Read about a previous trip to Puebla

February 20, 2004

Seventy-three forgotten, abandoned children are now well provided for and

living without fear at the Living Hope orphanage in Puebla, Mexico. Eight

adults and two children from Woodland Hills spent New Year¹s week in Puebla

ministering to these children and the dedicated workers who now care for

them in a safe, loving environment.

 

The children were abandoned by their parents and forced to live on the

streets where they were easy targets for abuse. ³If I had a fraction of what

has happened to these children happen to me, I¹d be curled up in a corner,²

says Joan Eggert who, along with her 10-year-old daughter, Jordyn, was part

of the team. ³But they are so trusting and so loving, they just run into

your arms.² Unfortunately, most of the children running into their arms had

the flu.

 

Shortly before the mission team arrived, what the Mexicans call the ³United

States flu² had swept through the orphanage. Although the team was a little

apprehensive, they just couldn¹t resist holding the children. ³They just

want mommies and daddies, so they can curl up in their laps,² explained

Joan. The team realized early on that they had all been exposed to the flu

virus shortly after arriving at the orphanage and that there was no point in

holding back now. So they loved, hugged and cuddled with reckless abandon.

 

Before it was all over, half of the team contracted the flu. But Joan said,

³Even after they got sick, nobody was sorry they went. They were all

blessed.²

 

According to Associate Youth Pastor Jordan Schroeder, the purpose of any

trip to Puebla is to bring money and a crew and ask the people that run the

orphanage what they would like the team to do. ³It¹s all about service,²

Jordan explained. The leadership team spends considerable effort trying to

impart an attitude of service into mission trip participants. Jordan

explained that they want to avoid any appearance of ³Americans coming with

all the answers.² Instead, they aim to humble themselves and serve the

leaders of the orphanage in whatever way they request.

 

In this case, the assignment was to paint the ministry house. The ministry

house is a three-bedroom home with a kitchen and living room. It¹s also

where the team stayed during their visit. But when team members are asked

about the trip, very little is said about paint ­ it¹s always about the

people.

 

On New Year¹s Day, the team put on a carnival for the kids. There were

balloons, games and all the usual carnival fare. Many of the kids were still

sick, but they didn¹t seem to care. They all had a tremendous amount of fun.

And since it was New Year¹s Day, there was already a sense of celebration in

the air.

 

While ministry to the kids is always a big part of the trip, the real

purpose is to minister to the workers that keep the orphanage running. The

kids always get plenty of care, love and ministry from the workers. It¹s the

workers that need encouragement and help ­ even in the little things.

 

Joan is a hairdresser and spends her time there doing the workers¹ hair. One

woman, with hair to her waist, wanted a perm so badly that she was willing

to sit in the chair all day despite the fact that she was a flu victim and

had a raging fever. She had been waiting and anticipating the team¹s visit

because she had been promised a perm during the previous trip. When the

woman came in for her perm, she was obviously ill. Joan hesitated for fear

of catching the flu, but she said the Lord reminded her that ³it¹s not about

you; you¹re here to serve.² The perm went well, and Joan never did get sick.

From that point on, she chuckled every time she caught herself hesitating

because a person was sick.

 

Esperanza Viva (Living Hope) Youth Home was opened in September 1995 by

Jerry and Susan McNally, who left St. Paul to open the orphanage. While the

McNally¹s are responsible for oversight of the home, it is almost entirely

run by indigenous people. The current president of the orphanage is a

Mexican.

 

The ultimate vision of Living Hope is to develop property into the City of

Hope which could support over 1,000 children and workers. With this

expansion, there would be greater capacity for outreach to the community at

large, and according to McNally, ³It would become a shining illustration to

the world of the Father-heart of God for His weary and downtrodden

children.² As an early step toward fulfillment of that vision, a church was

recently opened to serve the Puebla community.

 

Among the workers at Living Hope are Ryan and Molly Nielsen, missionaries

from Woodland Hills. The Nielsens, along with their two young children,

moved to Puebla in September 2003. They are expecting their third child in

August. Molly said that during a one-week trip to Guatemala, ³the Lord

called us out and changed our lives completely. Now we are here serving long

term.²

 

The Nielsens are appreciative of every group that comes down. They say that

the support in prayer, encouragement and fellowship that they receive really

makes a difference to them. They delight in watching each team member

experience things that will change him or her forever. They also watch for

any sign that there may be future long-term missionaries in the group that

just don¹t know it yet. There is a real enjoyment in watching the team bless

the children, and seeing how, in turn, the children bless the team. Most

team members agree that while they go to bring a blessing, they leave more

blessed than they arrived.

 

Michael Bushilla has been to Mexico twice before, but not to the orphanage.

This time he brought his wife Paula and 12-year-old son Alex. They sponsor a

boy and a girl at the orphanage and were able to visit them. The boy, Luis,

is also 12. He and Alex formed a bond in spite of a challenging language

barrier. Because he has been on several trips, one might wonder if the trips

get routine. But Michael says, ³Every mission trip changes you to a certain

extent. It puts everything back into perspective.² Commenting on this trip

he says, ³It was an awesome experience.²

 

The Eggert family also sponsors a child at Living Hope. When they selected a

child, they looked for someone near Jordyn¹s age so that the two could more

easily relate. They decided on Ofelia, whose birth date is only one day

before Jordyn¹s. This was their second trip to Puebla, and Joan is amazed at

how at home her daughter is there. She said Jordyn looked at her during the

trip, and in spite of being sick with the flu told her mom, ³I never want to

go home.²

 

How much trouble is it to go on a missions trip? There are a lot of meetings

for planning and some just for bonding with other team members. Then there¹s

the fund raising activities. But was it too hard? Joan said, ³God opened all

the doors, we just walked right through.²

 

So what¹s a mission trip like? Joan sums it up like this, ³It was just

amazing. I call it a love-soaker.²

 

article by Mark Kretschmar

 

See this article at www.whchurch.org/content/page_288.htm

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