We did it. We made it to the end of our work in Reynosa. We did a closing worship this evening, and in trying to recall our time here, it seemed like we’ve been here for months. It has been a whirlwind five days. We did a total of four different VBS sessions, installed foam paneling in a worship space, toured the community, planned for the future of our partnership here, installed eight ceiling fans, fixed the Internet, fixed it again, held two movie nights, did door-to-door evangelism, and most importantly spend time connecting with our brothers and sisters on this side of the border.
In terms of pacing, today was no different from any of the other days. The VBS crew managed to do a morning session and an evening session. The construction crew tore down a roof (on purpose), installed a ton of ceiling fans, ran more Internet cable (I see it in my dreams at this point), and did others things as well probably. We topped the day off with another movie night – this time in the park right next door to our dorm. This one had an added twist though. The park had electrical access but no outlets. Jimmy Jones had to install an outlet into some random cable that was just sticking out, while eight other members of the team stood around “supervising.” Laura Bradley described the event as “BYOE” for “Bring Your Own Electrician.” The crowd was very patient with our last minute major technical upgrade, and based on the debris as we cleaned up, the popcorn and lemonade were hits as well.
And with that, we come to the close of this year’s trip and my time to sign off. I want to extend a special thanks to all of y’all who have followed our journey on this blog. It has meant a lot to us to know that there is a community of people out there supporting us, keeping tabs on us, and praying for us. First thing tomorrow, we begin the journey home, but we will certainly take a piece of this place with us. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Vaya con Dios,
Pastor Trey
This morning the countdown of our final activities began. After eating a hearty breakfast and discussing future plans, our teams were ready to spring into action. While about half of our team stayed at Monas Juntas to work on construction projects, the rest of us went to Pastor Salvador’s church to engage the local children in Vacation Bible School. Our morning session, which was filled with games, singing, and activities, quickly went by and was accompanied by the difficulty of having to part ways. It was then time to head back to headquarters where we all gathered for lunch. Upon refueling, we loaded back into the van and headed to Salvador’s Church for our final session of VBS. When all was said and done, some of the children wanted to know if we would be returning tomorrow. Once the reality of not seeing them again for a really long time set in, so did the sadness. These boys and girls who enjoyed learning and the attention they received could easily have been our own children or grandchildren. It was very humbling to see how much they appreciated having a Vacation Bible School. It was also a real eye-opener to find out that for some of the children-contact with Americans was a first. It’s hard to believe how quickly we went from being strangers to family; and, it was hard to say goodbye!
-Peggy Rittenour