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Sat, March 29
Hey everybody all is well. We arrived via roller coaster ride into McAllen in the plane for “less than tall” people at about 11:20 Raleigh time (we’re still trying to figure out what time it is here!). Once on the ground we were without incident except for a baggage scare for Jimmy. After filling out all the lost luggage forms and heading to Reynossa, it turned out that someone had picked his bag up and we had it all the time.
We saw friends we had met in Mississippi two years ago and got reacquainted.
It seems as though all we have done so far is eat. I think we are up to two of each meal so far today. But that has really not been a problem for most of us even at our first local restaurant El Pollo Loco (The Crazy Chicken).
Most of the adults took a short trip to the mission/sister church of Templo Emmanuel. It has an additional larger building now, which is used to hold services while the old building is used for storage. Emily, Stu Jr., and Katelyn stayed back at the church and had a “youth group” time with a couple of the older local kids. This was followed by a competitive game of water balloon toss with blankets. You would think that the adult male fearless leaders would be able to beat a bunch of teenagers, but in the final point of the game they choked tragically trying to beat them with a sly drop shot. We went out to a local restaurant dinner and came back to crash for the night.
Thanks for your prayers and we will keep you up on our trip.
God Bless
Stu Jr. and Mike Stewart
ESUMC Mission team.
Sun, March 30
Hey Everyone! Our second day started off well with-what else-more food! After a late night grocery run, we were well stocked for a breakfast of cereal followed by El Pastor’s delivery of barbecue and tortillas!
We had a relaxing morning before the service. I think most everyone slept well after a very long day. Before church we practiced the song Prince of Peace where the boys and girls sing separate verses at the same time. At first it sounded like we were auditioning for the Mayberry choir, but we finally got the timing down. Then we had to learn to sing it in Spanish as well!
The service was beautiful with lots of singing and the liturgical dancers were a lovely addition. We recognized many of the songs, such as “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”, and “Shout to the Lord”. Everyone was glad for us to be a part of the service. Our “performance” was as good as we could have hoped. At one point in the service, each one of us was paired with a family that had been praying for us, and they all prayed over us. It was a moving experience.
We had a huge lunch with 19 in attendance at an authentic Mexican restaurant.
We ate family style and enjoyed the social time. With such a large group, we travel in two vehicles. Katelyn and Emily were finally “allowed” to ride in the back of the truck on the ride back from lunch.
After lunch, we learned why everyone so enjoys a siesta! Almost all of us took a nice nap, with Stuart Jr. waking up last, just in time to join the basketball game. Some of the kids from the neighborhood quickly joined us.
From there, we went to the evening service, and enjoyed more singing and praising God. Stuart, Ruthie, and Stuart Jr. gave a testimony on Stuart Jr.’s recovery in the Fall. We joined families in prayer over members of the church.
After the service, Stuart Jr., Mike, Katelyn, and Emily played more basketball with the children from the church until they had to go home. We had tacos for dinner, and now, off to bed to prepare for our first day of at the church tomorrow.
God Bless,
Keith Lee
Katelyn Lee
Mon, Arpil 1
Day tres, Lunas
Mr Big Stu and Al the jeffe (ie boss) are updating Raleigh this noches (evening)
Hoy (today) we had to get materials, since aier (yesterday) the afternoon disappeared with siestas and two services. So we had some amigos working on getting ready to work. But premiero (1st) big Stu and Emily and Katelyn went to Home Depot. Now you may think they are all alike, but no. Mexico is especial. Nails are 3 rows, 5 feet wide, vs home where it is one aisle. And they did not have our clavos (nails) we need. So we bought mr. Jimmy 4” masonry nails to nail everything together. He was speechless and sore after pounding them into wood and concrete. Donde este los air guns??
The tasks today consisted of Home Depot, an event in itself.
Then we had Jimmy, Stu jr, and Crystal building a wall between the hall and the daughter’s room. At this point her room was an enlarged hallway, so this will give her a private bedroom (quarto). The got the studs up, and will finish manyana.
Keith, Emily, and Katelyn took down light fixtures and replaced them w/ fans, very good job. No one died from electric shock, Al gets a point for keeping all alive today.
Outside on the education building, we cut some cement block to prepare the ceiling to be poured w/ concrete. Also Al and Keith straightened out 40’ pieces of rebar (1/2” metal rod). They were getting the hang of it and wished they could have done more, because it was so much fun. The carpenteros were here forming up the ceiling, arrived at 10 am, …….
Ruthie and Emily and Crystal helped with VBS. It was a success with 20 kids. They took pictures and made picture frames. We asked the kids for confidential prayer requests and they are very touching and others showing great needs. Pretty amazing for kids that age.
Stu and Ruthie did a great devotion today, which we have each morning.
Big Stu oversaw the electric and came across to lights we had to replace. The wiring is unique and has not been seen in his 27 years of construction. He is sleeping on it tonight to gain insight.
Tue, April 2
Greetings from Reynosa! What a great and productive day we have had.
The men worked on the roof, framing it in, in preparation for pouring the concrete. When it was framed in, then the metal “rebar” had to be all tied together. It was a real job, and very hot out there in the sun. Then 4 people worked in the Pastor’s house, framing in and hanging sheetrock to make a bedroom for his daughter. We will “mud” the seams tomorrow and paint it a pretty pink (her choice) before we leave here. And of course, VacationBibleSchool went on this afternoon, thanks to that great leader, Ruthie Jones. There were 15 children yesterday, 19 today. You get the picture??
We continue to have great meals and fellowship with the people here. Today is Mike Stewart’s birthday, so the ladies in the kitchen baked him a wonderful birthday cake. In Mexican tradition, he took the first bite, with no silverware, and no hands. He put his face right into the cake, must be good luck. So of course, we celebrated!
Thank you all for the prayers and blessings you have sent. We continue to work safely, and we are all well. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Libby Wilcox
ESUMC
Reynosa
Mission Team
Wed, April 2
Greetings with news from Day 5 in Reynosa!!
Actually it is the morning of Day 6, but last night ended so late we got a reprieve to write it this morning. A LOT went on this morning, but I won’t steal their thunder. You will hear of that later. Now for yesterday’s news…
Day 5 Mr. Jimmy did his magic on fixing a table, doors that were jamming, sheetrock hanging, etc. All of us now know where the term “Jimmy Rigged” came from!! He is the “go to” guy. The team working on the pastor’s daughter’s room did fine work. She is SOOOOoooooo excited to have a room! Imagine a 15 yr old girl with no privacy! After a little mix up on the sheetrock mud purchase (how do you say sheetrock mud in Spanish?) the team working in the house were slinging mud like nobody’s business!
Stuart Jr worked on repairing a bench & then joined the rest of the gang up on the roof of the education building prepping it for the big concrete pour. Picture in your mind plywood flooring on a flat roof, and a huge grid of rebar. In each section of the grid was a Styrofoam square. All of this had to be tied together with wire & then nailed down to the roof – very tedious! And yes – they ran out of nails and needed to go make another trip to Home Depot, in addition to the two trip made by our youth to the local store four doors down. Fortunately there is a Home Depot not far from the church!! Then conduit was run for the electrical wiring (in Mexico they use rubber hoses!) All of our team was present for this difficult task. In groups of two or three we all worked on separate metal fixtures. The outside wire was extremely difficult because Mr. Big Stu would say you could not put any of your weight near the edge of the roof. Partnership was key one to pry the metal box off and one person to lookout for the other person. Knowing that the concrete & pumper truck (el bumpa – you would have to hear El Pastor say it, it is a hoot!) were coming first thing in the morning, the prepping had to get done by the end of the day. We finished up around 6:00 – whew!
VBS was awesome. We had 19 again & the theme was “I will listen”. You should have seen Ruthie leading “Simon Says” in Spanish! Of course it was “Ruthie Says”…you have been quite impressed! You would not believe how much fun you can have with balloons in a multitude of ways. All leftover balloons are used to play the game where you have two teams and race to a chair & sit on the balloon until you pop it, then the next team member goes, etc. It is the highlight of the afternoon for the kids! And btw, Carmen was apologizing for the numbers of kids attending, but school is in session this trip, so attendance will be lower.
Since we worked so late, El Pastor gave us a pass for attending the service last night so we could get showers & ready for the fiesta (party). Normally they have the party for us on Friday night, but they moved it to Wednesday since The Jones family is leaving Friday to get back for a family wedding. They set up the tables out in the courtyard after the service and we had a time for the Raleigh team to give their testimonies and share what the trip has meant to them. Then each specific Reynosa family that was praying for a specific team member gave the team member a present (did that make sense?).
Thur, April 3
Hola from Reynosa on Day 6
We started at 6:30 on Thursday morning as the concrete truck arrived bright and early to pour the roof of the EmanuelEducationalCenter. For most of us it was our first time working with concrete, and it was an experience to say the least. The “best” part of the day was when the truck dropped about 2,000+ pounds of extra concrete onto the church driveway. To fix the problem, we had to chisel/dig a 30’ x 3’ hole and filled it using shovels and our aching backs. By 10:00 the church had a new roof on their education center and we had pancakes. We were all very thankful for siesta time today.
Big Stuart and Mike were finally able to change the light fixtures in the hallway between the classrooms and the house, who knew something that could seem so easy can turn out to be so difficult. The guys now are able to understand the intricacies of Mexican electrical wiring. It is a little confusing when you turn the breaker off, the lights go off and yet there is somehow still power coming to the wiring! At least only Keith got zapped and he recovered quickly.
Libby was able to put two coats of paint onto Madai’s room thanks to the Jimmy’s carpentering skills. Madai is so happy to finally have some privacy after sleeping in her bedroom/hallway for 3 years.
Today was the last day of VBS and while we had a wonderful time, it was a little sad as well. Because it has been so hot, we ended the day with the children playing a game with water-balloons. It’s so funny how excited the children get about balloons in general and when we said water-balloons, they all started screaming. At the end of the day, two children (about 11-12 years old) gave their address to el Pastor’s wife, Carmen, because they wanted to start attending the church here. What a blessing! This is why we come to Reynosa.
After VBS a lot of basketball was played. The waterballoons lingered into a good old fashioned fight with Stuart, Jr., Emily and Katelyn vs. the small kids from the church. A spirited battle ended in a draw!
We were fed well again. The meals included tamales, chile rellehnos, beans, rice and chocolate flan. After dinner, Libby and Mike led a very good devotional and we then collapsed into bed. It was another full day and we are thankful to be here.
In His Service,
Keith and Crystal
Fri, April 4
Greetings from Reynosa on our final day!
The day started early for the Jones’, who left here at 4:30 this morning to return in time for a wedding. The rest of us started our day a couple hours later with pancakes, and eggs and potatoes wrapped in tortillas.
We had a slower pace today as the week was winding down. We fixed the tables from the mission and finished painting the doors and the trim in Madai’s bedroom! We had to make a run to the corner store for another quart of paint for the doors because we were running out, and Jimmy had to cut some off the doors for them to fit in the doorway, but everything turned out great. Picture Extreme Home Makeover, Mexican style.
For lunch, we had another delicious meal and a short siesta afterwards. Then, everyone piled into the yellow church van and took off for our trip to the market square. The Pastor got us onto a trolley ride and we took a tour of the market, and ended up riding all the way to the border, and finally coming back to where we started.
We went to El Marcado, which was just like a flea market. Everybody found something for family, friends, and themselves, like maracas and nativity scenes. Al got a t shirt to give to Stuart when we get back home.
For our last supper here, we had meatcake, which was like meatloaf, and cheesy spaghetti. For dessert we had another incredible cake. We presented a love offering to El Pastor’s family and began to say our goodbye’s to everyone. It’s difficult to say goodbye to the people we spent so much time with this past week, but we can look forward to seeing them again in the future.
All in all, we feel like this trip was a success. We roofed a building, built a bedroom and completed a VacationBibleSchool that averaged 20+ kids each day. More importantly, we had wonderful fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
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