Family, Food, Fellowship, Fun...and Food!

Dear Mexico Fans,
It is now the end of another very full and satisfying day and I must admit I just wanted to sit down here to blog and simply say...."All is well. Everyone is great! and Goodnight." but then I read your comments and I was encouraged to give you all a little more than that. The truth is today was simply a great day! Up bright and early for devotions and breakfast and then off to experience a Calvary Chapel Merida church service. The worship was exciting with many familiar worship songs....only the words were spelled and arranged a bit differently. :) Our group then led the congregation with a few of our own worship songs. Pastor Mike and Robert Aguayo teamed up for the bilingual message of encouragement for the community. The extra special activity planned for this day was to break up into smaller groups and to have lunch in the homes of various families from the church. Each team was assigned one of our faithful Spanish speaking students and off they went into the unknown. The whole adventure could not have gone better! The families from the church went above and beyond and welcomed our children into their homes as members of their families. I could not even begin to do the whole experience justice but here are a few words from the debrief......the families were so "generous, hospitable, friendly, and thoughtful! The experience was awesome, amazing, unforgettable! The food was great, we were so stuffed we couldn't eat another bite!" We presented each family with a little gift from our group and in turn many of the students received small remembrances from their host families. The experience was definitely family centered and very relational. For my group, we started out at the home of our host couple and their two boys and then ended up at Grandma's house and before the afternoon was over, the other grandmother came by along with the uncles and aunts and all the cousins....the group just got larger and larger and the chairs were gathered from all parts of the house. The reports from all the teams had a similar theme, everyone was so friendly and welcoming and they made us feel at home and made us feel part of the family. We all hung out and talked and played games and watched futbol and shared stories. We prayed for each and exchanged e-mail addresses. I am certain that this experience will a highlight of the trip for your student. Back to the hotel for a quick rest and then we had a chance to tour the city on an open air bus....thank goodness it wasn't a walking tour! Afterwards, we were off to a major mall in the area for some good old mall "food court" meals! A little window shopping and then home to the hotel for our debrief and off to bed. Tomorrow we will head out bright and early for our trip to the ruins and then back to pack our bags to come home. I will post a flight schedule reminder and any special instructions tomorrow. Everyone is doing very well. Continue to stand with us in prayer for protection, safe travels and good health! Again everyone is well! :) I hear the pillow calling my name. Hasta Pronto! Jan