Cement Lungs...

...That’s what I have. Probably cement lungs by now. For the past three days I have been shoveling, and accidently inhaling cement like nobody's business. I'm very much a fan of my job...Cement is a cool thing.

I did however get a fantastic mask today so that I wouldn't inhale anymore cement powder. I'm a fan of that mask too.


Well yes, cement work. That's what a significant portion of the first half of our day consisted of. There was a bunch of us on cement detail, a group building small "kangaroo cages" *which are really crazy looking keep-the-cement-from-cracking contraptions*, and some people, namely Josh, welding.



Today there was also a bet. Chico bet Monte that we could get a certain amount of work done by lunch time, and Chico said that if we get it all done, Monte has to make us smoothies. Monte agreed. We finished it. We're getting smoothies tonight. I'm pumped.


And guess what ELSE we did? Guess where we got to go?? Guess what was the highlight of my week, month, and possibly year? We got to go to the brickyard! All the kids I had to leave behind last year, I got to see again! It was incredible. It's still surreal. I got to see so many of those precious little children I wasn't sure I'd ever see again.


*Jessie, Hannah gave your letter to Jasmine. Her reaction was the most precious thing I've ever seen. Nothing in the world was more important or more precious to her than that letter. Oh yes. And I got to hold America and Angelita all afternoon(:*


Ok, back to what we DID at the brickyard...We went to help Allison, the missionary who works with the people at the brickyard with a VBS she was putting on. We did crafts, sang songs, had snack, played, watched skits, learned Bible verses...It was really neat to see. These kids really are interested to hear about the Bible, as are their mothers. They really do listen, and care about what’s being said. It's awesome to see them all taking in God's word like that. Everything ran smoothly. It was a really cool, and different experience from last year.


When I asked what else happened today, Daniel said to tell you all that a bunch of the guys unloaded over Eleven TONS of cement today. That’s an impressive number. Whoa.


Last night, Josh B. Daniel, and Chico found a tarantula. That was pretty cool.

What I'm learning about even more this year is the vastness of God's kingdom. His plans and visions for His world expand SO much farther than we could ever comprehend. Its really incredible to see how great and how far his love reaches. It amazes me more every day.


And now, my memory is failing me-as far as the recollection of any interesting happenings go... It’s been a long week. And my mind is going…Haha. Enjoy the pictures. We’ll check back with you soon!
For the team
-Aleah

Things to pray for are..

-Continued safety and health for the team (Praise! Jacob is back 100%)
-That the VBS at the brickyard would be effective, and reach a lot of hearts.
-That we would be a light where ever we go.
-Praise! We got the right bucket size for the water filtration project.

Hello!

Today we woke up early in the morning to do devotions, eat breakfast and work. We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise, and a cool breeze. Everyone was ready to work on time so we set to the task of making cement and pouring it into the trenches which were dug before we got here. It was a grueling job and it involved people who had to scoop dirt into buckets and then others would dump the buckets of dirt into the cement mixer. While another guy dumped cement mix into the mixer. Then from there we had guys who would position the wheelbarrow under the mixer, and get a load of cement. From there we dumped it into the trench which was a foundation for the gymnasium the missionaries are building.

Aleah saved Monte's life! While Aleah and Monte were cleaning up cement mix, they had an encounter with a rattlesnake! Monte ran off, came back with a shovel and sliced off its head, Aleah ended up keeping the rattle. No one was hurt, thankfully.

Some of the team went to look for river sand for the water filtration project. Unfortunately they did not find any, and ended up using the sand we had on the ranch. Then Kelly, Chico, Josh H., Hannah, Ann, Aleah, and I with supervision from J Bass cleaned the dirt which would go into the water filters. We cleaned the dirt by stirring the dirt in a bucket with water, then draining it out and repeating the process over again for hourse until Bastion decided it was clean enough.

This afternoon we were invited to play soccer again and this time we had the MK's and their Dad's V.S. the Mexico team. We had a lot of fun!

Then at our team meeting this evening, we celebrated my Moms Birthday! I made a card and had everyone sign it, then we at cookies, and cake.

I have been learning a lot in the few days days we have been here, I think one of the greatest things I learned on this trip so far is that I need to submit myself to authority even if I don't have respect for that person, because it is an opportunity to show love to that person.

Please pray for:

Jacob Baker as he got dehydrated, the praise though is that after we prayed he was doing way better.

VBS Tomorrow at the brickyard from 3:30-5:30pm that it would go well, and the kids would get to learn alot.

That while we work that nobody will get hurt and that we will have enough strength to get through the work with joy and stay hydrated.

-Zach Rigel

Today I made a new friend...

Hello everybody, this is El Chico!

Today I made a new friend! It's a horse. I was taking a walk and I decided to pet the horse. The missionary kid and I climbed the fence and pet the horse. Unfortunately it was short lived. The horse tried to munch me.

I'll get back to the important stuff. :)

We woke up at 6am, had some guy prayer time, and were excited to get to work. The day began with work that included block work, weeding, welding, cement mixing, and gravel sifting. I was fortunate enough to learn a new skill today. My buddy Josh taught me how to weld! That might come in handy later this week, cause we have a lot of welding to do. Yeah!

During the morning a couple missionary guys came out to the Ranch to learn how to build the water filters. Josh Bastian started showing them how. They washed all the sand and gravel they needed for one. They had to leave early so we will try and finish it up on Friday. We learned that there are actually a lot of missionaries and Mexicans that work with NTM that want to learn how to do this project for their tribal works. This is exciting because the reach of this project may go farther then beyond the brickyard to many areas!

We had some lunch and then even had time for an afternoon nap. While everyone else was napping that's when Michael, the missionary kid, and I went on our walk and found the horse.

I learned to focus my work not on doing it for the missionaries, or even for the team but for God.

Here are some things you can pray for:

-Keep praying for the success and now the reach of the water project.

-Pray for the health and wisdom of each team member.

-Pray for the VBS to go well at the brickyard, it starts on Thursday.

Praise God for this wonderful team and this opportunity to worship God with our lives here!

El Chico Always Wins!!

Chihuahua!

With a kerplunk we touched down at the Aeropuerto de Chihuahua. A hour later we were safe and sound at Rancho Siloe. For me, a returning student, the dorms, the kitchen, the work projects finished during past trips, even the showers brought back vibrant memories. We are finally here, albeit a little tired, incredibly excited about lies ahead. Work starts at 7am tomorrow morning.


Let me back up a bit...two days ago I flew out to Grand Rapids, Michigan to learn how to build a water purifier patented by Aqua Clara. Located in Holland, Michigan, Aqua Clara is a small operation that has planted purifiers all over the world. This small group of people at Aqua Clara love Jesus and it is evident in the way they care for and love the one billion plus people who lack access to clean water. During the training session staff members discussed the global water problem and how best to fix it. After the information session in the morning we built a purifier from scratch, giving us hands-on experience building the simple, yet effective bio-sand purifiers.

After a flight back to Orlando, I joined the team at the KOA campground for our orientation. We spent Sunday learning everything from the biblical reasons for missions to cross-cultural integration. Our team split up and practiced our puppet, song, and craft ministries that we'll do at the brickyard this week and next. The rest of the day we relaxed, ate some Papa John's and watched a storm brew over the lake adjacent to the KOA.

Some praises....

We made it through customs without a problem. None of the medicine for the Brickyard or water purifier supplies were confiscated


Monday morning the rain held just long enough for us to pack all of our stuff into the vans. Special thanks to Mr. Rigel and Mr. Walter for waking up early to help us get to the airport.


Some prayer requests....
That the water purification project can continue to move forward. More specifically, that all the supplies can be delivered soon.
VBS at the Brickyard.
Team unity.
Continued good health for all members.

Thanks for reading and praying, we as a team are really appreciative of all the amazing support.

Josh Bastian

Up, up and away!

We're leaving today! I'm in my office as the chaos of parents and students arrives with luggage and smiles. It's a good day. :)
We will be at the KOA here in Orlando for two days of orientation. We fly out Monday morning from Orlando on American Airlines at 8:15am.
We'll hit the ground working on Tuesday morning.

Please be praying for us:
- For team unity.
- For health.
- For favor amongst all we work with and the government.
- For the love of God to shine through us in powerful ways.
- For stamina, and energy to work hard.
- For focus and maturity from each student to pay attention and be wise! :)

We will be having a different student post each day of the trip to share what happens. You will get to hear their perspective and take on things. We'll put a few pictures up as we get them too. Please check back each day to hear our adventures and know how to pray for us!

For the team,
Josh Harris

Water Purification Project update...

Hey,

Each year we go to Mexico we spend 4-6 days at an area called "The Brickyard" This area is where very low income families setup shacks and make bricks to earn some money. Some of the families stay for a long time, some only till they get the money they need. The living conditions of this several square mile area with over 250 people living there are devastating. Lack of electricity, education, accessible health care, and clean water concern us every year.

Fortunately, a local Mexican church and some missionaries with NTM have made connections and established a ministry there in the area. They provide bible teaching and evangelism as well as tangible ways to meet the physical needs. We have enjoyed partnering with them the past few years in a projects such as; building and installing screen doors and windows to several homes to keep bugs out, building community outhouses, and providing basic medical supplies. We will be taking medical supplies again this year to donate, but we'll tell you more about that in another post. :)

After our experience last year several of us on the team became considered about the very unsanitary water conditions. After much discussion and prayer we decided to follow God's leading on installing water filtration systems. We want to install several systems this year while we are there but we also want to train the local church and the people of the brickyard how to make them. It's like teaching them how to fish instead of just giving them fish. After research we settled on partnering with an organization called Aqua Clara. They have developed a way to use local supplies to build an effective W.H.O. approved water filtration system. Before we go, we'll send someone from our team to be trained by this organization on how to make them. Then, when we get to Chihuahua we will purchase the local supplies needed and begin making and training for these systems.

We are very excited about this tangible way to spread the love of Christ and the compassion of the gospel. We long to see the overall health of the children rise so that they will live long enough to hear the gospel, believe, and live for him!

To see more of how the water filtration systems work visit Aqua Clara's website.

If you would like to help fund or promote this project please contact us.

We encourage you to also check out our Facebook Cause page for our work in Mexico.

Sincerely,
Josh Harris for the team

Exciting new developments!

Hello,
Sorry it has been awhile since our last trip update. Much has happened since!

First off, we had a Benefit Auction Fundraiser two weeks ago and it went really well! We had lots of items to sell and yummy lunch for everyone. We were able to raise right at $2000.00! God is amazing and so are the people who pitched in to make this Fundraiser a success.

Second, our team has changed once again, but for the last time. :) The people going are as follows: Myself and Dawn Rigel are the adults, Josh Bastian and Hannah Rigel are our college leaders and then the H.S. Students are: Jacob Baker, Daniel McCutchen, Zach Rigel, Stephen Gable, David Cammacho, Matt Langford, Caleb George, Ann Rivera, Kaley Yates, Kelly Welsh, Aleah Schweizer, and Cari Ware. We'll try and get a group pic this Sunday to post for you.

Third, we have raised enough money so far to purchase airline tickets. I just bought them this week! God was good as I was able to get us all on the same plane, sitting next to each other, and with good dates too, all for around $550 a person. We will be flying straight into Chihuahua City and avoiding the border this year. So that price was great! To get those cheap flights we did shift our days one day forward. So, mark your calendars our trip dates are now July 18-August 2.

I'm so excited about how God has provided and led the way for us to return to the ministry we started years ago in Mexico. We only need about $4000.00 more to reach our comfortable financial goal. Please be praying for us to reach this goal so we can eat while we are there. haha :)

Pray for:
- Health of all the team members.
- Passports and finances to come in.
- Unity amongst the team.
- That God would be glorified and we would honor him no matter what happens!

For the team:
Josh Harris