July 24, 2008

Our fourth day in Saltillo is coming to an end and we continue to see evidence of God’s handiwork around us. The mountains that surround the city not only are beautiful but have been a buffer to the massive cloud systems caused by Hurricane Dolly.

All of the teams were able to continue working on their outside work projects and tile work began at Nasario. Brian and I had the opportunity to work with Pastor Juan Antonio laying tile. The method used here was one unfamiliar to both of us so it was slow going at first. Adapting to new ways of doing things is something the whole team has experienced at one time or another. You would not believe the transformation that is taking place at each of the sites as our teams work diligently every day. They are making a visible difference at each location.

We were able to spend some time at Vista Hermosa ( Orange) this afternoon for their VBS, singing “La Montana” (The Mountain), “Esparate” (Patience), and “Melodias en mi Corazon” (Melody in My Heart). All of the songs had great motions that had the children, our students, and even the old men of our group “moving”.

Our group had the opportunity to engage in a personal encounter this evening. Merge’s goal is to have families from each of the churches meet with our students. This gives them a chance to interact and learn a little about their lives and their cultures. This new perspective could deeply impact our student’s world view as they realize how different we are and how pampered our lifestyles are in comparison to our Mexican friends. Each team was broken up into smaller groups and sent out to enjoy a meal at the home of one of the church members. They came back raving! The food was fantastic and the conversations were excellent. There weren’t enough translators to go with every group, but our teams were troopers and waded in despite the language barrier. Imagine having dinner at someone’s home without sharing a common language. For some of our adults and students it was just the push that they needed to use their limited Spanish. Most of them found out that they could communicate more effectively than they had previously thought possible.

Our debrief time was filled with stories of the food and the people and concluded with a time of birthday celebration for Kyle Barkett, complete with a small cake covered with frosting being thrust onto his face (a Saltillo tradition). Our group is having a great time and is accomplishing much. Pray for a great last day and for smooth traveling Saturday as we drive back to McAllen.