Homestretch of Waiting… Less Than 24 Hours!

Another guest blog from Makara:

Alright dearest friends, family, and random blog readers

We’re a little under 24 hours from our trek to Oaxaca! Everyone I have talked to is packing, re-packing and just SO excited! I really don’t think any of us are going to sleep these next couple nights.

There’s no such thing as a stereotypical mission trip. Although they all share a goal — to serve others — the sheer number of locations, organizations, and people to help means that there’s always a different trip to experience and a different way to help people while sharing the gospel. I truly believe God has such amazing things for us to learn through this trip, and through the incredible people we will meet and create life-long relationships with!

I can’t believe I went from saying Let’s go already… to Here we go already! Blessings all.

And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3

~Makara

To Clarify

Me again. I know, two posts in one day. I’m sorry or you’re welcome (whichever applies to you). Just thought I’d clear something up.

In case you didn’t know, Oaxaca is pronounced wuh-HOCK-uh. For whatever reason, I felt like I should throw that out there.

That is all.

-Lee

A Taste of What’s Coming

I had the privilege of going to Oaxaca two years ago, along with a few others who are going on this trip. I was looking through pictures from that trip and it got me excited about leaving for ours in THREE DAYS. I thought I’d share some of those pictures. I hope what you see gets you excited if you weren’t already. If you were already excited, you may be bouncing off the walls after seeing this. I will not be blamed for any damage to walls, furniture, etc. Enjoy the pictures at your own risk.

This is the zocalo (main plaza or square). It is literally a few hundred feet from the entrance to our hotel.

Speaking of which, this is our hotel.

This is the street running in front of our hotel, looking away from the zocalo.

The type of work with concrete we'll be doing isn't glamorous or professional, but it gets the job done.

We will turn the assembly line into an art form, passing buckets from mixer to concrete slab with ease. Good times.

We had the opportunity to work with the homeowner at certain sites. It was pretty cool to work alongside them.

After completing a floor, Randy prayed over it with the family.

Although we don't know exactly where we'll be working, it will likely be well outside the busyness and activity of the city.

It will almost certainly rain while we are working... we may have to be creative to stay dry!

As we travel house to house giving out food boxes, we will have the chance to pray for individuals and families in the community.

There are some pretty cool places to visit within walking distance of our hotel, like this church.

This is the inside of the church. Amazing.

This is the black pottery shop. It is a square, with four sides filled with shelves of pottery items. You are looking at one side of the shop. There is lots to choose from, and it's all inexpensive.

At the market, you can find seemingly anything... including Mexican wrestling masks.

And yes, ladies... there will be an opportunity to purchase group purses if you so desire.

Don't worry, we won't eat here. Promise.

So there you have it. Just a few pictured to whet your appetite. Team members, are you excited? Have you started packing yet? If not, you better get on that. We leave monday! Oaxaca here we come!

-Lee

“Let’s Go Already!”

A few words from today’s guest blogger, Makara Stonehouse:

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Hey family & friends,

Acts 6:4 — “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

In 1 short week, we will be in Oaxaca Mexico! I’m so excited to spend time with this amazing group of friends and leaders; because I know that we have a group full of mad potential! What all could we accomplish if we sell out to the leadership of Jesus?… I get chills thinkin’ of it. I know I speak for everyone when I say “lets go already!”

And then there are our leaders — men and women of God who are taking a week out of their busy schedules to be with us students, to love us, to shepherd us, and lead us closer to God. We really are spoiled here at Salem Evangelical to have godly adults who love to pour into the younger generation.

We all covet your prayers as we prepare for this trip, and while we are gone!

Please pray for:

-Safe travel & and safety during work & down times
-Fun times at historic places
-Spirit filled service and interaction with local families

Looking forward to giving you updates Blessings!

~Makara Stonehouse

Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

Getting Started

Friends, family, team members, strangers or however you want to classify yourself… welcome to the blog!

This blog was created to capture the day-to-day experience of our mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico — for both friends and family and the team itself. It’s a fun way to put trip highlights down “on paper” (a daily journal, if you will). The hope is that those back home can feel like they are there with us. Plus, we as a team can look back at the entries to help relive the experience once we return home.

My name is Lee and I will be running the blog during the trip. Here’s the plan… I’m hoping to post entries each evening of the trip with a recap of the day’s events complete (hopefully) with pictures. There will most certainly be stories of spiritual highs and how God worked through us and in us during the week. I know for a fact that I won’t be the only one with stories to tell, so I hope to persuade other team members to be a “guest blogger” and share their personal experiences of the trip. You wouldn’t want to hear from just one person, right? Right. All of this is dependent on no technical glitches. Lord willing, everything will work out as planned.

Check out the links in the upper right-hand corner of the home page. We’ve got a team member list and our travel itinerary so you know when we’ll be in the air.

T-minus one week until we depart. In the meantime, prayers would be very much appreciated. Pray that the Lord prepares us spiritually, emotionally and physically to do the work He wants us to do. We know that we will be pouring concrete floors in houses and distributing food boxes, but the spontaneous interaction we will have with people there is what excites me the most.

We had our final meeting last night and now the last minute preparations begin… list making, packing, running to the store to try to find a sunscreen bottle that will legally fly in a carry-on bag, etc. Wow. We leave in 7 days. If my bag was packed, I’d say let’s just leave now, but alas… we will have to wait. Plus, I’m not packed yet.

Keep checking this space even during this coming week (you never know what we may have up our sleeve), and then especially during the week of July 5-10 (during the actual trip). Hope you enjoy sharing the experience with us!

-Lee