Quick Update...

Just this morning my amazing Grammy emailed and asked if I would try to update the blog a little bit more often, even it were shorter entries. With all the different situations I've recently found myself in, she wanted to make sure I was alive and doing well. Therefore, in respect for Grammy, here's a quick update from today.

Today, I woke up, and after prayers and breakfast, drove our big Chevy to a transmission shop in Rosarito. Due to a time crunch, one of the staff members was not able to take me back. So I got a cab with a couple other Mexican staff for the orphanage. We drove back to the orphanage and I did a couple odd jobs around the ranch. In the evening, Madi took four of the boys down to the beach for an Outdoor Ed outing. I got to tag along and help with the guys climb this brick wall. As we were climbing I got to snap a couple cool pictures of them climbing and another gorgeous sunset. In the few weeks I've been here, I've gotten to see some of the most amazing sunsets in my life. In an attempt to show the boys that I'm here to stay, learn, and live alongside them, I've tried to keep my camera stowed for a while. However, as you've seen from earlier entries, the one thing that forces me to pull out the camera, is a beautiful sunset. I've attached a few pictures to the entry. However, I uploaded all my pictures from today to my facebook account, so please feel free to go there and take a look.

Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

The very first day I came, I had to write down a list of expectations, goals and hopes for the internship. One of the things I wrote down was, “go through a potentially dangerous situation, that I can look back later, and laugh at”. Haha, well it looks like I may have more than one of those when it's all said and done.

Today, I was again making donation runs. After no problems with the first run of the day, I was pulled over the second time I tried to cross with donations. I was told to go back to the states and go through Otay. Sitting in line to get back into the states, I realized that my cell phone was dead. Wanting to make sure someone knew where I was, I drove back to the office and let Geoff know that I was going the other way, and Madi let me borrow her cell phone. I hopped in the van and drove over to the other border crossing. Here, again I was pulled over again. However for the first time since I’ve been here, even though I had donations that needed to be taxed, I was allowed to go through since I explained they were going “a casa de orphanos”. I was able to get back to the orphanage with out any problems. For the third time then I drove up to the states. Since this was the last donation run, I dropped off the van, and loaded up the intern car that I share with Alex. While at the office I was able to pick up a car charger for my cell phone and give Madi’s back to her. Driving back, I get caught in rush hour traffic crossing the border, which is always so much fun. Thankfully, this time I was not pulled over for secondary inspection either. I could almost smell the ocean air as I pulled out onto the road. However, right as I’m about to turn on the international road, that takes me to the orphanage, I see a policeman blocking it off. I take a couple turns and tried to get on from another spot, only to be stopped again. So I reach for my cell phone, only to discover that the charger for some reason isn’t working, and I’m still stuck with a dead phone.

Here, I met a bit of a mental cross road, as I tried to figure out exactly what I should do. I said a quick prayer, and remembered the verse from 1st Corinthians, where Paul explains that the Lord gives us nothing that we cannot handle. At the moment, I took it to mean that I had been given this situation, and that I could figure my way out of it. Remembering the scripture, calmed me down a bit.

My only option available was the “free road”. The very first day I was here, Geoff had taken me on the free road to show me a different part of Tijuana that I hadn’t seen, and also an alternative way to get to the orphanage. Last Thursday, Alex had driven that route coming up from the orphanage to the states, but that’s going the opposite direction fromt the way I needed to go at the moment. After all the initial mental chaos, I tried to just wade east through the traffic. Finally I found the, “free road” without actually taking any real wrong turns. When I saw signs to Rosarito I knew I was home free. As I found the road, I breathed a sigh of relief and actually laughed thinking back to that hope I had for Mexico. I could just imagine Him thinking “wow, Joel you just asked for more than you realize”. While, I haven’t necessarily been a very dangerous situations – I have been in a couple that could have quickly turned sour. Thank God I’ve been spared, so far. With the mindset that everything happens for a reason, I have to wonder what might be in store for me in the future. If I’ve had two driving escapades so far, what will the future hold?

The many - or not so many adventures of life in Mexico

I apologize that I haven’t updated the blog more frequently this week. I’m afraid I’ve been pretty busy, but it’s just nothing much to write home about. I kept waiting for something new or different to add, but nothing came about - until today.

Here’s a basic journal of the last few days.

Tuesday – Really just a lot of office work, so not much to talk about. I was able to get to work on some flashcards which are helping tremendously!

Wednesday – Walked out the door at 7am, instantly I realized it was already warm early in the morning. Took a car to the mechanic, some Spanish study and came out of my room a few hours later. Wow! It was close to 100 degrees and very windy. The Santa Anna winds had blown some serious heat our direction. Lucky me, a little after noon, I got to take the Chevy (with no AC) and trade it with the first car. Now, this was a bit of a learning experience for me. I had followed John in the morning to the mechanic in Rosarito, but this time I was on my own. It was fairly easy to get there, however, it’s always nice to be able to accomplish something on your own with out any trouble. I had to interact with the mechanic in Spanish which was a good experience, I had to remember “camion” for truck and “coche” for car. Simple, but at least I’m learning.

Thursday – Every other week we have a staff meeting up in the states. So I headed up there Thursday and went through the staff meeting. At the end of the day, I filled up a minivan with donations and drove on down home.

Friday – Donation run day! Now when donations are sent to Project Mexico, they go to the office in San Diego, and then down to the orphanage. However, since Mexico charges a tax for imported goods, we try to conceal them a bit. The reason why they do it, is because a lot of odd things are brought across the border to be sold in the flea markets in Tijuana. The border guards then must make sure that you pay the tax, they can’t trust that we’re going to an orphanage. Disappointing – but true. Therefore, when we come down we try to bring small quantities, (legal amounts) across the borders. Occasionally though, we have to bring down larger amounts because the warehouse gets too full in the states. A common intern job is to make donation runs up to the states, bringing donations back down.

Therefore, after breakfast, I took off for the states hoping to make three to four donations runs. I got up to the states, loaded up the van, came down through the border, no problem. After dropping the donations at the orphanage, I headed back up again. The second time, I loaded up and the came back down. After getting the green light to go through, the officers motioned across three lanes of traffic for me to come over. Crestfallen, I drove over. I stopped and I explained (in English), that these were donations for an orphanage. However, they said that they couldn’t allow anything to come down. If I wanted to bring them down, I would have to go over to the next crossing over and declare the goods, pay the tax, and then go. (Basically what we did with the water, milk, and other items last Friday.) They brought me to this gate and sent me back to the states. I drove back to the office and told them the news. My next option was to go to the next crossing over. Which was fine, and was easy to get to on the States side, but on the Mexico side you had to drive through downtown Tijuana, which is tricky. I ran a couple quick errands in San Diego and then I was told to go to the border. I would go through and then that I was going to meet a staff member on the other side. Simple, right? I drive on over, and thankfully get through without a search this time and get to the designated gas station. However, it turned out that the staff member had gotten stuck back at the office, so I could wait for about 45min or John could talk me through the drive through Tijuana. I got about half way through the city, and then lost cell signal. There in the middle of Tijuana, I’m on my own, no cell and donations to get home. Thankfully, I was able to remember the route, (the same one John had led me through last Friday). Again, I felt really blessed that I was able to get a good experience without getting into much trouble. The experiences over the last couple weeks have really made me more useful here at the orphanage. It’s a great feeling. At the beginning I felt a lot like a grown-up child who couldn’t understand or speak Spanish, and didn’t know anything about the area so he couldn’t run any errands. Now, I’m learning Spanish steadily, and I’ve learned quite a bit about the surrounding area.

After I got home, I helped do some little jobs around the orphanage, and then helped dig a 30ft long trench that was 2ft deep and 2ft wide. We’ve got to get it down to 36 inches deep tomorrow though. Now I’m sitting in my room, and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. :-)

Favorite Quote of the Week -

Priorities ~ "A hundred years from now, it won't matter what your bank account looked like, what house you lived in, or what car you drove. However, the world may be different, because you were important in the life of a child."

Thank you for the Prayers,

Under His Mercy,

Joel

PS - The pictures are from some Sunsets here and then the boys and Mexican staff getting ready for the carnival on Sunday. Oh and my guitar and the bench press... showing the constant strain of work and pleasure. :-)

snip snip, and the weekend is gone...

So I just thought I’d add a quick update. Saturday night, the boys watched Monsters and Aliens in Spanish. I hadn’t seen the movie, but I’m beginning to ever so slowly understand movies. We cleaned the church very well, and it was shining for Vespers and the Liturgy in the morning. The services are actually a great asset in learning Spanish. In addition, I’ve been trying to do my personal prayers in Spanish - that’s really helped too.

The big family atmosphere here is something I've really grown to love. Today I went and got my hair cut with Fr Michael’s wife Vicky and two of their children Josh and Elena. As I’m sitting in the chair it crossed my mind how odd it was. I felt completely normal to get a haircut with a family that I’ve only really known for a few weeks. I can promise you that that would never happen back in the states. However, here it’s just a big family and it didn’t even cross my mind how different it is from “normal” life. Tomorrow evening the Nassers have invited Karen, Alex, Madi and me over to their house for dinner. Karen and Madi are having Alex and me over Thursday night. Two different friends house for dinner in the same week might be busy week for most. However, here it’s family, Father + Uncles, Aunts, Brothers and Sisters, you barely notice the difference.

I got a haircut! Though haircuts are rarely worth noting this one truly amazed me. I am used to the American Super Cuts, you walk in, sit down, and they quickly cut your hair. $15 and 10 minutes later you’re out with a $5 haircut. I mentioned to Fr. Michael a few days ago I was hoping to get my haircut when we were up in the states. He suggested I wait and go to a haircutting place here. So I went with Vicky and the kids, and got mine done with Josh. My fairly simple haircut ended up taking about 25 minutes because the barber took so much time on detail. I asked for a two on the sides and finger-length on the top, (through my simple Spanish). This barber carefully cut and trimmed the sides. He then took an old fashion razor and did my sideburns and neck. I have never, ever had a barber do that, but it came out a much cleaner edge. Generally I try not to have anything important after a haircut, because I know my head will look like a freshly trimmed bush, rough with odd patches sticking out for no reason. But this time, it looks good, imagine that!!! It’s exactly what I ordered. I walked to the counter, and discovered it was only $5! Amazing! I gave him a $2 tip, generally pretty small in the states, but here it was 40% and I walked out paying less than half of what I would have in the states. I doubt that I’ll ever feel good about an American haircut again! Anytime I come down to San Diego and need a haircut, I’m going down to Rosarito!

Other than that I had to feel the painful existence of being Charger fan this weekend. I could got on, but it’s not worth a word more. Trying to talk in Spanish about the game, while listening to the game in English, wasn’t very helpful either.

Today I worked on making a ton of flash cards I hope to use. I’ve got to work on getting some main verbs down and then a lot of adjectives and nouns. We’ll see where I go from there.

Thank you for the prayers!

Under His Mercy,

Joel

Email Updates!

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Thanks!

Joel

Lost in Tijuana!

Thursday evening, I got to go rock climbing with Geoff and Madi. Geoff is pretty experienced and gave Madi and I some tips. Madi had done some rock climbing in the past and was fairly good. All three of us decided to “boulder”. Basically there were walls that were only about 12 feet or so, and you would climb to the top and the jump down. It saved us time since we didn’t have to get all harnessed in for each climb. There were some tough climbs, and it amazed me watching Geoff and some other better climbers who could hold on to the smallest of handholds and still get to the top. I normally had to have at least one good hold that I could pivot on, otherwise I was toast. The time flew by quickly and in a matter of minutes a couple hours had passed and we were wiped. As we finished up, Geoff brought Madi and me over to this pull-up bar, but it wasn’t just any pull-up bar. This one had hand holds, and got smaller and smaller until it was a two finger hold. He had us go through different exercises, pull-ups and holds on the different levels and hand holds. After I struggled with a few of the larger holds, Geoff blew us away and did a number of pull-ups on this tiny little hold. It was amazing since you need a great deal of finger strength for the smallest holds. Walking out we were all spent. Surprisingly, rock climbing gives you a full body workout unlike any other. My whole body was pretty worn out, and my forearms were especially sore. Luckily when I woke up Friday morning I could at least walk.

Friday provided a full day of adventure! I woke up around 7am and took off for the states. Due to some construction I missed my turn and went a different direction and the little chute I was on that went through Tijuana didn’t have any exits. Quickly, I found myself a ways away from where I was supposed to be, and trying to circle back and get to the border line for the crossing. With some patience, I was able to get to a familiar place and get back in line. Although it was a little stressful at the time, it turned out to be a really good experience. Getting lost and then finding your way is a good confidence builder.

Yet, when I got to the border, I had a 2+ hour wait. On top of that, the Chevy pick-up I took didn’t have any AC. It took me from 7am-9:45am to go what is normally only twenty miles. So I arrived at the office a little fried. I picked up John and we took off to pick up some donations. Right as I got on the free way, I saw police lights come on right behind me. I pulled over and the officer quietly came up and asked for my license, registration and insurance. I gave him all three and politely asked if I was doing something wrong? He asked where were coming from and we replied that we were coming from Chula Vista. He didn’t respond and just circled the truck examining it. He came up to the side and questioned a dent on the side of the truck. Thankfully, John knew that that had occurred earlier this summer and told the officer so. The man could see that it was an older dink. He then explained that a hit and run had been reported and the culprit had been a guy in a white pick-up with rack on top. Essentially, it was almost the identical truck to us. The officer then let us go and apologized for the inconvenience. It wasn’t a problem, but getting pulled over by a cop is always a little stressful, even if you know you weren’t doing anything wrong.

John and I then went and picked up the donations in Rancho Santa Fe and Mission Bay. After getting some awesome fish tacos, we returned to the office. My job then was to unload the pick-up of all the donations, catalog all of the items, and store them in the warehouse. Then I had to load the truck up with donated boxes of milk, water, food, juice, and other items. My old UPS truck packing came in handy. One of the staff members came back and saw the truck after I had loaded it up and said they had never seen the truck so fully loaded. However, I had packed everything tight enough so that it was solid and didn’t budge.

Since the border we cross at Tijuana doesn’t allow any imported goods, John led me across the desert to the next border crossing. John was able to handle all the business of bring the goods across. It’s a bummer, but even though it’s a non-profit organization, we have to pay a tax for importing the goods. After being approved, you have to go through this final gate. The gate gives you either a green or red light. A green and you’re good to go, a red and you have to pull over and be searched. While everyone else was getting through without a hitch, I went up, and got the red light. So we pull over and wait another half an hour for the patrol to search the items. After a half an hour of nothing happening, John went and found our first security guard and asked if we might be able to get it searched if we have to. Thankfully the guard had already inspected our load so he stamped our papers and let us get through. After getting back to the orphanage I helped unload all the supplies and then went and sat down in my room, glanced at the clock… 7pm. It turned out to be a long day, and this week has been full of surprises, but at the moment, I like the change of pace. After dinner I went down and helped watch the Nasser kids. I really do love how it’s one big family here at the ranch, it’s a great atmosphere.

Today has been pretty simple, after sleeping in, we all had breakfast. I helped out cleaning the chapel and then had to help carry the supplies I had picked up to another place on the orphanage. Now I’ve got a bit of free time. I’ll probably head out in a second and play some soccer with the boys.

Under His Mercy,

Joel

Back to the days - where God is, nothing is missing.

So the last couple days, provided a little twist of events. Tuesday morning I took off with Father Michael for a driving orientation. It was mainly simple things, the exit to get to the ranch, how to get through the border and then onto the road that goes to the orphanage and minor road rules to be aware of. After running some errands it worked out best if I stayed up and helped paint the inside of a house on Wednesday. I guess it wasn’t necessarily on the agenda, but it was nice to have a little change of pace, something new something different.

The painting took almost all of the day yesterday, and I crossed back over the border following Father Michael’s car in the night. Something I’ve appreciated is how they’ve not necessarily babied me along, they’ve expected me to learn quickly, and hold my own. I like that. All the staff and boys have been very kind, I know that if I struggle they are there to help out, but at the same time they expect you to be an adult and carry a solid load.

That said, I’m finding that to be able to thrive here, you have to go back to your childhood days in a sense. Being with the boys there are a number of games that I initially thought were pretty immature and lame. But the boys like the games, and I’ve learned that I can go back to playing little “last tag” games, and rough housing. If you can appreciate the little things you would welcome as a child, you’ll thrive. On Monday, I helped water plants on the grounds. Something they have to do here is create a small soil wall around each plant. When the water is poured in, it creates a small pond around the plant. This allows the watering to seep deeper into the desert soil that’s destitute of all moisture. In addition to the little ponds, we had to create small canals to chute the water away from some plants, and help the hill avoid corrosion. To do all of this, I had to get down onto my hands and knees in the dirt and mud and make these walls. As an adult, you’re thinking gosh, this ground is rocky, I wish I didn’t have to kneel, there’s mud everywhere. So quickly I tried to think more with the mind of younger boy, basically go back ten years. Suddenly the job was an exciting activity. Could I actually create the river to avoid destroying some of the plants? Could I create walls that would contain the water? In only a few minutes my annoying job turned into a great experience. Recent trips into town, seeing new place and things, it’s like exploring and going on small adventures. The detour and painting the house, could be seen as an annoying job, yet I appreciated it as something new, and something different. I’m trying to take everything as feeding my appetite for new experiences and seeing new places. So far, it’s been a great journey back the days of childhood.

--- other notes
- Looks like tonight I might get to go rock climbing!
- Tomorrow, I’ll probably be shuttling things up and back from the office through the border to the orphanage. A long day of sitting in border lines, but new experiences right?
- I love the southwest!
- Saying from today I liked…
o Donde ha FE, hay AMOR – Donde hay AMOR, hay PAZ – Donde hay PAS, esta DIOS – Y donde esta DIOS, no falta nada.
o Translation – Where there is Faith, there is Love. Where there is Love, there is Peace. Where there is Peace, there God is. Where God is, nothing is missing.

Driving, peppers and sunsets!

I’m really enjoying Mexico. Really, I am. Now, when I came last Tuesday, I was told this would happen. Things would be kind of tough to get initially, I’d love it, I’d struggle, and then I’d eventually come back to a relatively medium place knowing that some things are great, others are tough. However, right now I’m loving a lot of things.

The most recent thing that I’ve really appreciated is how time doesn’t seem to really matter here. Now, I’m sure things will change a bit, as they incorporate me more and more into daily chores, duties, and assignments. But right now, I love that when I’m helping out with a project on the ranch, I don’t have to worry about rushing to get it done, and then moving on to something else. I can take my time, because there’s nothing I have to do immediately afterwards, or some place I have to be. I have my jobs here, I have to be diligent and get them done, but if something ends up taking more time than I expected, well that’s fine. I’ll be out in the sun a little longer, no problem. I don’t mean it in a lazy way, but just in a peaceful way. What a blessing it is! You don’t realize how much stress can wear on you. Now, not having to worry about it, I feel lighter, and fresher.

Tonight, I also got to go for a walk around the ranch. I realized it was the first time in years that I had gone for a walk, just for the sake of going on a walk. Normally, when I go out, I have to go for a jog, I have to be running somewhere, I have to be doing something. How refreshing to just walk around, and not worry)anything. As I was walking in, Maddi (one of the staff American staff members heresaid hi and we talked for a bit. As we’re talking we noticed the sun dipping down into the horizon, so we hopped in the car and drove 5 minutes down to the beach to watch the sun set. It was amazing how quickly it went, but even after it had set, it still was totally beautiful. The past week has provided some breathtaking sunsets into the ocean, I’m just thrilled knowing I get nine months of sunsets!

Today, Father and I went over some guidelines for driving in Mexico. It’s quite a bit more difficult to drive here than in the states - the roads are rougher, there are not many street signs, the speed limits are however fast you can drive while staying safe, and the other drivers are all very aggressive. I love driving and so the challenge is pretty exciting for me. This morning I got to go help pick up a car from a mechanic, there’s a bit of an adrenaline boost when you’re playing dodge ball with cars. :-) Tomorrow, Father is going to take me out driving to show me the roads, and then go up to the states. He’s got to meet someone up there, so I’m driving back home through the border on my own tomorrow. I know it’ll probably be super casual for me in a bit, but its exciting being my first time on my own. Everyone can remember the first time driving on their own, in a way it’s kind of like that.

I had a bite of some hot chili pepper tonight. Whew, it was hot, but not to bad actually. I enjoyed it, and a couple of the boys were surprised I handled it. haha.

Father, Alex and I went over Alex’s and my schedules for the next couple months. It looks like I’m going to be taking the morning duties, while Alex takes the afternoon studies and evening prayers. It works out better this way since my Spanish is pretty weak still and Alex has no problems. Things will change though when Alex finishes his internship in November.

I know I’m forgetting some things, but I’m afraid I’m falling asleep.

Pray for me,

Joel

Fox Studios!

I forgot to mention that yesterday, (Sunday), when I was going down to Rosarito, we passed by an old Fox Studios. While we didn’t go in and tour the place, you could see the ship that Master and Commander was filmed with Russell Crowe. I was told that it was the same place that Titanic was filmed as well. On the outside of the building they had pictures from movies they had filmed there. Those two were the ones that really stuck out to me, but it was pretty a pretty impressive place. Seeing the ship from Master and Commander was really awesome.

muchas divertido!

Today, I got to experience my first liturgy in the chapel. It was very neat. The peace and quiet in the beginning of the morning with matins, was wonderful. Since the boys will be at school tomorrow, we sort of celebrated the elevation of the cross today. Father explained to them the story of how Constantine and Helen found the cross. It was exciting to be able to pick up the story through bits and pieces of the Spanish.

Afterwards we had lunch in the dinning hall, and then a church meeting at Father’s house. It looks like the community that comes to worship at the chapel at the orphanage, is trying to get a mission parish off the ground in rosarito. It is really exciting to hear that Orthodoxy is growing here in Mexico. Up until now there really has not been much growth at all, but now there is a start!

Afterwards, I went with one of the parishioners and a member of the staff down to Rosarito. It looks like I’m going to get to go deep sea fishing here in a couple weeks! I’ve done some freshwater fishing back home, but I’ve not gone sea fishing. I’m excited. While we were down there it was fascinating to see some daily Mexican life. It amazes me how people can make a living selling simple wares on the beach, or in the streets. Can you imagine what it would be like if you had to do that for the rest of your life?

I came home and got to just hang with the boys for a bit, watching some tv, learning some game boy games. Father Michael had the younger boys over for a movie night. We watched high school musical in English, but it amazed me that almost all the boys knew most of the words. They laughed as I did the “wildcat dance” with them. Of course some gringo like me doesn’t look too good dancing to anything, let alone any high school musical numbers.

Afterwards, I just hung out with the little boys. They really like it when I pick them up and put them on my shoulders. It’s great for about the first five boys or so, but when the other 4 come up asking for rides I have to explain I’m not super man. Haha. Por favor no mas, is a very common saying of mine during the “get a piggy-back from Joel sessions”. It is super encouraging to be able to communicate more and more with them. Learning a new language is a constant roller coaster of emotions. You love it, you hate it, it’s encouraging and discouraging all at the same time.

Pray for me,

Joel

The weekend's aqui!!!

So another day, brings many, many more things to learn. Today being Saturday and the weekend, we were able to sleep in until 8:30 or so. We ate breakfast, and then went about Saturday chores. At first I helped sweep off the basketball court. This last week, a large stage has been put up for a small carnival the orphanage is hosting later this month. The construction of the stage however, has left a lot of scrap wood, screws, and nails, all over the court. Afterwards, Fr. Michael had me move to cleaning the chapel with some other boys.

At 13 years old, I started coming very early on Sunday mornings to church to clean and prepare the altar and church for the service. Those hours in the early mornings, listening to matins, and helping my priest instilled in me a true love for the church, and worship. Therefore, getting to go and clean the St. Innocent chapel was really exciting for me. We pulled a lot of the shelves, and chairs out, and swept and mopped the chapel. I guess the chapel picks up a lot dust and critters during the week. We had a lot of spider webs, and dust everywhere, but both of which have to be expected. The chapel is actually is open to the outdoors between the top of the walls and the roof. However, when we finished the chapel, it was very clean for Vespers and the coming week.

The Spanish learning definitely is encouraging at the moment. Thank you all for your prayers. I noticed I’m starting to be able to pick up the subject in conversations. Tonight at vespers, Father talked to the boys about the candles in the church and then about the feast of the Elevation of the Cross. Thankfully, I was able to pick up what he was talking about, and understand what he was trying to express. --- On a different Spanish note, our librarian has given me a few children’s books that I can read out loud and get to understand the words, and figure out pronunciation. I’m also reading through the service books, and trying to say prayers in Spanish.

Looking back at high school, my language of choice was French. It was a good experience and I did learn quite a bit. As I work on my Spanish, there were some helpful similarities between French and Spanish. However, hindsight being 20/20 I would have taken Spanish if I could do it again. Yet, something that I did do in high school, that is benefitting here, was playing soccer. Today I played some futbol with the boys on the basketball court. Thankfully, I was able to hold my own with some of the older boys. While I was rusty, I actually surprised a few of them. I’m sure they didn’t expect some tall dude from the US to be able to do anything with a soccer ball, but I did alright. At least I have something that I can hold my own in. Since the Spanish can be a bit embarrassing at times, having something that I’m good at, is a big positive.

Getting to know the boys has been really neat. Each boy is very different from the other, and their unique personalities are exciting to get to know. However, I found I have to be careful. I was hanging out with a couple boys tonight and what I thought was innocent fun quickly turned sour. My being the “responsible adult” on the scene, I should have realized what was up and stopped it, but being the new guy I didn’t realize it until to late. Thankfully Alex quickly was there to deal with the issue, but I’m learning I can’t necessarily assume the best. Little brothers can be mischievous at times.

Meals have been a neat surprise so far. Yes, there have been beans at a majority of the meals. Yet, I’ve not had a single meal so far I did not enjoy. It’s cool getting to see the different meals the boys have. I got to have cactus earlier this summer when I visited for a week, and tonight again I got to have some more. It’s very similar to a green bell pepper. I have to admit it tastes pretty good.

Please keep me in your prayers, and pray that my Spanish continues to improve. Thank you!

Under His Mercy,

Joel

PS – My address for the next nine months is…

Joel Schaefer
c/o Project Mexico
P. O. Box 120028
Chula Vista, CA 91912

September 11th, I never will forget

September 11th, is one of those days, I can remember quite vividly. I woke up, an eleven year old, in the middle of packing for to the move Idaho. I got up and cleaned up the entire attic that Jordan, Isaac and I stayed in. Excited, I was just about to go downstairs and eagerly tell my dad, when my dad popped his head up through the trap door. He told all three of us, that something very terrible had happened. My dad had this look on his face that I had only seen, when a death had occurred in the family. I knew something was very wrong. Going downstairs, my mom was speechless, simply speechless. I remember watching the second tower tumble down. Like many others, I kept thinking that it was a movie. When was someone going to jump out and explain that it was a terrible joke. Sadly, that never happened, and everyone who watched has memories vividly burned into their memory.

Today, I remembered the date, the feeling, and the shock. However, today I finally felt the utter sadness. Americans are proud of their country, of our flag, and of our people. A travesty like 9-11 should never happen, but as Americans, we assume it would never happen to us. The terror we felt, and how worried we were for the people still in the building. I watched some videos on uTube and for the first time while thinking of the tragic event, I cried. I cried remembering the families who lost fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. Friends, co-workers, and brave fire fighters who helped others out, but couldn’t escape the collapsing tower. Finally, I’d felt the shock before, now I felt the grief.

We say our military is too strong, and our intelligence far too great to allow something like this slip by. The day reminds us all of our fragile existence that we live in every day. It shows me how many things I take for granted. All I know, is that we need to appreciate the little things in life. I know I complain about so many trivial things, yet I fail to remember all the blessings I have. 9-11 is an event, that I never want to see something similar to. However, deep down I feel something like it, WILL happen again. Therefore, while I can, grieve for the dead, and those who suffer and still suffer today, yet be thankful for blessings I have in your life, that I don’t think of until they’re gone.

Under His Mercy,

Joel

Stuffing envelopes… and laying cement

Wow, already Thursday, ooops… I mean Friday! Thankfully things have been very good so far. I’ve been super busy, and that’s made time fly. However, being busy in a way, has actually allowed me to become comfortable as well. Generally your body might be knocked a little out of wack in a new environment. How you sleep, how much you eat, etc etc can change and make it more difficult to cope with all the new experiences. However, since I’ve been working hard, it’s been easy to sleep, and you’re always going to eat at meals. :-) Here’s a basic overview of what’s happened over the last few days.

Wednesday, we ripped off the wood framing for a cement foundation, and then filled it with gravel and soil. After compressing it all, we realized that we wouldn’t be able to finish laying cement that day. The area is approximately half the size of the cement slab we lay when building one of the houses during the summer. So we’ve put that off until today.

Yesterday, I went up to the States in the morning and while others went to their respective work stations, I helped clean the storage room, vacuum, dust, empty trashes, clean the bathroom etc etc. It went well, but I realized I should bring a project to work on if I go to the office and there’s a possibility that there will be down time. --- In the early afternoon we had a staff meeting, where we prayed, and talked about current issues, projects, what’s happening recently at the orphanage, and what we could improve on. My favorite part, was “ask John”. Basically, John is a staff member who grew up in Mexico and has a very good understanding of the culture, the language and so on. The rest of us, (all of us still learning at our respective levels), can ask him questions pertaining to anything we’ve seen, noticed or wondered about. It’s super helpful. However, something that I may struggle with is gestures. Pointing, with a finger or anything is very rude in Mexican culture. Even if you were pointing out something to someone, “we need help over there” *point*, with your pointer finger, or anything like that, is very rude. However, what really surprised me is that a thumbs up, what we may use as an “ok”, or “good job” is actually very similar to using your middle finger. I along with a number of other staff members were really surprised, and quickly felt guilty that we had done that a number of times already. Now I have to go against instinct, and remember not to do that. --- The office project for the day, was stuffing envelops for Project Mexico’s new fundraising campaign the “iCan give 20.4.24”. Basically, we’re asking people if they can donate $20 a month for two years. Really it’s a starbucks a week, or a lunch out a week, less than $.75 a day. More info on the fundraising in a few days… --- Finally we loaded up the vehicles going back down to Mexico, with supplies (milk, water bottles, juice and rice) from the warehouse.

Today then, Geoff, Maddie, Alex and I laid the cement slab for the generator. It took about 2 hours to lay the slab, which actually was very quick considering the area filled. Now, after I cleaned up, I’m back to working on my español.

Pray for me and my Spanish learning…

Joel

PS – I’m just writing things off the top of my head, if there’s ever anything, you would like to know, or hear more about, comment on the post, or email me. Thanks!

It begins...

Made it! Now the real work begins.

So yesterday I spent the day at the Project Mexico office in Chula Vista. Geoff Bray, an assistant director went through orientation, things to expect, what to do in certain circumstances and so on. I went through quite a bit of paperwork, and then worked doing some organizing in their warehouse. In the evening Geoff drove me down across the border, and I was able to see a lot of the boys. Geoff then led me on another tour of the grounds. In June, I was able to get a bit of a tour, but it takes on a whole different meaning when you know you’ll be here for the next 9 months.

My room is quite nice actually. I have a bed, a dresser, a desk with a computer chair, a rocking chair and kind of closet/shelf. The real luxury though, is that I have my own bathroom. No waiting in line for showers, or the bathroom. I know that I will really appreciate that over the time I’m here.

It looks like for the first bit I’ll be doing some construction work, and manual labor until I can get my Spanish up to par. Once I’m able to communicate efficiently then I’ll slowly be moved into a more involved role with the boys. So far today though, I got to play baseball with a few of the boys on the basketball court. I have to learn the Mexican rules for baseball though, I must have been doing something wrong, because no matter what I did they kept beating me. :-)

At the moment I’ve got a bit of a break. I had to take the wood framing off of the cement frame for a foundation for a generator. After taking off the framing, Alex (the other intern who has been here since last November) and I filled in the middle (a 6ft x 6ft square, 18 inches deep) with gravel. Later, we’ll be filling the remainder with sand and cement so that we’ll have a solid foundation.

In all the things I read yesterday there was a one quote that stuck with me. Surprisingly, this very quote was tacked to the back of my room door.

-“We think we’re coming to give… but we’re partially coming to get. Our challenge is to not stop giving when we stop getting.”

May that be my prayer.

Under His Mercy,

Joel

PS – I’m putting a list together of supporters, that I can give it to Project Mexico. This way, when PM sends out newsletters, everyone can hear what's happening at St. Innocent's. If you would like me to add you to the list please email me and let me know.

look2theheights@gmail.com

My Cup Runneth Over

Earlier today, I had the tremendous blessing of visiting St. Andrew’s church in Riverside California. I can’t express how wonderful it was to see Fr. Josiah , Kh. Catherine, the entire Trenham family, in addition to the whole parish of St. Andrews. After a beautiful service, Father called me up to the front of the church and gave a special blessing for my time in Mexico. Surprised, I stood as Fr. Josiah gave me far too much credit for my coming time at St. Innocents. To conclude, Fr. Josiah asked if I had enough money. After assuring him that I was set, he overruled and asked the parish to fill my pockets. I can’t explain how overwhelming his and the entire church’s generosity was. At the end of the day, yes my pockets were full, and my cup overflowing.

The amazing hospitality at St. Andrews, was only the most recent instance in which I have received awe-inspiring support. The countless prayers, emails, letters, thoughts, and financial support have been tremendous. I told Fr. Josiah, I keep getting credit for something I haven’t even gotten to do yet. I feel like I should spend three years down in Mexico for the recognition I’ve been given in merely the last few months.

With all this generosity fresh in my mind, I want to again thank everyone for their support. I’ve told many, I feel very lucky to have the opportunity, and extremely blessed to have the support that I’ve been given. While I go down, I go with your thoughts and prayers. I just hope that I can represent my family and friends well. Please keep me in your prayers. As always you are all in mine. Thank you!

Under His Mercy,

Joel

Cali or Bust!

So after a couple long days on the road, I arrived safely at my wonderful grandparents’ home in San Diego. It ended up taking about 20 ½ hours to travel 1500 miles almost on the dot. Now for those who have traveled 20 hours on your own, you will relate when I say that it’s not very healthy, especially for you mind. You have to stay alert, while not wearing yourself out. Not too far into the trip, I found myself getting bored. So I pulled out my laptop and started typing out random thoughts as I drove. I mean, they say you can’t text while driving, but who said you couldn’t work on your computer? I’ve never heard anything like that. So here’s my thoughts along the road…

Monday

- 2:30pm – Coeur d’Alene, ID
o YES!!! On the road! Thank God I finally am on my way safely!
- 3:30pm – Western Montana
o North Idaho and Western Montana are the two most beautiful places on earth. Period.
o Ooops, wow if you don’t pay attention, this car will literally start flying downhill. I knew flying would be faster than driving, but I didn’t mean it like that.
- 4:45pm – Central Montana
o Wow… feels like there’s no one on earth. No one’s on the road, and there’s just rolling fields and mountains, and a long empty highway.
o Montana has the longest stretch of straight road in the world!
- 5pm – Montana
o I love the new Daughtry CD!
- 5:50pm - Montana
o Ma gusta espaniol! – if only I could spell in spanish
- 7:30pm – nowhere Montana
o Yikes, and I thought I liked country music. In the middle of nowhere Montana, there’s nothing but the country music with the twang that instantly gives you a headache. Ouch
- 8pm – Idaho border
o Why does Idaho have to have a highway system that looks like a bowl of spaghetti. I’m entering Idaho again, but this time, the far southeastern part of idaho.
- 9pm – Southern Idaho
o So there’s not much to see in Southeastern Idaho, in the day, or the night.
- 10pm – Utah border
o Note to self… do not sing after a long day of driving. While endangering the eardrums of the deer along the road, you could also hit one when you close your eyes because the sound is so awful!
- 10:05pm – Utah
o Ok, for those who are curious, when you have to go to the restroom on a road trip, counting sheep IS affective! However, since it puts you to sleep at the same time, I would not recommend to do so while driving.
- 11:30pm
o Where is that hotel, shoot I feel like I’m going in circles.
- 11:35pm
o Here we go round the mulberry bush….
- 11:45pm
o The wheels on the bus go round and round.
- 11:50pm
o And the hotel is nowhere to be found? Directions? Naw, that’d be too easy.
- 12pm
o Directions? Ah but that admits defeat!
- 12:15pm
o “Excuse me, could you give me directions to the motel 6?”

Tuesday

- 8am
o On the road again! San Diego here I come!
- 9am
o Again with the singing Joel, it doesn’t sound good at any time.
- 10:30am
o You know you’re on a long trip when on the trip you see signs to Seattle, Canada, Helena, Butte, Idaho Falls, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Denver, Albuquerque, Phoenix, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Mexico!
- 10:45am
o No ma gusta esponiol, yo mui pocco la cabasa
- 11am
o AWESOME! 80 MPH SPEED LIMIT! YES!!! Best road sign I’ve seen so far!
- 11:15am
o Ok, so Mormons aren’t allowed to have caffeine I hear. Well that explains why I’ve gone the entire day without a beautiful cup of starbucks coffee. Maybe they think having 80 mph speed limits will give everyone the adrenaline to go without coffee? Sadly it’s not working with me.
- 11:30am
o STARBUCKS in 107 miles!!!! I’m so excited! – by far the best sign on the side of the road!
- 11:45am
o STARBUCKS in 90 miles! I can taste it!
o Honk if you like Starbucks….
o Why am I the only one honking?
- 11:50am
o All I want for Christmas is a cup of STARBUCKS!
- 12:30pm
o Ouch, ok bathroom or coffee… guess I’ll have to start counting sheep again…
- 12:35pm
o HONK!!!! (eyes shoot open!) OOOOOOOOKKKK…. Again not a good idea with the counting sheep.
- 1pm
o So the very last exit in Utah has Starbucks. Maybe the state isn’t that bad. All I know is that with a cup of coffee in hand, the world is good.
- 1:15pm
o Ok, I know I said Idaho and Montana are the most beautiful places in the world. But with entirely different landscape Arizona and it’s amazing canyons give ID+MT a run for their money.
- 2pm
o Las Vegas… neat architecture, lame billboards.
o Stopped for gas, and lost my first dollar gambling. I don’t get the thrill, you stick the dollar in the quarter machine, hit a button a few times, and it says thank you. People like that?
- 4pm
o Ok, I was kidding before, California has the best sign. “Speed enforced by aircraft”. Can’t you just imagine, You’re driving along, and then you see this speedy sports car come flying by, obviously speeding. Seconds after it passes you, you suddenly see something drop from the sky, and the car burst into flames. Ah, so I guess the aircraft are responsible for all the potholes in Cali. Nice.
- 6pm – Riverside CA
o Ah, I got so close to making it through without any traffic. Ah well, better here than in Montana.
- 7pm
o So more than half the cars in CA are SUVs, yet none of them use 4 wheel drive a day of the year. That makes sense…
- 7:30pm
o I think I made a wrong turn….
- 8pm
o Oh shoot I’m not supposed to be back in Arizona.
- 8:15pm
o Just kidding, made it to Papa and Grammy’s safe and of not so sound mind.



Under His gracious mercy,



Joel