Mexico

Okay, I went on a mission trip last week
It. Was. Amazing.
This was my 3rd year, and it gets better every time I go
I always look forward to spending time with the kids there
We stay at an Orphanage called "The City of Children"
It's beautiful
Anyways, I haven't had a lot of time to blog about it because I've been super busy
So, that's why 3 days have past
First things first, I had to wake up early to get to the airport on time
Our flight was to San Diego and that went great
But.....
When we got to San Diego, one of our buses was super late
So, the teens and a few adults loaded up one bus and headed to In N' Out Burger (which is more like sit and stay burger because people stay there FOREVER)
Most people left when we got there because there were 60 people in our group haha
So, we all ate outside on the sidewalk because there weren't any tables
And we fed the birds that were there and that was fun
Then we headed across the border, which was the easiest border crossing ever
And then, we FINALLY made it to the City of Children
The adventure began
We arrived late so not much happened the first day
Sunday really kicked off the trip, we had service (in Spanish and English) and hung out with the kids
We didn't have any down time tho
We had to decorate the kitchen to match our theme
And we had the best theme this year
*drum roll* it was CHRISTMAS IN JULY!
The decorations were great! We all had a blast putting everything together
Every year, we have a skit. And this year, I was an elf in the skit.
It was cool :) the skit ended up being great
On the last night, we got a surprise
One of our Elders who has gone on this trip with us for who knows how many years, showed up
He wasn't in great health so he didn't come down with us and we were all surprised when he walked into the room. It. Was. Awesome.
One of the best things that happened was that every night, the 5 girls Olivia and I had become friends with last year, saved us seats at every meal
It was like the cutest thing. ever.
Then, the work days began
On the first work day, I woke up and I was about to get ready and then Ms. Nancy opened the door to the cabin.
She looked right at me, and I knew instantly what had happened
My grandfather had passed away
It was one of the hardest things to get through that week, but I had amazing friends that surrounded me and helped me through
I miss him dearly, and I will always be thankful for the life that he lived <3
anyways... back to what everyone actually wants to hear about... (I just needed to include that because it's a big event (and I love and miss him very much))
We had 3 crews: 1 stayed at the orphanage, 1 delivered food to the community, and 1 built a house
They're all enjoyable
If you're on the house or food crew, you get to go shopping (typically for Lift of Salsa Verde chips)
So, all of that fun ensued for three days
And then, it came to Thursday.
We got up, dedicated the house we had built to the family that was going to live in it, went to the city to shop for a few hours, came back and ate lunch, played with the kids, ate dinner...
And then, the trail of tears.
We went up to the kids' dorms to tell the goodnight, not good bye but see you later
It's one of the saddest things ever.
I cried
and I cried
and I cried some more
We had to say "see you later" to the girls we had come so close to
They even gave us bracelets they had made, it was adorable
I will never forget this trip
The way that they love even through their hardships
It's one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced
and I can't wait till next year

Me & mis amigos - Veronika, Me, & Olivia -Me, Veronika, Olivia, & Mr. Jeff
Lindsey, Veronika, Olivia, Me, & Ximena - Mexico - Jordan, Me, & nos amigos
Me, Olivia, & Veronika - Veronika, Me, Jackson, & Olivia - Addison, Veronika, Jordan, Olivia, Me, & Jackson
Me, Olivia, & nos amigas - Me & Olivia - Olivia, Matthew, Abie, Jordan, Jackson, Veronika, Me, & Linden
City of Children - Me & un caballo - Jacksom, Jordan, Me, Veronika, Carrington, Linden, Olivia, & Nicole

Live 
Laugh
Love
~Laurel <3