Back Home Again...

UDC Mexico Mission Team #1

Unfortunately, the internet service was down the last few days of our stay and I wasn't able to share anymore photos or news from the Ranch. Our days seemed to fly by so quickly, but at the same time, it seemed like we had been there for quite a while. Now, we're back home in Indiana and everyone is picking up with their lives where they left off - each of us trying to retain the lessons God showed us and not wanting to forget the sights, smells, or feelings. On Sunday after we got back in, we each shared a few thoughts during the worship services at Upper Deer Creek. In the next week or so, you should be able to go to: http://www.uppperdeercreek.com/ and listen to what each of us shared about our experience at Refuge Ranch.

I will try to post some more photos of where we finished off with the foundation work last Thursday and Friday. I think someone said that our rebar benders bent almost 1000 pieces of rebar! Wow! Good work, Teena and Emy! We got all the cement footers poured, all 7 towers put up, the cement poured for each column, and the west wall poured. Also, trim was stained and installed for inside the house, along with a door installed on Fidel's room. There's a lot of work to be done, but the UDC team completed the work that the Lord had for us in His timing. It reminds me of a puzzle....with each team that goes completing a portion of the puzzle until we can all see the design of the whole picture.

Thursday evening, Victor and Julie took us out for tacos. Yum! Their tacos aren't anything like I've had in the states. They serve a little bit of pineapple on them. The restaurant seating was mostly outside - roof only.

On Friday night, the Zaragoza family and friends put on a recital for all of us. What a tremendously talented bunch! It was great to watch each of them....from smallest to tallest.

Victor and Julie, thank you for allowing us to receive the love of your family. You have a beautiful family. It was tough leaving, but I know it's just a "see you later" and NOT a "good-bye." We would encourage anyone to go....be prepared to work hard...be prepared to have your heart touched forever.

As I said, I will post some more pictures as soon as I get them from my teammates. I hope you've enjoyed following us on our trip! Gloria a Dios! (Glory to God)

Dios es bueno - todo el tiempo,

Teresa

Smokey and the Bandit?

Hi Everyone,
I will have to type as fast as I can as I don't have alot of time, but I do have alot to share . We just finished a supper of green enchilladas. Victor will be sharing his testimony soon and I don't want to miss that. We had something happen today that I especially wanted to post as it is funny and a reminder of God's awesome protection and provision for us while we are here. Victor and Julie have allowed us to take the burgandy 15-passenger van back and forth to the hotel. It is easier than having to pick us up and take us home each day. We started out this morning and our trip takes us through a local town nicknamed Tepa. In the morning, there is quite a police presence as the children are walking to school (cute as could be) and the road through town is a major highway. Policemen stand in the road and stop traffic so the children can cross. To cut down on the need for police, there are huge speedbumps scattered along the way. Our beloved driver, who we like to call Riggaberto (aka Ryan), was transporting us oh so safely. The road that we need to take, forks off to the right. Just as we forked, we noticed a police van behind us with his lights on. Uh oh....Riggaberto then said to me, what did I do? Just as we noticed the lights, the car approaching us was Victor!!!! He was able to stop and take care of Mr. Policeman. Oh, was he mad!!!! This would have been ugly for us had he not came. From what Victor shared with us, they saw us Americanos in the van and had hoped to extort some money from us for having some tinted windows in the van. Victor said that they know the van well and it was just an excuse to stop us. One thing that was neat about it was that all the way up to that point, we were rehearsing "God is Good, All the Time" in spanish "Dios es bueno, todos el tiempo." We had just said that when Victor appeared. God's sovereignty was amazing and His timing perfect in safeguarding us and placing Victor where we needed him at just the right time. GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME!!! Victor was actually on his way to the bakery to pick up some sweet bread for breakfast. Needless to say, we didn't have the sweet bread. That's okay because all of us were reveling in how God had blessed us. I will try to share some information about what progress took place today. Jean, the scenery picture was taken on Julie's balcony in her office. It faces south. I didn't take it of Mt. PoPo as it was cloudy today and you can't see much of it. We got the cement mixer going again. As you can see, we poured the north wall, the column pads, the west wall. The chopsaw was going all day engineered by Mark. He is doing fine. The parametic from the clinic downtown came out to give him his second shot in the rear of antibiotic and looked at his wound. I saw his wound myself and it looks good (i.e. no redness, etc.). Okay, I'm typing so fast - I'm trying to remember everything. It seemed like today was a day where everyone had the opportunity to use a gift or experience that they've had. For example, Kyle worked on trim for the upstairs doors while the cement mixer was being fixed, Whitney and I embroidered the kids' initials on each of the towels that were sent down for them, Megan and Chelsey organized school materials for Julie. That was neat how God used that. It was a better day today and things are progressing. Everyone has worked together great and helps each other out. It rained a little last night, but not enough to settle the 5" dust bowl. HaHa. As you can see in one of the pictures, the columns are being formed up (wood is very expensive here). Tomorrow, the plan is to finish the foundation work and get the rest of the towers up and ready to be formed and poured. We will see as each new day has it's own path. To answer some of the questions, yes we eat every meal together. We have to put up extra tables and chairs. It is no easy undertaking and we have Pati and Rosa to thank. I don't know how many kilometers/miles the hotel is....it's about 10-15 minutes - de-pending upon who is driving. : ) It was cooler today, perhaps low 70's and partly cloudy, but people are getting sunburned. Jane, Cory is doing great! In fact, everyone is. It is such a happy and busy household with much joy. Oh, one other thing....Teena led devotions today and had everyone in tears. She shared letters that Lydia and the girls had sent each day for her and set up a slideshow of all the kids here - all to the song "Let Them Be Little." It was very moving. HOWEVER, I have devotions tomorrow and now I have to top that!!!! Mark follows me on Friday and he threatened to terminate our friendship if I didn't keep it simple. : ) I've got to go as everyone is waiting on me. (P.S. I will change the settings so hopefully more people can post comments if they want without any problems.)

Love & Prayers,
Teresa

Update

As it turns out, Victor went and bought a chopsaw because it is much safer to use. So some of the guys are out using it to cut rebar. However, it is sucking power from the house and causing power to flicker. We may be able to get a generator out here tomorrow to help out with that. Also, the rest of the group went ahead and went to the market. Aaron, we don't have any idea how many live at the dump....too many to count! The group that gathered together to hear our message was approximately 100.

All for now,
Teresa

Challenging Day But God Is Good...

First, I wanted to correct something from yesterday's posting. I had said that there would be 4 columns, but actually there are 7. Also, I wanted to share something else from yesterday that had happened. Caleb got up and wasn't feeling well - he had a fever and sore throat and was pretty miserable. We all gathered around him and prayed and within the hour he was up and about, swinging away with a bat at the pinata that we had brought for the kids. Glory to God! It was Marta's birthday and we celebrated with that. The same thing happened today with Diana and again we gathered around and prayed over her in her bunk. As I sit here typing, I can see her riding her bicycle around outside. Again, God is so good. So obviously, a virus is being passed around the Zaragoza children, please be in prayer about that. Now, onto today's activities. It has been a more challenging day with equipment failures. The cement mixer isn't working, so that slowed things down tremendously. We've also been trying to track down some new blades for the grinder wheel. Also, I've included pictures of the north wall and the trench that the men have been picking away at. Ted, that excavator would be great about now! We've decided that those will remain and be a part of the foundation and we will pour cement in the trench and on top. You can also see Cirino (the hired man) working on one of the towers for the columns. Julie is translating Cirino's instructions to the group. Teena was giving the children a science lesson with Bible School supplies that we brought with us. She was helping them make slime. Unfortunately, there was an accident today. Mark cut his wrist and we had to seek medical treatment for that. He cut it on the grinder wheel/blade. Again, Victor and Julie proved to be so valuable to us as we sought out medical treatment for Mark. We went to a nearby town, Tepa, and went to a medical clinic there. We found God's favor there as Julie said that it is usually packed, but no one was waiting when we got there and Mark was able to get immediate attention. The doctor stitched Mark's wound and everything is fine. We will share more about that when we got home, but again, through the power of prayer and God's protection, all is well. Julie's office, where I type this, is on the second floor of their home with window's all around. As I look out and see all the mountain peaks around, I'm in awe of God's majesty and have to pinch myself to believe that I'm really here and so far from home. Even with today's challenges, I know that God is in control and trust in His perfect timing to complete what He has for us to do. Thanks to all of you who have posted comments. I read your comments to the group at lunch and they all were so happy to hear from everyone back home. It was cooler today with more clouds. We will be sharing the gifts that everyone sent this evening as well. Oh, one other thing that we did today....about half of us went to the local market. It was so fun and a great way to get a feel for the culture. Due to today's events, the rest of the group will go later in the week.
We love you all and appreciate the prayers....please keep them coming.
Teresa

One more thing...

Ryan just stepped in and took a look at what I just posted. He asked me to add this one additional comment to give some perspective....we used 50 bags of cement.

Adios,
Teresa

"How Firm A Foundation"

Buenos Tardes,
I couldn't resist posting this title!!! It has described our day perfectly!!! I will comment further about what progress we made today, but first I wanted to tell you a little about our trip to the dump yesterday. Our day began after breakfast and devotions. We jumped into two 15-passen-ger vans and headed back to Mexico City. Victor talked with his connections in order to gain en-trance into the dump. A tarp was set up just inside the entrance where all of the activities took place. There was a short skit put on by some characters (i.e. a bumble bee, an ape, and a bear). These characters were brought in by a friend of the Zaragozas. There were adults and children both present - all different ages - infant to senior citizens. Emy had put together speaking parts for all of us - done in pairs. Kyle and I spoke about how God is real. After that, we passed out candy to all of the children (and some adults too.) I was moved by all of the beautiful children and how they enjoyed all that was going on - giggling. The adults listened, some of them seemed kind of skeptical but still listened. We stood around afterward and tried to converse with those that we were able. After all that, we were given permission to enter into the actual section where people go to live and pick through the garbage. That is how they make their living. Just adjacent to this was a pretty nice soccer field where the leader of the dump was dressed in a soccer uniform and drinking a beer. It was an interesting contrast and a little puzzling. We were all moved at what we saw and I will leave our personal comments to share when we come back. Last evening at our group's devotional time, we all questioned why we are so blessed to live in Indiana and why all of those people live at the dump. For me, personally, it was heartbreaking.
I will speak more about that when we get back. But it was also challenging because people are not afraid to approach you and ask what your beliefs are. They want to know. As we were leaving, Julie shared that the mission was accomplished as they have been trying to get a foot in the door to minister. They were invited back to do a Medical Mission Crusade in March. That is awesome. Hopefully, that will lead to a weekly child-oriented ministry that they will call "RE-CYCLING SOULS." I'm not sure how much I will be able to post at a time, but hopefully, this will all go through. We started the day off with breakfast and devotions lead by Greg. Our work today focused on the basement addition. This is located just north of the main house. As you can see in the pictures, we started out with clearing rocks for the above-ground footers. There were many lava rocks to remove. Footers will be poured for the front and back of the building, along with 4 pads in the center that will be the base for columns. It was pretty slow going on the north side. That would be the picture with Ryan, Cory and others picking away with picks. You also can see Alijandro leveling the cement pads. Teena and Emy are now pro's at bending rebar - you can see them at the top of the hill in one of the pictures. As I type this, all 4 pads have been poured and they are starting to place rebar. Just one note....the cement is mixed extremely thick so it can just sit on the surface. They are still picking away at the rock on that north wall. I am amazed at the dirt. It is just like baby powder and we are all covered from head to toe, inside and out. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous...clear skies, sunshine all day - I'm guessing 75? The food has been amazing. There are 2 gracious cooks, Rosa and Pati (Victor's sister). We had ham and cheese quesidilla's (served with guacomole or green salsa), along with apple salad and watermelon juice. Everything is very fresh - fresh herbs, fresh fruit. Watermelon and oranges are in season so they try to eat as much as possible right now. Fresh o.j. put's our concentrate to shame. It is great!!! We pick it up on our way to the ranch every morning in a gallon size cooler. There are street vendors along the way in Tepa. It is a very busy household, and the children exude so much happiness and life. I had better wrap this up as dinner is about ready. We all share house chores when we can (i.e. setting the table, cleaning up, etc.). We are going to go to the market in shifts tomorrow and continue to work. We made some great progress today, but it has been a very physically challenging day for all of us. So please pray for restoration of our bodies tonight with a good night's sleep.
Hasta manana,
Teresa

Hola Amigos!
We made it to our hotel/ranch safe and sound. With the exception of a couple of delays and changes in Dallas, our flights and security checks have gone amazingly well. The drive from the airport to our hotel was longer than usual as it was rush hour. I would say the traffic was/is crazy, but that would be an understatement! There are traffic signals and police around, but no one pays attention and communication from vehicle-to-vehicle is through horn honking and hand signals. But our trusty drivers, Victor and Ashley, have gotten us to where we need to be safe and sound. Our hotel hosts have been most gracious and were waiting for us. We (Ryan & Cory) had to unload all 30 suitcases off the rack on top of the van when we got there so Victor could go on to the ranch and we could go through the luggage and get all of the candy out that we needed to go to the dump today. This morning then, all of it was reloaded and taken to the ranch. We had to take all of our stuff out of the hotel with us, eventhough we will still be staying there because the rooms we needed were already booked and the rooms we stayed in are rented out hourly. It was a very chilly night and morning this morning. The heaters in the room weren't functioning. But the hot showers felt great after a long day on the dusty roads. As I said before, we went to the dump today. I will talk about that in future postings after we have a chance to process all the sights and smells that we encountered there. Right now, there are no words to describe the poverty. However, I did go ahead and post a couple of pictures. One is at the hotel, which is very nice, clean and a quaint little place. The picture with the luggage is in one of the 2 driveways of the hotel. The rooms are decorated with dark wood floorings, wrought iron and dim lighting. The bathrooms are very nicely tiled and very modern. The other picture is of the group handing out candy to the children at the dump. The children are beautiful with their dark hair and black eyes. As I said, more on that later. As I type, I'm looking at Mount PoPo - gorgeous view. As far as the food, Victor took us to KFC on the way to the hotel before we left Mexico City. That was an experience, but it tasted good. Today before going to the dump Pati served us cereal with fresh strawberries and fresh milk. We packed our lunches and ate on the way to the dump. Victor served us delicious hambergers and papas fritas (french fries) with Strawberry shortcake for supper. I better wrap up now as we need to load up and go back to the hotel. We still have to unload all 30 suitcases again! We will be starting to help out at the ranch tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have more time to post tomorrow.
Dios Le Bendiga! (God Bless You)
Teresa