Written by Alex Brouwer and Brian Marcus.
Growing up in San Diego county, Mexico was always in our back yard. It takes us only about 50 minutes to reach the border, only a little longer than it takes us to get to the beach. However, even if it were your 87th time crossing the border, it would still feel a world away. The comforts of home start to fade as you drive south on Interstate 5, and, as you pass the final McDonald's, with Tijuana in sight, they seem to disappear altogether. You really do enter a different sort of world after your vehicle gets cleared for crossing. Unless you've booked a room at an all-expense paid resort in Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta, there is nothing glamorous about Mexico.
The real Mexico is where Mount of Olives Children's Village lies.
It is off the beaten path a little bit, about half an hour east of Ensenada, in the tiny town of Uruapan. For the past ten years, this is where our church has been involved in construction projects and people projects, building homes for those who don't have one and bringing the Gospel to those who have not heard.
Our Most Recent Trip, As It Happened
June 13-18, Uruapan Baja, Mexico, Mount of Olives Children's Village:
We rolled into the hard packed dirt parking area of the orphanage on a warm Sunday afternoon. Walking around the area, I could see evidence of the work of previous teams. Every time we go back, buildings are being completed and plans for new construction are being made, adding to the constant flow of improvement and change.
Our contribution:
On Monday and Tuesday, our team of about a dozen people tackled the assembly of 20 timber roof trusses (meant to give support to the roof), and set rebar (to reinforce the wall) in place for pouring concrete. Later in the week, half of our group drove to San Quintin, a nearby town, to undertake a tar-filled day of installing roofing while the rest of us cut more rebar and dug a trench for a plumbing line. Our last day was spent buying and delivering food and clothing supplies to a village of Oaxacan laborers, as well as playing with the children there. The picture below shows a young boy at one of these "refugee camps." This particular village has about 50 people and each "family" (a relative term, because most fathers have deserted their wives and children) lives in tiny concrete cubes (shown in the background).
The week was filled with odd jobs such as these. Due to the small size of our group, we couldn't complete something as ambitious as knocking out an entire house, but we took care of other necessary tasks and helped with preparation for the orphanages next big project: a fully equipped location for parking multiple RVs, as Darrell (the director) hopes to provide a space for entire families to visit for an extended period of time.
Some highlights of our downtime: talking with close friends while overlooking the valley at dusk (beautiful), enjoying a much needed social media break (give it a try), hanging out with the kids while eating spaghetti (they're a hoot!), visiting La Bufadora, and going with my cousins to the local hot springs.
The Kids
The kids at the orphanage are, honestly, what this is all about. Coming back year after, watching them grow in so many ways, seeing the joy on their faces, trying to keep up in Spanish conversations with them - all tremendous blessings. At the orphanage, they receive good food, education of heart and mind, opportunities for growth, and beautiful biblical teaching.
But it was not always like this. These kids come from the most broken of homes. It's difficult to imagine a situation more heartbreaking than the one they've been put through. You see, these kids are Oaxacan. Oaxacans, who are essentially an indigenous tribe in Mexico, are mistreated beyond belief. Their wages are dramatically lower than the rest of Mexico (which are already low), they aren't treated as equals with other Mexicans, and, as a result, their health suffers terribly. That describes Oaxacans as a whole. Take those descriptions, add on the fact that they were, at an extremely young age, orphaned, and now you have a picture of what these kids went through.
Mount of Olives Orphanage exists to care for them and give them something they never would have had otherwise - a life.
We Are Blessed To Be A Blessing
Brent Cooper, the man who spearheads the trip each summer, is quick to remind us of our material prosperity. He points our that half of the world's population lives on less than $2 per day, and that simply owning a car puts us among the world's wealthiest people. Seeing the men bent over in the fields next to the orphanage day after day is a vivid example of this disparity. We are blessed.
We are blessed to be a blessing.
Being away from the comforts of home makes you realize how comfortable home really is. While we complain about tight parking spaces and not getting served our food as quickly as we want, others only dream of having cars and worry about having enough to eat each day. Not everyone is called to serve in the same way, but we should remember those who may not be able to give in the same way that we are.
We are blessed to be a blessing.
"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." Luke 6:38
We Are Blessed Because Of It
The truth is this: as much as we can be a blessing to others who are less fortunate, even more are we blessed by them. I've never come back from a trip to Mexico being the same as when a left, which is a very, very good thing. Each time, I come back extremely humbled. South of the border, you see so much pain and poverty, but at the same time, so much joy. It's such a brutal indictment of myself and my attitude. Where's my joy? Where's my love? How do I come to terms with the fact that, even with everything I have, I'm always left selfishly wanting more? These people have almost nothing in comparison to us, and, yet, are we any more generous, more loving, more content then they? It's sobering to consider. But, when you do consider it, your worldview starts to change. That is how we are so blessed by having the opportunity to lend a small part of our lives to the people of Mexico. Our hearts are growing in love because of it. We aren't as superficially-minded because of it. We are becoming less like our sinful selves and more like Christ because of it.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21
If any of this resonates with you, please consider giving your time, your money, or your heart to those less fortunate than you. This is one beautiful way for us to be lights in the midst of a dark world.
