I am back!!!! It was an amazing trip!!!

Hey everyone…...well…….I am back!!! Thank you all for your prayers and support through all this!! Alrighty…..where should I even start, well, I guess the part that we left for Tampa Bay! Ok, so the 8th, we headed for the KOA camp ground, and we had our orientation! The speaker was Sean Cooper, and he talked about his experiences overseas, and he mentioned “stop and pray”……instead of saying,”I will be praying for you!” we should say, “lets pray now!” That was awesome, cause when we got to the airport Sunday the 10th, there were about 4 of us (Haylee, Josh, Hannah, and I) that didn’t have boarding passes, cause they overbooked! They were about to have Haylee and Josh get on, but he had Hannah and I get on instead! So while we were in the plane, Hannah and I were sitting by each other, and so we stopped and prayed! A little while later, Josh came walking on, and we were all excited, but we found out that he came on to give Kim the tickets for the next plane, and to tell us that they were going to make it on different plane! So 14 of us made it to Houston, Texas! We had a 4 hour layover…….and that was so much fun, we found ways to entertain ourselves…….juggling like monkeys, Donnie doing the rubiks cube in under a minute, playing games, writing in our journals, and talking! Then we hung out at Chili’s and had some really good food! We had a couple minutes till we had to board the plane to El Paso! Haylee and Josh’s plane was supposed to get in the same time ours was suppose to leave! So we stopped and prayed! Snyder (matt) prayed that somehow, they would make it on this flight! And during the prayer, a ladies voice came over the loud speaker, we all stood there quietly listening……….and she said that our flight was delayed 45 minutes because all the flight crew wasn’t there! We all sighed and clapped!!! We didn’t even think of the other people that needed to get to El Paso on time! Then we thanked God for answering our prayer so quickly! So then, like, 10 minutes later, Haylee and Josh neared our gate, Haylee came around the corner running, leaving the crippled(Josh, he recently had surgery on his leg) behind! And we all cheered and clapped which Josh heard from down the hall! So after Josh made it, we had to tell them the story! Then right after they came, another announcement over the loudspeaker said that they were boarding right then!! The flight was delayed for a perfect amount of time! It was amazing! It definitely taught us to rely on God! Everything was out of our control, and He stepped in and showed just how big He is!

So, we got to El Paso, and the missionary (Monty) picked us up! It was a very long drive, about 4 hours! If not more! But Monye could make it there in 3.5 hours easy! Lol! Finally, we got to Ranch Siloe!! And we met another missionary couple!! They were the sweetest people ever, they knew all our names that night! And they wanted to know all about us!

The first two days, Sarah, Stephen, Hannah, and I weeded! We felt like there were more important things that could be done, but I know that missionaries have no time to weed! =) We also weeded and fixed a volleyball court and a soccer court! And it was a great learning experience…….it definitely taught us to obey authority and to have patience! Many others put in dry wall, insulation, white washing ( it looked awesome Hannah and Sarah), spackling(you did a great job Stephen)! On Tuesday afternoon, we went to the Brick Yard! That was amazing! We just got there, and we were meeting the kids, and it started to rain……it was pouring! And so most of us played in the rain with the kids! That was amazing! We didn’t have to speak their language to show Gods love and to play in the mud!!! It was absolutely awesome! On Wednesday and Thursday me and Matt put up foam in the ceiling…..that was also a learning experience! On Friday, Jessie and I did the laundry! It took all day! Like, 12 loads of laundry!! She is officially my laundry buddy!!

Then it was the weekend! Woohoo……and that doesn’t mean sleeping in….. we left for the orphanage pretty early and we played with the kids and we made them pancakes, sang songs, and I helped with a puppet show! That was awesome…..they loved it! And they ate so much, it seemed like they never saw that much food! Then we went into town and shopped for quite awhile, we also took a quick tour of the governor’s mansion in downtown Chihuahua, and then we went out to eat!! Yummy spicy Mexican food!! =) We came home and relaxed!

Then On Sunday, it was fathers day! And we went a Spanish church that the missionaries go to! It was really hard on your brain to try and understand the songs, announcements, and the sermon! But even though the language barrier was there, you could feel Gods love between the believers! It was amazing! Then we celebrated fathers day with a missionary family, and we went to a buffet, and then out to Dairy Queen (yes, they have one, and the ice cream is just as good at the US)!!

Then, after that restful day, it was back to work on Monday! Stephen and I put insulation in the ceiling!! That was an all morning thing! Then around 4, we had a water battle! We had water balloons, launchers, and good ol’ buckets! The missionary said that we could also aim some water balloons at their sheep! That was fun, then it was back to our fight, and this time, we got the hoses out! Then we finished our day doing our daily bible study and having a wonderful dinner! Then, on Tuesday I did insulation again with Stephen and we went to the brick yard from 3-6! That was a hard day, cause we were saying goodbye to all our new friends we made! It was just like PNG, they have so little, and they live in little worn down houses, and they are so content and happy with what they have!

On Wednesday, it was our last work day, and I helped a group with dry walling, that was the funnest job there for sure! I loved it!!

Then, that night, we went to a missionaries house, and we had a Mexican BBQ, and we played horse shoes! That was amazing! And then it started to rain, and so Jessie and I played in the rain while everyone else stood on the tiny porch! Then Shane and Stephen came out and so us four played horse shoes! Then the missionary told us to get to the van quick, and he was telling us to hurry! We found out that if it rained to much, it might flood the road back to the ranch, and we wouldn’t be able to get back! So Haylee was holding my plate with my taco that I wasn’t able to finish so she gave that to me, and the gravel road back to Ranch Silo is really bumpy, and there was a group of us that always sits in the back, and he goes so fast, that you hit your heads on the ceiling! And the fisrt bump came at a surprise, and me and my taco went flying up, and the taco went everywhere(on me) and so the rest of the way, I am trying to hold whats left of the taco on my plate, and also, make sure I don’t break my neck on the ceiling! lol! So, we got back, and Jessie let me go first, and I dislocated my knee, it is a super long story, but I got it popped back in myself! It killed! But the rain was SO hard, that I ran and got changed and we played in the rain!!! It was the hardest rain I have been in since PNG, it actually hurt you!! J But the storm came so close, that we all decided to come in, and so we wrapped in towels in the kitchen telling stories during the pouring rain on the tin roofs, and thunder and lightning! Oh, and a couple of us girls got locked in the bathroom that night, and a couple girls said it would be romantic if the lights went out, and the guys had to rescue us, but after we thought of all the cockroaches that come out after dark, we immediately wanted out! lol! So, Hannah, Jessie, and I, stopped and prayed, and RIGHT after the prayer, Sarita just opened the door, without a problem!! :)

On Thursday, we went into the mountains, I forget what they are called, but it is bigger then the grand canyon! It was amazing! My knee hurt, but it was totally worth it going to the very top! Definitely!! The drive there and back wasn’t the best, the road was constantly turning! I don’t think I will ever get car sick again driving in America! lol! Then, we spent the night in this nice little hotel, and we had our debriefing meetings! Then we went shopping on Friday, and headed back to the ranch!
Then, Friday night, we played a Stealth game in the dark, a guy would walk around the base, with a light, and when he saw someone and he knew their name, he would shine the light on them, and say their name! and you had to try and tag him, with out him saying your name! It was really fun! A couple of us stayed up late singing worship songs! We kept saying, ”one more!” Which led to a couple more hours! J
Then, on Saturday, it was time to leave, so we headed out at 7:30 I think! And we finally got to the airport and headed home! The only difficulties we had flying was shane and I didn’t have seat numbers for the next flight, so Josh took us ahead of the group, and we hurried to the next gate!! We ended up getting seats! Which was awesome!

We got home at 2:00 am! And it was so nice to be able to sleep in!
When I was sitting with Stephen on the way there, we were flying over Texas, and I was saying how I could never live in Mexico, cause it was all desert! And I am planning on being a missionary somewhere when I am older, and I was open to go anywhere in the world, I really didn’t care where…except Mexico! I really didn’t think I wanted to go to Mexico as a missionary! But now I love it there, I don’t know it that is where God wants me to go, but now, I am truly open to anywhere in the world! And this trip definitely confirmed to me, that I am going to be a missionary!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I love you all!
Love, Megan Marie J