The Mexico trip was fantastic. This was my 4th time down to Mexico for a missions trip. This one stands out though because I got to spend more time with the people who live there and learn more about what life in Mexico is like. I'll start from the beginning...

I've only done missions in two cities in Mexico, Ensenada and Tijuana (pronounced Tee-Hwana not Tee-UH-wanna). This trip was to Tijuana. We arrived at the orphanage well after midnight on Friday night so we went right to sleep and got up at 7am the next morning. I was a bit tired, but I was ready for the day's work. Another church was there as well and had about 30 people to add to our 10. There were a few projects that needed our help. One was building a cement block wall, another building needed painting, playing with the children, and other small projects here and there. We were blessed to have so many workers since each project was a huge task, but because of the huge number of people, it only took a few hours. Most of the work was finished by lunch time. Since we had so many people, I floated from project to project since I wasn't always needed where I was at. I ended up helping one of the ladies wash dishes after the kids' lunch. She would only let me dry though (???). While we worked outside, alot of people walked by and watched us work. I thought of the irony of this picture. Normally in the U.S., you see a bunch of Mexicans working, but here in Mexico, these people were watching a bunch of white people working.

The founder of the orphanage is an amazing man named Sergio Gomez. He is a strong man of faith and his storytelling of ministry in Tijuana is very ear-catching. You can read about and see pictures of the orphanage here. Most of the children at the orphanage actually have parents or at least a mother. These kids were born out of prostitution and were locked up in their homes while their mothers went to work. Many children have died because of this since fires have consumed the homes with the kids trapped inside. Sergio actually visits the brothels in Tijuana and offers the prostitutes a home for their children where they can be raised by loving people in a healthy environment. He tells them that the children will always be their children and they can visit them any time (as long as they come to visit dressed like mothers and not prostitutes). Many of the women opt for this because they do love their children and worry about them while they are at work. Other kids in the orphanage come from abusive and drug addicted parents and are persuaded to give their children up for their best interests. Sergio also came from a background like this.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a village of Lomas outside of Tijuana. This location is on the hills overlooking the beach. A home in a location like this would have cost a million dollars or more in California, but the people who lived here were among the poorest in Tijuana. Many of the children there are starving and usually only get one small meal a day. We were brought there by a South African man named Marcos. You can read about his ministry here. When we arrived there, we went out in groups and invited people in the village to a free dinner that we were preparing in the center of their village. I felt kind of useless here since I don't speak Spanish well enough to carry on a conversation, but I guess my appearance attracted attention. Many people were very kind to us. I love how Mexican people are so friendly to strangers. We could use more of that here in California. About 150-200 people showed up. There was enough food for people to get seconds. It was alot of fun playing with the village kids. They all wanted piggy back rides. The first kid jumped on my back and started whacking me in the butt yelling "Andale! Andale!", ha ha! "You are my horse and I am a cowboy!", he said in Spanish. Once the kids saw that, they would all do it. The next kid I put on my shoulders. Aha, you can't hit me in the butt now, you're too high, I thought. Well, true, so he decided to smack me in the face instead. (sigh) You just can't win, ha ha. Anyways, I do know a few words in Spanish, but "Hey, stop hitting me!" was not in my vocabulary unfortunately. This kid persuaded me to give him a ride to his home. When we got outside his house, he yelled to his mother inside "Mom, come out and see my friend!" His mom replied from inside the house, but she didn't come out, and then the kid pointed me to go somewhere else. I guess she wasn't interested, ha ha. Anyways, I definitely got my exercise for the day.

That evening, some of us visited a battered womens shelter that Sergio also started. Six women and 15 children lived there. It was amazing to hear all of their stories. All of the women had abusive husbands that were either alcoholic or addicted to drugs. They would beat the women and children. Their husbands don't know they are living at the shelter and don't even know that the shelters exist. They are safe there. This is where the women also hear the gospel and learn the Bible. We went back to the orphanage after that and I slept really well after the long day.

On Sunday, we drove to Costco. I was surprised they actually have a Costco in Tijuana. It's really big, too. The orphanage is not doing well financially. The fridge and cupboards were pretty bare. They also owe a huge water bill that they haven't paid in two years. If that wasn't bad enough, the orphanage was robbed four times in the past month by drug addicts. The kids' uniforms were stolen as well as much of the food stores. So we went to Costco to load up some supplies for them. We had about 10 people on this chore so we each were tasked with finding items and bringing them to the cart. I found my experience at the Mexican Costco was no different than my experience at the Costco in L.A. I can't find anything and I'm surrounded by people speaking Spanish. The food bill ended up being about $400, but it's enough food to last the kids for a couple months. We went home after that.

I learned a few things on this trip. One interesting fact is that a huge animosity towards religion has grown in Mexico. The interest in Catholicism has dropped from 95% to 5% in the past 25 years. This is due to the raging pedophilia that has occurred in the church. I was told that all the Catholic priests that get into trouble in other countries are sent to Mexico to cover up their deeds in their own country. As a result, Mexico has passed some very strict laws concerning children. You can get 15 years in prison for having a child in your car. You can get 6 months in prison for taking a picture of a child with his shirt off. Pretty bad considering when it's hot, nobody wears a shirt.

I also made an observation of people in general. I noticed in third world countries like this, people do horrible things to each other that we would never see people do in America. It would give the appearance that America has better people in general by comparison, but I don't believe this is true. I think Americans would do just as horrible things if they were desperate for food like the people in Mexico. Morality can fade quite easily when you are starving. It can be quite deceptive for people to consider others generally good as long as they are prosperous. It's just another example that man is inherently evil without God's grace.