SECOND COMMENTS FROM THE GROUP

FROM DEB GRITTER: Happy Anniversary Mike and Rach!! We love you and are praying for you today.  We know God has been with you this past year and praise Him for His faithfulness.  Happy belated Anniversary Kris and Brad!  Sorry we missed it last week. Hope you had a great time and we can’t wait to see you and the rest of the family in a few weeks!

This week has been great.  The high-schoolers have done a good job being an example to the other students staying at the camp.  There is truly a heart of service in our teens at Calvary.  I’m so proud to watch them volunteer to work hard and take a seat behind others.  Thank you for your prayers.  Please continue to pray for patience, tolerance and compassion in our group.  Our  group is processing a lot regarding how we are to help the poor and be Christians that God would be proud of in our own lives in West Michigan.  We appreciate all of the parents support and encouragement and want to say that you’ve done a good job raising your kids!! We’re enjoying getting to know them on another level this week.  It’s been wonderful! ~Deb Gritter

 

FROM COURTNEY DEBOER:
Hi Mom,

Thanks for the note. 

About Brenna… that sounds gr8.  I’d love to see her, but yes I am babysitting for the Snyders Monday and all day at that.  I think that Sonya would be okay with Brenna b-sitting with me though.  Maybe you can ask Brenna and Sonya about that for meJ.

I love you oodles.  Say hi to Dad and the rest for me.  I’m having a gr8 time, thanks for letting me go.

Love Courtney (Rosita) De Boer

 

FROM JASON VISSER:
This week I found out that the family we are building the house for lost their home in a fire. When I came I thought that we could give so much to these people. I soon found out that I was wrong when a boy of the family we are building for tried to pay us for doing this, with what was probably the only money he had in his pocket. My life has most definantly been impacted, but more than that it has showed me that God is in this place and he was in that boy. ~ Jason visser

 

FROM JIM VISSER:
We are being challenged to look at things differently this week and there is a new maturity showing among the kids. They are building a house that is not much bigger than their bedrooms. All of the students are finding things they enjoy doing which might be playing with the neighbor kids who are just starved for attention. They are smiling most of the time except around 6am when are call wake up. Please keep us in our prayers as the work HE as started will be finished.

Love in Christ     Jim Visser

 

FROM DAVE SPAULDING:

What another great day!!  I can’t stop marveling at the students attitudes.  Another day of no complaints.  These kids are the best group of kids I have had the pleasure of working with in youth group in a long time.  REALLY!!!!! I hope all you parents realize the gifts you have.  I’m sure that you do.  That’s it for me today.  Thank you for entrusting your kids to us.  I love it!

 

FROM ROSS GRAVELING

Last night was a great night I got to do what I love most, which is to have meaningful, insightful and life changing conversations with a small group of students. We were discussing and wrestling with some really deep life questions. What makes us different than the people we are interacting with here?  How can I love God if I have money? What are treasures on earth verses treasures in heaven?  What is God trying to teach me?  Do I have to sell everything I have in order to follow Jesus?  What does it mean to truly have a heart for Jesus, not just check things off a list to make me look more spiritual? 

I’m not saying we really answered any of these (if so we could write a book<LOL), but what we did is struggle (including some tears) and hopefully opened our eyes more to a bigger picture of who God is and what the Bible is really trying to say!!!  I can’t wait till we get to continue again tonight.

The work day went awesome for my group today as well, despite adverse conditions we were able to get all of our walls up and our trusses up.  The lady we are working with (one who had the fire) continues to smile more all the time.  You could see the joy on her face when she looked at all of her walls to her new house standing.  There were other times though when you could see she was deep in thought (I can only imagine about what).  Continue to pray specifically for her and her family as they try to begin to rebuild their changed lives. 

 

FROM MONICA GRAVELING:

Another beautiful day here in Mexico.  The weather is amazing!  It is sunny and hot-my favorite-during the day and the nights cool off into the 50’s.  The landscape screams of God’s majesty and power.  The boulders are definitely crying out his praises.

 

The kid’s here in Tecate have touched me greatly.  They are so fun!  I love their energy, hugs, smiles, and patience (since I speak very little Spanish).  They are absolutely adorable and precious.  They have shown me Jesus in several ways.  The older kids always take care of the younger children.  They usually let them eat and drink first.  They watch out for one another.  They carry around the youngest kids as well.  They smile and hug you.  They love to play games and tease you.  We play a lot of duck, duck, goose with the children at our project site. 

I have met a group of women who sell English books in the area.  One women speaks English really well.  She came to the camp with some friends and ate with me last night.  Tonight she is going to show me her home.  It has been an experience to hear her life story and learn more about her city.  She is a very loving and kind lady.

I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to work with these wonderful young people.  They have been so mature and hard working.  Way to go CSM!

 

We have also met a woman named Maria.  She lives down the street from our home.  She is a Christian woman.  She prayed with our group this morning and asked us to please pray for her family members who have not invited Jesus to do life with them yet.

 

Praise God!  We had around 150 kids at our VBS today.  They sang songs, listened to a puppet show/story, made a craft, and had snack.  They were so excited.  Several of the children showered and made themselves up just for VBS!  It is great to see our students developing special relationships with individual kids.  It makes your heart smile!  Please pray for the message of Jesus to match our actions and words.  Pray that they may meet him at VBS and see that he loves them deeply.

 

Thank you for your prayers, love, and thoughts.  We can feel them and know that God is blessing your diligence. 

 

FROM SUSAN DOUGLAS:

This is my first mission trip, and I am surprised and amazed at the experience.  I was told by seasoned mission-trippers that I would be touched by the people of Tecate, but that is an understatement.  Because although I miss my family very much, I am wishing I could stay longer to help our family even more.  One building? No, let’s build two!

 

I miss you so much, Mark and Steven.  I don’t wish I was home, though.  I wish you were HERE!  What an experience…one day we’ll do this as a family!

 

Hey Mom and Dad!

     “I wear my sunglasses at night!” –Anonymous-

 

FROM EMILY WEHRMEYER:

Well its hard to put into words of all that I what to say. This mission trip has probably  been one of the most live changing things I have experienced. Two week ago I went to Queens, NY on a mission trip with church an I loved it! Days after that I was wanting to go on the trip that was going there the same week as this mission trip instead of coming here to mexico. I now know that God called me to come here because he knew he struggles in my Faith and knew that this trip was going to help me see beyond the oundries I have set for myself, to step out of the box I have placed myslf in and reach out to others. He has shown be on this trip that even though people can hurt you so much emotionally you still have to forgive them, God forgave us and even though its hard we have to learn to forgive them. God had mad me a new person on this trip.

 

FROM KRISTEN HEITMAN:
This has been such a great mission trip so far. Most of us have become very attached to the families and the kids that we are building for. This morning we arrived at our work site and started to pray. While we were praying the little kids of the family ran around us and stood with us and bowed their heads. I don’t even really know how they knew that we were praying because they don’t really speak and English and it was just a God moment to see those little kids so eager to pray with us.