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Tag: Mexico
First Presbyterian Church will take a team to Villa Infantil Maya (VIM), a residence that enables Mayan students to attend middle and high school away from home in a spirit-filled, caring environment.
During the mission trip, First Presbyterian team members will stay in the dorm, interact with the VIM students and perform some construction work to improve the facility. Past groups have painted, sanded and installed concrete. A variety of tasks suit all ages and abilities.
If you are interested in being a part of this exciting and long-running mission, contact Martha Eubank for more details.
The approximate cost for the trip will be $1300-$1400, with scholarship help available.
Here is the anticipated itinerary:
- Monday: Leave around 9:30 a.m. Arrive in Cancun in time to shop for supplies for the week.
- Tuesday-Friday: Work at VIM, meet the students and visit the schools VIM students attend.
- Friday afternoon: Travel to the quaint colonial town of Valladolid for an afternoon/evening of R&R.
- Saturday: Return to Charlotte
Watch this video to learn more about the work of Accion Ministries, our mission partners in the Yucatan.
We woke up to another beautiful sunny day at VIM. Everyone was eager to finish the walk way we had been working on all week. After countless buckets of sand, gravel and cement, we finally finished the path and were able to sign our names, making our mark on VIM just as VIM made a mark on us.
We packed up and cleaned what had been our temporary home for the past week. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to our gracious hosts and all the students that had become family. Off to Cancun we went. Everyone enjoyed the pool at the hotel in the afternoon and a great dinner in downtown Cancun.
The theme this week was stretching our faith, and there is no doubt that was accomplished in many different ways by spending time with the children, breaking down language barriers with those of all ages, and putting in hard work everyday despite the weather conditions. Our last day was full of laughter and affirmations of each others’ skills and abilities and we will no doubt never forget this trip. Not only has our faith been stretched but it will continue to be stretched into our everyday lives at home in Charlotte.
Signing off from the dream team –
– Kyle, Stevie, Alex, Jack, William, and Caroline Hace calor!!
Day 4: Three cheers for a work day with no rain, but still enough cloud cover to not be scorching hot, and enough sun to dry things off!
The sidewalk is looking good! We are all experts now in mixing concrete, shoveling and creating assembly lines to pass buckets of dirt, gravel, rocks, and concrete. We are also getting to know each other better as we stand in our lines passing buckets. Lots of stories and laughter helping the time pass!
As much fun as we are having, we are also being stretched by having to get up early and work with our sore muscles and dirty, tired bodies. Then, as we head to Vacation Bible School, it is rejuvenating as we are greeted by the smiling faces of the kids so excited to see us with nothing but love in their sweet eyes. At the end of our day, behind every smiling face of our youth and advisors, we can also see the exhaustion. But because our group is so amazing, we just keep pushing onward and ‘stretching our faith’!!
– Group One and Done, Adele Campbell, Jack Perrin, Alex Glontz, Abigail Giles, Davis Ryan, Davis McMillan, Rand Ayer and Kelli Mallory
Our faith today was stretched by lots of rain and mud. We woke up at 6:30, had breakfast and waited for the rain to break. Alas, that moment never came.
What an amazing day! We started the day with a good meal to prepare our bodies for some hard work as we helped lay concrete for the new dining hall. As part of the process we move the large rocks and buckets of dirt to help fill in the bottom layers before topping it off with concrete.- helping out with vacation Bible school
- God answered our want for rain
- blowing bubbles with a little girl
- communicating and playing games with local children without being able to speak Spanish well
- accomplished a lot of work before the rain came
- working together to pass buckets of concrete
We made it!! It’s hot but all is good! We were excited to meet all the new people and children at VIM and play some games of volleyball, soccer and basketball with them. We are in the wonderful presence of Oscar Jr and Roger. Roger is the bomb…we are excited to work with him this week!
We are looking forward to stretching our faith and experiencing new things!
The hammocks are beautiful and actually really comfortable. After a good night sleep we will be able to have a great day of work. Be on the lookout for more from us tomorrow!
– Natalie Raygor
What a day! Thanks be to God for safety, energy and dedication! God was surely present with enthusiasm at our work site notwithstanding a 7+ hour workday in the heat as we mixed concrete, moved it by wheelbarrow to the kitchen we were working on and then, using buckets, lifted it to the roof.
As the roof was being completed, we spontaneously broke out in song, making a joyful noise to the Lord. We saw God in how we worked side by side with Ovet, the host family, and the Mexican masons, overcoming our communication challenges.
God was certainly present at the end of our evening devotions as we all came together in song (led by Elizabeth Raby and a student at VIM) and had a big adios group hug with everyone at VIM. Thanks be to God for this day!
– Group “Frasier and the Jets”
Another beautiful display of teamwork and camaraderie at VIM today! God was ever-present as our youth worked together in helping to complete the roof of the kitchen building at VIM. God is here in our fellowship with our hosts and shining in the eyes if the children attending VBS. In spite of a language barrier there is the universal communication that is the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Highway that our youth are treading.
– Work Group “Team Sebo”
Today was a special day in Mexico as it was our first day hosting Vacation Bible School. The youth really enjoyed interacting with the village children. God’s footprints were evident in the children’s laughter and smiles. The group continued working hard and succeeded getting 28 17-ft cement poles positioned to start the roof on the dining hall. The unusually breezy day was definitely enjoyed by all.
– Small Group “7 Dwarfs”