Matt and Jessica

For those who don't have it already, check out Matt and Jessica's blog at http://www.mvmmexico.org/knopfupdates/

Pictures

Thanks for all the support and prayers from everyone back in Phoenix! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. I Hope many of you will get a chance to come in the future. It is definitely an unforgettable experience.

My roommates and I inside part of a pyramid
Lauren and I hanging off the edge of the Sun
All the kids in front of Mount Siani with their crowns that they made
Lupe and I!! I miss her.
Lauren and I with one of the many cute kids at VBS

This is the whole group at Nancy's House right before we left for the airport
On the trampoline at Nancy's
Eating lunch after visiting the pyramids.
Cute little boy named David, who was very proud of his butterfly.
Lauren and I looking at some of the ruins that have been uncovered in Mexico City



THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!!!

We're Baaaack!

We all got back safely about 5pm AZ time today. We cut it close catching our plane since there was a big tile-truck accident on the highway going into Mexico City. After that, though, everything went smoothly. Glad to be home! [Short post, since there's much to do here!]

More pictures

Hello everyone

Since Chuck posted such a good blog summary of the day, I will just add some pictures to go along with his blog. The pictures in Matt and Jessicas new home shows much of the items we made. Kayla played a new composition for the Mayor (who is mayor of the whole region or county around Atlacomulco). It was quite a major event for MVM, but I would have been more comfortable in the audience instead of up at the head table.

Todd Peterson

A day full of events at MVM

A lot has happened today. (I´ll write a few, and maybe someone else can fill in the gaps.)

1. The women and girls of our group were greeted at breakfast with roses and cards from "Los Caballeros de las Rosas" led by Tacho on the guitar. (The roses were potted so that they can be planted here at MVM when we leave.)
   
2. We had the last day of VBS at Iglesia Monte Sinai. We sang all the VBS songs that we have been learning the last 4 days. (I think I have almost learned the chorus to one or two!) Several of the kids got awards for learning and reciting Bible verses. Each kid decorated frames for the picture that Todd took the first two days. The frame was a cover for a notepad; the kids also decorated pencils to go with them. Many of the congregation came today, and they fed us lunch yet again. It was hard for some of our kids to say goodbye to the new friends they had made.
   
3. Many projects at MVM were finished: four sets of curtains, five pieces of furniture, and lots of small tasks like hooks in the shower room. Many of these were exercises in making do with what is available--for example, we built all the furniture with some left-over wood and only 2 power tools: a circular saw and an orbital sander.
   
4. There was a big ceremony here to commemorate the graduation of the students at a sewing class on the MVM campus. The mayor of the town, his entourage and the press were here. They also used the occasion to thank us for coming--Todd and Jayne sat at the head table to represent our group. The speeches were short, and the food was good!
   
5. We had a surprise housewarming party for Matt and Jessica. We had been secretly creating a one-room apartment for them in the new wing of dorm rooms here. (For those of you who don´t know, they´ll be living here for a year.) Folk did lots of shopping to buy new furniture, a hammock-chair, a microwave, rugs, and other household items. We built a sideboard, two end tables and 2 shelves. We got a refrigerator, a bed, and some other household items from MVM. One set of the new curtains were installed. I think it came together pretty well. Amazingly, with all the activity, Matt and Jessica seemed to be genuinely surprised.
   

So, this is our last night at MVM--we´ll stay in a hotel tomorrow night and then catch a plane back to AZ on Friday. Thanks for all the prayer and encouragement!

¡Hey! ¿How is everybody in Phoenix? (those are seriously keys on the keyboard! hehe)

It was the third day of VBS and we are having a great time :) The kids there are so much fun and there are new faces every day. Today, as Lauren mentioned, we painted the kids faces, made crowns, and sang. They also took some more pictures and had a lot of fun.

Back at the MVM some of us went for a short hike to the water tower. We also finished painting rooms and the benches that some of us made and created another movie with a bunch of small skits.

Hope everything is going well at home :)
Heidi

¡Hola!
Today was our 3rd day of VBS. We learned more songs, made crowns, and painted the kid´s faces with face crayons. They loved it! More kids come every day. We were served lunch again today at the church: rice, tortillas and pork(?). Now we are making another skit/video for tomorrow´s VBS and working on various projects around the MVM.

Last night Tacho informed us that the mayor of the town and his wife are coming for the end of a sewing class that Ava has organized with the community (the mayor´s wife is in the class). They are going to show some of their sewing prjoects...I´m not sure what else.

I´m looking forward to seeing everyone in Phoenix on Sunday!

-Lauren

Hi Everyone back in Phoenix and elsewhere

Another busy day is coming to a close. The second day of VBS was much improved. We had electricity today at Mount Sinai Church which allowed us to use the video to help everyone learn the new songs. Many of the youth on the trip now have second shadows (VBS kids who have bonded so tight that that cannot be separated from our youth). The kids loved the craft today where they decorated foam crosses. They were very proud of their work and wanted everyone to take picures of them and their cross. We have come to serve but find ourselved being served in return. The adults at VBS served us lunch today with fresh tortillas made outside the church, rice, beans, eggs and salsa. Even back at MVM many work to make our stay enjoyable including Eva who cooks for us, Pablo who is a student in the program who gets up early to make sure that we have warm showers, Sally and Tacho who are our guides and interpreters.

We returned from VBS to continue our work projects and made good progress on building furniture for the new wing. The kids had fun with Matt Knopf filming a short video on the good Samaritan for tomorrows VBS. And Dave, it even stars a burro from next door! Top that in your next Esperanza video production! Now everyone comes to family time with lots of God Moments to share now where it was harder in the beginning

As before I have included some pictures

Todd Peterson

Today was the first day of VBS at Mount Sinai, and we also attended their church service this morning. They invited us to the front of the church during the service to share a few songs of ours. We sang Lord I Lift Your Name On High, and Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord in both english and spanish. After the service we started the VBS program with the kids and even some of the adults. There were many crafts to try and explain and photos to be taken, but it all ran very smoothly. I met a little girl named Lupe who was about 3 or 4 (she didn´t know). I helped her make her butterfly and bookmark and by the end she wouldn´t leave my side. Hopefully she will be there the next few days. The rest of today we are playing games and soccer, and finishing up some of the work projects from yesterday. Tonight we will have family time and pack for VBS tomorrow. Hope everything is going well back in the states.

Work Day

Looks like we´re done being tourists: today was a work day at MVM. We divided into several teams and took on many tasks. Most of the work was centered around the new dorm building that was just finished a few months ago. One group painted the outdoor columns, one painted the interior of the 4 rooms, one fixed a few doors that didn´t open or shut all the way, one put up a shower rod, and one started sewing new curtains. It was great watching everyone work and have lots of fun together. We just finished up our devotional at 11pm--it´s been a long day. Tomorrow we will participate in a service at a local church and have our first day of VBS. Thanks to everyone for keeping us in your prayers!

Photographs

Here are some photos from the trip so far.

THE Saturday Work Day

Today was a day for work projects at MVM. Kids were painting the new retreat dorm and themselves, parents were running around Atlacomulco getting supplies, the electrical engineers were struggling with the front gate openers and fixing doors in the new dorm, kids helped organize the materials for VBS, curtains were being sewn, shower curtain rods were being installed. A busy day with still time for fun including games like Pit. Biggest success of the day was getting the gate openers to work, proud moment for parents as kids worked without much direct parental supervision, day concluded with family sharing time and a devotions. It was a productive day! Tomorrow VBS starts with more work projects in the afternoon.

Todd Peterson

Atlacomulco Arrival

We are now at Sally and Tachos house in Atlacomulco and going to our beds. No major problems, disasters or mishaps to report.

After breakfast at the hotel where they serve the largest hot cakes (the Mexican term for pancakes) you've ever seen, we went to the craft market. There was frenzied activity for 90 minutes by the shoppers in the group (especially Jayne - for gifts -and interestingly the middle school boys - for toys). Then we went to the pyramids where the youngsters lead the way running up and down the Pyramid of the Sun. We had lunch late in town at a typical Mexican restaurant and then drove to Atlacomulco. We passed through rain showers. Everything was very green - a definite change from Phoenix. And we had Blackberry coverage the whole way! When we arrived at the MIUC, we were greeted by many familiar faces. Nancy Nelson, Samuel and family, Pablo, who have been there on previous trips, helped to unload all the luggage and get us settled in. After a late dinner the evening ended with family time where everyone shared special moments on the trip to this point.

Tomorrow the work begins.

Todd Peterson

They have arrived!

We have safely arrived in Mexico City and are at the hotel. We got in on time and made it through customs without problems - green lights for everyone. We found Tacho as soon as we got out of customs but had to wait for Matt and Jessica as their plane was late. We toured the Zocalo with the cathedral and the pyramid ruins. It is rather humid and in the 80's with thunderclouds around the city. The orange shirts are great as you can are them a block away.
We had a pleasant dinner at the Blue Tile Restaurant (a tradition now) but dinner was interrupted by drumming from the street below. It was a protest group and you should have seen their outfits (or lack of them). We had to go out the back entrance of the restaurant and detour around to avoid the protesters.

The hotel is quite nice and the rooms are large. Everyone is tired and going to bed early to rest up for shopping and the pyramids tomorrow. Tomorrow night we will be at the Mission. Hope my blackberry works there.

Pass along the word.- all is well
We'll send another update tomorrow

Todd Peterson

So it is 2:40 in the morning, and my alarm is going off in 3 hours to head off to the airport!!! I guess it is a good time to get started packing. My mom and I were up until 2 finishing the backdrop for the week, and we have created a masterpiece! I can't wait for everything that will come this next week! And thank you to all that have supported us during this time! Time to go back to packing. Vaya con Dios!

Kendra

Tomorrow's the big day!

So here at the Peterson household, we are spending our fourth of july not only celebrating with our extended family, but frantically packing at the last minute for the trip! I for one only have my towel, orange mazahua team shirt, and all my food packed so far. So I better get packing!

Though I've been on the mission team many times already, each trip is unique because of the talents brought to the table by the different team members that participate in making our planning a reality. I am excited for the new batch of people, and the old faces, joining up to what looks to be a great VBS journey this coming week. See you all bright and early tomorrow morning!

This is it!

Well, here we are, the day before. If you are like me, there are a million things to do, to get ready. I am very confident this will be a good trip, with lots of new adventures and discoveries. I think I will probably learn a great deal and hopefully, with God's help, make a difference, however small. My prayers are for all of us traveling as well as those staying behind to continue the mission of Esperanza in the Phoenix area. Peace to all.


Pam (aka EndoQueen)

Note from the "Prayer Warrior"

Just passing along this note from Dara that you may have missed...

Dear Team,

As you prepare for your journey to MVM know that you will be well covered with daily prayer from Frank and me. It is truly an honor to be your official prayer warriors for this trip and will lift each and everyone of you in prayer daily. May God bless and keep you safe from beginning to end of this wonderful experience that lays ahead. "With open minds and open hearts each one of your will be filled with the Holy Spirit and return filled with God's love to the point of overflowing". Amen.

We anxiously wait to hear how things are unfolding.

Love and God Bless,
Dara & Frank

Anticipation

As we get down to the last 2 days before we leave for Mexico, I'm anticipating so many parts of this trip-not the least of which is leaving town as the temp hits 117! I'm anticipating the beautiful countryside and the animals that we'll see along the way, the great, interesting food, the warm & generous people who show their love of Christ in such quiet and yet obvious ways, and the chance to spend time with a wonderful group of people who have spent so much time and energy to make this trip come to be.
There are so many people who put in a generous amount of their own time to help us get to this point-- The Jones family, the Schutts, the Edmans, Frank & Dara(the trip just won't be the same without you), the Wednesday morning Book Group, Steve Burnett, Minerva, Liz Farquhar, the Willis's, the Sponaugle's.. and the list could go on and on. Thank you all for helping this trip become a reality.

More from the MVM...

I Can't wait

I can't wait to hang out with Mark, Stephen, and Matt Knopf. Also we'll have Jacob to join in our shenanigans. I love to see all the stray dogs, cats, chickens, and occasionally donkeys outside of MVM. Also, I love to see all the kids learn about Jesus and see all the great big smiles on their faces.

Caution
We will be chasing the chickens and they may land on your head.

Boys Rule

Thanks!

I am so excited to start our adventure to Mexico! We will definitely stand out with our fantastic orange t-shirts! A million thanks to Steve Burnett for donating them to us and to Todd for the great design. Thanks also to all of those who helped us with the fundraisers, especially Tim, Dawn, Ryan, Craig, & Eric Jones & Frank & Dara Zarowny. We wish you could have joined us for this trip.
I've been practicing the VBS songs on my way to work. I think I am catching every 10th word now. If I don't watch out, I'll get a speeding ticket...the music is so fast - I'm getting a lead foot. Kayla seems to be getting it & I think she even knows what she is singing.
3 more days until we go!!!
Jayne

Signing in to Google/Blogger

Just a heads up ... when signing into Google, your screen name isn't the same as your username. My username happened to be an email address. It took me a half-hour of my very valuable time to figure that out! :-)

Sorry if you guys know this already. But if this post saves one person a half-hour of his/her life, I'll consider it well worth it. Your user name isn't your screen name.

Blessings on your preparations, team!

Four days to go!

Welcome to our blog! We're a group of folk from Esperanza Lutheran Church in Phoenix (Ahwatukee), AZ (http://www.myesperanza.org/). We've spent the last few months getting ready for a trip to the Mazahua Valley Mission in Atlacomulco, MZ (http://www.mvmmexico.org). After the yard sales and the talent show, we're finally ready to head to the airport. Stay tuned for more thoughts and experiences from the team!