This post is LONG since overdue! I started it way back in May and never finished it! Since my tickets are now bought to fly to Mexico again on January 8th- I figured I best post this entry in preparation for my trip here in 3 weeks! (I will be flying to Tobasco State this time with Stephanie, Ben and Andrew! :)) . . . In this post I will be telling about the photos, the events and more importantly how the trip affected and influenced me.  Some of the pictures may not look as professional as I would like- but PLEASE bear with me! I did not do all of the photography and not all of it was taken with my professional camera. Some of the photos were taken with my iPhone. :) I am quite positive that you will notice the many, many, mistakes that I made, but hopefully you will in turn see how important reaching others for Christ is, and how far reaching missions can deepen your life.... I never dreamed I would be given such an opportunity- but I give the Glory and Honor to God for how He used me while I was in Mexico! 

Thursday, February 28th- Aboard my plane to Houston, TX 

One of the things that I did NOT enjoy was trying to understand the paperwork they gave me to fill out!! Fortunately there was a nice bi-lingual hispanic gentleman who helped me to fill it out! I would have been lost otherwise!  

Mexico City airport from my plane window

Through customs and with my cousin Stephanie 

Ready to board the metro... One of my favorite experiences while in Mexico was my first ride on the Metro! It made things even more exciting with all of my suitcases- but we managed (Ben, Stephanie and Me) without anything getting stolen. 

View of the stairs up to the little room I stayed at on the first night in Mexico at Nieves and Nicolas' house (relatives to a man that goes to Stephanie's Church) They had lots of plants, and animals and birds. Our alarm clock was the roosters "crows"! Some of these experiences I will never forget! Loved it! 

Nieves and Stephanie. It was hard to get some of the Mexicans to smile... :) By the way, she was the best Mexican cook! Wish I had the recipe to the chicken she made that night! makes me hungry just thinking about it!  

Later that evening we had prayer, singing and devotions with Nieves and Nicolas' relatives. God's spirit was really there. I will never forget their hunger and open-ness to the Gospel. 

Stephanie praying with them.... 

Not sure what this little boys' name was... but he and his brother LOVED for me to take their picture! They kept posing and posing! It was so cute! 

I loved this precious family! They seemed to just drink in every bit of the Gospel we offered

A view of the street on my first night in mexico. All the little lights are the expanse of Mexico City. We had quite a view. 

View from the top of the stairs of the little room I stayed in

Friday, March 1, in Mexico City ... Headed to the market with Nieves and Sergio (her son) 

Some of the many fruits and veggies in the market

Some of the many THOUSANDS of roses I saw in the floral market

While in the floral market, I kept saying to Stephanie how much it would be neat if our moms were there so we could buy them some flowers or roses. We then decided to buy Nieves and Krispine (Nieves' sister) flowers of their choice in honor of our Mothers'!! 

Me and Stephanie in the Floral Market 

 Krispine took us to the restaurant that she works at.... it was a wonderful experience and the food was delicious! 

Picture L to R- Krispine, Stephanie, Nieves, Sergio, and Ben

When we got back to NIeves' house... the key they gave us to get in wouldn't work! So we just sat on their patio and waited. Meanwhile, we got a host of eager onlookers very curious about these "gringos" with bags and funny looking skirts. Thankfully we had Ben to protect us! 

 The story behind the picture below is quite funny... 

On the way to Letti's (our next destination after spending the day with Nieves' friday) we had to get a combi to take us there. (not really a taxi but kind of like it) We were standing by this big highway and Stephanie waved one down. It was rush hour and there were lots of them. Combi's that  are not full are hard to find. She asked if there was room for 3 people. The guy said yes. Well, she should have asked if there were room for 6 because of all of our suitcases! We opened the door(now get this, cars are flying by and we are just barely off the road!) I peek in and the van is practically full! I said 'are you joking? There´s not room in here!' She's like 'we're doing it!' So we barely squeezed in but we have one problem: Ben still has to get in and he has the largest suitcase plus another big bag! SOMEHOW he managed to get in and all these people were just staring at us... it was hysterically funny! There was no space for Ben to sit down except on the suitcases. So he did. And as the driver started to push the gas to go forward- Ben looks around at eveyone (all 12 of us) and says in Spanish "Good Afternoon!" He had the sweetest smile on his face and some of the people that would normally be so stoical were laughing! It was great! You had to have been there to have seen how funny this was!

FInally in Chalco!! This was the room Stephanie and I shared:) We were Quite exhausted after such a big day... but I enjoyed every minute of it! 

Supper that night... Salmon cakes, white beans, and ..... cactus. (my least favorite food I tried in Mexico) 

Saturday, March 2nd, Chalco, Mexico State 

Kids from the neighborhood joyously talking and playing with Ben. They all absolutely love him! 

Some of the boys on this street liked posing in front of my big canon 7D with my 24-105 L lens. I don't think they had ever seen anything quite like it. :) 

Another sweet boy we met 

I loved taking Eric's pictures! He was such a great model! 

 Eric again! 

 Another neat experience I had was to go calling with Letti... she has lots of family right in her little neighborhood and it was neat to meet them and pray with them

L to R- Letti, Stephanie, Ben and Brenda (Letti's youngest daughter) 

 One of the little girls we invited to our Saturday Kids' club meeting (which we had that evening) 

Some of Letti's Family....

Preparing for Kids' Club..... (Pict taken by Stephanie with her camera)

L to R- Me, Brenda, Ben and Letti's oldest daughter, Marianna

Kids Club! 

 Praying with the kids

... more images of kids club

Sunday, March 3rd...  

Walking to Church on Sunday Morning

Ricardo(Lettis' adopted son) Ben and Brenda

Sunday School at the Baptist Church 

The people of this church were so kind and accommodating! Later that week they picked us up from the bus station, drove us back to chalco, and then took me back to the airport the next morning so we wouldn't have to get a taxi! The pastor recently came back from the United States to start this church. Though they may believe differently than us- they share the same vision as Stephanie, Ben and all of us... To reach the hispanics for Jesus! Their church now runs in the upper 40's and they just started it a few short years ago! 

View of the Church from the platform. On Wednesday night prayer meeting, they had to set out extra chairs because there were so many at church! 

Sitting in Church with Ben

Kids Choir....

After the Sunday Morning Service we visited with the Pastor, his brother, his father, and their families. I was saddened to find out that just 2 weeks after I came home from Mexico- the pastor's nephew, (who was almost 16 years old) was killed in an auto accident. He and his family were on deputation work, getting ready to go to Africa as Hispanic Missionaries. (One of the tires flew off their vehicle.) The boy(don't remember his name) suffered from bad head injuries that were fatal. It never occurred to me as I was taking his picture- that I was probably the last person who took his picture. (You don't see many people with cameras in Mexico) 

The boy who passed away is pictured to the far right. His 17-year old brother has the glasses on and his father has the black and white striped tie. His uncle is the pastor (very-smiling-man:)) and his grandpa(white hair)

Some of the church people

Headed to church again on Sunday Night 

With friends after church Sunday night...

Sunset in Chalco

Monday, March 4th, Mexico City ... 

We toured Mexico City AND went to a DOMINOS PIZZA!!

I bought Ricardo a personal pizza and an ice cream cone... you would've thought that I had given him $100! 

We went downtown to see many interesting buildings and displays ... 

At the Cathedral with Letti and her daughter. This building was absolutely incredible!

Inside the Cathedral- If you look closely, you can see that the building is sinking to the right... it has been sinking for over 100 years. They had graphs to show how many inches, etc... It was very intriguing to me! I wish the fact that it was sinking would have showed up better in the pictures. :(

The gold that you see in this picture is actually pure GOLD. I have never seen anything like it

I felt a little awkward taking these pictures since they were having MASS. (But there were many people coming and going out of the building and no one seemed to notice.) Watching the Hispanic Catholics have their MASS made me very grateful to have been given the heritage that I have. Many of the people I watched seemed so empty... I felt bad for them. They came to MASS hungry for living bread and looked as if they were leaving that way. I am so glad that I do not need to partake in MASS. I pray to God every day and I know He hears my prayers! He is with me everywhere I go, He has forgiven my sins, given me the power of the spirit through sancitfication and is my best and dearest friend! Traveling to Mexico made me feel so blessed and grateful for the way that I have been raised. It also made me want to go and minister more to others who have not been given the opportunity to know of salvation! 

moving on... 

It was incredible how many thousands of people we passed... people from all over the world. It still astounds me when I think about it! 

We also went up the Latino Americana Torre (Latin American Tower) 

Panoramic with my iPhone 4S

A look at Mexico City from 43 floors up. And also from my real camera. :)

At Thanksgiving, (in 2012) there was a young lady who came to our house. She was from Mexico City and couldn't visit her family for the Holiday. Her parents are pictured below with Ben and Stephanie. We spent the day with them that Monday.

Benjamin ... 

Me.... 

And Beautiful Stephanie!!!!! 

Art Museum

Ricardo and Stephanie inside the Art Museum

After walking and walking and walking and walking.... we found a restaurant and ate! They insisted I get my pict taken with the chef! 

The whole gang in front of the restaurant

Sunset downtown...

looking down a busy street

That evening we stayed at Mikaela's house (a relative to some of the people who go to Stephanie's Church) Boy oh boy could she cook!

Mikaela's Daughter was helping with the meal...

Tuesday, March 5th ...

Me, Mikaela, and Stephanie 

Headed to the canal for a boat ride!

The mariachi's !!! Loved hearing them in-person! :)

Aboard the boat.... 

Me and Eric...

It was really neat.... while you were taking your boat ride, there would be these other boats that would row up beside you to sell you flowers, food, jewelry, popcorn, tortillas, etc., I loved how persistent they were. 

Brenda, Eric (Letti's Grandson) and Letti

Ben and Brendita! :) (Ben took this pict by the way... part of the reason why it's a lil fish-eyed) 

All of us together

Letti at one of the nurseries 

Mango's at the market (it was mango season while we were there) Makes my mouth water just looking at this photo! 

What a wonderful day we had! We came home that night quite exhausted but were grateful for the memories we made!

Wednesday, March 6th...

Brenda's 12th Birthday and also the day we did laundry in preparation for our weekend in Oaxaca

Ben and I took Brenda to the market to pick out a cake and some nice skirts for her to wear. We also bought ingredients for me to make homeade pizza! :)

Later when we got back to Letti's- I began to make preparations for making the pizza. I asked for measuring cups and spoons and she didn't have any. I was in shock! I thought: "there's no way I can make pizza dough with no measuring cups or spoons"! But the Lord helped me and I managed. 

Here I am with my little crowd of people who were observing me making american food! I was nervous but all in all it was one of my favorite memories from Mexico. 

The quality in these 2 images is really poor. They were taken with my iPhone. I was too busy cooking (and eating) to pay attention to what camera was being used! :/ 

Now the rest of these picts were taken with my real camera! :) 

Brenda and the Pastor's wife getting their faces smashed! (It was Brenda and the pastor's wife's birthdays)

We did a surprise on the pastor and his father- we painted their hair! Everyone was in gales of laughter... hispanics love parties and fun. It was so neat to see their reactions.

The paint worked best on the pastor's father since he had white hair. 

4 of the guys ended up being victims to the paint. It was great! :)

the man to the far left in the pict above kept wanting me to get my picture taken with the cake. I couldn't understand what he was saying but when Ben translated- he was saying that he wanted me to get my picture taken with the cake so it would look like it was my birthday!? Of all things- that definitely struck me a little funny so I did end up getting the silly picture! 

Another special thing we did while in Chalco was to give Bibles to a young couple. They were both so happy and thrilled! This same couple were seeking the Lord and promised that they would begin going to church. 

Thursday, March 7th ...

At the Bus station headed for Oaxaca State! 

Krispine and her son met us there (bus station) because Krispine rode with us down to Oaxaca. 

Aboard the bus- Steph and Krispine

Some of the scenery we passed on our 6 hour ride

In Oaxaca!

Waiting on our taxi to take us to our final destination

Our prestegious taxi driver! 

At Petra and Isidro's house (relatives to people who go to Stephanie's church) 

After we arrived- our poor taxi driver's little bug broke down.  Friday, March 8th...

we hung out with Petra and Isidro's grandkids who live with them. We helped them tend their livestock... a very interesting day since I'm not much of a pet lover. I quickly learned to get along with the sheep-Haha! If you ever meet my cousin, Ben, Ask him about my experiences. :)

Here I am with George and Lisbet`

Saturday and Sunday (March 9th and 10th) we hiked to a nearby village to visit relatives and friends of people from Stephanies' Church. 

Pictured below is one of the boys we hiked to see. He rode this donkey like a Pro! :) 

Ben and George on the Hiking path 

Me in the Mountains of Oaxaca on Sunday Morning! (March 10) 

Ben enjoying the mountains! 

Mother and Baby. The physical strength that the ladies in the villages of Oaxaca amazed me! They would run down the strenuous (and when I say strenuous I mean that!) path with ease with their baby on their back and do it in 1/3 the amount of time that it took us gringos! I suppose the reason would be that it is their way of life and they are used to it! 

Below: Petra washing dishes in her outdoor kitchen. She was SUCH a hard-worker! 

A little bit of macro photography for the landscape-lovers! :) 

Lisbet` ... such a beautiful little girl! (She is Petra's granddaughter) 

Stephanie and Lisbet

Lisbet` and her grandfather, Isidro 

Petra and Isidro 

Stephanie, Petra, Isidro, and Ben in front of Petra and Isidro's house 

Monday, March 11th...

Stephanie and I 

Ben being "goofy"! 

Petra and Isidro feeding their livestock:) 

On Sunday morning we hiked to this ladies' house to have church with her, only she was not home! :( So instead we had church with her kids! Fortunately, we were able to say "hi" to her the on Monday morning when we were leaving Oaxaca. 

In the city with friends at a small stand where we were served lamb on blue tortilla's!  

Saying goodbye to Isidro before leaving Oaxaca to head back to Mexico City

Tuesday Morning, March 12th: Last views of Mexico City from our van window driving to the airport. 

At the airport with Steph 

As I was hugging Stephanie to tell her goodbye, we both discovered we were crying! What a joy it was to travel together, how many memories we had made.... and now I was leaving! Stephanie and Ben stayed another 3 weeks traveling all over Mexico! I wish I could have joined them but had other commitments that I needed to attend to! 

At My gate for San Francisco! 

Getting ready to land in San Fran- back in the Good Ole' USA! 

There is so much more that I wish I could have written and blogged about... pictures and words do not give the full description of what I took in. The impact that Mexico 2013 had on me was incredible! I will forever be changed...  I am so grateful I was given this opportunity and look forward to more doors that God may open for me to walk through! Lord willing- I look forward to flying to Tobasco on January 8th!