Acuna Matata

As most of you probably know, i recently returned from Acuna Mexico where i was on a short-term missions trip with the Topeka Bible Church youth group. It was hot; it was work; sometimes it was hilarious; other times it was stressful. Here it is in pictures


On our first work day, our group of 47 was divided into 4 work crews. Mine, "Team Electric Showdown" was chosen to go to an orphanage to start clearing out a lot behind the building. After working for a while we got to play with the kids for a while...good times. I tore my jeans while carrying some on my back and walked around for the rest opf the day, proudly showing off my green boxers.



The two boys in the back row on the right are Joshua and Ruin. We had a lot of fun playing soccer with a flat soccer ball and primitively trying to communicate. Joshua and Ruin even took craig and i up to their room before we left. It was really cool to see how excited they got when they showed us the house and their few possessions. It was surprisingly tough to leave the kids after spending just a few hours with them



Ah, Harry Potter, how i miss you. Lauren and Greyson are clearly enjoying some great literature during one of our afternoon siesta times. Look at the happiness in their eyes, how can HP possibly be evil :).



I left my camera in the hands of Jac and Suz for a while one evening and this was definitely the best picture they took. Most of them were part of a "modeling portfolio" of Wendy (my youth pastors wife). But it was no ordinary portfolio. Close-ups of nostrils, lips and other facial features were actually kinda gross. But i think this pic made it worth it :).



Rooftop worship and share time were routine parts of our evenings. Watching the sun set on our rebar and cinder block filled landscape really set a good mood. And hearing various hilarious stories from the days always provided sufficient entertainment.



Intense Mexico vs. USA soccer matches also became part of the daily routine. Here doug and craig show off their most intimidating looks. If only doug's hair was longer he could pull of a Beckamesque mohawk. after 5 matches i think both teams were 2-2-1. But we all know that USA would have dominated if we hadnt had to sub in everyone who wanted to play hehe.



Every day before VBS, we would gather up toys and head out into the neighborhood to invite kids to come. The culture is strikingly different. A group of strange white people comes by a a house asks if the kids want to come to a bible school at the church and voiala! They run in, tell their parents, and follow some complete strangers to church. i felt like the freaking pied piper or soemthing. kinda creepy.



Yecenea is the name of the little girl on the right. She was pretty much the cutest little girl of all time (excluding another member of this picture :)). We all wanted to stuff her in a bag and take her home, but i don;t suppose her mom would have been too excited about it. And we wanted to keep her mom happy since she was one of our cooks (food was amazing on a side note).



Martha Washington lives! One afternoon we headed over to this really nappy lake where the water had diapers floating around and everything smelled like diluted hippopotamus water. I found out that msot of the mexican boys that hung out with us couldnt swim. It seemed weird at first, but i guess there isnt a lot of water around. It only rains in Acuna a few times a year.



On Sunday we went out before chruch (which is at 330...hottest part of the day...good thinking) to just play with the kids in the neighborhood. It was flaming hot, but to see the kids get so excited about jumping rope, playign frisbee, or hitting a whiffle ball made it well worth it. Craig got the chance to share the gospel with a group of kids using an Evangecube. This is Arturo and his crazy-shy little sister whose name i don't know. He left with an armful of toys. What a con artist.



Here a bunch of the soccer guys pose with Chuy, the most talented player on the Mexican team. He had crazy footskills and quickness--the type of player you just want to knock over after the ball gets past you...not that i would ever do that.



The boys with Jonathan. He was 17 and probably the most outgoing member of the church. He really tried hard to get to know us and to cross the language barrier. Before we left, we gave him a guitar that we had brought down because his old one had been broken by a previous group (jerks).



Our beds for a week. Sleeping on the roof doesnt sound like fun, but when you stay up singing disney songs and laughing a lot with the guys while under the stars, you forget the concrete under your back. When it starts raining on the other hand, it kinda sucks. Oh, and those black tanks are where all our shower water came from. When it ran out, no more showers until the hose refilled them.



Oscar, the son of the pastor of the chruch, was our chief translator and pretty much the go to guy for any questions or instruction needs. Jenny is his girlfriend (ten years younger...nice work oscar [he's 31...doesnt look it]).



The boys on departing day. It had been a good 8 days, but it was definitely time to go home.



A day off in arlington was welcome. Here at the mall, a bunch of us decided to annoy the sunglass booth lady by trying on various pairs and taking pictures in them without buying anything hehe. The rest of our mall time was spent in Brookstone experimenting with all the massage chairs and other relaxers. Quite a change from primitive mexico.



Baseball game! The Ballpark in Arlington is a beautiful venue, and to make it even better, we got to eat in the Rawlings Bar and Grill high above the field. the food took a long time, but hey, it was pretty sweet.



And before leaving for home, we got to see a 10-8 barnburner of a ballgame in which the Devil Rays topped the rangers. good times. It's good to be back.