On January 16, 2009, 24 high schoolers and 12 adult leaders from Yorba Linda Friends Church headed across the border to serve at an orphanage in Mexico. It was an AMAZING weekend. Our first morning, we started our day with a 5:30 am sunrise devotional. We hiked up to this cross on the top of a hill, where we were challenged to serve our hearts out! We were blessed to serve the orphanage in various work projects such as: our men cutting down a very large tree that was blocking construction, as well as installing a large marble counter top. Our very strong and capable :) women painted a gazebo and helped facilitate a vacation bible school for the kids. Our final service to the community was a cultural one. We all helped to set up and serve at a Quinceañera Party (sweet fifteenth birthday). This is a very special time when a Latin girl celebrates this milestone in becoming a young lady. It was educational watching and hearing the different meanings for the different gifts she received. Our evening ended with a time of reflection on our day and praised God through a time of worship and a camp fire. We were especially blessed to see students lives on fire to serve the "least of these." Here is what one student had to say about our weekend:
"On January 16, 2009, 24 students went down to La Mision, Mexico to Door of Faith Orphanage. Going down, we didn’t know what to expect, but we all knew we were going to serve our hearts out. On Friday night, we made it there safely with God’s protection and were greeted with about 100 beautiful happy faces. We hung out with the kids and had a great time. The next day, we woke up and started working at sun rise. Some painted for a Quinceañera, some demolished a unused drinking fountain, some put on a VBS, some made lunch for the whole orphanage, some got to hang out with the kids, and some did all of these. Once we all completed our jobs, we took down a huge tree that was old and not needed. Once it was put down with the help of a chain saw and a truck, we all picked it up and rolled it into a ditch. It was amazing seeing the use of a whole team together. We worked our hearts out that day and had a great time doing it. After all the jobs were complete, it was time for the Quinceañera. We all packed in the vans and headed to the church. We sat in the beautiful ceremony and then came back to the orphanage to party! We served dinners and hung out with the kids more. Then the 5 piñatas came out and we all got in the fun. After the Quinceañera, we were so tired, until we looked at the time and it was 7:30. We cleaned up after the Quinceañera and headed back to our camp site. We all sat by the fire and just hung out. We had a great time and laughed so hard. This trip was so amazing and God was with us the whole time. Through every moment, God was changing our hearts and the hearts around us. It just showed us that through our Lord, we can accomplish anything. He is so amazing and we need to live our lives for Him and Him only!"
Tori Thayer
It was truly a fantastic time and we CANNOT WAIT to go back and serve some more!
"On January 16, 2009, 24 students went down to La Mision, Mexico to Door of Faith Orphanage. Going down, we didn’t know what to expect, but we all knew we were going to serve our hearts out. On Friday night, we made it there safely with God’s protection and were greeted with about 100 beautiful happy faces. We hung out with the kids and had a great time. The next day, we woke up and started working at sun rise. Some painted for a Quinceañera, some demolished a unused drinking fountain, some put on a VBS, some made lunch for the whole orphanage, some got to hang out with the kids, and some did all of these. Once we all completed our jobs, we took down a huge tree that was old and not needed. Once it was put down with the help of a chain saw and a truck, we all picked it up and rolled it into a ditch. It was amazing seeing the use of a whole team together. We worked our hearts out that day and had a great time doing it. After all the jobs were complete, it was time for the Quinceañera. We all packed in the vans and headed to the church. We sat in the beautiful ceremony and then came back to the orphanage to party! We served dinners and hung out with the kids more. Then the 5 piñatas came out and we all got in the fun. After the Quinceañera, we were so tired, until we looked at the time and it was 7:30. We cleaned up after the Quinceañera and headed back to our camp site. We all sat by the fire and just hung out. We had a great time and laughed so hard. This trip was so amazing and God was with us the whole time. Through every moment, God was changing our hearts and the hearts around us. It just showed us that through our Lord, we can accomplish anything. He is so amazing and we need to live our lives for Him and Him only!"
Tori Thayer
It was truly a fantastic time and we CANNOT WAIT to go back and serve some more!
1 comment:
Being on staff here at Door of Faith, i can honestly say that you guys served your hearts out! It was a blessing to have you here! Thanks for all your hard work - hope you come back soon! :)
Post a Comment