As you can assume it’s pretty hard to get reliable internet connection down in Mexico. Today (Friday 7/16/2010) is our day to shower at the Caravan HQ. So we are able to post the blogs for previous days. A follow up post for this day will follow tomorrow! 
P.S. It’s hot!
Everyone in Seattle always thinks that Seattle weather is constantly changing. It’s hot, then it’s cold. There is sun, then there is clouds or rain. Well our homesickness for some Seattle weather was quenched. This morning, the Serveites awoke with the humid air of a hot day (calor for those who love Spanish). Then by the time we got building, the sun was beating down and the temperature was sky rocketing. We were hot and constantly rehydrating! That was soon to change though. While driving home from our final building sites, the weather began to change. Clouds began to appear, dark dark clouds. Then when we arrived at camp, ready to wash our hair in buckets (due to a sticky and dirty day), the first of the rain drops began to fall. Rain in Mexico? Weird huh? We probably got a centimeter of the yearly rainfall of 10 inches that Mexico receives. Continuing on with our SERVE life at SERVELANDIA, the rain began to fall around us, refreshing, but humid! Luckily, we are not soaked and were blessed with rain in Tijuana.
It is funny how the weather can be an example of the constant changes that life has to offer. God has the plans that we never know, which represents the unpredictability of God. Just like the weather, God can constantly change our direction in life with just a decision. Tonight, hopefully the Northshorites’ worlds will be rocked. Brad is going to speak and it is supposed to be a moving session. God is working in all our lives, and just as the changing of the weather, we are all realizing the changes. Whether it be the raindrops that refresh the land or the sunshine to brighten our smiles.
-Holly Irvin
Pau Pau Ponchitos (Nate & Robert’s Team): Well it was a good day for team Pau Pau Ponchitos. We faced our problems, yet in the end we pushed through and conquered the house. Even when the paint splattered on your face, even when the roof was too hot to touch, let alone work on, even when tempers are tested, and Satan is finding any crack to place lies in, God united us all and showed us what we were really there to do. It helped that we were served delicious fish tacos by our host, Pedro. This house went up a lot faster than the last one. We prayed and set to work. We had the bones of the house set up before lunch and all we had to do was finish the roof. Everyone was tired and tense… but energy from the kids and seeing the end near we finished a bit early and headed to ice cream. If you ever have the chance you should swing by Mexico and grab a banana split. Over all this experience has been one I will never forget. Can’t wait to share in person what has happened, pictures and all
P.S. It was especially fun for me because Pedro had a daughter whose name was also Melanie… yup pretty much awesome.
-Melanie Locke
The Navy Blue Ninjas (Brian & Bob’s Team): As I sit here listening to “You Belong With Me”, I am thinking about this day. Wow! what a day… hot, humid, sickness, full of emotions, and well… it was a good day. After the message we all headed out to our work site, like any other day. We were coming off a day that one could call a ‘downer day,’ we were ready to make up for that… and it was not an easy task. The house was horribly out of shape… due to the fact that we had no room and there was a very annoying t.v. dish that got in our way. Once the roof was on it was smooth sailing. Hahahaha! But not really. It was still rough and filled with many mistakes, but we learned to deal with it. We learned to work together and depend on God for strength. We had very little strength as the three previous days had been completely draining. We finally finished about an hour after every other group had finished. We left after about 5 pictures and many teary eyes. We headed to another house that was near the previous house. We said hi to the girl who had just had eye surgery… there was a strange presence with her. Tuesday she was crying in pain, and now she was very hopeful. How can she have such hope in a place of brokeness and yet we are sad in our suburban home in the Evergreen State? Something to ponder.
-Drew Mattocks
Team Perfect (Jim & Claire’s Team): Today we continued on our second house. One of our leaders from Caravan was unable to be with us today on account of her grandmother’s death. We were however, able to pick up someone who worked with us on the previous project. Once we arrived at our site, we got building right away. We were quickly surprised when Morgan fell off the roof. No worries though because Daniel was there and he caught her and all was good. Soon we had almost the entire structure put together. For our lunch break we were treated with another fantastic meal. It was definitely some of the best Mexican food I have ever had in my life. Things continued smoothly and we completed another beautiful house. As we were packing up all of our equipment we saw two cars stuck on the hill. Team Perfect took initiative and went to go help those in need. Daniel Watkins almost lost his foot while we were helping the first car. The car wasn’t the danger, it was the pit bull on the other side of the fence that almost chomped on him. Overall, we had yet another perfect day.
-Danny Lindquist
At Servelandia we have about 220 people living in a small plot of land. When I got into my shower yesterday, I realized that it was the first time I had been alone in a long time. There is always activities going on here. We have learned some new games and taught our fellow Servelandians our favorite games at Northshore. There is tons of laughter, new friendships forming, students talking about how God is challenging them, and some trying to catch a few more moments of sleep in the shade of the worship tent. As Jim Lindquist and I (Kate Jones) watched one day, we noticed something unique about how community was forming at Servelandia. (Disclaimer: We may be a little biased, but I know you will agree with the following) Our students are phenomenal. They are leaders and we as a group are very attractive, not just in looks, but as we stand together as a group and laugh loudly at Nate’s game Turtle Butt or play questions, or just talk with each other students from the other groups would be drawn to our group. We challenged our students with this and asked them to watch for those students who want to be involved but are not quite outgoing enough to just put themselves in the action. It has been great to watch out students rise up to that challenge. They have done a great job bringing fun and unity to the camp and out on their building teams. Our team blends together well and it is a blessing to work with these students.
- Kate Jones
Pau Pau Ponchitos (Nate & Robert’s Team): We started a new house today and we had a lot of space to build. Before lunch we had all four walls built and just the roof to frame before we were done with work for the day. There were not a ton of kids around this time so it was a lot easier to focus on building the house and enjoying being the Pau Pau Ponchitos. We had a team from Faith Baptist right behind us and The Blue Ninjas across the street. We chatted with them and played with the few kids in the area. Then we spent a while talking about what God was teaching us, what we thought about missions, and debriefing parts of the week thus far. It was a great day with a welcomed visit to the laundry mat once we returned to camp.
- Kate Jones
The Navy Blue Ninjas (Bob & Brian’s Team): Today was a bit more of a struggle than the days before have been. Everyone was very tired and we all were a little bit more snappy and unhappy with our work and with each other. Due to our high-strung nerves, we (sadly) were unable to enjoy today as much, but don’t worry, there were some good things. We started the day by introducing ourselves to the family and we got to meet two women. We started off the day, but (this is just my personal opinion) there wasn’t as much excitement as there was when we started our first house. However, as we got working we started getting into the habit of working again and started joking around and having a little bit of fun. Sadly, there were still high-strung nerves which resulted in some conflicts over mistakes. When it came time to lunch several people weren’t feeling good and the rest of us were just plain TIRED, but I think that the lunch was good for us because we were able to loosen up, relax, and just spend time together, which was really special. Plus we ate in the shade. YAY!
After a short break it was time to get back to work, but the lovely relaxation of our break didn’t last for long, maybe some people just weren’t relaxed to start with. We were able to push through the day, but by the end we were all tired, unhappy, and Amanda was sick (but she’s better now, YAY). We got to go to the Laundromat and washed our clothes, which was nice, but i think everyone just wanted a nap. So while we were there several people were sitting and staring at the TV (which was playing american cartoons in spanish), spacing out, and some tried to nap. We are now back at camp, laughing at how angry we got at the sun today and playing games with smiles on our faces, so I’m glad that we are all feeling better. And I’m hoping and praying that tomorrow we will have a much better day, full of more energy, encouragement, and effort. So I guess I’m going to call it quits, because there’s going to be a talent show soon and I’m excited to watch everyone and support my friends! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers constantly as we finish our houses tomorrow, do our extra project Friday, and as we spend some time back at Masters college. ADIOS!
- Kory Bisset
Team Perfect (Jim & Claire’s Team): Today was a new start to a new house and a new family. We have the privilege of blessing the mother (whose name is unpronounceable) and her three daughters of ages 5,7, and 9. When we first got there we set up, introduced ourselves with the little Spanish that I (Ty Baird) know, and then prayed for our family and for safety in building. The first step in our process was to saw all the wood, which is the hardest part of the whole job. While this was going on, a few of us began playing with the three girls, making bracelets, playing with balloons, and blowing bubbles. Having only three kids at our site made it quite a bit easier to get our work done because we were able to focus more on work while still being able to spend time with them. Next was lunch where we chatted with the family and also learned about the lives of our Caravan leaders Julia and Katy. Everyday we have been praying for an unreached people groups somewhere in the world and today we prayed for the Afghanis in Afghanistan. It was really cool that during this time the girls were just sitting there listening even though chances are they had no idea what we were saying! They were respectful and seemed very intrigued in what we were doing. At the end of the day we ended up finishing all 4 walls and the roof frame! It was, overall, another perfect day for Team Perfect.
- Ty Baird
Today was a little bit of insanity but it was still a blessing to be serving the families that we were building for. This is Flexico after all, the day started great with the hope of a shower, our first in 4-5 days. Each building team left their work sites about 1 1/2-2 hours later than we were supposed to, The Blue Ninjas (Brian & Bob’s building team) broke down for the 3rd time. The Pau Pau Ponchitos (the new name for Nate & Robert’s team) stayed with our stranded friends enjoying a little more time with the community they had been building in. Team Perfect (Jim & Claire’s team) started towards the showers with non adequate directions and no minutes on the cell phone to contact the rest of our teams. After we finally worked out where everyone was, got everyone showered, and a new battery for the van we headed out for some authentic tacos. We split up again to not overwhelm a taco stand with 34 people and again with some interesting directions we got a little lost only to find that the stand we were headed to was closed. So we headed to plan B, inhaled some AMAZING tacos, and got back to Servelandia 20 min after the gathering was supposed to start (with over half of the band members who are from Northshore!). It was a day of miscommunications but still a great day and we finished 3 houses and were blessed to see the blessing that those houses were for the families we worked with.
- Kate Jones
Pau Pau Ponchitos Update (Nate & Robert’s Team): Well today was eventful, and due to a lack of space for building, our group was a tad behind on construction. Around 10 AM, we quickly went to work like little worker bees and began the process of putting the walls together and building the roof. Even though everything felt so rushed with the building, we were still blessed to be spending time with the wonderful family and their children. After running around with the kids and getting the house nearly completed, we decided it would be a good time for a bite to eat. Under the shade, because let me tell you it was HOT, we sat in a circle and ate some lunch. This wasn’t an ordinary lunch though! Maria, the madre, brought out all her special documents and photos and began to share with us her family’s history. We saw photos of the kids through grade school, their grades, family photos, Maria’s baptism certificate and numerous documented achievements of the children. Even though it placed us behind on time for building, we couldn’t have been happier. Having the blessed opportunity to share life with the family was wonderful. Once we finished the roof, with the help of the delightful children, the house was complete and we sadly realized it was time to say our goodbyes. With tears in our eyes, we prayed for the family and their new house. It was 3 PM and sadly we still hadn’t seen Ana yet. Then all of a sudden, Kory ran up to me (Holly) and shouted that Ana was here! Hurray! The group rushed over to where she was to find Ana surrounded by Northshorites (the Serveites of NSB). Placing our hands on her shoulders, we prayed for her, cried with her, and also viewed the documents of her history. Then we gave her shirts, a blanket, a sweatshirt, and most importantly sunscreen. Anna practically screamed for joy when she received SPF 70 from Roberto. Being rushed to leave for showers and some delish tacos, we once again said our goodbyes. With tears in our eyes, we shared our goodbyes with Anna. Hugging Anna goodbye, she said to me, “If I don’t see you again, there is always Heaven, which will be an eternity together.” That was such a blessing, seeing her a second time only reaffirmed that God had a reason for her being in our lives. She created such an impact on my life and in those fleeting minutes of talking with her, I realized so much about life. In total, the atmosphere of the Pau Pau Ponchitos changed with the presence of Ana, and the accomplishment from the house. God sure works in mysterious ways, with His great plans and flawless decisions, God intertwined the histories of multiple people. Which goes to show, even in a matter of minutes, we can make a difference in someone’s life. GO PAU PAU PONCHITOS!!!!!!
- Robert Sinrud (aka Mr. Roboto) with Holly Irvin (Hollipher)
Blue Ninjas Update (Bob & Brian’s Team): Our house (or more so, the Mexican family’s house) was completed today. It was quite an accomplishment. Drew Mattocks and I got up on the house where the roof would soon be placed. Drew and I were scared out of our minds at first, because basically what this means is that we were sitting on a 2 by 4 that was suspended in the air…and that was it. Once we got the roof frame up, however, things got a little easier. The whole time, there was a small group of kids that followed us around and helped us put the house together. The two that stick out in my mind was a 8-year-old boy named Miguel and his younger brother Moises, who was probably about 4 (I couldn’t get a straight answer out of him for how old he was, he was more interested in the key chains on my backpack). The small gang of kids proved to be an effective work force. The paint job was completed very quickly (a light pink), and some of the kids nailed the roof on with us. Much to Joy’s disappointment, Miguel could hammer in nails much faster than her, but she caught up pretty soon.
The whole experience at the house was amazing. Our car broke down as we were getting ready to leave, so we got a lot of time to spend with the kids in the streets. All of the kids demanded they get a turn to ride piggyback (“Capuchi, capuchi!”) and they all laughed as we paraded around. They pretended they were commanding war steeds into battle as they pointed at their other fellow riders and yelled, “Attacka!” I earned myself the nickname Caballo Loco (spanish for Crazy Horse) when I pranced around and whinnied to their command.
Although all the experiences we went through at the house were amazing, the part of this trip that has made me think the most is the messages we are receiving. Hearing from missionaries who travel into the jungles of Africa to share the gospel with tribes who have never heard the gospel was an eye-opening message. It makes me think about a lot of things. What am I doing in my life? What is important to me? What is important to God? What is God’s heartbeat for the world, and what am I going to do to feel that heartbeat? What will I do with my life from here? A lot of questions, and few answers for me. It has definitely been a trip full of realization, questioning, and pondering. I will have a lot to pray about after this trip.
-Trevor Wood (Caballo Loco)
Team Perfect Update (Jim & Claire’s Team): We finished our house today and had a great time praying with our family and blessing their new home. Ines (the wife) was in tears as we left and saying “Es Bonita, Es bonita” (it is beautiful, it is beautiful). This home was obviously a blessing to them. Throughout the day we also had about 20 kids hanging out with us, playing bubbles, coloring, and learning how to make balloon animals. It was great to get a glimpse of what it is like to be in a culture that puts the emphasis on people rather than the task. That was a breath of fresh air. The family made us lunch and while we were eating a random kid was just hanging around. Ines saw him, asked him his name and then said,” Javier, quieres comer?” (Do you want something to eat?)She wanted to feed a child she does not know before her family. For us looking on that moment was a wake up call to what it means to love people and serve people.
- Kate Jones
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