9 days, 19 VBS sessions

We made it.  Last Thursday, we arrived in San Luis Potosi Mexico around 2:30 in the afternoon.  Our group hopped into a van and drove to Brigido's house; within a space of about 10 minutes, we unloaded our bags, were handed food wrapped in tin foil, and were on the bus to Gorgorron.  An hour later, we arrived at a place none of us had been, to help with a VBS, to hang out with kids and adults who spoke a different language and were on a totally different plane than us from a socio-economic standpoint.  Our group looked dazed and confused.  They were in a severe case of culture shock. 

Fast forward 9 days.  We did 4 VBS sessions at Gorgorron, and 5 each at Pavon Church, La Mision and Rancho Nuevo.  The group is in the flow.  We know when (and when not!!) to get on the bus. Crafts, snacks, recreation, the classes, we've got it all down.  Everyone is speaking Spanish as they can, and we just laugh off the cultural differences that left us in shock on the bus to Gorgorron last week.  We've done 19 VBS sessions and are tired.  All of the adults are up by 7:30 each morning and up until 11pm each night.  The kids are up later on both counts, but not by much.  We love the food, and drink a ton of Mexican Coke at each meal.  We've been to the market a few times, and are in love with SLP.  Brigido and Amy and the families have inspired us to serve God.  God has shown up a number of times and revealed Himself continuously faithful.

The Markle group leaves tomorrow morning at 4AM, leaving us here for a few days of debrief and relative quiet.  We've got a church to clean and a few more items to purchase in the market.  I'll be preaching 3 times on Sunday, one sermon at Pavon in the morning, and then a different one at La Mision and Gorgorron.  Then, we've got the 3:30AM wake-up on Monday for the 6:30AM flight out.  We'll be in Chicago mid-day on Monday, and we'll be chilling out for the evening there.  There will be at least one more video uploaded (working on one now) to the Facebook page. 

This has been a great trip, we've all gotten along well, and the kids and adults have worked hard.  I'm anxious to debrief over the next few days.  A recap service is being planned at Eastview, we'll get out details soon.  In the meantime, please continue to pray for us!

Porque Dios es Amor!