Day 7 & 8
FRIDAY
Shalom Work
We finished up our construction at Shalom this morning. It was another sweaty concrete filled morning and again the team was incredible. We finished helping mix and pour concrete on the 2nd story floor. Before we left most of the team left their work shoes and gloves for the local workers who were there if they wanted them. They took it all. Amazing. I brought an older pair of tennis shoes to work in and they snapped it up. I am so proud of all the hard work the team did at this church/work site. They put so much heart and energy and really did so much without complaining or arguing… but serving. It’s so powerful when that happens.
Sinkhole
We took a little road trip to the cenotes. This is a really cool sinkhole/cave that has water in it. You can jump off a platform into it. It was incredibly cool. I had a blast just hanging out in the water with the team. A lot of the guys (teenage and some adult) were doing some cliff jumping which was pretty cool to watch. Watch the video below to check out how you get there. It was also raining like CRAZY on the way back which was interesting… on a horse drawn cart in the middle of a torrential downpour. Making memories!
To get an idea of what it was like check out this video or this video
La Parilla
We had our last dinner together at a cool restaurant called “La Parilla”… no it’s not the chain that’s in America. By the way- found out that means “the grill.” It was SO good. I got the steak fajitas with this special steak they have. I had the chance to eat next to a lot of the local staff and leaders that were with us for the week. I’ve grown to really love and appreciate them a ton. It was also cool to simply sit back and watch the team simply enjoy each others company. A week ago we were not this close… the Lord has really drawn us together over this shared experience. I know I will miss interacting with them daily.
Team Meeting
We had our last team meeting tonight. We had some time for the families to share with each other what they learned during the week. It was cool thinking about our first meeting together when everyone stared at each other and then tonight when I would ask a question and then have to interrupt them to move on. I say that to say that God has obviously done something special not only in us individually, but as families too. That is a huge answered prayer. We also had some time to celebrate communion together to mark the celebration of not only what God has done for us, but what He did through and in us during this week. Honestly, I have been so honored to be a small part of this team.
Saturday= Sick
Unfortunately around Friday afternoon I started getting sick with a very, very bad stomachache. It has stayed around for a bit, but I am getting better. It made for a very, very long travel day home. Let’s just say I spent a lot of time in airport bathrooms on Saturday. Ugh. In fact I would say that Saturday will go down as one of my longest days ever. Honestly by the time we got to the airport in Merida I was already down for the count…and that was at 4:30 in the morning. Not gonna lie, it was a rough day, but I knew God would bring me through and He did. I am writing this now on Sunday afternoon and beginning to feel better. I started some medicine this morning that is supposed to help get rid of things that can happen when you go outside the country. (Yes, I’m being vague for a reason.) I was blessed to get exit row seats for both of our flights yesterday which helped me stretch a bit which was a godsend.
Home
I gotta tell you… I came home and Mama Carr did not only stay here, she got to organizing. She did some great things getting my house a little (insert laughter there) organizing of things around the house. She didn’t have to do all that… but it’s awesome! They also got the Murph a haircut, got my car tuned up and fixed up a few things around the house. I don’t always receive help well… but I am grateful they took time to help me out. Thanks Mom and Dad- I’m very, very, very grateful for your love and support as I chase after God’s plans in my life.
Church
To wrap up this post I have to say that I was blown away this morning by the leaders and volunteers at Xtreme. All of you who prayed and said kind things about this blog were such an encouragement to me. I can tell you this- your prayers were felt. Honestly. You asked the Lord to carry us and He did. Thanks- I know it is our teams desire that God was honored by all that was said and done in our time in Merida. I’m praying that’s the case.