Still on a train ....

For those of you staying up late, checking on our progress, we've hit a minor snag.  Our second train didn't leave the station until 11:00pm, when it was supposed to leave at 10:10.  Something about a connecting train that was delayed.  Oh well.  We're still holding it together.  But we're closer than earlier!!! 

It all just means that we will get to the base just a little later than we wanted to.  

Would you pray that our team would get a solid rest once we get to the base?? Would you pray that we won't be distracted by sleepy eyes and tired bodies as we join a fellow church in the morning?

Thanks!

Thought I would show you what our morning looked like as we watched the sunrise in California!

LA!!

We have made it safely to Lis Angeles.  We are tired - but so very glad to be off the train!!!!  We wait for a little over an hour, and get on the next train, and head to San Diego!!!! There, we will meet the Ywam staff and go to MEXICO!!!!

On the train!

Just wanted to quickly update you all that all is well on the train.  We are now somewhere in the San Fransisco Bay Area.  It's a little cloudy with some sun poking through.  

Hope you all at home don't miss us too much.  Some of us here miss some of you!!

Blessings to you all!!

Adam.

We are on our way!!

Well, everyone showed up this morning on time and with all the right paperwork.  We even had a guest come out to see us off.  Thanks Jack!!

Currently we are at the border.  

We have an excited group of kids, and a group of leaders who are growing in excitement.  Rudy just said he was in a fog .... I think we all are.  

We can't believe this day is here. 

Back on the bus!!!

The plan for our trip *by Katie Vanderleek & Maddy Harter

Good Morning! Were gonna tell you a bit about our schedule for the time were are down in San Antonio Del Mar, Mexico and what kind of events we are going to be participating in.

At 1 am on Sunday morning we arrive at the San Diego Train Station after being on the train all day Friday and Saturday. Then we bus across the border and eventually we will arrive at our destination very early in the morning. Thankfully they are letting us sleep in till brunch. It will be a really cool experience to actually go to a Church in Mexico and experience the difference between our cultures and church services.

Every morning we have breakfast at the base and morning devotions that will prepare and encourage us for the day. And in the evening we have a session to dig deeper and reflect on our day.

The Monday will be our first full day in Mexico. In the morning we go to a seniors home and after lunch back at the base our plans will be to go to the House of Grace Orphanage in the afternoon.

The next day we are planning to paint a church for Pastor Victor.

On Wednesday the 25th we are going to head to the build site where we start building the house for the family of four. The father, Victor, has diabetes and cannot work, he has had 12 operations. Elda the mother of the family sells tamales for a living and makes about twelve hundred pesos a week. We looked this up and that is approximately only 100 hundred Canadian dollars. We are excited to build the house for this family because we know it must be hard to support their 2 children, their son victor and their daughter Ivana on small pay.

On Wednesday and Thursday we also work on the house and build our relationships with the family. (Read a little more about the family, including a letter from Victor here : http://www.ywamsandiegobaja.org/familyprofilestijuana/ : scroll down to find our team, LIVING HOPE CRC)

On Friday we get the privilege, about a week into the trip, to go to a drug rehab centre called the Ranch. For some of us (or maybe all of us?) it will be a completely new experience and probably a challenging day. Though this may be the case an important part of this trip is to step outside our comfort zone and go through new experiences.

On our last day in Mexico we get to spend the afternoon on the beach, hopefully we can get a bit of a tan! For dinner we are having a barbecue on the beach as one of the leaders at the YWAM base has a house right on the water. A nice end to the crazy reality of missions. At the lovely hour called 3:30 am on Sunday morning we depart the base and head back to the San Diego train station. After hopefully a not so bad line up at the border and a nice venti Starbucks no fat double espresso skim milk, shot of hazelnut, actually with 2% milk, and sprinkles on top, whipped topping -double sleeved, no cup drink we head back home.

Phewf.  

Were so incredibly excited for this awesome trip and are thankful for all of your continuous prayers.

Leaving on Friday still doesn’t completely seem like reality but I’m sure it will once we are seeing our team at 4:30 in the morning. Then we’ll see the real side of our leaders.

Thanks so much for your support!  

THANKS! *Ann Wang

Dear congregation,

Today, I am honoured on behalf of the Mexico team, to express our thanks and appreciation forall of your help and support.

After seven months of fundraising and preparatory work, we have collected $32,452.00 for this mission trip. Contributing to that total amount, the money fundraised from the Mexico DinnerAuction was over $9,500, and the tips we gathered from the Old Spaghetti Factory night was$1,460.00. Additionally, the bottle drive helped the team get almost $1,300 and the selling of 2015 birthday/anniversary calendars gave us just over $7,000.

Also, the volunteers who attended preparation of the WE events, Mexico Dinner Auction andOld Spaghetti Factory night were great help for the team. These incredible numbers and efforts offered by the congregation make this trip possible for us.

We, the entire team, sincerely appreciate all the help from everyone that supported us. Thisgenerous help does not just pay for the expenses of the trip; it is also a chance you provide us to build God’s kingdom in a different part of the world. Also, this mission trip will not only be anopportunity for us to share Jesus’s love to those who may not know about Him, but also a means for the team members to learn more about and be closer to God. We thank you for giving us the opportunity to do God’s work, to be His ambassadors and followers.

With your support, encouragement, and prayers, we look forward to having a fruitful missiontrip with God’s blessing that would bring honour to Him.

Ann Wang

Thoughts from Rudy and Jocelyn Ratzlaff

What a privilege to participate in a fourth youth trip. Every trip has been a great blessing to both of us (Jocelyn & Rudy). We have experienced God at work in many amazing ways: in the planning and fundraising for the trips, in the drive/train ride down, in the shared experiences in Mexico and San Diego, the answers to some crazy prayers (e.g. rescue from a police situation and the ocean) plus the return trip as well. We are blessed to be in the presence of many youth grow as they grow in the grace and knowledge of or Saviour Jesus Christ; we watch how the youth willstep far out of their comfort zones in trusting God’s ways and be forever changed,set apart and encouraged to become servants of the most high King. We have been heartened and blessed by the people in Mexico, probably more than they realize, and probably more than we have blessed them.

We therefore look forward to this trip with the anticipation of getting to know our Almighty God at a higher level, we get to realize God at work in our youth and in the people we serve in Mexico. We recognize that God is far ahead of our plans. Godreally, really does have the whole world in his loving hands.

Thank you Living Hope CRC and friends for making this trip possible once again, for encouraging us so much in word and in deed and for praying for us. May the Lord richly reward all of you for showing us so much love!

Rudy & Jocelyn