Door of Faith Orphanage

This past weekend I went on a mission trip with Bethany Baptist Church in Montclair down south to Baja, Mexico to do some work at the Door of Faith Orphanage. We left Friday afternoon, and made our way down across the border.We crossed into Mexico as the sun was setting, it was a beautiful drive by the coast of Baja. When we arrived at the orphanage, we unloaded all our stuff and then headed across the street for some authentic Mexican food. Boy was it tasty...and what huge portions we had! The burritos were ginormous, and the carnitas melted in your mouth! I wish all Mexican food tasted that good! Since it was late once we were done with dinner, we headed back to the orphanage and got settled in for the night. Girls in one casita, boys in the other.

Casitas...ChicasCasita...ChicosWe had great accomodations! I was surprised how nice it was! The casita was a bit disorganized with bunkbeds all scattered throughout, but we got it organized before we hit the hay, spiders killed, moths shooed, beds moved, airmattresses blown up, sleepings bags out, and our heads hit the pillow. Ahhhh, sleepy time!

Morning arrived and it was time to get moving. We quickly got up, got ready for the day ahead, had some yummy breakfast cooked by the Prostlers...and then we were on our way to start working. We had two jobs while there: [1] to lay a sidewalk so there was clear wheelchair access for Marco and [2] to paint a room in the guest house from green to white. The boys started measuring things out and framing, while Thiam and I headed up to the guest house to start the painting project. We cleared the room, cleaned the walls, mixed the primer, and were ready to start...when two of the boys walked in ready to help. Very nice! Josh and Mike stepped in and we got things done. However, Mister Joshua suggested not priming and I don't know if I can let him live it down that it was a mistake! LOL :) Three coats later and it still wasn't the best job we could've done. But it was done...so that was good!The boys worked hard on the sidewalk and did a great job. They slaved away lifting heavy bags of concrete, they lugged wood for framing, they dug out some old concrete and the area to be framed, heavy barrels with the mixed concrete to the worksite, and more. They worked their booties off! They actually let Thiam and I help out too...and I loved it! We helped move the concrete around when they poured it in the framing, and then we got to smooth it out for the finish.All the hard work paid off and we had a very nice finished product. I was impressed with the teamwork and support everyone showed. When all the work was done, we were able to have an ice cream social for the kids there. It was sad though, because quite a few of the kids had the Swine Flu and were confined to their dorms. So a handful of kids came and we enjoyed serving them, and watching them enjoy this special treat. They had a ton of fun having the whipped cream sprayed in their mouth...that made them giggle and laugh so hard, it was great!We also played some volleyball with them...Here is an aerial view of the orphanage...View of our lil casitas that we stayed in...I had a great time on this trip! It had been years since I've been on a mission trip down to Mexico. I went on a few while I was in High School, but nothing after that. So this was nice. I have always wanted to go on one where we use our hands, building something. I was happy the boys let us ladies do some of the concrete work. I also enjoyed the little time we had with the kids, watching those sweet smiles on their faces while eating ice cream! Even though there was a language barrier, you could see the joy they felt! I feel so blessed to have been able to go on this trip. Great teamwork, hard work and dedication, compassion for those in need, and able to serve our awesome God! A job well done in deed.

The team, atop our finished sidewalkNINJA!!! lol :)