Today three team members are going to briefly share their thoughts and favorite moments on today...... By Zach Burgin: Today is always one of my favorite days. It’s when the rookies really begin to be comfortable around the orphans and find their place in our team. I absolutely love the direction our team is headed. We split up into groups: some of us went with the older kids to ecoparque and the rest of us stayed with the youngins to swim in the pool, do crafts, and take a trip to Burger King. Last year I went to ecoparque and had a blast, but this year I had the pleasure of swimming with children ranging from 2 to 10. Kids were jumping, diving, kicking and splashing everywhere! Some played Frisbee or catch over the pool while others were being launched across the pool and still more were learning how to swim around the pool. Each team member quickly found where they would help best and right jumped in. After the pool time ended, we dried off and worked on crafts for a while. The kids made personalized cards for individuals on our team and adults at the orphanage. When they were finished, we started on our trek to BK. I am always surprised by where I grow closest with the kids. We had to hold or hold the hand of a child while walking there, and during this time I had a great talk with Daniella. I struggled through my broken Spanish which in turn created laughs and a rekindled desire to learn the language. I am blessed to have this opportunity to form relationships with these children who are so easy to love. After all the children left, we began to prep for the next event. We had all the grandes (older kids) over for dinner and a devo. Dinner turned out way better than expected with first-timer on the grill, Andrew, making hamburgers, and a handful of lovely ladies who made macaroni and cheese as well as smore brownies. Upon completion of our dinner, we played games. We split up the teams to be Americans vs. Mexicans and things got rowdy. We laughed, screamed, and laughed some more all throughout the fun. In the end, the Mexicans finished on top (probably because they cheated, but no hard feelings). Then we had our devo, said our goodbyes, and went into the Mirage to debrief. After reflecting on our day and sharing what we learned, we finished up how every day should: going to get Mister Taco. Everyone enjoyed a late-night snack, shared each others’ company, and some even cried tears of joy. What a day! By Anna BishopToday was definitely an adventures day. The group I was in met up with the teenagers and went to Ecoparque. There was paintball, zip lining and lots of great bonding with the teens. This was a very important day to really bond with the teenagers. Usually when someone goes to an orphanage, everyone wants to spend time with the little kids and it is easier to entertain them but it is very crucial that we focus our time on the teenagers as well. After Ecoparque, we went back to the Mirage and started cooking dinner. We had all of the teenagers over to dinner and played games. We had burgers, mac n cheese (made by yours truly) and some delicious brownies. After dinner, we played a game where the Mexicans and Americans were separated by a sheet that two people were holding. Secretly each group picked someone to sit directly in front of the sheet. The two people holding the sheet counted to three and then dropped it. The point of the game was to say the other person behind the sheets name before they said your name. This was a great icebreaker and a great way to learn their names. After dinner, we had a devo and then went to Mr. Taco. Mr. Taco is a little restaurant that sells VERY delicious tacos. It’s a pretty good walk from the Mirage but it is a wonderful time to just be silly with our teammates and goof off. Maybe the tacos aren’t as good as everyone says but it’s more about the environment and experience than the tacos. It has been a great day of bonding with both the kids and our teammates. I am having so much fun and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the rest of the week. By Luke CountrymanToday was a great day. Our team was split up into two groups; One group went to a park with the older half of the angels while another group stayed at The Mirage with the younger kids. I was in the group that stayed with the younger kids. We couldn't take all of the kids at once
So we took some before lunch and some after. The first group was a lot of fun. They were full of energy. I loved watching Beto as he was constantly jumping in and out of the pool. His joy just brings a smile to my face. I also loved seeing Jose Pepe fly 12 feet in the air and back into the water after Jackson, Zach, and I tossed him. Then we took them to Burger King and let them get rid of some energy on the playground. Out of the whole day, my favorite part was my walk back to The Mirage from Burger King with Juan. I have always been very close to Juan since the first day I walked onto the campus of Ciudad de Angeles about three years ago. I loved walking with him and goofing off the whole time. I loved to see him laughing and being as joyful as he was. Those are the kind of moments I wouldn't trade for anything. This trip has already been so great and it's only day two. I can't wait to continue to see what God has in store for us this week. Hi everyone! My name's Jordan Taylor (also known as JT); I'm a junior English Ed major at Lipscomb, and this is my 2nd trip to Ciudad de Angeles with Lipscomb. Abby asked me to write a bit about our 2nd day in Cozumel with the angels.
Between a stressful semester and the looming approach of senior year, my season of life lately has been simultaneously restless and exhausting. I am in a constant state of planning and preparing for my future while dragging myself through the present. All of the stress and exhaustion has essentially left me in a dry spell spiritually leading up to the trip; I just haven't been willing and able to put the time and energy into my faith life like I normally would. I haven't been feeling His presence lately; even at Ciudad, where I feel like I see God working the most-- I just wasn't feeling Him moving. The bubbling--over excitement I had felt on the plane dwindled, as apprehension, worry, and doubt filled its place as we left for the campus Saturday. It made the first night with the kids a struggle, as I focused less on loving on the kids, and more about the worries and doubts I had, and all of the emotions I carried with me from school. Today, I refused to let my emotions win again. I couldn't continue to dwell on things that shouldn't matter, like the language barrier (that's what translators are for), being remembered (some kids did, some didn't, some recognized me once we were in the light today), remembering names (they came right back), among other miniscule details. Instead of simply asking God to take away those fears and inhibitions, though, I asked that I become aware of God's presence- that I see Him working and moving again. It was as if a switch had been flipped. As soon as I stepped onto campus, a new-found peace just overwhelmed me. Everything that I struggled with Saturday completely melted away, and God sent me new, wonderful moments to focus on, such as: ~Painting nails with Conny and Cristi (and Cristi then putting stickers all over my arm) ~Watching Paloma and Brooklyn interact for the 1st time ~piecing together a sentence in Spanish (PROGRESS PEOPLE!!) ~Marce's laugh as Danny J & Haley chased her around the playground (oh how I've missed that musical laugh!) ~Taking selfies with Carlos ~talking to Wendy at the home and after 8th Street Church ~getting enough hugs and kisses and drawings from Conny to last a lifetime It's amazing what God can do through the simplest interactions and the quiet, unplanned moments. When we lean in to God's spirit and let ourselves ask for and seek His presence above all else, He can- and will- do beautiful things. So this week, my prayer is that instead of trying to make specific things happen, specific memories to unfold, every detail to be perfect, and let every roadblock and doubt overwhelm me-- I'm going to continue asking and praying for God's presence to reign. And through His beautiful, restful presence, may I make the details, the memories and the relationships unfold the way God intends for them to do. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart. ~Jeremiah 29:13 Please continue your prayers for our team as we journey through Ciudad life together! ~JT The Lipscomb team has finally arrived in Cozumel! We spent our first day preparing and planning out some final details for the week and we ended the night with seeing the kids for the first time. We had the annual smorefest on campus with the angels where we just hung out and cooked smores. It was a fun filled time with laughter, hugs, and joy. There will be a video posted soon on the reactions of the rookies of the trip thus far, and there will also be some pictures put up of night later as well. For right now, Mark Jent, the trip Lipscomb trip leader is going to write a little about what it has looked like for Lipscomb to visit here in the past and how that makes a difference today. Mark shares his thoughts......
It has been a long few months as the team has prepared for this trip to Cozumel and now it is almost unreal that it is finally here! The team leaves in a few hours and we are beyond excited for what God has in store this week. We have all been working in our designated committee's planning events and activities for the week. This trip will be Lipscomb's tenth one back to Cozumel and this blog will have updates throughout the week from various team members sharing about our experience there. We will post photos and videos and we encourage you to invite others to check it out during the week. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! ~Abby Countryman Check out this video that shows four of our team members feelings about leaving tomorrow! (Rebecca Burris, Luke Countryman, Haley Sullivan, and Daniel Johnson) |