Hey Everyone!

I am back with another blog, and today we are going to unpack a LOT. A few days ago, we left Casa Hogar Alegre — the place that we called home for six weeks, the place we had come to love, and the people who we now consider family. We drove an hour into the mountains to San Cristóbal, a historic city heavily populated by indigenous people. Our home this week is a WYAM base here in San Crist.

Casa Hogar — a home, not just an orphanage.

Mama Liz, the founder of Casa Hogar, has always had the dream of making the orphanage more than a house — more than a place for unfortunate kids to land. She wanted it to be a home. For the past six weeks, I watched that dream in real time. There are around 100 boys and girls living at Casa Hogar currently. I mentioned in my last blog that all of the kids have school and chores throughout the day. They make meals together and help each other study. These kids know how to work and take care of each other. But more than that, they love one another.

I experienced this loyalty and connection while living at Casa Hogar. During the first week, the older kids were too cool for us, and the elementary-aged kids were too shy. But as time went on, we became people they loved. I got to hear the babies yelling my name as I got close, hold them as they fell asleep, and kiss their heads, saying buenas noches and te amo mucho. The babies became so comfortable and happy when we were around them. The baby girls would run to me and cling to my legs, asking to be held. The little boys would shyly hop into my lap and laugh and play loudly once they felt safe. My heart felt like it was going to burst!

Ministry.

Casa Hogar was such a blessing because we got to serve in so many ways. There was always some way we could help or a kid we could show love to. Our team was split evenly into the garden and coffee teams. I chose the garden team! Two days a week, our group spent the afternoons working in the campus garden. If you read my previous blog, you know we had some big goals for the space — and many were accomplished! 

I was put in charge of a mural. For over a month, we designed, budgeted, and painted a beautiful jungle mural. It was such a cool experience! I learned so much through leading the mural project. I learned to delegate tasks to my team, ask for help, and improve my painting skills. The mural was just one of the projects we completed. We picked up bags and bags of trash, pulled countless weeds, planted so many fruits and veggies, and helped buy several pigs that are arriving this week!

On the other three days of ministry, my team taught English classes to the kids at Casa Hogar. Our group split into three classes where we taught sports, music, and reading. I was mainly in music class, where we worked on English word review, music rhythms, and teaching fun VBS dances. We have several guitarists on our team who would lead worship for each class, so we got to worship with the kids several days a week. Hearing their voices lifted to heaven in Spanish was such a beautiful sound!

I’ve shared a lot of the positives of ministry, but there were lows as well. One of the biggest challenges we faced in English classes was earning the kids’ respect. We were balancing a teacher's authority with the fun vibes of a VBS leader. After two weeks of struggle, our amazing leader, Grace, came up with a solution: fiesta bucks! Each kid would receive one colorful fiesta buck for showing up to class on time and one for listening and participating in class. Each kid collected fiesta bucks for fiesta day, which we planned for the last week of our time at Casa Hogar. Fiesta bucks gave the kids an incentive to be in class and learn. Class was smoothed out, and we prepared for fiesta day.

Fiesta Day! 

We designed and planned our carnival booths and raised funds to make Fiesta Day a reality. I was in charge of the market with one of my classmates, Micah. We set up a fun market where kids could buy carnival prizes. They loved it! We also had hot dogs and ice cream sundaes. Each age group got to hit a piñata stuffed with candy and play lots of carnival games. Each class also performed the dance we taught them in music class. Seeing the kids all so excited to participate and perform brought tears of joy to my eyes. The struggle was over, and with the help of Jesus alone, Fiesta Day was a hit.

Our last week at Casa Hogar was a whirlwind. I spent my mornings and free time painting in the garden and playing with the kids. On my last night before leaving, I spent time in the bakery with a few of the older girls. We played Spanish worship, I brought milk to have with the loads of cookies we were making, and just spent time with these girls I had come to love. The cookies were SO good — just a simple butter cookie, like a peanut butter cookie without the peanut butter! That memory with the girls will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

Final Goodbyes.

The morning we left was special. The coffee team gave presentations on all they had learned, and we dedicated the garden in prayer and took lots of pictures. After lunch, we brought all of our belongings outside to be loaded up and said bye to the kids. I don’t cry often, but since coming to Mexico, I have. That last day at Casa Hogar, I cried as I held babies in my arms — the little ones I had held in my lap, taught English to, and put to bed at night. One 15-year-old girl decided around week three that we were best friends. She loved calling me her sister in Jesus. I got to pray over her, help her study for english bible exams, and truly be her sister in Christ. Oh, these kids. I had told them I loved them countless times, and now it was time to leave. 

Saying goodbye broke a part of my heart I had never recognized before. It was a gentle and deeply loving side of me, breaking for the children at Casa Hogar. My heart broke through tears and big emotions. Trying to understand God’s will in those hard goodbyes made me angry. It was my decision. To come on a trip where we move from country to country. But the connections I made with the kids, I couldn’t have imagined before coming here. These kids who have grown up in situations of abuse that are beyond my understanding. All they asked for was love, and now I was leaving them. Mexico already held a special place in my heart. Now, leaving my home here and soon leaving the country altogether is breaking my heart into many pieces. 

We leave for Guatemala in just a few days, which means we only have roughly two months left as a team on the mission field. Coming to terms with that stark reality is even harder to think about. Of course, when it is time to go home, I will be excited. There are days I miss home so much — especially this week. Nearly our entire team has gotten either food poisoning or a stomach bug! But even with those occasional feelings of homesickness, the thought of parting with this team that I have lived with for six months is heartbreaking. These are the people I can be vulnerable with, chase the Lord alongside, and serve the world with.

I guess today, as I've been writing, I’ve decided to be vulnerable with all of you. It's something God has been teaching me on this trip — the value of vulnerability. Being vulnerable is taking a risk — you cannot control how others will respond. But I’m choosing to be real with you all, because vulnerability is healing for me and a gift to you. The reality of life on mission is what I want to share. I want to share my LIFE, not just the polished version I could choose to share.

I want to end this blog with a few prayer requests.

You can pray for:

• safety as we travel to Guatemala by bus on Sunday

• peace over me as this trip comes closer to an end

• healing over this group sickness

Thank you so much for your support by reading my blog — for hearing me share the great, good, and not-so-good. I appreciate and love all of you readers. Until next time!