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Hey everyone sorry it took longer to get back to you all. We were unable to get a blog out the last night and with the arrival of being home most of us were exhausted. But we still have more to share with you. Our last day we went to an orphanage which was awesome. It was run by about 3 older ladies who were managing about 50 or so kids. As we left Mexico we stopped at Spectrum Mall and just spent an hour without talking to one another but observing the surroundings and people. We were then asked to write what our thoughts were of the cultural difference and the things that disturbed us about our culture. I will put in quotes below of what some people wrote. Look forward to a more detailed blog of our last day in Mexico along with a photo gallery and video of our trip within the next few weeks. Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

-The Mexico Team of 09

OBSERVATIONS

Dave Herrera-
Everything is the same, the colors, the sights, the sounds, the people. I see the same vibrant glow of the neon lights, the same conversations I heard before; “What do you want to eat? I just deposited $300 into my bank account. I’m going to the ball game.” There are so many restaurant choices, and even the restaurants have multiple choices. I see the same people. Leather jackets, designer jeans, purses, and sunglasses. I see the make-up. The same bags from different department stores. Big bags, small bags, so many bags you struggle to carry them. I see short shorts, low tops, tattoos, piercings, bleached hair, colored hair, dress shoes, tennis shoes and finely pressed clothing. I smell the same things, french fries, teriyaki, sweet spices.

The culture shock of Mexico hits you as soon as you arrive. “What did he say, what does that sign say?” After being there it becomes just noise because you don’t know what they’re saying. You begin to tune it out. You think, “If I only spoke Spanish, things would be different.” We come back to the California, where we speak the language, but nothing is different. I speak English very well, but it’s not being used to impact people for Christ.

In Mexico it was easy to drown out the voices of people as just noise because of the language, but I do the same things with the voices of people in California. I’m “too busy” with my life to be a difference in some one else’s. If I actually listened and recognized the voices of a dying world, screaming out to be noticed, then things might be different, or at least could be. I am that man who has found water in the desert and hasn’t told others about it.

So what now? Do I go back to my comfortable lifestyle of media at the touch of my fingers, able to buy most things, at least on credit? Do I head back to security? Do I continue to live the same chameleon lifestyle as everyone else, just blending in to not stick out, but with just enough spice to be noticed? This is my world, but will I conform to it? I don’t want to keep being the man who has found water in the desert and hasn’t told others about it.

I need to live an intentional life. Not one chasing after the lusts of my heart. I need to pray more often, and not just say words, but believe in the power of prayer. I need to turn my affections towards God. I need to lesson the “business” of my life, so that my time with God isn’t compromised, cheated, tainted, or hidden. I need to be in constant communion with God. I need to recognize his voice. I need to walk so closely with God that at the very whisper of his voice rings through loud and clear. That can’t happen if I’m not first sitting at the very feet of the one who died for my TV consuming, money hungry, world chasing lifestyle. I will not be the man who has found water in the desert and doesn’t tell others about it.


Josh Limneos-
I want to thank everyone who prayed for us during our trip to Mexico. It was an answer to prayer that our team was unified throughout the week. Please pray that the unity would continue not only within our Mexico group but in Highlife, PCC, and ultimately the entire body of Christ. While in Mexico we had a chance to hear Aaron, the leader of Spectrum Ministries, talk about Philippians 2. The verse that stands out most to me is verse 3 which says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” This verse stands out so much because verses 1 and 2 establish it as the key to being united in Christ. My goal in life is to take Philippians 2 and live it out on a daily basis.


Makinzie Thomas-
“Everyone around me seems so much in their own world, caring about what they look like and how other people think of them.”


Payton Thomas-
“Mexico is just such a great experience and it totally changes my mindset, and I really just need to focus on God and let Him control my life.”


Chris Boyle-
“This was the best trip for church that you can go on in a spiritual way and a far way. I loved it.”


Jordan Jandreau-
“I need to make service my daily goal. Too often, I am selfish and consider others before myself. How can I be godly like the leaders that God has put before me? My faith needs to be the essence of what I am, not just a characteristic. I will make so many decisions in the upcoming four years and beyond, minor and important ones, and I pray that I can make the right choices. I am tempted by the world, but I need faith to keep me on the narrow road. If I know the TRUTH that God has created, all I need to do is become a man of God and be most satisfied above all things when Christ is glorified in me. I think I could describe things as this way, but at this point in time, I do not honestly thing that this end is my primary goal.”


Vero Granado-
“I am to be living my faith out with words and actions. I am definitely going to remember to go to God first, with prayer and reading and to stay connected with fellowship. God is the ultimate defense against the devil’s attempts at distractions.”


Brittany Flavel-
“In America we have paved roads, healthy water, and strong septum systems, and yet we complain about how much we don’t have, and how much we wish we did have. I definitely do not give God enough glory for the things he does in my life, and that needs to change. If I face certain obstacles that threaten my relationship with God, I need to turn away from the situation immediately, and pray to God for strength.”


Veronica Thomas-
My experience in Mexico was above and beyond my expectations. I am so thankful to you who were praying for me. God answered!!! I went as a "staff", expecting to be focused on what God might be teaching and challenging the students to and how I might be able to encourage and challenge them in these areas, not anticipating that God had some huge things in store for me personally. I don't know why I think this way. As if God is finished with me! I was again touched by such extreme poverty and challenged to be more grateful and less wanting!! I also was disappointed at how easily I get discontented with what I have. It is pathetic actually. I felt humbled and as if I had been living my life with some sort of blinders on to the fact that I actually have too much, not too little. I was sooo encouraged that God blessed me with a significant amount of time with each of the leaders who serve in the Spectrum ministry. Each of them ministered to me in very specific ways. I grew to love them very much in a short period of time. It would take me pages and pages to share all that I learned through them and this incredible Mexico experience, but I would love to share it all with any of you face to face! I just want to challenge you to really look at how much we have, even those of us who might not have as much as others, and thank God for it! Also, we need to be so focused on the fact that we are heirs of the King and we are inheriting the kingdom of God for all of eternity. We are wealthy beyond measure!!! Let's use this short time we have here on earth to give others that wealth, through love people in Jesus name and whatever means God has so blessed us with!! Thanks again for praying for me and the team!!!!!


Carly Donohue-
The things I notice now are that we have so much and most of the time we take those things for granted. The people of Mexico live their lives to the fullest everyday and they don’t care about the way they look, but we care about that so much. Some of the basics of my faith will change. I want to read the bible more but I just don’t know where to start, and I want to fellowship and start witnessing to my friends on the Swim team and at school.The obstacles are that we will go back to the way we were living before (selfish), and school will be a distraction.Tonight (April 17th) is the night where I’m going to stop being shy about what people think about me, as a person who loves God so much. I want to share Christ with my family, but I will need help, by friends, family, but most of all God Himself.


Zach Schubert-
I noticed that Irvine seems so different than Mexico. I have a whole different perspective on people and my surroundings. For one they are all white and speak English, but also I notice that everyone here doesn’t’ know how fortunate they are. I also notice how greedy America is and aren’t even happy with what they have. Whereas in Mexico, people have so little but love so much and are happy where they are. One thing that I would like to change is to not get distracted from God by everything that I do in my day and make God the first. I need to stop ignoring God. He calls me everyday and I only talk when I want something or I’m made to. That is how I need to change.

Jared Rohrer-
You never know if you’re a true servant till your treated like one.

Hannah Wang-
My perspective of the Spectrum mall has changed since Monday afternoon-though it should have always felt the way that it feels now because I have seen and experienced poverty like that in Mexico many times before. I want to be able to see the world the way I do now always and not just after a culture shock.

Dylan Rohrer-
These kids have so little but they are so happy. I was with this kid at the orphanage and he just always had a smile on his face. I just pray that God will keep me content with what I have and not have. I’ve been greedy.

Bill Vucurevich-
Blessed far beyond what I deserve.


Tony Tiemann-
Thanks so much for all your prayers and support for this incredible experience that our team had in Mexico. We were so blessed by each of you who supported us so much. The blog tells what we did, so I won’t get into many details about the whole week here. We met tonight with our team at Bill and Judy’s home, 6 days after crossing the border, as we headed back home. It was so encouraging to hear how this time down south has changed each of us. There were tears, laughter, and contemplation, worship, prayer and great fellowship as we shared how this experience in Mexico has changed us all. One quick story I shared tonight is about a young boy named Alex. We were wrapping up our visit with about 50 orphan kids in this simple orphanage in Tijuana on Friday, our last day in Mexico. We had cooked for the kids a lunch that we all gobbled up and were playing with the children. I went up some stairs to just take a peek at the rooms the children were staying in. It was dark and reminded me of the concentration camp dormitories I saw in Dachau, Germany. The rooms were small and crowded. The walls were filled with three high bunks. As I entered this room there was a boy with his shirt around his waste. I went to talk to him and he reached out to me and just grunted and was looking wildly around the room. I went to pick him up and I could not help but notice the smell of his very full diaper. He was, I’d say around 9 or 10 years old. As I picked him up, I noticed he had down syndrome, just like my 2 year old daughter Leilani. He craved human touch. He clung to my neck and wrapped both legs around my waste. I took him outside and I saw his face light up as the sun hit his face. Each step down the stairs he lit up more and mid way down the stairs he started giggling and then full out laughing as I bounced him more aggressively down each step. As soon as I hit the bottom the orphan boys started yelling out his name, Alex, Alex, Alex. Their faces were so excited for him. I got the impression that Alex does not get out of his room much. There were only a handful of ladies there taking care of all these orphan kids, a daunting task no doubt. Our group was saying our goodbyes and we took a photo and a quick video of our group with some of the kids. The whole time Alex clung tight to me. Our team was heading to the vehicles as it was time to leave. I carried Alex up back to the room. It was a tough journey. He clung tighter and tighter to me as we climbed each step. I went to lay him back down on his bed and he would not let go. I had to pull his legs from around my waist and then I leaned forward to keep his legs from wrapping back around me. I then removed his arms from around my neck and he held on to my hands as tight as he could. I then had to pry his hands off of my hands. It was so difficult. All he wanted was to be held, touched, loved on. I think of my beautiful daughter Leilani and with her 6 therapies and classes she has a week, and thought how much more opportunities and abilities she had then this young boy about five times her age. Leilani loves to be held and snuggled and loved on and her family and friends love to do that with her. But so does Alex, but there is no one there for him. I was heart broken as I left his room, Alex just laid there moaning and I left with this empty feeling for him. We thank God that He has wonderful servants loving the orphans, providing for widows washing and bathing the poor. Our team saw that first hand and were ministered to by the wonderful people of Mexico. I thank you for lifting us up and allowing us to touch, to serve and to love with the love of Christ.

April 16th Day 4

Today we split up into two teams; one went back to the work sight to finish up the house, and the other went to the bath house.

The bath house project consists of bathing, clothing, and feeding children, as well as removing the lice from their hair. We were separated into a girls and boys team and set up at a workstation on opposite sides of the bath house area. Today we were able to work inside two small wooden shacks with dirt floors instead of the usual assortment of tents which the bath house ministers normally set up. Inside we set up different stations; one for bathing, one for clothing, one for foot washing, and one for lice removal and hair styling. After the children filed in and out of the shack they were lead outside to an area where they were able to play games and win candy. At the end of the day, we cleaned and packed up the workstations and returned to the dormitory

(the returning group for day 3 along with the Gonzalez family,
"the work sight, they built a house" - Makinzie Thomas)

Actually, about half of us went back to the house and finished the roofing and made the rest of the inside of the house. It was a lot of fun to be hanging out with the family and seeing the expressions on their faces as they looked at their new house. It was totally uplifting to feel the gratitude from them even though we couldn't understand the language that well.

(the family we built the house for)

Tonight we were asked to say a word that describes our day, the words we all used were; fun, selfless, amazing, indescribable, blessed, inspired, constructive, awestruck, content, selfish, heart warming, amazing, emotional, humbling, sacrifice, blessing, grateful, blessed, everywhere, without, humility, love, tired, reflective, accomplished, encourage, connections, overwhelmed, and inadequate. We also had a good talk with Aaron, the man in charge of the whole of spectrum ministries. He challenged us to not be selfish in everything we do, that a true servant is put to the test when he's treated like one. We would like prayer for our trip to the beach tomorrow and to retain everything we've learned this week and to apply it to our lives when we get back to california. This will be our last post until we return home. We will put out one more post with Saturday evening updating you all with the information from tomorrow along with anything else we think you might enjoy. We will also post 1 last blog with a video of the trip in the weeks to come. Thanks again for your continual prayers everyone.

Jared Rohrer (Grade 11), Hannah Wang (Grade 12),
& Makinzie Thomas (Grade 6)

April 15th Day 3

Today we split up into two separate groups. Half of our team went back to the house we were working on, and the other half went to visit an orphanage in Tijuana.

(Stevie DeLaHoz playing with some kids from the orphanage)

The orphanage was an all male orphanage with the exception of a few girls. When we first got there, we unloaded all the food into the kitchen, where we helped make the children's lunches. A lot of our time consisted of playing and communicating with the children, even though we spoke two completely different languages. It's truly amazing to see God work in these kids lives, and the effect they have on each other. For lunch the kids ate chicken, beans, and salad. Also some YUMMY tortillas! :D It was very sad when our group had to leave the orphanage (no one really wanted to leave).

(day 2 of constructions, the 2nd floor of the house framed in and walled)

While some were at the orphanage, the other half of the group went back to the work site to continue building the house. When we first got there we had to finish the floor of the second story. After that, we built four other walls to complete the second floor. In our free time, we had the privilege of getting to know the family that we were building the home for. By the end of the day, we had finished the four walls of the upstairs.

The group that went to the orphanage, afterward went to Arnesto's house to make dinner for the entire team (SPAGETTI & MEATBALLS!) The group that was building arrived shortly after, and we all ate delicioso dinner, had our daily team meeting, and worshiped God through music while looking over the city of Tijuana.

Tomorrow our team will split up once again. Half will be working on the house again, and the other half will go to a bath house to feed, bathe, and play games with children.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

Sincerely,

Brittany Flavel (Grade 12) & Payton Thomas. (Grade 9)

April 14th Day 2

(day 1 of construction, we got the 1st floor entirely framed along with the above flooring)

The team rose bright and early at 7 AM and there were plenty of opportunities for us to serve throughout the day. These included serving breakfast, cleaning the dorms, and constructing at the site of the new home. Our day mainly consisted of completing the preliminary stages of the building, meeting the family God has given us the privilege to serve, and interacting with the local children of los barrios. Of course, one of the major highlights of the day was eating out at Super Taco and experiencing the entertainment of a performer with local color. Our team meeting in the evening was filled with encouragement and we continued to pray for team unity. Please pray for us and our unity as we continue to serve one another and the Mexicans in the the love of Christ. We are planning to finish construction tomorrow and spend the evening with Ernesto, a local missionary that has served with Spectrum Ministries and has greatly encouraged all of us with his actions.

Jordan Jandreau and Ariana Barry (Grade 12) :D

Rafa is a missionary that serves in Mexico alongside Spectrum Ministry and helps our team minister during the week we spend here.

(Rafa from Spectrum Ministries)

Dear Parkway,

I want to take this time to show my appreciation by thanking God for giving me the opportunity of meeting the staff members and all the students that have been apart of my life for the past 8 years. I have realized how much of a blessing they have been for my spiritual growth. To see the students' determination in serving the Lord and to see how the staff encourage the students to get out of their comfort zone and to learn other cultures. Again, I thank the Lord for giving you the vision for missions.

May His face forever shine upon you all and may His blessings fill you to overflowing.

Your brother in Christ, Me (Rafa) okay, buh-bye!

We are very encouraged by your comments (Especially Mrs. Barry's ENTHUSIASM! :) ) thank you so much for praying for us!

-Stevie

April 13th Day 1

(Super Taco! A local taco shop that we will enjoy eating at multiple times this weeks =] )

Today was our travel day! We all met at the church at 4:30 in the morning! It was freezing and way too early ;) Our travel was long, sleep-filled, and long. Haha! We crossed the border at 4:30 after stopping to get insurance. We met up with Rafa and Efrain at Costco in Tijuana. After settling in at the dorms, we went to EL SUPER TACO!! And ate tacos. Little Mikinzie got to make her own tortilla. It was so cute! Then it was time for our daily Mexico Meeting in the dorms, where we discussed unity and spent time with our prayer partners. We worshiped the Lord through songs in English and Spanish. We are all very excited about the eventful workday tomorrow where we will be building a house for a family that we will be meeting tomorrow. Tony asked all of us to say a phrase or word that described our feelings about tomorrow and we said we were excited, ecstatic, optimistic, unsure, anticipation, happy, energetic, delight, curious, scared, good memories, openness, antsy, unknown, blessed, hopeful, joyous, ambitious, a little nervous, ready, joyful, pumped up, stoked, juiced, super stoked, bring it on and psyched!

Thank you for your continuous prayers; it is a huge blessing to know that all of you are supporting us through prayer!

-Vero Granado (Grade 12)

-Stevie de la Hoz (Grade 10) :)

Video

The Team

-High School Students-

Abbey Wang, Ariana Barry, Brittany Flavel, Carly Donohue, Chris Boyle,
Hannah Wang,Jared Rohrer, Jordan Jandreau, Josh Limneos, Leah Rice,
Mary Lindsay, Payton Thomas, Shelby Evans, Shelby Kenny,
Stevie De La Hoz, Veronica Granado, Zach Schubert

-Junior High Students-
Brian Evans, Dylan Rohrer, Makinzie Thomas

-Staff-
Bill Vucurevich, Brian Evans, Chris Milani, Dave Herrera, Judy Vucurevich,
Justin Flavel, Karl Wurzbach, Linda Barngraf, Maribel Lozoya,
Scott Willson, Tony Tiemann, Veronica Thomas

Welcome!

Hey thanks for taking the time to read our Mexico Missions 2009 blog! Our plan is to use this blog to introduce you to our team and to update you on how you can pray for us. So check out what we have here and please do pray for us. On the bottom of the group picture you will see a list of prayer requests that our team members compiled. Please pray for those things as you feel led.

I shared this past weekend at Parkway Community Church that we would appreciate your prayers for us in three areas: Finances, Safety and Blessings. We are doing some fundraisers and accepting donations at Parkway Community Church to help us reach our goal of at least $4,000. We have roughly $3,200 raised so far. Secondly, keep us in your prayers for safety as we travel hundreds of miles, build a three bedroom house, and minister to the poor in Tijuana, Mexico. Lastly pray that we can be a blessing to our team mates and to those that we work along side and serve. Most of all we want to be a blessing to the Lord, who has died for us and saved us and given us hope. He is risen!

We will be arriving in Mexico the evening of Monday April 13th. We will leave Mexico on Friday April 17th. We are going to try to update this blog starting on April 13th each night, as time and internet access permits. Lord willing, our plan is to nightly update this blog while we are serving in Mexico. We will send our last update from Mexico out on Thursday April 16th. Thank you in advance for your prayers and for taking the time to check this blog out to see who we are, what we are doing, and how you can pray for us!

We are putting a link to view a video of last years 2008 Mexico Team and a link to this years 2009 team members.

With much gratitude,
Tony Tiemann
Youth Pastor
Parkway Community Church