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| The Villalovas Crew |
Before the trip there were a couple of times my son Gino asked me what I was most excited about for
the trip and both times I told him I wasn’t sure, because I had no idea what to expect, but I have to
admit I was a bit scared after all we were headed to a border town. I was concerned about things like,
what kind of food we would be eating, I thought am I going to have to pack a bunch of snacks to survive
on for a week, I wondered about the sleeping conditions, I worried about the heat - which I kept hearing
was just horrible, not being able to speak Spanish very well, the unclean water, things that to me were
very important and worth worrying about at least I thought they were, but to God they were just trivial
things. God reminded me of Matt 6:25-26, where we are told not to be anxious about our life, what we
will eat or drink because just as God cares for the birds in the air he will care for us.
Well God is faithful and he took care of us, our VCH friends made the most amazing food. I slept soundly
every night with no fear, worry or care in the world and the heat well it was very, very hot but God was
so gracious to us with cloud cover and gentle breezes just when we needed them most. I must say this
was also a very humbling experience for me, I am not one to even leave my house without my hair or
makeup done. Well my hair was an absolute mess the entire time, I don’t think it ever dried and my
makeup well it was usually wiped off before we even left for the day. I’m so thankful for this amazing
team that accepted me at my worst. In the same way God opened my eyes to see the people of Mexico
they are so humble and live so simply. They accepted us Americans into their neighborhoods and came
out to see the dramas we invited them to, they were so friendly even though many of them had no idea
what we were saying, they laughed at our attempt at Spanish, although by the end of the trip mine had
gotten much better. They so appreciated the bags of beans and rice that we gave out, it seemed like
such a small amount of food to us but it was a meal many of them struggle to get, we were told it was
worth a days wages to them.
Every day we would go into the small very poor neighborhoods called Colonias. In these neighborhoods
we would gather all of the children and just have fun with them. These children were so precious as
they interacted with us in the human obstacle course and laughed at us as we taught them the chicken
dance. Their smiling faces are what I see when I close my eyes and it brings a smile to my face. I had the
awesome privilege of helping with the children when we separated them from the adults, which seemed
very fitting for me since I work with the Childrens Ministry here. We would share a short story of Gods
love for them and then asked them if they loved Jesus and if they wanted him to live in their heart; they
would eagerly raise their hands. As we led them in the salvation prayer with their little eyes tightly shut
and their hands over their hearts they asked Jesus to live in their heart, I was blessed by the sight of
these little ones so eager to have the companionship of Jesus. I can now answer my son and say that
the thing I am most excited about and is now just a memory embedded in my heart and mind are the
precious children of Mexico.
Here is some pictures of Liz and Ben acting out a domestic violence scene in our drama Exchange:
Here is some extra pictures of Liz doing some prayer ministry:
Liz was a real pleasure to have on our team! Her and her family are amazing! Have you read Gino's post?
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