Back in the Estados Unidos

Hello from San Diego, CA. Last night we had a bonfire on the beach and it was an awesome way to end the week of work and sharing about the praises of what the Lord did in us and for the others in Mexico. We had to get up very early this morning after staying up late with these spirit-filled girls. We were up about 5:30 AM and on the road 7:20 AM. We were in CA by 10 o'clock. Kenny said that it was the fastest he has gotten a group across the border. We had no problems. We must have had a ton of prayer warriors. To catch you up on Duwayne from the other group. He cut the frontside (palm side) of two fingers down to the bone and fractured them. He was back at the house by 6:00 pm and in good spirits. He had no tendon damage so his fingers just need to heal. We were able to get all the suitcases in this van, but they will have some bags in the isles on the way home. As we said good-bye to the other group it was hard because of the bonds that were formed over the week. God did an amazing work in using two different groups together to reach the kids in Mexico and work on building a home. Currently, we are visiting Shirley's niece, Laura, who lives in San Diego. She has the day off today so it has worked out great to see her. We will have to decide what we want to do tomorrow. We may decide to go to a beach and just relax. Many of us are very tired and naps sound SO wonderful. We had lunch at an In and Out burger after we got over the border and it tasted yummy. It was nice to have ice and to be able to flush the toliet paper down the sewer system. Yeah...we are not in Mexico anymore. Keep us in your prayers as now we are ready to head home since the project is over, but the weather is beautiful so are enjoying the beauty around us. Soon we will head to our hotel and take some naps.

Julianna- We miss you and look forward to seeing you soon. You will love the present we got you.

Seth- I hope that you are having fun and behaving for whichever person is watching you. You will like your gift too. It came from Mexico.


Lexi Says:
Hey everyone! Leaving the orphanage was the hardest thing I thing I have ever had to do. It was so sad and Meagan and I were a complete mess emotionally and physically (due to our huge water fight). We finished most of the house including all walls, the roof, the insulation and dry walling of the celing. Its actually a pretty cool house! Tell Piper, Brady, Sloan, Hope, Landon, and Leifer I say hi! And Mom, Dad, Lisann, and Leif I love you all to! Mom, if Grandma talks to you and hasnt read this tell her I say thanks for writing! And if you or Lisann could call work and find out whether or not I work on Monday that would be great! I love you all and cant wait to see you!

Meagan Says: im so excited to see you all. all your emails and notes of encouragement kept me going during the week. it was so nice to hear from you! leaving the orphanage was so hard for me. i had it together untill i said goodbye to Elena. (one of the little girls!). All the kids were crouching under us to see our tears, then making fun of us and rubbing their eyes while fake crying! God has definitly taught me to keep going despite my tired body and mind! i know i wouldn't have had the strength without Him! I thank you all so much for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers! i miss you all. Love meagan

Taylie says:
Hey everyone! I am really anxious to get home and see my cat, Peepeepoopoo and my dog, Caskey. Oh ya, and my family and friends! hee hee. Well we are in the US now and I can read all the signs again! Woohoo! We ate at In and Out Burgers when we were in San Diago, it was really good! We might possibly go to the San Diago Zoo instead of 6 Flags which I think is exciting, I'm not much of a roller-coaster person. Oh, hey family and friends, I might be a little crazier when I come back, so be prepared! I love you all and can't wait to be back in the Northwoods jetskiing!
Hey mom can u tell Shelley I won't be able to work the day after I get back, please, thanx.
Tootles, Taylie

Elie says:

Haynes family, no kidding on the crazyness of Taylor Grace Haynes she's like a completely different person. but we all LOVE her.

Love and thanks to all of you for praying and supporting us on this trip. I love you Dad, Mom, and Sam(i) he he

Mom, I was hoping you would get my work schedule from Jabberwocky so i know if i have to work on Monday, i'll probably call tonight so be prepared. Love you all

Sami, dude i got you the coolest thing ever and you better L O V E it because we all helped pick it out for you.

Carmen says:
Hey all. Just woke up from a nap on the guest bed in Shirley's neice Laura's house. It felt really great. Everyone is down stairs at the moment making cookies well except for the girls and I. I have no idea what they are doing next to me, but it's crazy. Anyways, I would have to say the hardest part was leaving the orphange but I was able to keep the tears in check until this morning when I said good-bye to Kristin and the other girls. Kristin is the one I really conected with from the other group she is such a sweet girl. I don't know what the plans for the rest of the day and tomorrow but I can't wait to take a shower for longer than five minutes. My hair, which was in briads, was just taken out and let me tell you I was grossed out. It was all poofy and in need of an excellent wash. Ok well everyone is getting antsy to read the comments so see everyone when I get home.

back home

Today we are all back in our own homes and had a great night sleep in our own beds. Me personally had a great night sleep. We landed in Minneapolis right on time at 12:00 midnight. By the time we collected our luggage and drove the twenty minutes to my aunts house it was 1:00. Thanks to my aunt Christ as she and her husband were up and waiting for us, and had the basement ready for their visitors. She had also bought some breakfast things for us to eat and some snacks for the ride back. On the way we dropped off shirl (that's what the girls called her all week.) at her sisters house and saw our kids (Seth and Julianna) as they stayed with relatives while we were away. On the way back i didn't see much of the group till Wausau as they slept. Our two photographers didn't think that they took that many pictures and were amazed at the fact that it took three Cd's to put all the pics on. I thank God for the way that He watched out for us and made changes in the the lives of the youth that went.

Not wanting it to be done!

Today we had our last day with the kids. No surprize to me that Lexi and Meagan took it the hardest. We all bonded well with them but Meagan and Lexi loved the little ones, and they returned the affection. We were able to get the sheetrock done on the ceiling of the house along with hanging the doors, so the house is totally inclosed as we leave. We were unable to finish the project as the money from our two groups ran out. They will have to wait know for the next group in October. You prayer warriors are needed, not with our group but the one from Prieri Du Sac as one of thier leaders cut his finger deep and had to go the hospital, they sent him to another hosptal that could handle the injury better. Pray for healing and that they are able to reconnect the tendon that was hurt or cut through. Will write more torrorrow on the condition of Dewayne. As we look to the next day we have to clean the houses that we are in and we are having a bonfire on the beach with our worship tonight. unable to send any pictures, so will have to wait till church on sunday. I will be bring the comments back to the girls as I am at a internet cafe today. I was hopeing to be able to upload pic's. Pray for safty coming back accross the border and heading to San Diego.
Signing off from Ensenada the team

over the hump day

Yesterday was the first day that we got into the ocean. We spent about an hour body surfing and enjoying the waves. We also had a great time of worship and Kenny's message. The team is really coming together and supporting one another. Today we are doing some trim work outside and insulating the ceiling for sheetrock. We were getting hungry earlier in the day and thought it was lunch time at 11:00 and had a hour left before lunch. We were talking about missing people and it was interesting to hear Meagan talk about her siblings, as she didn't think they would miss her. So when she read the comments she was surprized to hear from them. they all love to hear your thoughts and prayers for us. Today at VBS they were very good during the Bible story. Though we would let each one share a little on the BLOG today so here they are.


Elie says:
Hola mama, papa, hermanos y amigos. We are having a blast serving the Lord and miss you all. Mama I got you a GRANDE amount of Vanilla hehe. Those of us who have taken spanish before are having fun speaking with the children and learning even more the more we are here. Hope to hear from you "more" por favor.

Hey guys in Wisconsin! ok, this is whan I say hola to all my friends, here we go...Hello to my mama, papa, sissy, and brothers, all my DM friends and everyone else. It's awesome down here and great to be doing the Lord's will but having a blast @ the same time. C ya & luv ya all. Taylie

Carmen Says:
Hey Hey Hey! So I hope all is well up there in the northwoods. I guess we are known as the Lumberjacks by the other group that is here. They are wonderful people and I have had sooo much fun getting to know everyone and playing with the kids. Today I worked on Insulation adn it was pretty tough stuff. lol. Not really it was just hard on the lungs and took a little buit to get used to the staple gun. Anyone need help on their house when I get back? ha ha. Like I said playing with the kids at the orphange has been amazing. They are soo open and just looking for love and attention plus they are teaching us spanish as we go. It's pretty funny to watch Rob struggle with his spanish but he's getting it slowly. I got to swim in the ocean for the first time yesterday and it was AMAZING!!! Love to everyone. I miss you all! Carmen.

Lexi Says:
Hey everyone! Well, so many things have gone on that I think you need to know about... One... im married and Two... its to a ten year old! Haha. Today one of the kids at the orphanage pointed out to me that I was wearing a ring on my left ring finger so i was married. I looked down and sure enough he was right. However, the funny thing was that when i looked back at him he was wearing one on his left hand too so we decided we should be married. Obviously thats not true but Brolio is sure a sweet heart! Well then again all the kids are sweat hearts! Well, i love and miss ya! I'll see you when we return! Lexi

Hey! i miss you all so much and cant wait to see you! this has definitly been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have learned so much from these kids. They are all so quick to put all their trust and love in you! just this afternoon me and a little one took a siesta! (nap). Im definitly glad i know Spanish it helps so much! As much as i miss you all i wish i could stay here longer! see ya when i get home! Meagan

Shirley says:
These girls are awesome! I am having so much fun growing closer to each of them. They have a great work ethic and we get complements on that all the time from the leaders of the other group we are working with. They are the sweetest. Rob seems to be handling all of us ladies just fine. Today, I was really missing Seth and Julianna and I began to cry on the way to the worksite. Meagan said a joke and away went the tears (well, the tears changed to tears of laughter) . They give hugs to me too. I am very blessed. Keep praying for us. We love you all. :)

Getting tired day two

We had a great local meal last night of a taco, enchilada, rice, beans, and choice of squash soup or chicken rice. The squash soup was good and the chicken needed seasoning. We had a great session about allowing the power of God to work in us and giving God all of ourselves....to be totally converted for the Lord. The meal went well and we got some well needed rest. If Lori is reading this, I have some bad news. I need you to find the receipt to Lexie's camera. Need I say more, yes I dropped it when we were at the restaurant taking a picture of our group. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a new one for her to use so that kind of eased things and made Lexie smile again. Some of us got some minor injuries today with little cuts and abrashions. Most of us got a good night sleep last night, but the sun is out again and it seems to zap you. We are looking forward to some beach time today. We were able to get the rolled roofing on and a load of sheetrock came today also. The group does great at the puppet show and we wish you could see some pictures, but the internet is very slow. Check in tomorrow for some more news. All the girls get up early to go to a hot spring that is on the beach. It is really, really warm. Meagan is so cute because she lays her entire body in the sand. She gets SO muddy, but she is SO warm. The girls are missing their families, but they are enjoying cuddling and playing with the kids in the orphanage here. Please be sure to blog to your girls. They look forward to the messages that you send. Two more days of hard work. Keep praying for us!

First day of Work

Today was awesome as we were able to work on the house of the director of the ophanage that will become a school in the fall. It will be a pre-k to six grade christian school. Today we worked on painting boards for trim and facha. Shirley and Elie & Taylie and I worked on a interior wall and drilling wholes for electrical. We than had lunch and it was time for VBS! YAH! They were fired up and ready to go. We did crafts of making a visor, played soccer, lesson, and snack. The girls loved playing and pouring themselves out on the young ones. They have internet at the school so that is were i will be sending from. Unable to post pictures right know. The other group we are working with is great and we seem to work together well. Pray for good sleep tonight and no dogs barking as it kept some of us up. We are eating local food tonight and should be good. We are very good about not drinking the water and there is a great poem by most of the sinks about Montezuma's revenge. Today was hot, maybe in the 90's but a nice breeze. Had to hydrate often. We will keep you updated.

P.S. Julianna there are a lot of girls down here your age and you would love to play with them, so work on that spanish. Love you and say hi to Seth.

Well, we made it safely to San Diego at 7:30 California time, which for you math wizards is 9:30pm our time. We were all tired and ready for sleep, but first we enjoyed some pizza and connected with our leader, Kenny. We headed out early then on Sunday for Ensenada and an English church service. Yes! they do an English service and a Spanish service that follows. It was a good time and we enjoyed some left-overs for lunch and headed out to the market place. They were looling for the exclusive twenty dollar purse. the world well be glad to know that they scored, and Meagan got Gucci and Lexie a Coach. yeah, they are "fake" and they know it, but they still have them. Rob and Carmen did some bartering for some of the others and we got plenty of vanilla for all those that asked. when we got back from the torture of shopping (that is Rob's opinion!) we got ready for VBS and what we were going to do. We separated our crafts and snacks and in the evening we got ready for our skits and songs. We are getting excited for the week ahead and are amazed at the awesomeness of God's creation around us. We are surprised that the weather is not hot and that it feels very much like being in Wisconsin.

This past week the team has been busy meeting and getting ready for our soon departure. We had a car wash before the 4th of July and raised a little less then $300 for our trip. This past Sunday we shared to the congregation that our trip has now been fully funded due to all our family and friends who are generously given towards our mission. We are very grateful for how God has been faithful to us. We were also prayed over at our church service and had a meeting after church for the parents. The youth were prayed over at this time. This week will go by quickly as we prepare for the next coming week and begin to pack our things and items to take to the children in Mexico. We will have a time of prayer over the team before we leave on Sat. morning, July 14th. We will be leaving at approximately 8:30 AM on Sat. Please pray that God would use us in a mighty way and that we would be open to using the unique gifts that he has given each of us.

Choosing the team

In March we decided on the trip and set the ground work for the requirements to go on the mission trip. The youth had to write an essay about why they wanted to go and how God had called them to go to the Mexican people to share Christ with them. They were then reviewed and prayed for and chosen from a group of church leaders. These are the five youth that submitted essays and were chosen to represent Christ on the mission trip. Seniors: Carmen Jonanivic, Elie Stys, and Taylie Haynes. We also have two Sophomores going: Lexie Snedden and Meagan Neis. We will be flying out on the 14th of July for a week of serving and being used by God to do His work. Pray for us for health, travel, and opportunities to share the Gospel of Christ with unbelievers.