View from Good Shepherd, our lodging for the week. Orientation and hiking at Window Rock after church this morning. A great first day!

At dinner in Kettleman City. Still looking like 10 or 10:30.

All have crossed and are on the road. ETA is going to be closer to 10:00 depending on traffic and stops. Pray for safety on the road. Thanks!

On the road, about to wait in a long line to cross the border. All is well, and we will keep you updated & let you know when we have crossed.

Thursday night

After an amazing Mexican feast of chicken burritos, tamales, and chili relleno prepared by a woman from the church, we joined in the Thursday night worship service of the local church instead of having campfire. It was a great experience, singing in Spanish and meeting people from the local congregation. Courtney did an amazing job sharing her story with everyone, too! Off to bed now before our last full day of work!

Matt, kevin, clayton

The new home

It's finally looking like a home! One more day to finish up!

Construction photos today

Making progress on the new build are nick, josh, and miriam.

Wednesday night thoughts

Hannah: we worked with the kids at the dump this morning. I was really tired, and felt like I *had* to be happy, but the cutest girl came up & asked for seconds with a big smile on her face & said thanks and it really made my day!

Stephen d: I'm so amazed at how dedicated the workers there are, to feed 100-200 kids every morning and do all those dishes. It was also cool that despite language barriers we were able to work together and play together.

Alex L: I had a headache & I was sore this morning, but I had to get up and work crafts even though I was groggy and grumpy, because they needed me to translate, but being with the kids renewed my spirit and my headache went away.

Kristin: previous health issues made me nervous about taking this trip, but today was the first day I've felt *great* in months!

Sara N: we got to see the church in the dump today- it was *beautiful*, with so much stuff that people generously gave, including music equipment. At first they said the band was just the pastor and his wife, but now they have three teenagers in the band & they send them into town to get music lessons so they can be even more of a blessing to the church.

Wynn: the last song we sang tonight- 'God of this City'- was written in Thailand, in the red light district. It's such a good reminder to me that God is at work here in La Mision, in Davis, and in Phuket with all its prostitution- *everywhere*

All pro saw team shlok, spencer, ben, gerald

Home construction

Home construction is moving along:

Tuesday's work, part deux

Stephen d: I was getting dehydrated today, and then the family brought out like 5 gallons of my favorite drink- horchata!

Stacey: at arts & crafts today, we had a really enjoyable time with the girls- even though they were very young, were careful to slow down their spanish so we could understand.

Natasha: two kids today were talking, assuming we couldn't understand what they were saying, but then I really freaked them out when I responded to them in Spanish. Then we became good friends and one even called me "mom."

Alex W: we had a great time working on the house Bidwell started 3 weeks ago. We finished the roofing, installed all the windows and finished the electrical panel. It was great to get to know the new owner of the home, Josue, as he worked alongside us all day. He couldn't stop talking about how BIG this new home was (it's 600 square feet) and how thankful he was for it. That really put things in perspective.

Tuesday's work

Nick J: the kids laughed at me because I'm terrible at soccer, but their smiles were worth it!

Emma P: we did crafts and games with 4-7 year old girls. One girl, Angelica, wrote my name on a bag and put a heart next to it that said, "love." It reminded me of how God shows his love to us through kids.

Stephen N: I was encouraged that in playing games with kids at the orphanage, even when we couldn't speak Spanish, we could still play.

Derek: Leonardo told us we were doing a great job & helping change their outlook on life.

Sarah S: on the construction site, the woman whose house it was brought out some great food for us at lunch- homemade tortillas, beans, rice, salsa & egg salad. It was great!

Shane a, jeffrey

More construction pix

These are from the new build site: sarah s, emily m, stephanie

Housebuilding

One group is finishing up the home that Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Chico began in March; two teams each day are starting the new home construction. Here are Tyler, Maxine & Emily roofing at the Bidwell home.

Monday's work, part 2

Courtney: we worked at the orphanage for part of the day today and I was amazed at how happy everyone was. I could really see God at work in them and how he gives them joy.

Marcelo: I went to the dump with chloe's team. It was crazy to see how people had built their homes from discarded junk, yet how they all supported each other and took care of each other.

Clayton: It was an old dump that was closed and had roads built on top of it- not somewhere any of us would build a home, but I found the kids and the people there a lot friendlier than probably you would even find in Davis. Every kid that would walk by would smile, every adult would say "buenos dias" and they were all grateful to be alive and for all they did have.

Monday's work

Wynn: our team went and washed the walls of a home and repainted them. It was fascinating to see how even just a simple act of repainting walls could offer some hope to a family, because even as we did so, they began to work alongside us and start doing a lot of other project on the home as well.

Nick J: I was amazed that of all the homes we could have gone too that that was the one that got chosen- because they really needed it, there was a lot of mold inside and even though it looked pretty good on the outside, the inside really needed to be taken care of.

Debi: I was at the construction site and I was amazed by the determination of everyone around me. We got several walls built and even though it started pouring on us, everyone kept working and we were all excited!

Chloe: We woke up early and went to serve breakfast at the dump. I was amazed at how all the little kids looked out for each other. Older siblings would take care of younger and take care of them to get them to this church in the dump for breakfast. I was also amazed at the head cook woman who lived in back and did all this for the kids there, even though she has four young kids of her own to take care of. She still wanted to be there for all the other kids.

Orchard fun

One team spent part of the morning cleaning up and weeding the orchard at the orphanage.

Breakfast at the dump

One team prepared and served breakfast to about 100 kids who live in a slum built on a retired dump; the church we served from runs an amazing ministry there, seeking to provide food both physical and spiritual there.

Student thoughts from Sunday

Debi: my heart was flooded wit contentedness and happiness during our sunrise service at the cross. I'm so thankful God brought me here. What would it have been like if I hadn't come?

Stephen N: on the orphanage tour, I was amazed at how passionate the staff of the orphanage are about what they are doing here.

Emily M: I was so encouraged to see Aggie playing with a mentally handicapped boy in the nursery and giving him such loving attention for so long.

Jimmy Y: this place is so beautiful. When we serve in Davis I don't really get to see the amazing beauty of creation at the same time.

Nicole: during quiet time this morning I was thinking about the meaning of Easter and then was amazed when I looked to my side and saw some beautiful flowers growing out of dead branches. It reminded me of God bring new life and beauty of of the brokenness in the world.

We felt the earthquake, but no damage in this area and all is well. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Easter Sunday hike

Resting & experiencing community & creation on Easter Sunday. Work commences bright & early tomorrow.

Christ is risen!

Sarah, Hannah, and Debi read the narratives from John 20-21 for us as we experienced this time together.We celebrated Easter morning with a sunrise service on the mountain.

Made it!

Safe in Mexico at Door of Faith - all of us! Thanks for your prayers!

At the border!

We're early arriving at the border and regathering to cross together. Yay!

Hittin' the road!

Welcome to the Summit Mexico '10 blog! We'll be updating this page regularly throughout our time at Door of Faith Orphanage with stories and pictures. Follow the blog and come back daily during our trip!