You know those weeks or days or moments that you just don't want to see end because you know that you probably won't ever be able to repeat them in exactly the same way again?
I had been praying for a mission trip opportunity and kind of hoping one would just land in my lap. Which is exactly what happened, thanks to answered prayers :). One day an email came through titled "Leman Family Mission Trip to Magdalena." My second cousin Adam and his wife are house parents at CVE so the whole Leman family was invited to go down and support them, plus make it a work team and get some things done. So it was a family reunion of sorts and a work team combined. What could be better than that? :)
Unfortunately, since it was so soon after DC, I was the only one able to go from our family. It was definitely a little crazy getting home from DC and having only four days to unpack from a big trip and repack for a big trip not to mention keeping up with my online class deadlines and juggling work schedules. But, it was oh, so worth it. After all, you're only young once, right?!
I flew out of Chicago early Saturday morning with a mixed group of Illinois Lemans and Indiana ones :). The whole crew met up in Tuscon and after a lunch stop in Nogalas, we made it across the border with no trouble at all, thankfully. That Saturday we arrived at CVE was one of the longest days I've ever lived I think! We were up at 3:30 to leave, encountered a two hour time change which set us backwards, and didn't crash till after 10. (not to mention personally starting off the trip way too low on sleep...) We were all pretty exhausted :).
(to my shame, I didn't have a camera with me so all photo credit goes to Haylie :))
We enjoyed supper at Adam and Jenna's that evening and spent our time getting to know them and their kids!
After supper and some active games, the directors of CVE gave us a little orientation of what to expect for the week... at least to those of us who were still awake :).
We enjoyed going on the weekly bus route that CVE does every Sunday morning to gather people from the community and bring them to church! It was a neat experience.
Sunday morning ready for church! I got to spend my week with all these lovely girls as we shared one dorm room together! (plus Bethany who skipped out on the picture... oh, and the tomato horn worm who appeared next to my bed one of the afternoons.)
Sunday afternoon we had planned to go hiking up a mountain, but because of some roadwork the bus was not able to get through and so we went out for ice cream instead :). We enjoyed supper with the CVE campus and then some singing around the piano with just our group.
Monday morning, we started our work for the week! There was a crew of four of us given the job of painting about a couple roofs. It was a hot job with the sun being so intense, but a good feeling to look up and see a white roof instead of a rusty one!
Haylie and I were usually the ones up on the roofs...
and here is the other half of our crew! This picture makes it look like they didn't do much but trust me, we couldn't have done it without them! Olivia completely took charge of dipping out buckets of paint from the 50 gallon drum we had to work with. Aunt Joni kept us stocked up there with full buckets of paint, kept us hydrated, and helped paint the edges :). We made a good team, I believe!
Our team broke off into lots of different crews to accomplish lots of different projects! Not exactly sure what this one was...
Lyndsey's crew did something related to a sewer line that wasn't working... I never got too close :).
Some of the guys worked on finishing the tiling job on this roof and putting up gutters
a quick stop back at the dorms...
The ladies spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals for the whole crew and making freezer meals for Jenna and a few others.
Monday night we all split up and went to different homes on campus for supper. It was a great way to get to know some of the staff and kids a little better! We enjoyed some worship music back at the church (some songs were in English!) and then it was time to call it a day. Tuesday, we were back up and at it beginning with breakfast together, a short devotion skit and then back to work! The four of us on the roof crew set out to do the second coat and got it nearly done plus a few other odd jobs while waiting for paint to dry, etc.
Tuesday evening, we all piled in the bus again for a ride into town. Oh, the bus rides! We sang, laughed, and bounced together... it was a lively ride :).
the whole group in the plaza! Our work team consisted of four generations... pretty uncommon we were told!
We meandered around the plaza for a while and bought some souvenirs, and then met up at a Taco place for supper. Afterwards, we got a tour of the meat processing plant in town as well as the coffee shop.
you just have to love Cole's mouth in this one! :).
On Wednesday, we quick finished the last section on one of the roofs and celebrated when that task was finished :). Then the three of us, Haylie, Olivia and I, ended up helping Val put together a wall of shelves in the shop loft to help organize the storage.
Wednesday night was church again and thanks to the amazing translator they have there, we could always get something out of the worship services!
the dish crew one night... it was kind of as crazy as it looks!
And unfortunately, my supply of pictures ends there... but thankfully the week didn't! We had one more day and we filled it full! My crew ended up just doing some odd paint jobs around the shop and then we did some housecleaning different places around the campus. The other crews spent the day wrapping up the projects they had been working on, and then in the evening we all enjoyed supper and a slideshow of our week with the whole campus.
After the evening was over, we had to say goodbye to all of the kids since they were in school the next morning. I hate goodbyes... especially with the kids we really connected with during the week yet don't know when we will ever see again. But I'm still thankful for the week I got to spend there and the relationships I formed... even if it meant saying goodbye at the end of the week. (unfortunately I can't post any pictures of the kids to respect their privacy, but I won't soon forget their hugs, expressions, or giggles :).
Jeff (our team leader) called us the Awesome Threesome all week! :) Couldn't have asked for a better crew to spend my week with!
Friday morning we had one more breakfast and devotional skit together in the dining room before leaving CVE. Then we spent a couple hours packing up and cleaning up the dorm rooms. Oh, and one more goodbye hug with the kids while they were on recess :). Then it was to the white vans as we drove across the border to Tuscon. Thankfully, we only had an hour wait at the border and made it through without problems! We had a hotel Friday night in Tuscon and spent the evening hanging out and playing games. And laughing hysterically :). Not sure I've ever seen someone laugh as hard as Jeff was that night!
Saturday made for a long days worth of traveling as we flew to Chicago, drove back to Princeville and then I still had to come home to Fairbury! Also, we had to say goodbye to each other after such a great week of getting to know each other so much better! Thankfully, we are still one big happy family, haha :). And hopefully most of us can make it to the Leman Reunion next summer!
Our group picture in our T shirts. It was so neat to be on a mission trip with my grandparents and Mom's immediate family, plus get to know Mom's Leman side a whole lot better!! Too bad she couldn't have been there with me (some of her cousins just called me Kara all week :)).
And that sort of sums up the trip in a nutshell, although there are still so many memories I have that I wouldn't even know how to write about. So, I guess I'll just treasure those :). A big thank you to the team leaders, Jeff and Val, for heading up the whole thing ... if a Leman Family Mission Trip is ever planned again, you can count me in! Also, a big thank-you to Jesus, the One who made it all possible, kept us all safe, and placed me in such a great family in the first place! -faith
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