It is only the beginning....

To where do I even begin to start? I first want to thank all who have supported me financially and with prayer. I would not be where I am today without your help so I appreciate all that you are doing for me. Especially since I got sick a few days ago but with your prayer I feel so much better. Blessings to all.

So from the beginning, I began this journey and the drive by myself to Mexico on Tuesday June 18^th and arrived in Mexico Sunday June 23^rd. From that moment on, I have been blessed to serve the people in Ensenada.  The people here are so friendly and so welcoming that the saying, “mi casa es su casa” is the truth.  I have been feeling blessed by the people here welcoming me into their homes and to their family.

That first Wednesday June 26th I went a junior high graduation in the morning, reconnected with my friend Antonio in the afternoon and then in the evening I went to church and took 6 people in my car with me. Two people came up to the alter and got prayed for and the two little girls loved their class. They now want to go to church with me every Wednesday.

On Thursday, June 27^th I got the amazing opportunity to feed the children in Ochente Nueve. When I started to cook, I thought there was going to be 20 or 25 kids but there were around 65 kids. I first thought I would have enough but it was the perfect amount and every single child that came received spaghetti and juice.  Praise be to God.

That Friday was the elementary graduation for Ochente Nueve and the kids invited me to come and watch them graduate. It was so cool to have that instant bond and they wanted me to be apart of something that was special to them. For those of you who don’t know, they have graduation from elementary, junior high, and high school. It is a big deal for kids to be there at graduation because a lot of people drop out due to various reasons.

The next day was the group from Gig Harbor, WA to stay at Rancho Milagro for a week. Rancho Milagro is the place where I stayed at last summer and it is a children’s home here in Ensenada along with many others. This week with our group is what they look forward to every year and it was nice to see some familiar faces.

Sunday is a day of church and I mean a day of church. There will be about one hour of worship, 15- 20 minutes of tithes and offerings and about then an hour worth of the message. I am not exaggerating with these times. Church can last 2.5-3 hours here and at this point where you don’t understand the language, it can be difficult to pay attention but no matter what I love the worship. I love seeing people around me worshiping the same God that we worship in the States. And even though I don’t know the language quite yet, I can still feel the same Holy Spirit.

That week when the group came down will be something I will never forget. God showed up in many ways whether encountering previous relationships with the kids such as Brian, Angel, Brandon, Lui, Antonio, Omar, etc (other people who used to live the Ranch). Or providing a lot of food and clothes for the people in Ochente Nueve to seeing joy on the faces of the kids at Rancho Milagro.  It was also a very tough week because there was one kid named Jorge and his mom randomly came by to pick him up and took him home. I did not even get to say goodbye and who knows if I will see him again. It makes me sad and the fact he was crying like he didn’t want to go from what I heard breaks my heart. So praying for that situation to be better and for him to be in a safe environment.

That Wednesday I went to church and of course brought people with me. I would have never imagined though that there were 11 kids in my car. I could not believe that there were 11 people in my car. Of course I was driving very carefully and the distance wasn’t that far from the church. This was also the first day that Miguel went to church for me and I am happy that he went. Miguel is a kid that the Lord had placed in my heart and he lives in Ochente Nueve. He now has a job, which I am happy about, but a relationship with the Lord is always so much more important. So pray that work will not get in the way of going to church or his relationship with the Lord.

When the group left it was a very sad day. Many of the kids were crying and wish the group had not even left. I have never experienced what happened after a group leaves and it was hard. When they were crying, I wanted to take their tears away. I was holding Paola for a good 15 minutes because she was crying. That was hard because I wanted to fix it but I felt helpless and there was nothing I could do but to hold her.

This day was also a very emotional day because my sponsor child had left to be with her mom. The situation is going to be great and she seems very excited to be with her mom, which is a great sign. I was there when she came to the Ranch last summer and was there when she left so of course it was a little bit emotional for me. I was blessed with the opportunity to pray for her before she left but it was hard because I was crying in the midst of my words. I received the mom’s number and my prayer is that I get to see her again this summer. Jaramar will always have a special place in my heart not just because she was my sponsor child but there was this sweet spirit about her that I will never forget. 

I wish I was able to feed the children at Ochente Nueve more often than I get to but I know the Lord has many plans for me being here. If I am not feeding the kids in Ochente Nueve then I am feeding the kids on my block. I still get to feed the children though but not just with food but also spiritually. Because I was crazy and drove here, I am able to drive people to church. I also get to drive two kids to soccer practice every day. One of them is trying to become pro and this opportunity would change his life forever. He is one of the kids at Rancho Milagro and has been and will always be apart of the HCC family. He has made the tryout team but they are cutting that team in half. So from about 70 to 35 people and pray with me that this opportunity will come about in his life. I have faith that what ever happens will be in alignment with God's plan but of course I pray that he will make this team.

Some things I find difficult would have to be of course the language barrier. I wish I was knew the language better but I know that over time I will know the language which is why I am embarking on this journey. It if frustrating when I cannot understand the language but that just causes me to study it more and more. My goal is to become fluent, be able to preach a message, and pray to someone in Spanish. What an amazing experience that would be but waiting upon the Lord for the right time is what I have to do.

Another thing I find hard is not being able to meet everyone's needs. I love serving in the community of Ochente Nueve but the needs are of course unless. But I find peace knowing that God will supply their physical need. My prayer is that God will use me to supply their spiritual need. I know this summer will be amazing but it also will be challenging at the same time. Please continue to pray for me for God to supply financial needs but also He will use me to reach the people here in Ensenada and that everywhere I go the Holy Spirit will lead me.

Thank you so much for taking the time and reading this. I know that this is long because I meant to send an update sooner and I apologize. I hope you got a glimpse of what God is doing here in Ensenada and words cannot express how grateful I am for your generosity.

Dios te bendiga.