Mexico Top Ten

I spent my Thanksgiving in Reynosa Mexico with friends from church. We spent four days in the colonia building houses, doing VBS and women's Bible studies, hosting a BBQ, and playing with the kids. It was an amazing trip. I'm still processing through the trip in my head, so as I complete that processing, here is a short top ten from the trip, not in any particular order:

1. Challenging the guys to serenade us girls on the way down (because of course guys and girls were in separate cars, because of course we must be gender segregated), and having that challenge returned with an amazing poem which they recited in sync via a 3way cell phone call. It was perfect.

2. Buying 15 hot chocolates, 2 coffees, and 3 cappuccinos at the local 711 for the guys building the houses and trying to get them down the very rough road to the colonia without spilling them.

3. The FREEZING cold. We froze. But it was fun.

4. My truck - have I mentioned that I love it? It handled the rough and muddy roads perfectly and provided warm transportation for my fellow travelers.

5. The kids. They were amazing. It was fun to be a jungle gym for four days and be the recipient of their bright smiles and hugs. They are proof that you don't need money to be happy.

6. The new houses. Our team build three houses in four days and it was so cool to watch them go up. I even got to pound a few nails myself, which was surprisingly satisfying. May these new homes be places of refuge and community for their new owners.

7. Jumping on the trampoline for 1.5 hours with Lauren and Jeremy. It was a fabulous way to get warm! Only at the end did we find out that we were jumping illegally, as only one person was allowed on the trampoline at a time. The motto is: act first, ask permission later.

8. The fabulous taco breakfast after the prayer walk on the last morning.

9. The prayer walk. I think we were all a little awkward about it at first, but as we progressed, it was a good way to talk to God about the weekend, what we had experienced, what was on our hearts, and what we were struggling with. We walked around the colonia in small groups and prayed outloud as things came to mind. Prayer is a wonderful thing.

10. The fresh and cool breeze on the way home. We girls enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the way home and decided to open the windows to enjoy it even more. The sunset was accompanied by a big bright moon. It was perfect (this word "perfect" was the theme word for the trip).

And finally, here are my photos from the trip.