We split up and some of us went to the church and some of us went to La Casa de Esperanza.  The group at the church just about finished the painting, but most of the day was spent trying to set up some walls for the shower.  The single most frustrating thing about this trip has been hardware.  When we go, we can’t talk to anyone about sizes, and they are out of at least half of the things we could possibly use.  It is at least 20 minutes in to town and then it is a shot in the dark as to whether or not they will have what we need.  So we have been trying to make it work, but it hasn’t been.  We also got most of the pipes in to connect up the hot water heater.  In the afternoon, one group went to town to get diapers and formula for La Casa.  In the morning while we were there, there was a toddler that had peed his diaper, but they wouldn’t change it until he pooped because they were so low on diapers.  It was so sad to see his face.  And with the language barrier, we couldn’t really figure out what to do, so we just bought them some more.  We also helped them make a bunch of tamales for a wedding, and just played with the kids.  The kids are so sweet and starved for attention.  There are just so many of them.

Some of the cool things that are happening at La Casa is that they are helping the battered women that seek refuge there to create businesses to become self sufficient.  They are using some of the sewing machines that have been donated to make uniforms because all of the school children in Mexico have to wear uniforms.  They are making tortillas and selling them, so we bought like 200 tortillas to bring home.  They are also getting licensed to run a day care to generate income and help out the community.  

The mission officially started yesterday.  We headed out to the church in the morning and Shawn connected with Pastor Walt.  He wasn’t there, but someone else was that had is cell number.  We jumped in quick and helped another group that was from Arizona to start painting the church.  The paint was the delicious color of nacho cheese.  Shortly after that, we sent one group to Costco to get food for the week and the other groups kept painting and started setting forms for one of the concrete pads.  There was also a lot of planning, figuring out what we need for each project.  We are going to pour a concrete pad for a propane tank, two outdoor showers, install a hot water heater, tile a bathroom, and paint the church building.

When the Costco group got back after many problems related to not speaking/reading spanish, we all returned to our villa to eat some sandwiches.  We stood around on the beach for a bit before heading back to the church.  When we got back, some of us dug a sweet ditch to provide drainage for the showers.  Another group finished painting the second wall and most of the third while one group went off to Home Depot to buy supplies.  That was one of the greatest adventures thus far.  There was the obvious language barrier, but there was also the lack of clarity in what exactly we were doing, the metric system in length as well as volume, and moving a bunch of bags of concrete mix into the truck and trailer.

After working in the afternoon we returned home and swam for a bit in our ocean.  The waves were so quick; there was never a dull moment.  An excellent birthday treat for Jesse.  After swimming we ate some delicious nachos and the Home Depot team finally arrived at home when the other two teams were finishing their dinner.  A little bit later that night we built a fire on the beach and sat around telling each other our thoughts on the trip so far and sang some worship songs.  One of the best comments, which was a definite shared sentiment, was the feeling that when it is all over, we are going to go back to life as normal, even though we don’t want to, and we hate that about ourselves.  It got quite introspective pretty quick.  We are all already being challenged.

Today, we woke up and had some pancakes.  We headed over to the church where we got a ton of work done.  One group poured the pad for the propane tank while another set the forms for the shower.  The third group took off to La Casa de Esperanza.  It is a shelter for battered women and children.  They helped out the staff there get ready for lunch and cleaned out some rooms for some teachers that will be coming soon.  That group returned, and we had some lunch while Shawn left to go buy more concrete because after the adventure yesterday, they didn’t get enough for both pads.  When he returned we finished pouring the shower pad with drains and pipes, and we almost finished the fourth wall that needs painting.  The water heater was also put in place along with some holes drilled to hook it up.  It was an uber-successful day at the church.

When we got back to our house, we swam in the ocean and ate our first meal cooked by Veronica, our Mexican cook.  It was amazing food.  We also went down the beach to our new Arizonan friends house and worshiped a bit and heard pastor Walt speak.  Afterward, the Arizonans prayed for us since they are leaving and we are staying.  It was a good time.  Now we’re back home and enjoying some down time.  I’ve tried to put up a bunch of pictures because that is the best part anyhow.

Well, we’re here, so that’s good.

The adventure began Monday afternoon in Oroville. We met up at the church, loaded all our stuff into a trailer that Shawn is towing behind his truck, and we all loaded into a van. By we, I mean Rhonda, myself, Desi, Lexi, Brenden, Sam, Caleb, Angela, and Justin. Shawn, Jesse, Joanna, and Destiny loaded into his truck. And we ventured forth.

Everything was fine for most of the evening. There was much fun and rejoicing in the van after dinner when Catch Phrase was being played. It was, however, so rudely interrupted when Shawn called on the radio to inform us that his truck’s battery light was flashing on and off and that he might be loosing power. So the rejoicing ceased momentarily while Lexi prayed for the truck. We got off on the next exit just to make sure that if the truck did die that the van could charge the battery. It could, but we were still 65 miles from Bakersfield, our first destination, so we didn’t really want to risk getting stuck on the freeway.

This is where Martha really comes into the story. Martha Garmin is the name of Lexi’s GPS system. We asked Martha for a Nazarene church in the area, and she gave us four withing 11 miles, including turn by turn directions. We thanked God for Martha, made a couple of phone calls, and Ben in Tulare at Wayside Church of the Nazarene became our new best friend. We quickly drove a short 4 miles to the church where we would stay for the evening.

After unpacking some luggage, we all gathered in one of the rooms to journal a little bit about our expectations for the trip and we sang a couple worship songs. It was our first time together as a 97% complete team, so it was good to just be together. In the morning, Ben gave us a phone number for a mechanic that goes to his church, and Shawn got the truck in first thing. It ended up needing a new alternator, which was replaced, and we got breakfast, and we left the Wayside and were back on the road by 10 am. It definitely could have been worse.

On the road again, we met trouble at the grape vine. Shawn’s truck started overheating on the way up. He used his smarts and popped his hood a little to cool the engine down, threw some water on the radiator, and turned on the heater. Then at low speeds and high RPMs we got over the mountain. After a quick lunch stop we started to make our way through LA, which was fine and dandy, but we did have a little hang up that added about 15 minutes. You can ask Shawn about that later if you feel so inclined.

In San Diego we picked up Angie and our team went from 97 to 100 percent. We made a quick stop before the border to get some Mexico Auto Insurance, and away we went. As we crossed the border, they stopped Shawn, so I stopped as well. The border guard looked at our trailer and in the back of the van, and they let us through. It had already been a very long day, so we tried to make it all the way to where we were staying, but we stopped at about 8:30 for some dinner in Ensenada. Let’s just say it was delicious and cheap. Tacos and Quesedillas and sodas and horchata for all of us for 54 dollars. I think that is the same amount I spent for lunch in a mexican restaurant in New York.

We finished our trek at around 10 pm. It was dark and foggy, so we couldn’t see much, but after unloading our stuff and choosing sleeping arrangements, we got our first night’s sleep in Mexico. We woke up to a foggy but amazing view out of our front window. We’re still trying to figure some logistics out, but we’re hoping to go to town and meet the pastor we will be working with today. Thanks to everyone that is praying. If you leave any comments on here for team members, I will be sure to pass them on. Until tomorrow….

I went with our church staff down to Lodi on Wednesday to listen to Reggie speak on Missional Church Architecture. A lot of the discussions I have had with the staff include parts of Reggie’s Present Future stuff. He really makes me think, examine, and question what is going on in me, my circle of influence, and my church. I will just list some of the things he said that I think are important. If you get a chance to hear him speak, I would definitely recommend it. Disclaimer: these are all in some context and I jotted them down as he spoke, so think deeply, tread lightly.

• People used to make stuff (manufacturing to service)
• We pay for stuff we don’t want to do
• We outsourced spiritual formation to the church
• Most of our churches are too secular for our culture
• They look for God and they find church instead
• The church becomes a way that the kingdom is breaking into the world
• Jesus is the hope of the world, not the church
• We are not running this sucker
• The church isn’t the destination
• The church is like an airport, it’s just a connector
• Are we releasing people and resources to bless the world
• Release people into leadership
• People count even if they don’t show up to a building

So I am getting baptized Sunday. It has been a long journey to this spot. My pastor asked me to write out a <100word testimony. I kept trying to last night, and it never sounded right. After a while, my computer froze up, and I lost everything I wrote. This ended up being better because I typed it out today and didn't worry about word count. I just kept it short. I thought I would share it here.

I was born the son of a Nazarene preacher, but I found escape in drugs and alcohol by the age of 13. It was short lived, and I realized the power it had over me, so at 15 I rededicated my life to God. I surrounded myself with people that were like me. We only dealt with sins that were visible while hiding our dark secrets. We spoke of Jesus, but our hearts were far from Him. In college I began to experience freedom in struggles as well as triumphs. Jesus’ death on the cross began to create space for me to come alive. It has redefined who I am. Jesus breaks through the mess I make of life to shine light on the beauty of redemption. Jesus is the Messiah, and He is my God.

At the Elev8 trip to Pirates 3 in San Diego, we killed some time in the Mac Store: