Mexico Mission Trip - Day 2-3
A long day of travel finally got us to Tucson but a night of sleep had us refreshed and ready as we made our way down to the border. We stopped first at a food bank in Tucson called Caring Ministries that has been around since the early 80's feeding the poor families of Tucson. Their incredible staff has developed relationships with local grocery chains to receive large donations of food to distribute to the needy families. It was exciting to hear that they have used the food distribution as a framework for evangelism within this under served community. As we uneventfully crossed the border in to Mexico at Naco we realized that Caring Ministries will serve as a great model for us as we do our own food distribution in the Naco area.
We were surprised to find out that The orphanage is no more than 5 minutes from the border checkpoint. All of the girls dove in to the tasks of playing with the children, helping with the meals and investigating what the purchase of the food for the local families would look like. Our day concluded, as it will every day, with a closing session of sharing our life stories with each other. It is amazing how quickly a spirit of openness and caring has emerged in this group as they shared their triumphs and struggles in their walks with Christ. Keep us in your prayers as we absorb what God has for us this week.
What a day we had on Day 3! God is good! The day started with rain as the girls adjusted and did some fitness and ball drills on a converted gravel runway next to the orphanage at 7 in the morning to kick off the day. We have divided the team into four work groups and today rotated two larger groups cleaning up the orphanage property and interiors as well as playing assorted games with the kids at the orphanage and a whole assortment of neighborhood kids (the numbers continue to climb). After lunch a group was sent out to buy food to distribute such as tortillas, beans, rice and various other items. These items were brought back to Casa Hogar Emmanuel where an assembly line was created to get all of the various items into 30 bags. The afternoon saw our group travel to a local neighborhood where all 21 players participated in distributing the food to the needy families. What an incredible experience it was to be able to be a part of a life sustaining activity such as this and share God's love with the people of Paco. The days have been long and exhausting but rich with purpose and growth as evidenced by our nightly devotions. It has been exciting to hear the players reflections on how God has been challenging them this week. I hope to let them share some of there thoughts near the conclusion of our trip!
Coach Rader