First Mexico Project

   
   When my kids were in High School they got the opportunity to go on a three week mission project. I was so impressed with the program and what my kids learned I decided to go the next summer. I was the cook for 26 of us. All projects begin at Bloomfield Inn where we meet the other team members who come from all over the US. We do team building activities, including a confidence course each morning which finalizes in the whole team going over an eight foot wall; Bible study; worship; and learning to do the tasks that will be expected by the missionaries It was the best week of me life, but the most challenging as well I had always been pretty self sufficient and now I learned that I I could not do it alone and I would have to rely totally on God for the strength to finish the week. At the end of the week we had a commissioning service. There were several teams training at the same time. One flew to England and one to Jamaica, but we loaded up into an old school bus redone with seats in the front, a counter and cabinets and 4 bunks in the back and headed for Mexico. I have a CDL license so I was the relief driver. It was a 36 hour trip in which the team bonded even more and learned to trust in God totally. We had daily Bible Study even on the road. When I was not driving, fixing meals and serving while the bus was moving I was sleeping in the driver’s bunk or learning our memory work. We had a verse for everyday. Each team member had a number and we each had a specific duty at each stop. Before we took off we always had a sound off. Going through customs seemed very scary for me. The searched the bus inside and rolled mirrors under it. We had to get off the bus and present our birth certificates and paper work. Once across the boarder we met our missionary host and went to the church. The girls stayed in one room and the guys in another. We slept on our sleeping bags on the floor. I had to set up the kitchen - unloading the food we had brought, Two of the young people were on KP each day. My day started each morning at 6 fixing breakfast. Then everyone stopped and we had 30 minutes of quiet time with God in prayer and reading the Bible. The remainder of the team went to work on their project while KP helped me clean up breakfast and fix lunch. After lunch we had Bible study followed by another work project. KP cleaned up lunch and fixed a snack for everyone, then went to work on supper and cleanup for that. We had team time and after that I always returned to the kitchen to mix milk and orange juice and put in the refrigerator for breakfast, write in my journal and go to bed. It was the most rewarding 2 weeks of my life. I was hooked. I still keep in contact with people from that project. I still trust God with my life, and I still try to have my quiet time with Him daily.