Day 13 - We are heading home!

It's me again, Harris. All the students are packing and cleaning which is something I still have yet to do tonight. We will be leaving at 7am and I'm already feeling the tiredness. But, I must take this opportunity to praise God and the wonderful students that I've spent these two weeks with.

Let me give you the brief run-down of today first. We had our debrief meetings here at the ranch in the morning and then went into town for lunch and shopping. While we were out shopping we walked past a couple human statue men. We couldn't resist the opportunity for a photo opp so we convinced both Alyssa and Kaley to get pictures with them. Then we stopped at an ice-cream place called Super Coldys. J-Bass ordered half a gallon of ice-cream on accident. Something got lost in translation. :)

This evening the missionaries made us dinner and thanked us for coming. Monte challenged us to help with the great need of the gospel all around the world. Another missionary told us to make sure and tell you all stories and share about what God is doing here. So, all you family and readers of this blog make sure to ask lots of questions from us when we get back. We have lots to tell you about what God has done!!!

God is so good. He has kept us all safe and healthy enough. He has showed us his grace and love in new ways. We were able to experience new things and see new things. We talked about the new things we'd seen this morning and on the list were:
Being in a cloud on top of the Sierra Madre mountains. It passed right through us as we stood there.
A church of Tarahumara believers worshipping God.
An incredible waterfall.
More of God's love.

Well, on to the long part of this blog, which is really why I'm staying up till 1am to write, and I encourage you to keep reading. :) I have enjoyed each of these students along this journey and I'd like to take this time to express my pride and joy in them.

J-Bass is a steady and responsible worker and leader. He doesn't complain and he knows how to embrace cultural experiences. (except the outhouse) I'm also impressed with his desire to grow in Christ and think through everything so that he does it well. I'm blessed that he has been a leader for 2 years in our Student Ministry. He has also shown his great love for people in the two years on this trip through his committed efforts towards the water filter project last year and the backpack project this year. He always finishes what he starts.

Kaley can turn any moment into joy. She has an uncanny ability at being random just when you need it. :) I have enjoyed seeing her serve with humility and grace. She truly loves others and will sacrifice for their benefit. She brings dancing, laughing, and all sorts of goofiness to days when everyone else is tired or grumpy. (Red Bull often has something to do with this behavior)

Ann has got out us of many a pinch with her Spanish skilz and her ability to be calm in situations. She keeps from being negative and always tries to help. I admire her courage to still do this trip even with regular pain in her back. She has an incredible love and patience for the children at the brickyard. You can see the evidence of God at work in her heart as she loves others. She has more room in her suitcase on the way home this time.

Kate normally comes to mind when you need help in the kitchen, but she is so much more than that. I have seen her do every job with the same determination, humility, and joy. There is a tenderness to her heart and a compassion that she gives everyone. Her great strength is not in her kitchen prowess it's in relationships. Kate has become discontent with settling for less of God and that inspires me. She can also detect babies from a mile away, she has Babydar or something.

Caleb doesn't do anything halfway. He puts his heart into worship, work, playtime, and people. It shows in the way he never gives up. He was a huge help during the drywall projects because he has learned much from his dad. He found ways to be an encourager on this trip to many people including me. He will be a missionary someday.

Brett is changing every day as he seeks God more authentically than I've seen before. He couldn't wait to go on this trip and that enthusiasm for being here never wavered. He was constant in his thankfulness to be here and to be part of the work and the brickyard. He never argued or grumbled, he couldn't wait to work and embrace every part of this trip that God had for him. We also had some fun times in the car. Like, sleeping bag hands boxing, Alpaca farming, El Matador, and much more.

Angie has this thing where she can't help but talk about God and I love it. She has the most personally exciting way of sharing how much she loves God and what He's done in her life. She is also a very patient and submissive worker. She did everything I asked and always did it with kindness towards me. She only snapped once and even then we didn't think she was being mean. She has a gentle heart and is consistent with putting others before herself.

Zach is a beast, in a good way. He is such a hard worker. He is also able to grow facial hair now which is pretty cool. I'm so proud of him for the way he is quick to help. He really enjoyed the church with the Tarahumara and it excited me to see how much that meant to him. He loves his mom and his family more than anything and I love to see how he helps and protects his mother. He has great faith in what God can do and trust's him through anything. Like I said, he's a beast in a good way. :)

Kelso is not a meat eater but he is ticklish in one spot. Bless his heart he did this whole trip knowing that he might not eat as well as he does at home. He never complained about the food. Even the day he didn't feel good he couldn't wait to get back to work. He also did every job I asked him to do without question, even weeding for hours. I told him I would make him work hard and he passed with flying colors.

Johnny always seems to have energy. It was a blessing because there were many days when everyone else was to tired to talk, but Johnny kept talking. He also kept talking while we were trying to sleep in the car but we forgave him of that. :) He kept things fun when we needed it but worked very hard every day. God has given him wisdom and discernment. Someday he'll see more of how to use that for God's glory. He and I had a spaghetti noodle fight one day, and he helped me clean it up even though I was the one who started it.

Alyssa is Kaleys sister. That sounds like stating the literal but it is also stating how crazy they are together. She is also wonderful at bringing a smile to your face and energy to your day when you need it. I wish I had her ability to see so much life out of every moment and live it with such glee. She has a soft heart to God's word and a faith in God that sometimes goes un-noticed. She also slips and falls alot, always when I happen to not be watching though. Bummer...

Allie has a bad shoulder but a good heart. :) She has had one of the roughest trips out of all of us and she has still managed to keep her calm. I am very proud of her for finding the strength to not work. It took more strength for her to not work then to get out there and be busy. She struggled through sitting still because that is not her character or work ethic. She is an incredibly hard worker but God wanted her to be still this trip because of her shoulder injury. She took that time and grew closer to God. She responded by seeking God and I'm so proud of her for that.

Last but not least is my partner in crime, if you will, Dawn. There is no possible way that any of us would survive this trip without her. She has become the most dear friend to me and mother to all the kids. This doesn't just happen because she feeds us and does our laundry, this happens because she selflessly, sacrificially, humbly, and genuinely loves us. I see the light and love of God shine through her all day long. That is an incredible rarity but that is how much God has transformed her. She has become a true godly woman of character and faith. I can't say enough about how blessed we are to do this trip with her. All of you parents are blessed that she is the other adult here with your kids. With her around we will all get fed, bandaged up, clothed, and loved.

I know this was a long post, after all it took me till 1am to write this, but I can't pass up the opportunity to pour back words of love into the people that mean so much to me.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed and supported us through this journey. We will be home soon and can't wait to tell you all about it. Thank you as well to all the parents of these students. I'm so glad you let a young man like me be part of their lives let alone take them to a foreign country. This is my passion and greatest joy in life apart from my wife and son. If I can't be part of missions and connecting others to it I wouldn't be fulfilling why God created me.

Kimberly my love, thank you for your support and love through this trip. You are the most understanding and loving wife I could ever ask for. You are my joy and I can't wait to be back in your arms and with our son. I love you and James with the depth of a thousand oceans!

Another year is in the books, God did what He promised, we are coming home, and may God get all the glory.

Because He said go,
Josh Harris

Day 12 - Heyyooo, it's the Yates girls!

First and foremost, we are terribly sorry this post is a day late. The Internet has been down a lot, and if it hasn't been down, it has been incredibly slow.

Alrighty! It's day 13 here in Chihuahua, Mexico and things are going great! We started off our morning with our last day of work. Due to rain, Kate and Alyssa couldn't paint the stage in the multipurpose building, but everyone kept on truckin' with the drywall, fixing insulation, and cleaning up the rest of the building by sweeping. As for me, Yates number 1, I got to help Mrs. Rigel in the kitchen a little bit and go to the grocery store for the last time. I made sure to pick up some donuts :P

After lunch, we all scrambled to put together a little surprise for the kids at the brickyard. You're never going to guess what it is.... Water balloons! That's right. Water balloons. Even though it was tough keeping the balloons from popping, and actually filling up enough, it was all worth it in the end. To see all their faces light up was amazing. And then to give the kids an opportunity to beat us up a little bit was even more fun. I, Kaley, was the lucky one who got the ice cooler full of water dumped on. It was insane in the membrane!

Okay, let's step back a couple 30 minutes and talk about the backpacks. After months of putting together 98 backpacks, the time finally came where we could give the kids their backpacks! From the moment we started carrying the duffel bags full of the backpacks the kids were excited and fully interested in what were giving them. We began by unpacking the duffels and then gave each of the kids their backpack. They were ecstatic. The professor of the school where most of the Brickyard kids attend was even there and he thanked us and stuff.

As soon as we got home from the Brickyard, it started raining! Instead of waiting for it to fully finish, we played a crazy soccer game with the awesome missionary families on a muddy field. We were slipping and falling like crazy, but all in all, the best team won. In other words, Kaley's team won. Haha. But Alyssa didn't fall, which was a major accomplishment, so it's all good.

For me, Alyssa, God has really been showing me how important He is in my life and how I need to put all I am into His hands. He will take care of me no matter what and that's all I need to live. As for me, Kaley, God showed me my real passion and love for people. This whole trip, God has given me so many opportunities to be there for my teammates, share with them, help them, and I can't wait to see where He leads me next.

Prayer Requests:
All of the missionaries we have met on this trip. The Finchs', Millers, Lloyds, Sanchez family, and Allison.
The Tarahumara believers.
Monte's rash. Poor fellah.
Safe travel and health.
and last but not least. ENERGY


Shout out time! Happy Birthday Emily! You're the big 14! Yay! We love you so so much! Hope your day was amazazing. Also to supermom, daddy dearest, and meggie moo! Love ya'll.

Kaley and Alyssa... to be continued... sometimes...

Day 10 - Chihuahua, Aye Aye Aye!!!!

Hey guys, it's Ann.

So, I'm going to be writing about Wednesday. On Wednesday we got up early to work, mostly on drywall and weeding. Allie and I stayed in the kitchen-helping Mrs. Rigel- because my back and her shoulder were bothering us. After work, we didn't go to the Brickyard but instead had a great time playing basketball, pingpong, and catching up on sleep. After lunch on our day of rest, we packed up the backpacks that are going to the kids at the Brickyard on Friday. We were a little short on supplies but it turned out to be just fine because we were able to buy them in town.

For dinner we were joined by a missionary family(the Graingers) that came back from furlough and Monte and Gail. It was great getting to know them better and we all really enjoyed their company. After dinner we had another great night of kitchen worship where we all sang our hearts out and danced all while washing dishes. During that, another missionary family came by (the Lloyds) and showed us some of the stuff that the people of the tribe that they minister to make. We were even able to buy some of it and they gave us free granola!

After the kitchen worship and cleaning up we got together for our group devotions. That night it was about "Plant The Seed" and really what I realized is that you don't have to do something amazing to make something grow. God does it for us. See, even though we didn't get to go to the Brickyard that day the kids are still impacted and bonding with us. Either it's playing around or doing crafts and they are growing because through Christ we can do anything.

But, out of everything that I've been learning, ever since we did the orientation with "Uncle Howie", I've learned that time is what is needed for everything. We take that for granted in America. See, here in Mexico time doesn't matter. They go by family first here and everything else can be done either in a couple of hours or the next few weeks. It's very interesting because God doesn't go by time and we that are still living on this Earth have to learn how to use it wisely. Whether it's with our families, loved ones, work, school, etc.we sometimes have to let God be in control with our timing and learn from it because God knows what's best for us and he has us here on earth for a reason.

Prayer request:
-Montes face.
-Allies arm and my back.
-And prayer that tomorrow we are heading to town and just safety.

Also I just want to say as a now graduate, I appreciate everyone for supporting me on this trip and I'm missing all of you! Thank you for keeping the Thrive team in prayers and keep checking the blog! This trip is almost at an end but there is still time for all of us to open up, listen and see what God has in store for us.

-Ann

Day - 11? Corn on a stick and tarantulas...

Have you ever held a tarantula?

This morning work was as usual except...

...during cookie break we found a tarantula and decided to take turns bonding with it. Several people braved this new challenge and let the tarantula crawl on their arms. Harris put it on his head.

Have you ever had corn on a stick?

So, today was our first day out on the town, a sort of nostalgic experience for me, considering my past explorations of Chihuahua City. We did some shopping and embraced a little bit of the Mexican culture. We toured the Governors Palace, and afterward, had the chance to try the previously mentioned 'corn on a stick,' though I was the only one to actually take on the challenge. I loved it. It was the existential equivalent of everything good in life. From there, we pushed on toward our next destination; dinner. We went to a place on the side of a busy street, specializing on Tortas, a delicious Mexican sandwich that I think we all unanimously enjoyed.

After all of our shopping and dining, Monte took us to a hill which was surrounded by the Chihuahua City skyline. It was an amazing sight that can't really be explained, only experienced.

We then headed back to the Ranch to have our nightly team meeting and discuss our morning devotions. The team discussed what each of us treasured in life. It
really put into perspective what is important in life, and what I frivolously enjoy, especially back in my home life. This is a big thing God has been teaching me about lately.

Overall, an awesome day. We're all excited to go back into town Saturday morning, before we head back home Sunday morning.


Prayer Requests:
-Ann's back and Allie's shoulder.
-The Finches
-The Grangers heading to the mountains tomorrow.
-Team unity
-The missionaries here at the Ranch.
-Safety for our trip into town tomorrow.

P.s, Happy Birthday Emily! (From Alyssa, Kaley and the rest of the Mexico team)

-Brett

We've caught up with stories and pictures finally...

Hello,

Just wanted to notify you that we finally got some pictures to upload. And, we have caught up blogging about the past couple days. So, scroll down and read the blogs since Saturday and check out the pictues that we were able to upload.

We love and miss you all! Keep praying for us!

Day 9 - My God is so BIG, so STRONG and so MIGHTY! :)

Hello my friends and family!

For some reason that song has been stuck in my head all morning. =P Not hardly the worst thing that could be on repeat inside this head of mine.

I am so happy to share with you what God is doing in Chihuahua.

The noise level at breakfast time, has severely decreased the last two days. You can tell people are getting tired. Yesterday morning we woke up to a dark, wet, cold, ranch. Apparently, mountain weather followed us. We began our work day reluctantly, but we got things accomplished! A praise, we finished drywalling the room we have been working on for the last 1 1/2 weeks! Hopefully this next room won't take us quite as long due to our new found skills. Or maybe we already made all the mistakes two weeks can handle! ;) Besides drywalling, we continued weeding the devil plants as soon as the sky cleared. I'm not sure if anyone before me has covered the devil plants, but seriously, not a fun time. Monte calls them the devil weed because they have a nasty thorn that grows underneath the flower and has two extra big spikes that make it look like a devil.

Unfortunately, we got to lunch late and we finished with 30 minutes until the Brickyard. Scramble, scramble, scramble! (There never seems to be enough time.) At VBS yesterday the gospel was presented. What continues to surprise me when I watch these children and their mothers are their attention spans. Seriously, they sit there for an incredibly long time just listening. I know that if you have a room full of Americans you don't always see what I have seen day after day here. What an encouragement that must be for Allison while she teaches! So the gospel was presented yesterday and that concluded the VBS days. We played games, they had food from a different country, and the day went off without any problems. Except Ann's back. One of the children jumped on Ann's back yesterday and the car ride also did nothing to help her already hurting back. :/

Yesterday evening was fairly normal, except for KITCHEN WORSHIP! Woohoo! (now I have heard that many people like to read these blogs through to try to figure out who is writing them.. I'm sorry to all of you because now I am going to give myself away.) It's me, Kate! I heard many great things about kitchen worship from last year and I was excited to experience it for myself. This is how it went- after dinner, Caleb and I did music and everyone else sang, danced, and cleaned. Worshiping God is a beautiful thing, especially in the kitchen :) So many times this trip I have felt awkward singing because not everyone else feels comfortable singing in these types of settings. However, during kitchen worship, everyone let loose and enjoyed making some pretty noise! Finally! Now it just so happens that people also don't always feel comfortable sharing things at the nightly discussions either. Last night, I feel like the blanket of shyness was partially lifted. :) I love hearing things from my teammates, and last night was full of good conversation.


Now I get to share with you all what God has been teaching me thus far. Hold on to your hats, folks! My heart is in the process of the biggest transformation ever. Two years ago when I came on this trip, I got homesick, I worked hard so that I didn't have to invest in my teammates, and I was closed off to growing spiritually. I hardened my heart and the only things I learned and grew from were by God's grace, not because I was willing. However, the thing that struck me most about that trip was missions. After I came home in 2008 I set my sites on Bible College. Then two years passed and that goal seemed unreasonable and so many things happened. And at the beginning of this trip, I thought God's main goal for me was to relearn how to love people and be patient. I am so overjoyed to find that is not the only reason I was brought here this year! God is bringing me back to missions. I cannot tell you how full my heart is, I LOVE this place. I have never desired to live any place in the world besides Orlando, Florida, up to now. When I say I am content here, it really means a lot, especially because I am not just content. Pictures do this place no justice, you have to see it to believe it. We went to the mountains to stay with the Finches, and I cried listening to their story. I have never been so greatly impacted. I am hungry for more! It is so hard for me to process everything that God is teaching me in these packed two weeks. But you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be looking into Bible schools when I get home. For those of you I told I would be heading towards physical therapy: I HAVE NEW PLANS!

(if you are overwhelmed by reading this post, welcome to my head!)

One thing that has helped me sort through things and give me a sense of normalcy has been getting to talk with Mrs. Rigel. We spent an hour sitting in the kitchen last night after everyone else was in bed, just talking. :) I love you Mrs. Rigel!!!

Okay my friends, there is a peak at what our second Tuesday was like and a glimpse at my overloaded brain. ;)

Prayer requests:

-The Finches and the Caborachi believers and unbelievers.

-The missionaries here at Rancho Siloe.

-Monte's highly bothersome facial rash.

-Our team unity, safety, and health.

-Ann's back and Allie's shoulder. (they have both been banished to the kitchen)

-And a deeper love and hunger for God and his word for my team and me :)

-A long shout out to my wonderfully large family: Momma, Daddy, Shaez, Jeffro, Kristy Kay, Aaronious, Heath, Mikey, Timmy, Sari, Chicken (long for chick, and long for Bek), Small Fry (Caiden), and Chunkin (Addison)! I love you guys so much, I wish you were here! 'Leah and Kell, you both belong in my family as well and I miss you both! <3>

Day 8...yeah it was really great. :)

Hey guys! It's me, Allie. I'm here to tell you about our day yesterday, which was Sunday. I'm sorry we weren't able to write yesterday, we came in really late and couldn't keep our eyes open. :P

So we began our day at 6:00 in the Finch's home getting ready to go and doing our devotions. We had breakfast at 7:00. When we were done we packed the van, said our goodbyes to our new friends and were gone by 8:00. We drove for 2 hours through the mountains, back and forth back and forth. I will tell you right now, I've never seen switch backs like this..and we have enough people who got carsick to prove it. :P

Our first stop was the waterfall. It had started to rain just before we got there, so Monte parked the van and we all hiked about a mile to the fall, and it wasn't easy. This high elevation thing makes everyone feel like we are extremely out of shape and we had a few people who were hurting (Ann, Alyssa and me. Ann's back. Alyssa was a little wobbley and her knees were giving out, but she's fine now. And I screwed up my shoulder.) When we finally made it to the waterfall, we were no longer tired, just amazed. I had never seen anything like it. It was HUGE. I had gone in jeans and sneakers not planning on getting wet, but I couldn't and wouldn't pass up this chance. Most everyone climbed the rocks to get closer. We got soaked just standing 30 feet away and some got even closer. We spent a while there just enjoying God's incredible creation. I didn't want to leave, I didn't think it could get any better. Well, I am a newbie as they say..and I was wrong.

We left and went to Veronica's (a place they come to eat at every year in Creel) it was quite yummy, but we didn't want to take long there. So we hopped back into the van and drove through more switch backs (my favorite :P) and got to the canyon. It's called Copper Canyon and it's begger than the Grand Canyon. Holy cow. It was incredible. It seemed so..fake to me. I have never seen anything like it and was astounded. God is truly awesome. I don't think that words or pictures could describe to you how beautiful it was. I've seen pictures before..but there is no comparison. We hiked all around looking and admiring the beauty. I could've spent hours there..but we had to leave with enough time to get out of the mountains before dark. So we began our hike back to the van and climbed in exhausted. We drove 5 or so hours back to the ranch and fell out of the van half asleep. Our day was incredible and totally worth it. I am so thankful we were able to make it to the mountains, it was an experience I will never forget.

God has been teaching me lots on this trip but probably one of the main things is learning to take a break or step back and trust that God has everything under control. He doesn't need me to get something done. So if I need a break I've learned to take one. God will get what He wants done with or without me. I do love helping and serving in anyway I can, but there are times when I need to stop. I don't always pay attention to that but God has made it clear to me now. Today I'm not working with everyone else because my shoulder is still caught and that's okay. I know that God is in control and my teammates are fully competent. ;) I guess that's all for now. Someone else will write tonight. I love you all!

Miss you Mom, Dad, Bek, Heath, Mikie, Kris, Aaron, Timmy, Sari, Shae, Jeff, Caiden and Fussin. :)I'm praying for you today Daddy!

For the team,
-Allie

Prayer Requests:
Ann's back. She is still hurting today, so pray for relief and rest.

My shoulder. I'm not sure what I did to it..but it's pretty killer. Pray that it won't keep me from working the rest of the trip or I will find jobs that I can do with one hand.

For our team to stick together. It's the second week and we are all tired. Pray that we will not get on each other's nerves too much and we will continue to grow closer together and to God.

For team health and energy.