Mexico Trips!
From 2003-2009, I made 6 trips to Mexico to work with David Caldwell, a missionary friend who is developing youth camps for use by churches located near the camps. During each of these trips, I had many interesting experiences where I could clearly see God at work. These stories are included in the reports below. Also included are many details that describe the work that I did, what life was like, and useful details for anyone interested in doing a similar trip.
For more details on becoming involved, click here: Mexico Challenge
How I got involved: God was at work from the start
I first met David Caldwell on Sunday May 20,2001. This meeting resulted in 6 trips to Mexico and many side adventures. It also gave me some of the greatest opportunities to see God at work that I have had in my life. This first meeting was just the first demonstration of God at work. At the time, I had been living in upstate NY for several years, and active in several of the churches there. Hague Wesleyan Church was at the time the church I attended most regularly.
Sunday, May 13, one week before I met David, I was in Montreal for a Christian music concert and visiting a friend. Sunday, May 27, I attended a church in New Jersey after having spent the week with a friend doing tree trimming work.
And so it was that on Sunday, May 20, I went to the Hague Wesleyan church, in Hague, NY, as usual. Just before the service, Mark Johnson, executive Director of Silver Bay Association came up to me and introduced me to the Caldwell family. Had they come just one week earlier or the following week, they would have missed me! They were staying at the Silver Bay Association Community House. They were a missionary family to Mexico. I talked to them for a long time after the service, and he expressed an interest in having me help him with a database to assist them in their missionary work. He had 6 kids, and I got to talk with them some also. They were very polite kids, and two of the boys were good buddies with each other. I was quite impressed. That evening, after a couple of church meetings, I drove to my parents house in NJ.
Between then and 2003, I had numerous additional interactions and meetings with David and his family, learning more about his work in Mexico and his computer and other needs that I could help him with. Two thousand and three was a transitional year for me. I had been living with a family in Brant Lake, NY since before the time I met David, but now due to circumstances in their lives and things happening with me, it was time to move on. As part of that transition, as I didn't have a set long term plan yet, and David was in need of someone to help with his work, I decided to pursue going to Mexico for a 2 month period in the spring of 2003.
First trip: April and May 2003, the adventures begin
I designed two web pages to tell about a playground cleanup project done by David and his helpers:
Park Cleanup
Park Opening
Second Trip: Winter 2005 to Tampico
Tampico trip
On this trip, I took a side trip to Cabo Rojo: winter 2005
Third Trip: Aquitzio and Loma Caliente, January 20-February 16, 2006
Lost in a small town in a large country, nobody to contact, and it's getting dark... how did I find where I was supposed to go?
Help me find my way by clicking here!
On this trip, I spent the bulk of my time clearing land, picking up sticks, burning brush, and I'm the guy pushing the lawn mower. See pictures of this and related work here.
Forth Trip: A friend joins me. January 20-February 16, 2007
Where is the suitcase?
Fifth Trip: January 20-February 16, 2008
God provides water and prevents a flood!
Sixth Trip: My final trip, 2009
My last trip before getting married!
Much progress has been made by now, and church retreats have started to happen!
I created this web page to demonstrate the progress.
Bonus:
The following story happened on one of my trips to Morelia, but I'm not sure which one.
Lost item?
I forget which trip this happened, but one day when David and I were in Morelia, he wanted to try getting some money out of an ATM machine, and I said I would give it a go. He told me horror stories of how the machines wouldn't return bank cards and then it would be a huge hassle to get them back, especially with the language barrier. However, when I tried it, I was able to get money without any trouble. The exchange rate was not bad at all, and the bank fees were relatively small too. The only problem came when we were walking away.
We were no more than 50 feet away when a woman came toward us shouting something in spanish and holding a small black case. I recognized it immediately as my camera case! I was very appreciative for her honesty!
Some pictures The following pictures demonstrate what life is like in Mexico and some of the things I was involved with. They are not specific to any particular trip.
The Domes
Concrete Dome Structures are extremely strong and play a key role in the structures at Los Domos, which is spanish for "The Domes."
Buckets
Five gallon buckets make great storage containers. David makes extensive use of them to store activities for camp. I brought many of these buckets with me when I went to Mexico
A view from the camp land to the lake
Looking from the lower edge of the camp land down toward the lake. The land in this picture I believe is now part of the camp land.
A RYCCA Sign
A sign pointing the way to RYCCA camp was on this interesting structure.
A Railroad Crossing in Mexico
I believe this was on the way to the camp land
Mercedes Benz has an outlet in Morelia
This tent would provide good shade for an activity at camp.
Horses in the water
These "sea horses" were in the water on the way to the camp land.
Conclusion: This concludes the last of this series of 6 mission trips to Mexico. It was clear throughout that God was at work, though not all of the work I did ended up being of lasting value. Or was it? Many of the things I did, for sure, helped move forward significantly the establishment of camps in Mexico. Camps that would be used by churches for various aspects of their ministry. And indeed, these camps have begun to happen and even grow. https://www.campsinternational.org/ and www.rycca.org.mx, two web sites that I helped get started, are both providing information about camps that are currently running and how people can help keep things going. And of the things that we struggled with so much that are no longer being used or were never all that useful to begin with? They provided experiences that helped us grow. They taught us patience, they taught us what things work and what things don't work, they allowed us time of fellowship and working with others, growing and strengthening our relationship in ways that would not have been possible otherwise, both with each other and with God. One of the single biggest lessons I came away from this experience with is that regardless of what your skills are, God can use you and your skills in missionary work.
To learn More about what Camps International is doing now, visit their web site: Camps International