Bellevue Christian Church Team

(Written Tuesday)

Saturday

We arrived safely at the airport in Mexico City around 12.30 p.m. Nancy, a staff member of Esperanza Viva, met us there and we boarded a bus for a two hour ride to Puebla. The bus was very nice, kind of like a coach bus with TVs and radio. We were very quickly immersed into Mexican culture with the music, overhearing Spanish conversations, and seeing the beautiful sights on our bus ride. I was surprised to see so many mountains and hillsides. It was a very sunny day and the temperature lingered in the 70s because of the high altitude.
Alejandra, our missions coordinator, met us at the bus station in Puebla and gave us a ride in one of the orphanage vans to the house where we are staying. The house is a lot like a townhouse in a gated community, so it is very safe. We are the first group to stay in this house. We unpacked and ate some tostadas, a Mexican style sandwich. After dinner we played Spot It, Spoons, and 500. Then we did a devotion which Matt led. He read Matthew 6, verses 19 through 25. It was a great start for our trip.

Sunday

On Sunday, we got up around 7 a.m. to shower and make breakfast, French toast. Sandra picked us up at 9.45 to drive us to Nations Church, which was about a 45 minute drive. The church service was very moving even though we didn’t understand the Spanish worship songs, but we felt Gods presence. The church was filled with people from the orphanage and surrounding community. During the sermon, we were taken to a room in the back and one of the staff members interpreted for us. After church, we went for a tour of the orphanage facilities. Courtney and Matt were amazed at the difference from what they saw during their trip last year.
We at lunch with the children there. At first, they were shy, but we mixed in with them at the tables and shared lots of smiles. Then we went on a tour of Cholula, a town with a pyramid that is covered by grass and trees. It looks like a mountain, but you can take a tour through the underground pyramid. Unfortunately, the underground tours closed 15 minutes before we got there. But we did get to tour the outside ruins and the nearby market. Courtney was quite a trooper wither her sprained ankle. She sprained it two days before we left. For dinner, Lauren and Brian made rice and chicken fingers and it was delicious! We aren’t allowed to eat out for fear that we will get sick, but we do get to eat authentic food at the orphanage.

Monday

Our first day of work was great! We pulled weeds in the brick sidewalks all around the facility and then filled the cracks with a mixture of sand and cement. The orphanage is getting ready for a ribbon cutting ceremony so we will be doing lots of projects to prepare the grounds for the celebration. We breaked for lunch at 2 p.m. and ate with the kids. We had rice and beans and guayaba juice. Then we played with the kids for a few hours. Matt, Brian, and Brad played soccer with the older boys and Courtney, Lauren, and I led the girls and younger boys in some crafts. We made name signs, tambourines, and played with sidewalk chalk on the basket ball court. The children were so sweet and kept speaking to us in Spanish. We did our best to communicate with them using a few Spanish words here and there and lots of gestures. We left the orphanage around 5 p.m. to go home and make dinner. Brad and I made burgers and fries. Then we had devotions with Alejandra and Emily, who also works at the orphanage.