Word of Grace Team

Friday, June 21st

Our trip started at 4am with 20 people and 44 pieces of luggage plus everyone´s backpacks. We made it quickly through security and had an uneventful flight. Customs was a breeze in Mexico and we only lost 2 of our 12 packages of string cheese we brought to share with the kids! –Alissa

Saturday, June 22^nd

Dan, Jean, Dave and Alissa got to leave for Keti’s graduation from La Viña at “Naciones” while the rest of the team got divided up and place in different dorms to help the kids deep-clean their rooms. Wally and Grant got pulled out to spend the morning on the playground with the little boys. Kristy and Kayla got to spend the morning figuring out if fruit they´ve never seen before was “good” or “bad”.

We had our first afternoon of planned activities with the kids and almost our whole team danced to “Jesus What a Friend” and the kids loved dancing along. <our theme this year is based on super hero traits and the first day we focused on Faith.

At the end of the day we did our daily “favorite thing of the day” and as always, it is great to hear the impressions and thoughts of all the first-time team members. –Alissa

The trip down went without a flaw, the kids are very receptive to our love and <I am humbled at their joyful faces and servant attitudes. Our team is great. God is truly amazing how He works in people’s lives. Praise God for His provision for Esperanza Viva, the facility is amazing! –Dan

Being in Mexico and with the group has already been a great experience, and there is still 7 days left. I have regained some Spanish from high school after working with the children. All the children and people at Living Hope are all so welcoming and have open hearts. It is just amazing to see how different the culture is here than in the U.S.  I realize how spoiled we are and how some of us don´t see the greater things in life because we are so caught up with jobs, money, technology…  We sometimes take a detour off the correct path and forget where that right path went because we think more about making a living rather than living life.

I had some great experiences with the children today. I have never played memory as long as I did with one of the younger boys and I also was given five drawings made by a boy named Lalo. Getting to spend time with the kids and talking more to the group members made a great day, and allowed me to really open up and engage in activities. Everything is all well here!  -Allison

Hi Everybody! I miss you all. This has been an amazing experience already. I am with an awesome group of people and I am having so much fun. My eyes have been opened already to how blessed I am. After breakfast yesterday, the group was all split up to help the kids with different cleaning projects. I got to help out in the kitchen which I was really excited about. It was something I really hoped I would get to do. We helped sort through food to throw away the bad stuff. It was really hard at first because our standard of what is bad is a lot different from theirs.

It really made me realize how much food we as Americans waste. After cleaning, we spent the rest of the day with the kids. I played more games today of Old Maid than I ever have. The kids love that game and they beat me every time. I really look forward to seeing what the rest of the week has to offer. Today we are going to Nations Church and to Cholula to the church on the hill and to tour the pyramid. –Kayla

Today was incredible. Getting to spend time with the kids was something I have been waiting for since the day I left last year. I was able to reconnect with Armando again this year which was awesome because we were buddies my first year, this being my fourth. I also played with Mario and Lalo which was pretty fun. Being here is such an amazing experience and I love it so much. I am so grateful that God has given me this opportunity and I can´t wait to see what He has in store for us the rest of the week. –Kelsey

Thank you for all your support. This has been a dream come true. Getting to know the kids is awesome. I am looking forward to telling you about my experience when I get home. God is really growing my faith. –Jana

Buenos Dias! We were  greeted with smiles and hugs by the staff and children. We come to serve, but Living Hope is changing each of us. The teenagers joking around with us and los niños holding our hand, wanting a hug, just wanting to play. We have extended our family! Muchas Gracias Living Hope for all you do to bring hope and purpose to lives grounded in Christ´s love!

We love you all! –Mark, Barb, Grant & Lauren

First of all, I want to thank Word of Grace for all the support to allow our team to come here to Mexico. The team is doing awesome. Everyone has jumped right in. It is so great to hear the stories of the first timers. Seeing their eyes open up to all the experiences with the children here and the staff. Thank you for your prayers as we are down here. They are felt every moment.

To my family: I miss you all! The children keep asking where TJ and Grace are! See you all soon. Love, Lynnette

The day started with devotions before Dave & Alissa (not to mention Ale and most of the supervisors too) left us on our own…which ended up well and the kids got us involved right away. We had fruit and yogurt for breakfast before helping kids with their weekly deep cleaning. Lunch was celery soup with beans over tortillas with cheese. Super was the ever famous ¨bird dogs!” I had two! We had a lot of time with the kids today. We played so hard. I love how active the kids are here and the way they take care of each other as family. They are definitely teaching the kids great things here. Lupita asked about Jayne right away, and was sad but understands. We played basketball, soccer, volleyball and more…the kids found a snake and Lupita brought it up to me but I got away SUPER quicly. I got to talk to so many people on the trip and get to know them better. Everyone is so awesome, I am so happy I got to meet them. I talked with Keti today about her experiences at La Viña, so amazing she is growing so much in her faith. I hope to do the same. Please pray that Keti recovers from possible food poisoning soon. I am praying for her, but also that God may guide my path to possibly attend La Viña after my internship. All is very well here, hope the same is true back home.

Prayers, Jessica

p.s.  Allison and I are leading our first devotional this week!

Today was an amazing day. Getting to meet all the boys and girls here at the orphanage was so cool. The first thing we did today was clean. Many people got to help clean dorms, but I had the wonderful opportunity of cleaning the kitchen! I never knew how wasteful we were until we had to help sort through the fruits and vegetables. It was a great experience. We then had time to play with the kids. We stared to blow bubbles, and kids were quickly coming to play with us. After the bubbles were finished, we started to play card games. I never realized how much kids love to play games! We sat down and ate lunch with Armando, then went back to playing. We then picked up Mario and Lalo and began to run around with them. After dinner, we went out and played a game of volleyball. It was very fun! We then met up with Armando, Lalo, and Mario and just kept running around with them and having fun. Today was a great first day here. I had so much fun and I can´t wait for more fun in the days ahead.

Good Morning America! We are heading out to church as I write this. Church here is amazing, yet familiar at the same time. It´s the same God, the same Bible, even some of the same songs. However, there is something amazing about the people, the smiles, the energy and the language that is a wonderful contrast to the U.S. church. I wish you all could sometime come, see, taste that the Lord is good, that He is creative that He is at work in the lives of the kids and staff here, and the members of this incredible team. We cherish your ongoing prayers and know that we are praying for you all.