Viva El Paso

They do this thing on the weekends in the summer called Viva El Paso. It is basically a musical that talks about the history of El Paso from the Indians, Spanish, Cowboys, etc. I went like 4 or so years ago with Mom, and it was HORRIBLE!!!. Every other time a group was gonna go, I was like, nope, I don't want to, it was no bueno last time.

The group that was here for the intensive Spanish classes (look at Erin's blog for information about that) went, and since the board of directors was here, mom and I joined along because we had heard from Stephen that they got a new director and stuff, and that it was better. It was definitely better. Not like a Broadway show or anything, but definitely better. You couldn't take flash pictures, so some are a little dark, and I have some more on my phone that I may put up later, but if you are in El Paso, it is worth seeing.

The pics are below, and over the next blogs, I am including a picture of my adorable goddaughter Viviana, so you have to look at those as well. Things are good here, back in the office now that groups are done for the summer, I leave on the 15th of September to start my cohort at Concordia St. Paul and will be there 6 days, then 2 weeks after that, I go on vacation. WOO HOO. Have a great week. More blogs later this week.

Wanting me to pick her up after I set her down on the table at the backpack distribution. How adorable is she?

Some Viva El Paso pics

Change of plans

You may have heard that we made the decision to keeps groups on the El Paso side due to threats of violence that were supposed to happen the day after our groups arrived on July 31st. I worked that week with a group from Loon Lake Minnesota, the home of Kristine, our summer volunteer from last year.

Originally, their plan was to do a VBS each morning at Sin Paredes, and then do some construction projects there as well. Rosy had told us that they could expect nearly 300 kids each day, so we were kind of freaked out at having to handle that many, but the group was raring to go. Instead, another VBS was held here at the mission, at San Pablo, and two different construction projects were completed: a complete roof in Sparks at the home of Rosa Chavez (the 4th and final time this roof was worked on, each prior time water was able to find a way inside the home), and the painting of building 13.

Even though there was the disappointment at not being able to go to Juarez, at the end of the day, we heard that it ended up being a blessing to the group. They discussed how great the trip was for the two day drive back to Minnesota and are already making plans for a return trip in 2012.

The summer events have wound down, and now I am back to office work, and we have some new super duper exciting things coming about soon, and I look forward to seeing you all as AMIGOS :). Enjoy the pics and have a blessed week.

The theme was Jonah and the big fish

Kristine and her amiga Camila

They had some sweet props

Getting others involved in the action

Two shy guys hiding from the camera

Had some fun games each day

such as bean bag toss

Lunch was also provided

One afternoon's project was to paint number 13

While Freddy (Erin's cat) supervised

The rest of the week was spent on the roof, wish i knew how to cut in a circle with the circular saw, but that's still a pretty good cut.

I would only let Kristine and Erin on the roof at first because I didn't want anyone damaging the old fragile roof before we had some more support on there. It worked well, except there were a few anxious helpers aching to get up there, they finally did get to go.

Since Erin now as taraphobia, Kristine got to roll the tar, while Erin supervised from the other side of the roof.

Ashley got some (A LOT) of tar on her, so I wrapped her in newspaper so she could ride in the car. We should have thought about how she got a bunch of tile adhesive on her a couple days before and kept her away from the tar.

The group with Rosa. I am sad I didn't get to taste her tea that Erin blogged about before. I wonder if this amazing tea really exists?

An addition to the addition

You may have read the blog that I stole from Erin talking about our rush to find a slab to pour so the group from St. Matthew in Barrington that teamed with St. Luke from Montgomery (we didn't know until this year that they had been coming together for 4 years) to build. Since Satan never quits, and sometimes you get curve balls thrown at you, you hope they are the kind that hang up in the zone and you can crush them over the fence. Crush it we did.

The group was about 20 people smaller than their annual average, but that did not hinder them from attacking their goals of putting on 2 VBS's here in El Paso, an adult bible study in El Paso, sponsoring a VBS at Santisima Trinidad in Juarez, and building a house. For information on the VBS's and bible studies, see Erin's blog. I handled the house crew this year, and their big goal was to not have to go back on Friday morning (Their flight left on Friday afternoon, and last year, they needed to finish painting in the morning). I kept that in mind as we attacked each day with a gusto, and for a minute, there was talk of the record falling, but don't worry St. John's, your record is still intact.

You may remember the Garcia family from the raking leaves blog, and they were anxious to have even more space. This week, when I went into the original house to use the restroom, I was amazed at the space that had opened up, and can't wait to see it when it basically becomes the kitchen and dining room. The family's plan is to try and put a bathroom in between the two new additions, let the three girls share one, and have the "master" and living room in the newest one.

This week we have 2 groups here, both doing 2 construction sites and VBS in El Paso. So far, no action from the threats of the cartel for a second car bomb. Please continue to keep Juarez in your prayers, as well as our missions there and in El Paso.

Here are some pics of the house, and of course, I had to throw in one of Vivi. Have a great week.

Oh, I almost forgot, we had the BEST site organizer ever. She was so on top of it, sometimes the scraps disappeared from your hand before you even knew they were gone. Thanks Camille. I want her to come for the whole summer next year. :)

We went to the dorms to look for her Nina, but she wasn't there, so Vivi met the Barrington group instead

Nice slab poured by team YLM

Measure twice, cut once

After day one

Checking out the sheetrock work

Putting in a wall piece (Yes, I really do work)

That's ok, I got it

Nadia, Dora, and Elizabeth

Nadia inspecting the work

Hi

After day three, just have to hang some doors, trim and paint tomorrow

Pretty cut* eh? (In order to protect my manliness, the only thing I am allowed to fully call cute or adorable is Viviana, thus the star.)

Each of the family members got a cross from one of the group members

The construction crew with Mom and girls, Dad had to go to work

Testing their new spritzer toys on Earl

Shot from the street as we are getting ready to leave

Check this out

Here is a link to a video by the Newsboys. Take three minutes out of your day and watch it. Pastor Astorga mentioned some things in his sermon today about being tied down to our calendars and not having time for the Lord. He said that Martin Luther often said he had so much to do that he would have to pray for 3 hours to prepare. I found that to be a really good point, so anyway, take 3 minutes and watch the video.

The reason I put this up should be clear when you watch it. I guess the group frequently travels to Tijuana to build houses for the needy there, and it shows them working on the house and gives a bunch of statistics about those who live in Mexico and border cities as well. It is just another way to show their needs, and I have seen a couple of my facebook friends post links to this video, and I thought it is a good way to show one of the myriad ways YLM helps the communities on both sides of the border.

Enjoy the video and have a great week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvwhLUfxbrw&feature=youtube_gdata