So this post is a little over-due, but this summer was CRAZY and I am finally settling in to the craziness of being back after getting home a little over 3 weeks ago. 3 weeks home is such a small amount compared to the 6 months, 24 weeks, I was living in Ensenada this year. When I got home my dad made a comment about how since high school I have spent 12 months in the U.S and 12 months in Mexico, that is such a crazy thought!~ JUNE ~
The summer started with a team from Alabama. I got assigned to work with one of their house builds, got to work with a great foreman, a new missionary to yugo and I got to go to a Mumford & Sons concert too! It was a great kick off week to a crazy summer of 12 straight weeks of teams! The sweet family I built for was from Oaxaca and they had one daughter named Heymi. (pronounced Amy) One of my favorite parts about house builds is getting to know the family and seeing their way of life. I got to chat with the mom and dad and hear about how they met and ended up in Ensenada.
The next week was one I had been looking forward to since last summer. A church from Tennessee comes to Mexico every year and each time I have been incredibly blessed by their encouragement and taking me in as a member of their team. This summer I was able to work with the same people I did last year and continue to strengthen the relationships made last summer. It felt like I was working alongside family and it was an incredibly fun week. We built a house for a single mom of 3. Her husband recently left her and we had the opportunity to give her a stable home next door to her sister and a safe enviornment for her 3 sweet kids, Keyla, Camelia and Angel. I had time to sit down and spend time with the mom and hear more about her family and her work. She and her sister made us authentic food every day and there were always tons of kids running around the worksite. On Thursday we had the dedication and after some minor electrical issues (drywalling an electrical outlet into the wall...) we were able to present this sweet family with a house of their own. Their family came to celebrate and brought a cake. So after the dedication we got to spend time celebrating and enjoying time together. It was an incredible week!
The summer interns arrived on June 6th and our intern crew grew from 6 to 12! We spent the first few days getting to know each other through a scavenger hunt downtown and camping at our secret camping spot! Since the summer is so busy every week on Wednesday nights we had intern bible study at Sean and Trisha's and had time of fellowship and Biblical discussion.Towards the end of June we had a busy week with a huge church from Clovis, California. I was able to work with a foreman named Hernan that I hadn't worked with before. But it was a great week learning so many things from him and being able to work with some people I worked with the last 2 summers! We built for a couple and their daughter and had a fun week building alongside them! Hernan and I met the sweet little 3 year old neighbor boy who introduced himself as Saaaaantos Saaaanchez! He was constant entertainment and full of energy. He stole the hearts of everyone on the team and everyone had a hard time saying goodbye to him.
At the end of June my brother Cameron came down to Mexico to intern with me for a month! Let me just say that having Cam there with me was a huge blessing and it was awesome to be able to spend lots of time with him. I was so proud of him and seeing how much he loves the Lord and has grown up over the last couple of years. Cam, you rock!
~ JULY & AUGUST ~
The first week of July is one of the most memorable weeks I have had with YUGO. We built the 3rd D-house, which is a house with 4 bedrooms instead of the standard 2 bedrooms. It is a bigger project and is a lot of fun. It was an incredible week for many reasons. For one it was for a family that I have known for a while. I met their daughter Yessica my first summer and in March I met the rest of the family when they helped build another family's house. Another reason is because the team building the house I met my first summer and I met Florecita and her sisters with them. Mario and Silvia are incredible parents and people. They have raised 6 amazing kids and are greatly involved in bringing the Oaxacan people to the Lord. They have huge hearts to minister to the people of Oaxaca who speak Triqui, an indian dialect. Since many of these people do not speak much Spanish it is awesome that there are people in the community that want to minister to them and teach them about Jesus. Mario and Silvia hold Bible studies now at their new house and are ministering to these people. During the week there were always tons of moms and children gathers around sitting in the shade, chatting, selling bracelets and enjoying time together. Silvia made us amazing food each day like tamales, fried chicken and a chicken soup called posole. I wish there were words to capture this week but I cannot put anything together that would sufficiently explain it, it was just incredible. From the people to the food to the place we were at to the incredible ways God showed his provision to the friendship to the family finally receiving their house, every moment was incredible. There were so many memories made and so many lives impacted that week. I caught myself so many time just taking it all in, looking around in awe at what God was doing and how starting over 2 years ago he began planning for this week that was so perfectly orchestrated.
The rest of the month of July truly flew by! We were building every week and hanging out on the weekends. It went by so quickly but was an awesome month of being out in the villages and working around camp. We celebrated the 4th of July on the beach with fireworks and I celebrated my 20th birthday with some of my favorite people. It was my 3rd birthday spent in Mexico which seems crazy! I got to work with awesome teams and got to spend a week building with my best friend and another week building with my brother. Mid-July we had out annual "Mexi-prom" where we get dressed up and head about an hour to Rosarito for a nice dinner out. It is so fun to have an evening away from camp with all of the interns and enjoy some time together.
One week in July Cameron and I worked with our good friend Ricardo building for a family that was in desperate need for a house. They were living in an uncle's house that was in terrible condition and 7 people were living there. This house gave them more space and is much safer and a better living enviornment. The kids were older so it was fun to have them involved in building the house and it was so good to see that the 2 grand-babies now have a safe home to live in.
The last week or so in Mexico was spent visiting families, spending time with friends, saying goodbye to other interns and just enjoying the last bit of time in Mexico. I got to see one of my best friends and her fiance while they came for a visit which was awesome because I hadn't seen them in a year. On August 6th I headed up to the States with Sarah and her two kids and we spent the day crossing the border, going out to lunch and fulfilled our month-long plan to go to frozen yogurt, haha. That afternoon I flew home, 6 months almost to the day that I left in February for Mexico.
So that concludes my adventure in Baja for a little bit. Although I have left Mexico for now, I know that I will be back. It is a place that has captured my heart and changed my life. Mexico presented the opportunity to get to know a different culture, tons of people from around the world, learn to speak Spanish, try new foods, strengthen my relationship with God as well as teach me so many life skills and lessons that I am extremely grateful for. I am thankful every moment, challenge and opportunity because of what they have taught me and how they have shaped me. My life has been forever impacted and changed due to the amazing time I have spent in Baja.
What's next?
I am headed to Western Oregon University in a few weeks, moving into the cutest house with 2 of my best friends and studying to be a Spanish teacher. I am amazed at how all of this has come together over the last year. This next adventure is going to be a fun one but I am hopeful that Baja will play a little part in it. I will hopefully be going back to Mexico for a week in March and dream of going to Uganda in the near future. Until I move I have been keeping busy with working at Menchies, camping, going to Cam's football games, and spending lots of time with the rest of my family and my friends. Thanks to all of you who have supported and encouraged me over the last couple of years! :)
