceiling. And of course, there were kids to play with.
Our first big speed bump was the cement mixer. It would not start. DC, and Ted were really trying to fire that thing up-but it wouldn’t budge. All the while, a pretty dark set of storm clouds were heading straight for us. I think God had an interesting afternoon planned for our team. We decided to mix the cement by hand and shovel, and that turned out to be a great experience for us. The storm clouds sort of when around us, but there was just enough rain to keep us cool and actually help out with the cement mixing.
We had a blast mixing, digging, mixing, talking, joking around, and carrying it with a wheelbarrow to the patio. When we got done, it stopped raining. (Funny how that works.) We cleaned the site, and then gathered to pray for Momma Connie and Chewie. We said our goodbyes and it was back to the shuttle for an hour ride back to campus.
When we returned, dinner was waiting, followed by worship with Brandon from Oklahoma. (Remember the “Trenches” song anyone?) Then after a great debriefing of hearing “Jesus-sightings” and DC sharing with us 2nd Chronicles, (The battle is the Lord’s, not ours!) We went down to Matt and Julie’s new house, (just moved in!) to pray over them, the 3 new young men that would be living with them while they attended college and high school, and just celebrate a house built by God, funded by God, and blessed by God. (It’s a sweet house!)
DC is taking many photos, while I am staring through the view screen of the video camera. We took a tour through all the photos last night, so hopefully we can get those up sometime while we are here.
Today, its off to Monantial children’s home to work hard, and play hard. We will be there all day with projects and will return to campus tonight. We will be with all the boys today, (the girls home is separate). This home is actually run by Momma Connie’s daughter and son-in-law.
The team did phenomenal for day one. I’m not kidding, usually it’s a building vibe as the week continues, but this team came out of the gate ready to rock and they were terrific. You would be very, very proud of them and they way they are representing Jesus, GCC, you, and me.
I always sleep goofy in Monterrey. I toss and turn and then its morning. I love the mornings though because there is so much time to eat breakfast, read my bible, read my book, pray, and polish that off with some small group time.
I’m in a small group with Brad, Steve, and Nate. I’m on chapter 2 of my book “7 Things You Should Have Nailed Down before All Hell Breaks Loose”. After our small group time we loaded up the shuttles and headed to the Cadarayta.
The Cadarayta is a neighborhood of squatters who were placed there by the government. The houses, (if you would call them that) are cement blocks. There is no running water, electricity, or any kind of health facility…yet.
It looks like the neighborhood is getting bigger since I was here, and it looks like electricity might be on the way. DC entered someone’s home and saw a small tv hooked up to 2 car batteries. A new added obstacle would be the rain which has turned the streets into pure mud. Thick mud that truly illustrates that these folks are just plain stuck.
A group of us walked from house to house inviting guests to our makeshift church service with Pastor Jose, and after that we would feed them lunch. I’m proud of Allison Reynolds, because she took a chance and invited folks while August the intern whispered her the correct Spanish to speak to them.
Another group started making lunch. Lots of lunch. We were estimating feeding 300, so it was ham, cheese, bread, watermelon, and water for our friends. When the group who had done the inviting returned, they began playing with a good handful of kids just standing around. A lot of piggie-back rides were happening at that time. Another group of guys started digging in the foundation of the community center that is slowly erecting in the Cadarayta thanks to Back2Back. We will be pouring cement there later in the week.
So “church” started with some songs, some prayer and an encouraging word from Pastor Jose. Then lunchtime hit. The whole team helped with feeding everyone. There was very little pushing and shoving. Actually, the students were surprised at how polite everyone was.
Before we left, I grabbed DC, Ted, Nate, and Colin and we prayed for Pastor Jose. He was feeling very discouraged, and needed a renewing of Jesus inside of him and his wife. That was a moment for us as we prayed. Later on, Jose would tell us that he didn’t know a word we said but knew it was powerful, knew that we were connected, and felt like he was given the “strength of a buffalo!” I would be thanked later by those students for letting them be a part of that prayer.
We finished that project, cleaned up our mess, and headed to Momma Connie’s house. She and her husband Chewie run a home, (when at full capacity-42 kids!) My first summer here in 2004, we came to Momma Connie’s house to dig some foundation, paint, clean, and then pour a cement roof addition. We came in 2005 to put some type of weather sealant-goo on her roof, paint, clean, and play with kids. It had been 2 years since I had since the kid’s home, but we spent time with Momma Connie last summer.
A handful of jobs needed to be done before we left. A new patio would be poured, doors and cabinets would be painted, along with the ceiling. And of course, there were kids to play with.
Our first big speed bump was the cement mixer. It would not start. DC, and Ted were really trying to fire that thing up-but it wouldn’t budge. All the while, a pretty dark set of storm clouds were heading straight for us. I think God had an interesting afternoon planned for our team. We decided to mix the cement by hand and shovel, and that turned out to be a great experience for us. The storm clouds sort of when around us, but there was just enough rain to keep us cool and actually help out with the cement mixing.
We had a blast mixing, digging, mixing, talking, joking around, and carrying it with a wheelbarrow to the patio. When we got done, it stopped raining. (Funny how that works.) We cleaned the site, and then gathered to pray for Momma Connie and Chewie. We said our goodbyes and it was back to the shuttle for an hour ride back to campus.
When we returned, dinner was waiting, followed by worship with Brandon from Oklahoma. (Remember the “Trenches” song anyone?) Then after a great debriefing of hearing “Jesus-sightings” and DC sharing with us 2nd Chronicles, (The battle is the Lord’s, not ours!) We went down to Matt and Julie’s new house, (just moved in!) to pray over them, the 3 new young men that would be living with them while they attended college and high school, and just celebrate a house built by God, funded by God, and blessed by God. (It’s a sweet house!)
DC is taking many photos, while I am staring through the view screen of the video camera. We took a tour through all the photos last night, so hopefully we can get those up sometime while we are here.
Today, its off to Monantial children’s home to work hard, and play hard. We will be there all day with projects and will return to campus tonight. We will be with all the boys today, (the girls home is separate). This home is actually run by Momma Connie’s daughter and son-in-law.
The team did phenomenal for day one. I’m not kidding, usually it’s a building vibe as the week continues, but this team came out of the gate ready to rock and they were terrific. You would be very, very proud of them and they way they are representing Jesus, GCC, you, and me.
5 comments:
Thanks for the awesome update, Corey. I find myself anxiously awaiting word from you all....talk about a daily dose of inspiration! The whole entry was amazing...just amazing, but I was really pumped about your last paragraph. Just knowing you guys/girls are out there representing your families, church and most importantly, Jesus, in a positive,uplifting way.....well, that is the only way to go. I am so proud of all of the students that are clearly in touch with the fact that it isn't all about them. They are adding their very own brush strokes to the bigger picture. How awesome. Tell Hannah we love her and that we are so very proud. Jake and Harry say hello. Oh, and Bandit says hi! (ok, not really...for goodness sake...it's a dog! Pretty much he just eats, sleeps and licks stuff).
Anyway, thanks for your entries. They mean a lot to us.
Peace-
The Brasseurs
Thanks for the awesome update, Corey. I find myself anxiously awaiting word from you all....talk about a daily dose of inspiration! The whole entry was amazing...just amazing, but I was really pumped about your last paragraph. Just knowing you guys/girls are out there representing your families, church and most importantly, Jesus, in a positive,uplifting way.....well, that is the only way to go. I am so proud of all of the students that are clearly in touch with the fact that it isn't all about them. They are adding their very own brush strokes to the bigger picture. How awesome. Tell Hannah we love her and that we are so very proud. Jake and Harry say hello. Oh, and Bandit says hi! (ok, not really...for goodness sake...it's a dog! Pretty much he just eats, sleeps and licks stuff).
Anyway, thanks for your entries. They mean a lot to us.
Peace-
The Brasseurs
Oops. Commented twice. My bad.
~~Shell
Wow you are all amazing! This is a really great project. It's great to hear that everyone is really excited and working hard. I know the results will be very rewarding. All the effort everyone put into this will affect many people for the rest of their lives! Isn't it amazing how much one small group of people can make such a big difference?! =) You're not only bring happiness into many people's lives but also making others proud and inspired. What a great way to represent Jesus and GCC. Keep up the great work!
-Karen
Hilary,
Just wanted to let you know that I am praying for you and am very proud of you. You are a strong young woman of God. I am sure that God has many great things planed for you on this trip and he will help you accomplish them. Just remember that I love you and am praying for you and the whole team. You all are on my mind alot, and that is just God's way of letting me know to pray alittle harder.
Dad
Post a Comment