Tuesday - Hats, painting, bingo, and lots and lots of sun

Tuesday was a very full, very fun day here in Colima. The pattern of these days has been the same:

• activities with the kids
• work projects
• lunch at 2
• 2 more hours of work
• and then return to the hotel for evening festivities

These are days when our hands never stop moving and our bodies never stop sweating and our stomachs never get empty and our hearts never stop loving. They're pretty great days.

The kids really enjoyed bingo. I think it had something to do with the Skittles they got to use for markers

We first called the numbers in English, which necessitated intense concentration

Tuesday's craft was hats and the kids had a blast decorating them! Kelsey mans the glue station and does a darn fine job making every hat adorable

Tah dah!

The music people did their singing, clapping, laughing thing

And the sports folks got some very sore hands with four rounds of vicious tug-of-war

Fruit donations from the community

A few of the guys are working on some pretty intense plumbing projects involving welding and moving rooftop tanks and solar panels. They are such troopers working all day long on a very hot roof.

The sewers got to hem a bunch of pants, fix some bedding, mend some shirts, and have a darn good time doing all of it

The best part about sewing is hanging out on the patio at the Señorita home and chatting with them as we sew. It's so fun to get to know these young ladies better!

Team paint-the-classroom finished their big job on Tuesday and it looks great

Ben shows off his hard work painting on top of the wardrobes

This team is very proud of their work

It's so much brighter now with the lighter walls - the room looks great!

Another part of the team started a new project at the teenage boys' home about 20 minutes' drive away. Here they're cleaning and prepping the walls to get ready to paint

On goes the new paint

And several of the boys even pitched in to help - very cool.

And on Tuesday we had a very exciting evening activity - viewing the Colima Volcano up close and personal

The volcano was very kind and performed right on queue

Getting closer!

It might have been a bit touristy, but we sure did enjoy our volcano tour

The tour was amazing, and not just because it included a fire and all the giant marshmallows we could eat. The volcano "exhaled" a couple of times in the evening and when we arrived at the viewing site it was raining ash - a very interesting experience. It was kind of like it was raining sand which is basically what volcanos make (pulverized rock).

Near the end of our evening we got an even cooler show - a fairly large exhalation that included lightning in the ash cloud. It was amazing. And terrifying. But mostly amazing since we were in the safe zone and our guide assured us that this exhalation was actually smaller than the other one we witnessed, it just looked more dramatic in the nighttime.

It's hard to believe that our time in Colima is already more than halfway over! It has gone by way too quickly. Thanks so much for all of your support and prayers. Here are a few more prayer requests:

• A few members of our team are fighting fevers and tummy bugs. Please pray for their strength, that they would be wise and give their bodies time to heal, and that they would return to health quickly.
• This is the time of the week when we get tired and hot and tempers can flare. This is a fantastic team - please pray that the team would continue to have grace for each member and that we would take the time out that we need to stay healthy in body and spirit.

Monday - The Real Work Begins!

Shew! Day 1 of our whirlwind first day of service is just winding down and boy are our beds calling us. So please excuse the short post and enjoy the pictures :) We promise to tell all the stories when we get home.

We started with a devotional

After the devotional we went right into activities. Because our 2 groups combined have 26 people, we are running 4 different activity groups this year: Indoor games, outdoor games, music, and crafts. All stayed within acceptable levels of organized chaos today, so we deem them complete successes!

Indoor games played with stamp pads and stamps

The results were fab

Music amused everybody with their fun, catchy songs and hand motions

Sports mostly just bounced around

(lots of bouncing by leaders and kids alike!)

And crafts outdid themselves with two activities - necklaces and nametags!

Just remember this photo when you feel like you have a lot of socks to pair - you could be washing and sorting laundry for 45 kids!

And after 2 hours of activities with the kids, the real work began (As if 2 hours of crafts and jump rope with 70 kids wasn't work enough)!

We had two big painting projects today, one at Casa Matriz (the main elementary kids' home) and one at Casa Famoso. We'll post more pics of the Famoso painting tomorrow.

Those orange walls are going to look so much better in cheery light yellow

Limited tools made taking down the shelves difficult, but we perservered

One monkey loved painting on top of the wardrobes

The crew at Famoso and Galondrias were such troopers, painting in the hot, bright sun 

One of this week's projects is painting the newly poured concrete entryway

We even got a few sewing projects queued up today, with more on the way

Our last project - filling another few hundred Easter eggs just to round things off

We paused in the afternoon to sample some new candies (tamarindo spoons). Most found them... unappetizing

...but some folks uncovered a new taste sensation!

For the rest of the evening we got to host Easter egg hunts for the kids - first up, Casa Cuna, the baby house

Next came hiding 1,150 eggs for the bigger kids!

Hiding eggs in a field is challenging, but the kids didn't seem to mind

And two kids even found real eggs during the search in the field, courtesy of the neighborhood roaming chickens!

Lastly, our tired-but-happy crew hit the playground for a little romping

And we finished up the evening with delicious tacos

This team has been so hardworking and has had such a great attitude about every task, even the hot and messy ones. Please join us in prayer that:

• Our bodies would stay strong and healthy
• We would be wise and drink lots of water, eat healthy meals, and get plenty of rest (to support the prayer request above!)
• The team's amazing attitudes and hard-working spirits would continue
• We would continue to connect with the kids and caregivers of Hogar de Amor and demonstrate just how deeply they're loved

Sunday - Prep Day

Happy Easter! We spent our Easter Sunday getting to know the city of Colima, prepping for our week of activities, and enjoying some delicious food. You'll note two themes on this Mexico trip - full days and good eats!

We started with some market shopping for dinner. We successfully hunted and gathered cheese, fruits, veggies, and lots of laughs . The local carrots, strawberries, and avocados all tied for first place in the taste competition. We especially enjoyed the bright colors of the market - it was a festive start to the day.

The blended juices got two thumbs up

The fresh tamarindo was less well received

Next stop - church at Grupo Amor

Although we only understood every fifth word, but we clapped with gusto during worship and hoped that some goodness from the sermon was sinking in through osmosis 

Next stop - lunch! The view of the volcano was a little cloudy, but that didn't detract from our enjoyment of the meal

It was so lovely getting into the countryside for a Sunday drive and lunch

After lunch we spent some time touring the orphanage and checking out our worksite for the rest of the week

Then it was back to the hotel to prep our crafts and activities for the week

We can't wait to hang out more with the kids tomorrow

Check out our beautiful market meal! It tasted as good as it looked

Last job for the night - stuff 1,000 (yes, 1,000!) plastic eggs for tomorrow's Easter egg hunt

Tomorrow is going to be a ton of fun!

We've been so blessed with a great team of happy, willing workers who just want to love on the kids and caregivers of Hogar de Amor.  The rubber really hits the road tomorrow as we start the workweek.

Please join us in prayer that:

• We get good sleep and take care of our bodies with rest and down time
• We would each form meaningful relationships with orphanage staff and kids
• Our jobs and projects would have a speedy, organized start so that we can get to work right away

And We're Off

We are so excited for travel day - all the preparation, the donations, the work, and now we're finally headed to Colima!

Today is full of logistics and hurrying and waiting and lots of lines. Please join us in prayer for easy, smooth travel, clear roads, smooth skies, settled tummies, and maybe even a nap or two along the way.

Please also pray for our families at home holding down the fort while we're away. Pray that they only miss us a little :)

Countdown to Colima!

We've collected donations

We've divvied stuff up so nobody's suitcases tops 50 pounds

We even got a special prayer and send-off at church

And now it's time to pack our bags, check those passports one more time, and head to Mexico! We are so excited about our trip and can't wait to serve the kids and caregivers of the Hogar de Amor orphanage.

Throughout the trip we'll be updating our team blog, http://centerpointmexico.blogspot.com, with stories, photos, and prayer requests. We really appreciate your support, prayer, and encouragement for this trip - please keep us in your prayers as we serve in Mexico next week!

If you'd like some suggested prayer requests, here's a list to get you started. Please pray with us that

• We would quickly gel as a team and that a spirit of teamwork and service would infuse everything we do in Mexico.
• Our families, church family, friends, and community would know that they are an integral part of this trip through their encouragement, prayer, and financial support.
• Both we and those we serve will be transformed through our service.
• Logistics simply work.  That health, transportation, lodging, dining, planning around our work projects, and the myriad of other details would reinforce, never detract from, God's work in and through us.

We're Going Back!

We are very excited to announce that a team of 13 adults and youth will travel back to Colima April 4-11, 2015!

We are getting so excited about our trip to Mexico and are so grateful to you - our family, friends, church family, coworkers, and so many others who care about what God is planning to do in and through us on this trip. Thanks for your well wishes, prayers, and support!

Several folks have asked how they can support our time in Mexico and the orphans and caregivers of Hogar de Amor.  Here are a few very important ways you can be involved:

1. Pray pray pray!  Some specific prayer requests are at the bottom of this post.
2. Provide supply donations for the trip.  We are collecting crayons (24 packs of Crayola crayons), coloring and activity books, and oral hygiene supplies (toothbrushes and toothpaste).  You can give these items to Jamie or anybody going on the trip. If you are a regular attender of CenterPoint Church we will also have specific donation requests in the lobby before and after church in late February and early March.
3. Financially support the trip's projects and the orphans of Hogar de Amor.  We will use these donations to purchase supplies for the trip and will donate the rest directly to the orphanage, so everything you give will help and encourage the kids of Hogar de Amor!  You can donate online (select Mexico Mission Trip as the fund) or make checks out to CenterPoint Church with a memo of "Mexico trip" and bring checks to church or mail them to the CenterPoint offices.

Thanks so much for your support for us and the kids of Hogar de Amor.  We can't wait to go!  Here are some specific areas you can pray for:

• We would quickly gel as a team and that a spirit of teamwork and service would infuse everything we do both before our trip and in Mexico.
• Our families, church family, friends, and community would know that they are an integral part of this trip through their encouragement, prayer, and financial support.
• Both we and those we serve will be transformed through our service.
• Logistics simply work.  That health, transportation, lodging, dining, planning around our work projects, and the myriad of other details would reinforce, never detract from, God's work in and through us.