Thanksgiving at the Bergue

I am so thankful today for every one of these amazing kids!
Ps. 13:6 "I will sing to the Lord for he has dealt bountifully with me."

November?!?

I cannot believe we are well into November! These have been a fun packed couple of weeks here at the albergue Mission Mexico. As we are in our last month here in Tapachula, we have really been trying to savor time with the kids. Two days ago the girls and I made chocolate chip cookies for everyone which was a big hit. Not far before that was Dia de Los Muertos, and then school was canceled for three days due to the earthquake! I find myself in moments of sadness knowing that we are actually going to leave this place. The girls and I have become quite attached to one another, I look forward to seeing them each day and hearing about their school, friends, and issues. While they have been sharing their lives with me I have been sharing mine with them, and true connections have been formed. This is just what we longed for in the beginning, but it makes looming departure more threatening. Until then, we will take advantage of the time we do have and love these kids as much as we can. Looks like today we have some pool time and some knock out in the works!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hasta luego,

Jessi

The Next Bruce Lee

Quique is a chiquito at the house. He has an older brother, Antonio, here as well. Quique is probably the most likable kid in the world. He is always full of energy and ready for a challenge. He is the first to do his chores for the day and the first to pop out of bed in the morning. A 5:45am wake up is hard for just about anyone, but Quique makes it look like a piece of cake. As soon as you flip the lights on and say buenos dias, he jumps out of bed with a huge smile on his face and is ready to attack the day. He set a record of 117 jumps with the jump rope the other day and didn't even break a sweat. He is the next Bruce Lee in my mind. Extremely disciplined and focused. Strong yet very humble and Ninja skills like I haven't seen before. I would love it if we could enroll him in some sort of karate or martial arts class. Quique is the type of kid who makes working here so enjoyable. I only hope that we can continue to set a good example for him and guide him in the right direction.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matt. 5:14-16

Yes, Boys Will Be Boys

This is Yoni 1 with a scorpion he caught early in the morning one day. We are not exactly sure how the stinger was removed, but it was somehow. He was so proud of his scorpion that it was the first thing he showed us as we came on shift. He carried it around all afternoon on his shoulder. Yoni 1 is a very creative kid. He loves to draw and makes the most amazing things out of paper with his origami skills. He is easily the best marbles player in the house and one of the best basketball players out of the youngsters. It is pretty much a sure thing for Jess and I to be greeted with a daily hug from this character. Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers for us and the kids. Patience and Energy are two big ones for me as those tanks tend to be empty at the end of the day:)

Hasta Luego,
Mitch

Chiquitos

I found this group of cuties on the playground this morning after breakfast. These are all but one of the Chiquitos, the youngest of the 4 groups of kids. Normally they don't all play together exclusively but today was an exception. After I snapped a couple pics we found some seeds and planted them in small pots. The kids loved it and it was a good way to keep them out of trouble and focused on a task. It has been a good weekend here at Mission Mexico:)
Hasta luego,
Jessi

Mañanas con Ruby

At Mission Mexico we get to work mornings or afternoons, normally three of each a week. I love mornings in Tapachula. Normally it is somewhat cool and clear, and often times we get to see beautiful views of the mountain- Volcan Tacana. We have a lot of work to do in the mornings getting the kids ready and off to school, but once the majority are gone there are just a few left that we get to spend more time with.

Over the last 3 weeks a pattern has developed with Ruby, one of the Grande girls. Every morning I work I get to help her with her homework, normally math. I hate math- but I love math with Ruby. She is so patient with my shaky math vocabulary and has obviously missed vital foundational schooling in the past, but she tries so hard and takes it very seriously. When I wake her up in the morning she often asks right away, "Me ayudas con mi tarea hoy?". I find myself looking forward to the chance to spend time with her, frequently we get to talk about drama in the house or insecurities and sometimes we just laugh. She is a delightful person, like any teenage girl she can be hyper and silly, and she has taken to calling Mitch and I mama and papa. She thinks we need to adopt her and always talks about how fantastic our "family" is. She has a great sense of humor and I tell her that she would hate life with us since we are jobless and homeless at the moment, but she persists. Another favorite pastime of Ruby's (along with the other girls) is doing my hair crazily and then taking pictures, as seen below.

She has family in Tapachula, and I'm not exactly sure about her whole story, but she has an older brother that treats her poorly and a mother that cannot provide for her, and now she is here.

I know that God has a plan for Ruby. I pray that he will give her strength and endurance to break the cycle she has seen modeled by her mother, and be an amazing example for her own daughter one day. Keep Ruby in your prayers today if you think about her, she needs our support!
Thanks for stopping by.
Hasta luego,
Jessi

Meet Sweet Junior

This is Junior. He is one of the youngest kids at the orphanage and quite entertaining. He is 7 years old and his brother Yimmy also lives at Mission Mexico.
They are not only darn cute but they are GREAT dancers. Any time music comes on they both fall into their mini salsa, merengue, or bachata steps depending on the music. As they came to the refuge quite young it would seem that dancing is actually part of their DNA. Marleny is Junior's default dance partner seeing as she is the only child shorter than him at MM. I think I have seen very few things in life that could come close to being as entertaining as those two dancing together.
I had the pleasure/ torture of helping cute Junior with his homework yesterday. While both Yimmy and Junior both have a flair for dancing in their DNA they also have a tendency toward drama. The simplest task can turn from fun to total breakdown in about 7 seconds. These boys really need to have a large amount of one on one attention and they can easily be overlooked in the crowd. Junior loves to hold your hand on the way to and from school and talk about what happened that day; it is sad to see him get lost in the shuffle some days. It makes you remember that even though these kids' basic needs are provided, they are missing out on so much that many take for granted.
I wish you could meet Junior in person, he is a real hoot I think we could all learn a little about dancing from him:)
Thanks for stopping by!
Hasta luego,
Jessi

Dora

You might think this is Dora la Exploradora in person, but Dora she is not. This is Marleny. She is three and just came to Mission Mexico about a month ago classified as abandoned. When she arrived, her body was riddled with parasites, she would not talk, was lethargic and expressionless. In the last month she has transformed into a new person! She is the most bubbly, outgoing little girl and she already has the cutest sense of humor shaping up. When you take a picture of her she poses and then asks to see the picture in broken Spanish. She calls everyone mama, and is constantly being passed amongst the girls that live here. She is such a bright spirit and brings so much fun to our day. I thought you might like to meet her too!

Just Another Wednesday...

"This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:23

God had this little nugget waiting for me yesterday after a difficult shift, and I was so comforted by it. There is one little girl in particular who REALLY stretches me. She came from a smaller state run home that was shut down because a one year-old died there. The crazy thing is, she was killed by the little girl at our refuge. Pam found out about this after taking her in, and ever since her arrival she has been nothing but trouble. She is constantly causing strife with the kids and she doesn't speak a lick of English so I end up being called over to deal with her since most of the other volunteers don't speak Spanish. She was taken away yesterday finally to undergo psychological examination and hopefully treatment, but her antics yesterday seemed to have reached an all time high as she was hitting kids, breaking rules, and even trying to feed deflated balloons to Marleny, the sweetest and youngest little girl there. The picture attached shows them both, and you'd never know from looking what the older one is capable of. Keep her in your prayers while she is being treated.
Needless to say, I was exhausted and tthe verse above was exactly the reassurance I needed to remember that I am in this place for a reason. This is all God's doing, so I'm just going to rejoice in it and thank him for it.
Hasta luego,
Jessi

Hola de Tapachula :)

This week we are getting settled nicely in Tapachula. We had a very busy and exhausting weekend since it was a holiday weekend, Mexican Independence Day! It was so amazing to get to be a part of such an important cultural event for the kids. They celebrate by dressing up in traditional Mexican dress, dancing, games, and fireworks. We had a blast and the kids in the picture are Luz, Meche, and Christian in their costumes.
I got to push Christian into some waves at the beach yesterday and he was having the time of his life! He is so small he had no trouble standing up in the white water, I think I enjoyed watching him as much as he enjoyed surfing.
Meche and Luz are really fun girls; they participate in a running group with about 15 of the kids. They all pile in a big van on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons and drive to a stadium where a coach has a great workout waiting for them including speed work, stairs, and distance running.
I have been surprised so far at the quality of life these kids are experiencing. Pam and Alan have worked really hard to provide them with opportunities they most likely would never have had. Many of them have traveled to different parts of Mexico and even a few of them to Australia!
Even though they have great experiences, they have come from really difficult backgrounds and many of them are behind in school or have deep deep scars from their difficult and often abusive pasts. It is a bit overwhelming at times wondering what we can possibly do for them and we need direction on how they need to be loved and supported. We are just taking one day at time and praying for patience and direction in our interactions with the kids. We feel so blessed to be where we are right now. Thanks for stopping by, we are so thankful for all our great family and friends and hope to keep putting pictures up so that you can support these kids in prayer.
Hasta luego,
Mitch and Jessi

About to leave!

I can't believe it's finally here! We are so excited to leave tonight, and tomorrow we'll be in Mexico. Even though we are so ready to be in Mexico, it is hard to leave all our fabulous friends and family here in the states. In the last month this is the third time we have had to say goodbye to people we love, and that can be difficult at times.

We have made some great memories in the last month since we started our trek. We got to have some great breakfasts in Abilene:

Had the chance to meet our cute little niece Ally:

Do some Texas fishing with family:

Take a leisurely pier walk:

Watch a soccer pro in the making:

And have some amazingly perfect beach days:

It has truely been a fantastic month of family and friends and we are all packed and ready to go. We are so glad you stopped by and we'll try and post an update in the next few days once we arrive and get settled.

Hasta pronto!

Jessi and Mitch :)

Here we go folks! We are going to give the old blog a try. Since neither Mitch nor myself are especially technology/ social media savvy this could be interesting. Since many friends and family have expressed interest in our trip, we decided to try this format to keep anyone with interest "in the loop". Please don't feel obligated to read all of our musings, but should you be interested for some crazy reason- check here!

So many of our friends and family have contributed in various ways to our trip so we want to share with you our experiences, what God is doing in Tapachula, and in our lives.

Ask us questions if you want, and check out Mission Mexico's website as well!

http://lovelifehope.com/index.htm

Here are some of the kids we'll be working with: