San Vicente

A team of ten from Good News Community Church in Broomfield, Colorado headed south. A short plane ride plus a long van ride got them to San Vicente, Mexico. The guys and girls from North Denver were hosted by Dave and Lynn Johnson who have lived in San Vicente for the past 5 years.

For over a week we worked to serve the people of San Vicente in every way possible. On the 31st of July we flew to San Diego and we were in Mexico on the 1st of August!

31 Jul 2009
We arrived in California today and we had to do some shopping! After shopping we took a nice walk on the beach and had a GREAT dinner (thanks Steve).

1 Aug 2009
Abbey Cooper "Today we ate lunch in Ensanada at a small fish taco place. I ate (for the first time) Octopus and Mussles. That was the weirdest tasting thing ever! But it was definitely an experience"

Jacob Austin aka Ninja "Got up pretty early and had a decent breakfast, and then headed to the border. Talked to someone at the border waiting for our visas and he was purdy nice. then we made our way down to Ensesada, had lunch and walked around. One guy was talkin' about mutated sharks. After that, we headed for San Vicente. April didn't look too good... about ready to blow! :-( When we got to town, we got all dressed up and went to a Mexican wedding. It was really interesting being able to match some spanish words to French words I knew."

2 Aug 2009
Steve Austin "It is awesome to be back in San Vicente. I have already had some wonderful conversations with Dave Johnson, the missionary that we support down here. My main prayer over the last couple of days is to have our hearts changed. I am still struggling with my heart for the lost. I truly care, but I don't have the level of love that I should have. I tend to like the work projects in the morning over the VBS outreach in the afternoon. I will try to do more/get more involved with the children"

Elizabeth Doe "Yesterday was an awesome trip down first we got across the border safely which was cool then once we strarted driving you could see the ocean. Once we got into ensenada we went to a taco stand which was different but good here I tried Octopus which is like a rubber band and the mussel which was disgusting then this fishmarket across the street had a dead squid and I help it up but it was all stiff. Then we went to these stores and I got a hat for $5. Then I got to go to my first mexican wedding. It had good food. And the little kids were fun to play with. Now were going to church I'm excited"

Matthew Fite "This morning I was reading Ephesians "You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's households" Ephesians 2:19 Good reminder for me that we're not off to church with 'The Mexicans'; We're off to church with our family-members of God's extended houshold-our brothers and sisters in our huge family. It's not us and them, it's WE"

Mike Doe "Nate told me to just start writing, so here it goes: Yesterday was very cool. We got into town and went to a wedding. The bride and groom had this flower type rope that was in the shape of the infinity sign put around necks. I would assume this represented unity/coming together as one. The reception was great. They served some killer beef with homemade tortillas. It was cool to see how the church here truly is a family. Bee is growing so much in this experience, so much so that things I have not thought about before are confronting me. I read Galations today and God really talked to me about law and love. Not sure why but I will keep listening. Now we are preparing all the crafts and games for tomorrow. The girls are colorading and some of the local girls are joining them. Dave, Lynn and Lorrie (our hosts) are really cool."

3 Aug 2009
Amber Gray "Mucho calor (very hot)! 104 degrees in the shade! I was very blessed today for the working part to be mostly insidel I cleaned and painted. I am having a wonderful time. All of the people are great. Dave, Lynne, and Lorie are awesome. Yesterday we went to church which reminded me a lot of churches I grew up in, lots of praying, singing, and alter calls. We also went to town to have some yummy tacos and ice cream. Now we are about to go to Santa Thomas to play and teach the children there. I am so excited (well, not for the heat)! Well gotta go. Much love to all the people in the states!

April Oleson "We just got back from the migrant camps. It was very hot! but very fun at the same time. We played bucket ball, sharks and minnows, ameba tag, and a lot of other games. We used a monkey for bucket ball and learned that money is called 'changa.' Althought Nathan kept calling the stuffed monkey 'chunga' which means feminine. :-) Poor Nathan! (the kids were laughing at him) Oh wel, it's a learning experience for all of us.
This morning I helped build a classroom for the church. It was me, Christian, Steve, Matthew, and Nathan. I tried conquering my fear of heights and climbed up onto the roof to help Matthew with some measuring. I was scary and fun all at once. I don't know if I have completely conquered my fear but it is a work in progress. Bee is working on a mural for the hallway. She is doing an Awesome job! Well, I'm off for some Chilli for dinner. Miss you all!

Nathan Gray "April thanks for entering this beatiful song into the journal!
P.S. Imagine trying to sleep in your room (back at home in colorful, Colorado... only before you get all comfy in your bed, I let a tarantula wasp go in your room... (I know - hard to imagine) and TERRIFYING. That's what it was like going to bed last night... TERRIFYING. I was absolutely terrified because there was a tarantula wasp flying around in our room. Evidently I'm crazy because I was terrifyed. All the other guys were, I think, too tired to realize the severity of our situation. They went to sleep immediately. I went to sleep after putting on long pants, a long sleeved shirt, socks, my hat, and climbing into my mummy sleeping bag!
Today we worked (my group) on the new classroom at the church. It was hot. 104 degrees in the shade.
After lunch we headed to the labor camp and I got to meet up with some old friends. I was very surprised to see that Samuel, Luis, Miguel, Juan-Diego, Javier, Pablo, Oscar, and more were still there! (I was told last year that many of the kids move in and out of the camps pretty quick - so I was expercting to see all new faces.) I was even more excited to hear that they remembered me! Awesome. I have some great friends in Mexico! I'm looking forward to spending some more time with them, but I gottta go take a shower - I smell really bad."

4 Aug 2009
Jacob Austin "Hi. This is Jacob again. Just got done spending about 30 minutes in front of a fan. Weird huh? Well I got jalapeno sauce/juice stuff on my face and it burned. Really stinkin bad. But it's better now. Ish. There is something oddly easing about propping your face in front of a fan. Lesson: Don't touch your face after cutting spicy food. :-["

Christian Oleson "Good morning! So, today is our second project day today. I'm going to be painting. For breakfast we will be having toast, eggs, sausage, and other good stuff. So for the past couple days I've got to brush up on my spanish. I was surprised with how much I can communicate with the kids (verbal and non-verbal). I'm very excited for the next day of VBS with the kids and I've already made a few friends! Don't worry, I don't smell bad... yet... Love you all and hope you are doing great!"

Matthew Fite "Everyone is out front shopping for gifts and souvenirs-the Treka Indians have arrived with necklaces, beltgs, pottery, blankets, bracelets, mugs... What a deal!"

Jacob Austin "Hola! Je t'ecris en trois langues francaise, espanol, et anglais. Je suis tres barbant, et j'ai faim. Anyways, today was good. Pretty much the same as yesterday, but feeling much better than yesterday anywho... almost dinner time :) au revoir mes amis!"

Nathan Gray "I miss my baby.

Steve Austin "I sprained my right ankle yesterday and tweaked it again today. It isn't slowing me down too much! I got to e an amusement ride for one of the kids today. He almost choked me. The men from the church have done so much of the work that we had planned. It is quite an experience working side-by-side with them."

Abbey Cooper "Howdy all! Well I think it may be safe to say that I am starting to miss everyone back at home. Things are going good down here, just kind of chillin. The people are very nice and friendly. The angels are great to have around. Dave is soooo much fun. He picks on me a lot but he says its 'terms of endearment.' Well I'm off til tomorrow. I miss you guys so much! Love you always! P.S. I like writing in crayons!"

Elizabeth Doe "Howdy all at home. Having a great time. Making some crafts for tommarrows lesson. Today there was a venders market I got a neon purple tiger blanket and its awesome! Got some presents for some people. Had a really good time playing with the kids at the migrant camps today. Last night I found a black widow and it was huge my dad squished it. I am also painting a really awesome mirral on the hallway of an old mexican town. My hands are getting tired of writing so love you all and see you in 5 days.

Amber Gray "I MISS MY AVARY!!! I want to hug her and hold her and give her kisses!"

5 Aug 2009
Abbey Cooper "So today I painted the house with Matthew. It was very fun. We talked a lot about life and plans and things like that. I had never had a chance to talk with him like that, so I liked it. I cried last night during our meeting. I didn't know that I could ever be this homesick. We're off to the camps"

Elizabeth Doe "Today I painted most of the mirral and if I can say it is totally awesome it turned out to be a cross and I didn't even mean it to be. We're going to the camps now excited to go to sleep at someones house tonight. TTYL"

Amber Gray "Priscilla y Elizabeht y Alba son muy bonitas y Amber gustas ellas y mi amigas. :-)"

Elizabeth and Priscilla "Amber es muy buena amiga. Jacob es muy chistoso y nos divertimes con el. Abril es muy seria pero buena amiga. Esteban es