Ninos de Mexico: Wrap-Up!
Sorry so to be so late in getting this final entry done, but we had a late night playing volleyball with some of the boys at Esperanza house until midnight! Fun, but worn out, so no one did the blog. And Saturday was busy with packing and travelling home. :(
So, Friday, our last full day at Ninos, started with a unique breakfast - tamales! Several of us walked to a street vendor who made these amazing tamales on the spot and we brought them back for all to enjoy. There was chicken and green chili tamales, and even fruit tamales! Pineapple and strawberry. What a treat. Then it was back to our projects. Dave and Chris did the final patch of the hole where the water leak was located. They also did some plumbing and door locks. Wes finished painting the outside of the Genesis house addition, while Tim, Jackie, and Greg finished painting the inside kitchen/dining area. Well, I say finished - we ran out of paint with one small spot left on the kitchen ceiling! Steph did a great job painting some pantry shelves. Diana, Lori, and Lauren finished up some supply inventory reports and then watched some of the staff's little ones while they met for a couple of hours . After cleanup and lunch, we headed out to the city of Texcoco where we toured a really cool La Hacienda. It was a very historic and interesting area that included a chapel built into a rock wall. We shopped a little in Texcoco and then we had a very special visit with the Ninos mdical doctor at his home and clinic. His name is Dr. Noe Flores and he was one of the first children that came to Ninos over 40 years ago!! What an amazing testimony this brother has. From there we ate a local restaurant and then back to Genesis where we had our final devotion together, which was led by Greg. As soon as we finished praying, there was a knock on the door and it was Mario, a 20 year old from the Esperanza house. He invited us to play vollyball with them and that's how we all ended up playing until midnight! Whew!
Saturday morning was spent packing and cleaning, but a couple of us managed to get in a little soccor game with the boys and there was lots of picture taking and goodbye hugs. Saying "adios" was not very easy. The trip back home was pretty uneventful and we arrived at our home by 9pm or so.
So, some final thoughts. Give God all the Glory. He is doing some absolutely amazing things at Ninos de Mexico. The joy and hope that was ever present in these kids and young adults was captivating. I still have images in my head as I type this Monday evening. I know the whole team will have these images for a long time as well. We were touched. Yes, we went there to serve, but I am not sure who served who the most - our team or the Ninos family. It was a very mutual exchange of service, love, and encouragement!
I would like to encourage you all to check out the Ninos HUGS program and sponsor one (or more!) of these very precious children. Any questions about that, just ask any of the team members - we'd love to get you started! We know we were so blessed to take part in this adventure - thanks to you all at LCC for making this happen!
Greg