Agua Viva
Hola.
I recently traveled to Mexico with 17 from FUEL (the college ministry at Calvary Baptist in Bellflower). We went to a place called Agua Viva, which is a rehabilitation home for women and the only such place where women can bring their children with them. It is in a rural community south of Ensenada, Mexico.
Here are my thoughts on what happened:
After some early morning issues with the trailer, we were on the road and arrived not-too-late in San Diego. We met Greg and he gave us an interesting pep talk (we learned about fecal roosters and all the dangerous animals that live in Mexico). We moved across into Mexico and enjoyed the beautiful drive along the Pacific coast. The fish tacos in Ensenada were everything we remembered. OC and I picked up our yearly pair of sunglasses for $5. We then entered the rural countryside where our humility would be grown.
It was good to be back. For me, on my third trip to Agua Viva, I reminisced on the previous visits and realized there is a passion that is evoked there. I can go to certain suburbs of Phoenix, AZ (downtown Tempe, Paradise Valley or Mesa) and see certain landmarks or buildings or restaurants or smell certain smells or hear certain sounds — these remind me of my wife Mandy during the time we dated. These sensations evoke memories that refresh me. Similarly, being at Agua Viva refreshes my memory of my relationship with God. Each time I have been there, I have been at different points in my relationship with Him. And each time has been a time of strengthening.
The camp looked similar to previous visits, but much work has been done since our last visit. The orphanage we started work on last year is nearly complete. It should be completed by June of this year. The open-air showers had been upgraded with rubber mats and cold water piped down from the cistern. Much mention should be made of the outhouses we used while we there. I will only casually mention that the group before us consisted of 75 children from another orphanage, and 55 amigos from the USA. They had been there for a week and they left the morning we arrived. There was no time for a fresh sprinkling of lime before we arrived. Needless to say, a visit to the bathroom somewhat grabbed you by the back of the throat.
The church had been converted into a dormitory of sorts with a large black plastic divider across the stage that provided two unequally-sized rooms for boys and girls. Each side was packed with bunk bed frames and we unloaded our things. A few minutes later, the children from the community were brought in to meet us. For those that have been there, you will remember a long concrete building with many doors just as you enter the dirt road off the highway. That building, we would learn, housed ten families. These children are the community children that we spent most of our time with. We had a time of introduction, created name badges with them and then enjoyed dinner. After dinner, we took several plates of leftovers to these children’s home. We gave each family a plate of food. Most of these families make their living picking flowers from the enormous greenhouses that back up to the hills. Many children gave their amigos a bouquet of flowers. The flowers were beautiful and aromatic.
We returned to the camp. A bonfire was being lit, and we enjoyed a message from Roger on humility. We reflected on our day and smiled in the cool night. I specifically thought about the children we met. They were dirty; they were poor. They lived in utter poverty. Yet, they had such big smiles when we talked to them when we hugged them. They gave us some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. The difference between their condition and their attitude was vast. They were so happy for kids who had so little. The difference between their valuables and ours was also vast. They lived with nothing, yet had beautiful flowers everywhere. They could not give us much, but what they gave us was far more beautiful than any of the stuff we had back home.
We stayed up late and slept well.
The next morning we got an early start with breakfast and some Bible reading. We then began work. A team of four did some texture work on the ceiling of the orphanage. A team of four worked on burying some plumbing pipes. A team of four worked on digging a 30-yard ditch to channel the hand-washing water away from the eating tent. And a team of six worked on leveling the ground in a storage shed. All of the work was difficult. Previous years have had work that seemed to be less intensive. We have always worked hard while we were there, but for most of us who dug in the rocky soil, it was difficult manual labor. I personally cannot remember working that hard in my life. After lunch, we split up and some hung out with children, while the rest continued working. We finished all our work around 4:30 and decided to hike up the mountain.
Doug had a great idea to climb up the natural water wash instead of following the path up. The good news is we made it up in about 20 minutes. The bad news is it made the traditional hike (what I have called the hardest hike in the world) seem easy. We rested on top and enjoyed the view. After descending, we had dinner with the children again. After dinner, we experienced perhaps the most amazing time of the trip.
It is called dinner and prayer. We made ten bags that contained staple food items one for each family in the community down the trail. We all drove down there and each child took a group of us to their home. We gave the home the food and then prayed with them. I went in to the first house (I went to several as I was one of the Spanish speakers for prayer) and was shocked. I have seen poverty in my life (not personally, but I have seen people live with nothing). This was absolute poverty. Each family had a room about the size of my master bathroom. It had a concrete divider that went across most of the room. The floors and walls were concrete. The ceiling was tin. There was a small mattress leaning up against the wall. At night, the mattress was put down and the family would sleep. During the day, it was propped up against the wall. Most of these families included many children, and some extended relatives, as well. Almost all of them were from the very poor southern states of Mexico who come up north for a better life. I cannot imagine what their life was back home. I left the home and found a group of FUEL kids standing in a circle in silence. Their faces told many stories about what they had just witnessed. Most of them had tears freely falling down their cheeks. I offered hugs to some – a smile to others. Many pulled me aside and tried to speak. Most could not find the words. I went to a couple more homes and prayed. We then heard of a home where someone was getting saved. It turns out the cook who had so graciously made us our food was in a home and when preparing to pray asked if the family knew Jesus. The father of the family said, “We have heard about Him, but we want to know Him.†The cook led them in a prayer and several were saved that night. I again reflected on the joy that permeated throughout the homes. The children showered us with flowers once again. We all drove back to the camp in a state of shock. We heard about a mother who did not want to keep her four children and wanted to abandon them or kill them. Greg and Gaby, our two guides, rushed off and literally saved the four children. Two were admitted into a hospital and the other two were given care. Given what my sister, Stacey does, the abandonment of children did not affect me like it did the others. The ability or willingness to abandon a child is something we cannot comprehend. Seeing the effect of the news on those around me helped me to realize how tragic it truly is. I thought of Mandy and how she was caring for my children at that very moment. I thought of my mother who was helping Mandy at that moment. How thankful I am for my children! We spent time around the campfire crying and praying for the children, for the families we had just left, and thanking God for the eternal salvation of some.
Dinner and prayer a piece of the trip I will never forget. The experience of building a relationship with a young child and then seeing how and where that child lives is ominous. The weight it puts on our shoulders is immense. The feeling — that we have to do something or fix something or solve something — is overwhelming. I think we all realized that giving a child a hug, a smile, talking with them for a few minutes, playing ball with them these things add value to their lives. When we can extend the hand and heart of Christ towards these children, we realize that they, their families, and their futures are in Gods very capable hands.
The next morning we had a church service with the ladies at the camp. I translated for Marcos (the pastor who runs Agua Viva), who presented a message on forgiveness. We were then packed and ready to go.
Leaving Agua Viva is always bittersweet to me. Part of me is excited to return to the things about our life that we love. Part of me is excited to return to my family, my job, my ministry. Part of me wants to forever stay and impact the lives down there. All of me does not want to leave the feelings, emotions, memories in Mexico they need to be taken with me. It will do me good to often reflect on the sensations I had down there.
In other years, we were able to leave seeing a visible change to the exterior of the camp. Last year we drove down the road seeing the frame of the orphanage in the rear-view mirror. This year, all the work we did was buried. It was work that receives no gratification from the eyes. I walked around the camp finding things we had done in the past years. It was neat to see the cinderblock and gravel steps we made the first year still there and being used. It was neat to look behind the drywall in the orphanage and see nails that we had hammered in. This year we left very little behind. This was not a trip to puff up our egos and leave a lasting physical impression on the area. It was a time of leaving an impression on the lives of children. We saw some familiar faces. A couple of the ladies that had been in rehab previously are now helpers at the camp. The dogs are the same. The scenery is the same. But this trip was different. As Doug said, “This trip blew last year’s trip out of the water.â€
Thankfully, we only spent an hour and a half at the border coming home. Everyone was physically tired and dirty. There is a certain unity that happens on trips like this. I am very thankful for all who went. I was able to spend time with everyone and I have fond memories. My encouragement for those who were there do not leave those memories and feelings behind. Dwell on them often. For those that did not go consider going next year. Allow the stories of others to impact your life.
Hasta luego!
-z
Comments