The past couple weeks

So, as I'm sure you all know, no mission work is possible without a little fun.  Naturally, because my team is full of 20-something year old kids, we decided to go to the zoo last week to celebrate an off day.  Now to be quiet honest, I did not know what to expect from a Mexican zoo but we quickly learned that you could feed the lions so we sprinted there as fast as our legs could run.

Just a little team photo with a giant lizard.  Pretty normal for the Mexican zoo apparently.

For those of you that don't know this face, it's one of sheer terror.  I have a phobia of snakes that I'm pretty sure originated when I was little and my grandmother put rubber ones in the drawer under the towels we used to dry dishes.  I would always find it, scream bloody murder and run out the door.  To the sound of her laughing hysterically.

So this was for you, Mamaw.

We topped off the weekend with a little softball with some Mexican friends.

This is JT and he's my little buddy.  He always saves me a seat by him and I HAVE to sit there in between innings.  He's a sweetheart, which isn't surprising since he has one of the greatest families in the world.  His parents are John and Natalie McLaughlin, AIA Staff and directors in Mexico and have been a huge part of my life here in Mexico.  They are my family down here and have three precious kids.  I don't think we would all make it down here had they not been a constant support for us.  They are moving back to the States in July and are going to be missed.  One of the greatest blessings I have had throughout this year has been this family, and my team and I thank God for them every single day.  

Last week the Mexico AIA team welcomed the BuxMont Torch Soccer Team from BuxMont, Philadelphia for a week long mission trip.  23 guys and girls gave up a week of their summer in order to come and pour into our ministry via a soccer tournament with three area colleges.  Some of the things I witnessed were absolutely from God and such an amazing blessing.  After it was all said and done, tons of doors were opened for AIA staff here in Mexico on these campuses, many spiritual conversations were had, and five college athletes gave their lives to Christ.  That's crazy when you consider that the team only spent 7 days down here!!!  We got to really get to know these kids and I have to say, they are some really special people.  What I learned from them I will forever be grateful for.  Here's some pictures to best describe the past few weeks...

The women's team on the UDLAP campus before our game.  We have been working extensively with this University and because of the team coming down as well as the tournament we were able to sponsor, huge doors with administration as well as individual players opened up.

The fields and weather were perfect.  

Popo even held off from dumping ash on us.

The girls were precious!  Unfortunately, the were short three players so... 

They had to pick up me to play with them.  Guys, there's a reason I didn't play soccer... and it's because I'm terrible at it.  

But I had fun.  Kind of.  You know that kid that always gets picked last in gym class but you feel sorry for them and pick them.  That was me this week.  Definitely learned some lessons in humility.

This was the guys team.  There were some amazing testimonies given and I came to love each of them.   It was really cool to see how God had worked and was continuing to work in their lives.  The Mexican players they were competing against could also tell that they were different than other teams- that they really played soccer to glorify Christ, and not just to win games.

The team had a cool opportunity to go out into a high poverty neighborhood in Puebla and run a kid's soccer clinic for two days.  There were over 70 kids that showed up! It was really sweet to see the kids running around and playing soccer, learning skills but also just being loved on.  Our team recently studied the principle of being the hands and feet of Jesus- connecting compassionate works with a passionate proclamation of the Gospel.  I have seen that anytime a believer engages in good deeds in the name of Christ, the goal is always that people would see something of the glory of God and be stirred within to praise Him.  Our goal was that one person might look at the way we were serving the community and loving on kids and undeniably know that we were doing it because Jesus did it first.  I think God sent a powerful message to the city when he coordinated this clinic.  It was probably one of my favorite moments of the tour.

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On Sunday after church we took the team to see downtown Puebla.  They have some of the most gorgeous buildings.

Jessi and I about to throw down some food.

And a night of worship at Casa Verde capped off a perfect day.

Yost talking to some UDLAP soccer players who came to hang out with the team.

Early mornings were the norm, hence the coffee in hand.

This is the Casa Verde ministry we partnered with.  They were great and housed our teams.  This was where all our meetings were held and was a perfect location, right across the street from campus.

They also have a sweet wall-ball playing surface that we put into use pretty frequently.  We were known to have gotten a couple of games in before 7am when the teams had to be up.

Some of the girls from the States and from Mexico.

I have the best team in the world.  Abbey (far left) put together this whole tour and I am so proud of the way it turned out.  Marnie (center) is one of my best friends and a constant source of encouragement and refuge for me.  Shout out to Yost, Joe, John, Natalie, Luis, Mandi and Jessi for all the extreme hard work and generally being there for me to rely on at all hours of the day.

JT and I hanging out during lunch.

Just being an idiot.

This is Lucia,  JT's sister and another best friend of mine.

Natalie giving me some wisdom about life during lunch break.  I really love this girl (or gal as she says).  She is so strong in her faith and her servant heart but also one of the most compassionate people I've ever met.  Plus, she let me live with her family for about three weeks.  Thanks, Natalie for everything you have done.  It never goes unnoticed.  

Lucia, JT and I sitting on the fence watching a game.

Sweet girl.

After the tour left we decided to celebrate Memorial Day in the most American way possible, so we went and ate Texas barbecue and proceeded to go to a professional Mexican wrestling match.  Both were equally amazing.

The group with our serious faces on, waiting in line to get into wrestling.

We were really redneck with our seventh row seats.

And this is Jon Jon, my big brother.  This picture has nothing really at all to do with Mexico, but I just wanted to give him a shout out too.  He is a big hero of mine and I miss him a good bit.  I'm also super, super proud of him because I just think he's a cool guy.

So that's been my last two weeks.  Kind of hectic, but perfect in a lot of senses.  God is definitely at work in Puebla and I just want to thank you for your thoughts and prayers for this mission.  I pray for you everyday.

Love,
Katie