Robbie Writes Again (last time from Mexico)

It’s Friday!!!! The last day before things go back to being rich, successful, hardworking… Okay lets get real… Greedy, careless, irresponsible, and corrupt- As this week closes, I’ve begun to notice almost too much. I’ve seen a whole different world, a different higher class of people, the personal sides of friends, and finally my dissatisfaction with hitting my “Wall”. We’ve talked a lot of our walls the last couple of days and I’ve been feeling great… I’ve had no intention of hitting any kind of walls, but I spoke to soon. It happened Thursday, it was difficult to continue to look on the bright side of situations and problems like I’ve been trying to do according to James 1. (One of my personal verses that I try to abide by during hard times). Its been tough, it’s been hard, I try to do something to help someone and we end up recognizing the problems, analyze them, and realizing what it’s going to take to fix them. My frustration came when I thought we had figured out the problems and later I realized that we hadn’t, but we are continuing to try to find solution to the remaining problems. So Now My Wall Is Going Up … So foundations to frustration have been set and the conglomeration of some of my own personal problems, and other’s personal problems have both effected my worship and my individual life. Fatigue and several other problems have started to form this so called “Wall”. I’ve allowed other people’s situations to effect me, and I’ve been working them out through quiet time and realizing what is and isn’t important, and what should and shouldn’t make me upset. I’ve had to think a lot during this adventure and have appreciated what it has done to my mind. Although my “Wall” wasn’t large enough to “knock me down” it was large enough to trip me up and make me think about how I would handle things, which I couldn’t have done without my new/old friends. This journey has also given me new friends and profound new friendships. Without my friends this would’ve been much more difficult and not nearly as fun. If you haven’t ever seen a close friend become closer with the Lord then you won’t know how much fun that is. You would have any idea how much fun it is to pray over one another, and have each other’s back. To trust someone as yourself— On the other hand, our house has been brought up very efficiently through hard work, good ideas, leadership, and team work. More importantly is our neighboring Mexican families, THEY ARE AMAZING! They are the ones that I have witnessed God through, they are the ones that made me think and allowed me to learn. I came to Mexico thinking, “ Alright, I’m going to a third world country to help build houses for people that don’t have as much.” And now I’m thinking when I leave this place to go back to the U.S.A. I’m leaving a greater place filled with much of what really matters, family love, care, simple fun(simply dropping a ball and kicking it around brings smiles as large as a man winning a lotto), and joy to go back to a greedy and selfish nation. They’ve taught me so much! Again, it’s one of the things it’s hard to describe with words. Especially when I saw the faces and tears when we dedicated the house to Elizabeth(The New Owner). Her face was exuberant and over come with endless joy, tears were streaming, and I can tell her heart was pounding fast. Only after that was she to be push in her joyful feelings when she opened an envelope filled with money that was donated by the phenomenal servants that I was privileged to have in my group! This time in Mexico has been beyond the description of words and in certain scenarios surpasses the descriptive words in the dictionary. I have felt just about every kind of emotion and feeling. I have shed tears, laughed, smiled, been frustrated, been upset, been sad, and many more. This trip has been more than just a trip but also a test allowing growth for my individual and a test for servitude. It went from doing clean-up after dinner, to doing dishes every morning with my friend Lindsey, to building a house, to doing VBS for many Mexican children, to praying with neighbors, to helping others with personal problems, to playing soccer with the children in the streets and yelling CARRO for Car and AQUI for here/pass. This trip has been definitely one of the most dominant highlights of my life, and I feel like I could go on with this writing continuously. One big thing I’ll take away from this trip is even though living in the U.S.A. has many opportunities and doorways for success temptation and evil lurks in the dark and around every corner, it’ll get you when your tired and seek you when your weak, it will hate you when you worship, and hunt you when your lost— I know I’m not lost, God shines his rays over my path eliminating the shadows, he leaves no room for error and promises success, through him he guarantees happiness, and fills my night with refreshing ZzzzzZzzzz’s, he is my protector and my guide, my only one I share with through pride. He is my Savior and my best friend. Closing- In doing all that my peers and I have accomplished, there has formed many stories, one being about the Mexican people as a whole or at least how they were portrayed to me. They aren’t these dirty, little, poor, good for nothing people! They are amazing with exceeding morals and characteristics. Their love for life is true and technology doesn’t stagger their love for God and peers as our possessions possess us thoroughly and fully. They are who they are, they are real, and they are and forever will be Mi Amigos. I’ve come to love them, and they’re style of living, even though their water won’t cooperate with any kind of stomach.  The story isn’t how many houses we built, or how much we accomplished physically, it’s what we accomplished in the relationships with them, and how much they’ve shown us! As of now I have no desire to leave, but like we discussed as a group tonight, God’s path goes on, and perhaps one day I’ll see my friends again.