Some Photos (In Reverse Order)

Because I seem to be better with pictures than words, enjoy our journey, sorry they are in reverse order.

One last goodbye.

New Friends.

Joyful Reunions.

Home again, home again.

Hola Amados,

Well, I didn't do so good with the blogging. It turns out that the wireless internet wasn't working so well on the Casa campus, and...well...instead of writing about our week, we were living it! Which is a more excellent way, I think.

That said! We would love for you who had to stay back here in the wintry slog to have a glimpse inside of our experience. If you're local, come to worship at First Church on March 11! All 19 of us will have some kind of role in worship, to try to communicate to you in songs, stories and images just what happened and what it meant to us.

Short of that, here are a couple of my personal highlights:

~Baptizing my sister Emily, who was not raised in church, in the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by (Firsties) Jeff, Jamie, Sophia, Michael, Rebecca, Eva, Celia, Rafe, Carmen, Kate, (Casa kids) Miguel, Vanessa and Isabel--who all blessed her in English or Spanish. Peter and I did the full-immersion dunking (my first such!). We anointed her with oil. Then we had the ceviche you've ever eaten, and octopus, and shrimp, and phat red snapper. THEN we went snorkeling all over a shipwreck in the bay! And played frisbee! I think that day made God very happy.

~Sharing Ash Wednesday service with the Casa kids. Imagine a warehouse-type chapel, gray concrete floors, clean but threadbare altar cloths, secondhand paschal candles burned halfway down, lighting the night. Imagine the hard wooden benches moved into a circle. Imagine two wooden kneelers that have only ever pointed toward the Important People on the Chancel, pointing at each other instead, in the center of the circle.

Imagine small brown busy kids next to Americanos, laps claimed, hushed silence. Imagine us singing the John Bell song "Calma Tu Ser" ("Be Still and Know") over and over, with a little bit of a round, until our hearts are all quiet. Imagine the kids and grownups meeting at the kneelers, facing each other, to tell each other deep secrets, everyone in their own native tongue. Imagine Jeff going up 6 times, to face children who needed a partner (in his own words, "I had a lot to confess!"). Imagine two tiny boys meeting each other, palms in prayer position, earnest as all get out, confessing their sins (what could they possibly have to confess?), while Pinky the dog walked through, howling his own confessions (that mujeriego...). Imagine putting ashes on those sweet young faces, saying, "De polvo veniste, hasta polvo regresaras," over and over. GOD.

~Taking kids to the movie theatre, to see "We Bought a Zoo," dubbed into Spanish. Trying to keep track of 21 kids in the dark. Whose names I didn't all know. While watching a movie about an older boy and a younger girl whose mother had just died of cancer. Wait--did I say this was a favorite moment?

~The American kids on our trip, who did SO WELL. Two redeyes (to get there and back), heat, long meetings, language barriers, big bugs, strange food, long lines...and Eva, Celia, Sophia, Rafe and Carmen were amazing. They made great friends. They ran all over the Casa campus playing soccer, making friendship bracelets, doing art, playing Uno, eating side by side with kids their age without their parents in attendance--there was no cross-cultural barrier at all, as far as they were concerned.

~The American grownups on our trip, who also did SO WELL. So many people spoke Spanish, or tried to. So many people who got sick (Kate!) or hurt (Peter! Others who I am forgetting!) were so eaaasy about it. So many people just laid down their anxieties and jumped right in, to work or play. It was a different kind of trip--with three families with kids, three committed couples without kids, three singles--but everyone got along famously, was inclusive and kind and we worked through all the stuff that came up! because stuff always comes up...

When can we go again?

Pobre Gatita

Last night Erica, Melissa, and I went to read cuentos (stories) to the Casa´s youngest children in La Matrenal. We read with them in small groups and then they all piled into their bunk beds and I read a story to the whole group, about 20 children. The book I read was the same one I read when we were here last year, La Primera Luna Llena De Gatita (a translation of Kevin Henkes´Caldecott winning Kitten´s First Full Moon). Last year, I was terrified to read in Spanish to such a big group, this year I was excited. I read the story with as much animation as I could muster and stumbled over only a few words. The catch phrase in the story is "pobre gatita" (poor kitten) and it is so fun to say! The children were all in fits of giggles as we said it as slowly and dramatically as we could. This morning a few of us headed back over to play and read again. The children all demanded that I say it over and over again. We began to say it together on the count of tres. What a wonderful thing to see children so excited over a bedtime story.

I am here!

Afternoon!  We made it!  We arrived early this morning into Guadalajara, Mexico via Los Angeles.  The  trip went off without a hitch....for the most part.  Besides being tired and a little grumpy, I felt great when I got through customs at approximately 7:30 a.m. Central Time.  We made our way through Guadalajara to the hotel we are staying at (it is this cute place that feels very local, very comfortable).  I went out with some others to explore a local eatery that came highly recommended (it was yummy).  I then came back to the hotel by myself (I was tired and others went off to explore more) and eve stopped to order myself some frozen yogurt with chocolate sauce and a bottle of agua. :-)  I am not sitting quietly in my room watching ESPN 2 in Spanish

Tonight we will come together to pray, commune, then share a common meal before heading to the Casa tomorrow morning.  I am looking forward to meeting Lupita and the children of the Casa.

Time for a nap (we traveled all evening and I am a bit off).  Best and talk soon!

Jeffrey

Reflecting and Getting Ready

So, it is two days until we are on our way to Mexico and the Casa.  I finished packing (I think) tonight.  Well, at least the suitcase is closed....lol.  I am now watching Modern Family. the Celtics play the Pistons, blogging, chilling, and getting ready to correct some papers.

I am feeling anxious and excited at the same time.....is that possible?

I am anxious because of the unknown.  While I trust that all will be OK and this will be an experience (good or bad, but an experience nonetheless) I am still anxious as I do not know what to expect.  But then I guess that is what is meant by giving it over to God and trusting in His plan for me.

OK.  Enough for now.  I need to get some work done.  Please stay tuned for more from me and others!

Best and blessings!
Jeff

PS: The 10-day weather report for Colima, Mexico: mid-80s....YAY!!!

Some Thoughts...

This is trip number five for me at the Casa.  I can't believe it has been more than six years since Liz first suggested to me we travel to Mexico with the FCS mission group.  At first, I said I had no interest in traveling to Mexico, but figured I'd go along for the ride.  I had always wanted to do volunteer work abroad, but for some reason Mexico wasn't even on my radar.  Six years later and the Casa San Jose truly is a second home.

My relationship with the Casa has evolved over  that time.  In those first years, I think I was a little naïve to the challenges faced by the children and staff at the Casa.  I knew that all of the children there came from poverty, some came from possibly abusive situations and some were even abandoned, but this information and the feelings behind it seemed distant.  It was easy to play with the kids, paint a few buildings and joyfully experience Mexican culture.  Over time, my understanding and connection to the Casa has changed.  I have established relationships with the community.  No longer am I blind to the bigger issues the Casa faces.  I am fully aware of the financial problems that plague the Casa.  I have witnessed some of the pain the children experience coming from neglectful situations.  I understand that I should not take my trips there lightly.  I am always careful in my relationships with the children.  I am cautious in making promises on when I will return, how much I am able to give of my time, etc.  It doesn't mean that I don't give them any expectations, rather I am mindful.

As my experience at the Casa has changed, I have also found making decisions with the Casa in my mind, particularly around my money and time.  In the states, I work for a non-profit.  I do not make much money and plan out my expenses carefully.  With that said, I do have some expendable income and choosing to buy takeout for lunch once a week or buying a new clothing item at a moderately priced clothing store IS usually possible.  Our trip to the Casa is a financial stretch and one that needs to be carefully factored into the budget, but it is still doable.  I feel an obligation to be mindful of what I spend on personal items and recognize that if it is not a necessity then I should also be able to provide in a similar capacity for the Casa.  The same can also be said for my time.  I believe firmly in self-care (I AM in in the human service sector), but even I need only so many nights of watching television or surfing the internet.

Lastly, this trip is our fourth mission trip.  Last year Liz and I travelled there on our own and considered doing that again this year, but I decided to go with the group instead.  Traveling as part of a group is an experience all in its own.  Our group of 19 will be working, living and playing together for the better part of 9 days.  Traveling to a foreign country can in and of itself be exhausting, both emotionally and physically.  Imagine doing that with 19 other people, some of whom you may not know very well.  Privacy is at a minimum.  There are expectations to uphold.  Consensus must be made at times.  Occasionally, your way won't be had.  Feelings get hurt.  Sounds wonderful doesn't it?  Actually, it can also be a wonderful experience.  Embarking on a journey like this can be demanding and having a support network to share that with can add to the joy.  It's a unique way to connect with others.  Even with those whom I have little contact with from past trips when we do see each other, there is an instant bond.  I am looking forward to this next trip, the experiences it will bring and the opportunity to share it with our group.

A Love Story

When I was a kid, my older brother went with our church's youth group on a mission trip to Puerto Rico. I helped out with the fundraisers, I held car wash signs and helped out at dinners, but I was too young to go on the trip. By the time I was in high school, my family had moved somewhere new and though I was a part of a youth group that did great things like go on retreat and on day trips to volunteer at soup kitchens, we never went on a week long mission trip.

Fast forward about eight years, I had found my first church as an adult and the minister was talking about taking a group to Mexico to volunteer at the orphanage where her and her husband had lived and worked for a year. I was thrilled, this was going to be my Puerto Rico trip!

I went to the Casa San José for the first time in 2006 with the best of intentions, I was going to do the work project, play with the kids, and bond with the other group members. I didn't really think too much further beyond those ten days but then I met Lupita, the kind woman who runs the Casa, B and S, two young girls who were patient with my rusty high school Spanish, and G, a boy with severe disabilities who was left at the Casa as a baby and would be celebrating his 13th birthday while we were there. About halfway through that first trip, as I sat on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, I realized that I wasn't just on a mission trip. I was falling in love, I would forever be connected with the Casa San José.