Baja Missions Trip 2023 - Day 7 "Project Little Child"

This will be the final update! Thanks for sticking with me through this journey! 

The work that God had for us is finished. And as I write we are headed to cruising altitude on the plane. Writing might be a little sloppy as it's quite windy as we are taking off from San Diego. I wasn't able to recap the happenings of yesterday since we had a late night and a final meal while down in Mexico, so bear with me as I try to recall everything we did on our last full day in Mexico. 

Project Little Child - Refugio de Amore (Refuge of Love) is a daily outreach that is run by Eric's (Director of BCM) wife Becca. It can't technically be labeled as a school since she doesn't have her teaching license, so for all intents and purposes it's a daycare but it functions more like a school. Kids attend there every weekday where local teachers help students with their homework help teach them english and mainly just help keep the kids off the street. 

This community outreach was birthed as a result of Covid, kids couldn't go to school and they were running feral in the streets. This daycare offered an alternative option, a safe place where kids can go during the day and a place where they can learn about Christ. Becca truly has a heart for these children and her eyes light up when she talks about the ministry. 

Like most the days on the trip so far we left the connections house with clear skies and sunshine, we made our way to the Bodega to pick up supplies. We met Jorge and Hoku who were going to guide us to the daycare and be leading us in the days projects. I was overjoyed to see Hoku again. She has a light and a magnetism about her that I can't quite put my finger on. 

As we arrived at Project Little Child, a repurposed old house, the clouds began to form, the skies opened up, and it started to rain. Again. I had become quite used to this cycle while here in Mexico, but unfortunately many of the projects Becca had for us were supposed to take place outside. The short list was bathroom doors for the kiddos (all they had were some shower curtains), fixing the roof of the well loved playground that had blown off, painting the swing-set, and drywall mudding inside. 

With the majority of the projects needing to take place outside there was only so much we could do. Lucia and Liz wanted to work with the kids so they split off from the group and went upstairs to interact with the kids. Chris took to fixing up the inside drywall issues, which would prove to be more than challenging with little hands and fingers grazing every wall. Stephan and I started doing the preliminary work of cutting the pieces to replace the roof of the playground. But we were somewhat limited on supplies and Cory and Jorge needed to run to a hardware store to get some supplies. 

So we had little else to do but sit around and talk with Hoku. I don't even remember now what we talked bout but the time passed quickly even standing out in the rain. Before too long, being a native Hawaiian, the rain got to her and she headed inside to warm up and stay dry. 

In this moment I was feeling very pensive and took some time alone to stare out past the chain link fence, take in the countryside and reflect on the time in Mexico that was rapidly coming to an end. Again I was struck by the dichotomy of the beautiful countryside and the ramshackle homes constructed into the countryside and the high hills. In most cases these families making a home out of little more than random pieces of plywood and tarps or recycled billboard signs. 

The resourcefulness of these people is astonishing. Rarely is anything garbage, they make fences out of the end of electrical spools, doors out of shards of plywood, retaining walls out of tires. Nothing is wasted and everything can be repurposed. I've seen how these people live and how they scratch out an existence and survive day by day. It encourages me to live life more simply, to not take anything I have for granted and to take care of those around me and the needs that they have. 

Cory and Jorge returned from a run to the hardware store and a flurry of activity began to start with the newly found supplies. I felt led to seek out Hoku and continue talking to her. Her and Jorge's story is a long and colorful one. She makes me feel seen and valued. 

While most everyone around me was being a Martha and accomplishing much I sat and practiced the ministry of presence. With the commitments of BCM it is difficult for Hoku and Jorge to return to Hawaii to visit Hoku's family, something I think weighs on her more than she lets on. I stuck around with Hoku and Becca long enough and they invited me to come with them to pick up lunch. 

It was a bumpy ride to the little street shop where we picked up lunch. Hoku was asking me questions the whole ride, they were not easy to answer. The questions she was asking she never should have known to ask. I was close to tears several times when she asked me questions about my pregnancy, postpartum depression, and my experience of being a mom thus far. To feel seen and known is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone. I felt seen, known and loved in that moment. 

One of the highlight was getting to drive the van on the return trip! This even included having to back out of a parking spot that was right off of a traffic circle in order to get back to Project Little Child. Hoku said for my first time I did a good job! You have to have the right amount of awareness, touch of aggression, and navigation skills to make it in Mexico. 

We fed the entire school including ourselves on just $85 dollars. The meal was delicious fire smoked ribs and chicken! After lunch there was a short break in the rain and we were able to begin the painting the swing set. With a crew of 6 people in no time at all the swing set changed from a candy apple red to white. Not the best color choice in most of our opinions but Dewey made a great suggestion to let the kids mark it up and make it their own, handprints, homemade paintings and the like. That white set is going to get dirty fast is all I have to say! But that's ok, it's done though not perfectly. 

We had a chance to sit in on the kids chapel and Pastor Danny (A Minnesotan native) engaged the children in worship, aside from a little fidgeting due to no recess that day paid attention really well. This was the first time we'd gotten to see Lucia and Liz since they went up to hep teach the kids, and they were both, but especially Lucia was beaming! 

We took a picture with the kiddos and they said their goodbyes to us. We began the trek uphill to our cars and I stopped to take a picture of us traveling single file up the hill. Our heads staring at the ground, contented with our time and service but also weary from a long and demanding week. 

At the cars we said our final goodby to Hoku and Jorge, with a double hug from Hoku, we exchanged contact info and piled in the van for our final trek across bumpy roads to the connections house. 

We stopped in tourist trap Rosarito to do some shopping and spent about an hour and half picking up last minute souvenirs. I found a red poncho for Olivia and a local artist's work who paints on stone landscapes, scenery, and animals. I bought a small one of a whale breaching out of the water. 

We headed back to the connections house to get washed up for dinner out on the town. We were scheduled to meet Nacho at Taco El Chino. One of the recommendations were their loaded baked potatoes. I got 1 taco al pastor, and papas con arbrucharra (an amazing cut of tender beef). It was amazing and just the right amount of food. 

We said our goodbyes to Nacho and got ready to head back to the connections house. Squeaky, Dewey, Stephan and I walked 2 blocks to the Oxxo (gas station) on the corner to get ice cream. Dewey had been trying to find spicy candy this whole trip and this was his last chance. But he still didn't find what he was looking for. So back to the connections house with ice cream in hand preparing for our final debrief session in Mexico. 

My biggest takeaway from our final debrief is that each of us has been changed on a fundamental level. And in all different ways, Eric's original prayer that we would "get wrecked" had come true for most of us. 

For me it's the ministry of presence, to be engaged in listening and resting more than worrying about the to do lists and the tasks that have to be done. In most cases the tasks can and will wait. Take time to listen to the stories and experiences of those around you. Be a "Mary" for that is the better portion.