Hola and a big thank you to all of you who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday. It was an incredible day!!! I awoke at 5am and between then and 7am was sung Happy Birthday in Spanish (much different from our version) about 6 times - and then our group sang to me in English and presented me with a Spanish Bible in honor of our 1st Youth Worship Service in Spanish a couple days ago. We then were picked up and taken to the marina and went on a harbor cruise and then taken to Stone Island where we had a choice of 2 activities (Banana Boat ride, sea kayaking, boogie boarding or horse back riding). Afterwards we had a delicious meal and were taken back to the mainland to prepare for Day 1 of our Spanish speaking Vacation Bible School. We had about 56 local kids and it was amazing!! God was shining through everyone and it was a terrific experience!!! By 915pm - I had hit my wall and fell asleep until 650am this morning (very late for me). I apologize for not having time to upload photos the last couple of days. By tomorrow - check back to previous days' blogs and I'm hoping to have photos on them as well. We had 1 more week to go and I can't wait to see what God has in store for all of us!!!
Love,
Barb
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Greetings from the fly and humidity capital of the world, Mazatlan! This is Jon Williams reporting and let me just say that is is crazy here! There must be at least 1000 flies in the chow hall alone not mention all of the other bugs and the 7 million odd some leaf-cutter ants that live in their colony behind the dorms (thanks for that article mom) and the humidity is at least 100% most of the time and the heat does not make it any better. I was a bit tied up yesterday, which was the first day of the VBS and you will understand what I mean when Barb posts the pictures. My lips are sealed untill then. Oh so yesterday we went to a place called Stone Island and it had the perfect beach. Smooth sands, right wave height, perfect wave breaking point, no jellyfish (which was nice, because my sting on my ankle still hurts! :( Speaking of which, I have some other injuries caused by odd things like that machette cut on my finger) and they had plenty of activites like kayaking (try kayaking into a breaking wave, you will flip!) and others in addition to free access to non-alcoholic beverages. Now those were tasty! Did I mention that there were no other people until we started to leave? That was the nicest part! But still, I can not wait to see you all and get back to dry heat, air conditioning, the family, a bugless meal and (just to tick off my parents) electronics w00t! Until next time, this is Jon Williams.
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Hola from las Chicas Mexicanas! Really, Kate almost looks Mexican now. Well, at least she isn't getting whiter by the day, anyway.
Today was our second day of VBS, Kate and I are in charge of the Bible Group -- we get to teach small children (and not-so-small children) about Jesus. Our first day was nothing short of terrifying. It was really intimidating, especially teaching the 10-11 year olds and the 12-14 year olds, because they're old enough to really know what's going on and they sometimes make fun of us for our Spanglish. We've gotten so much better, though! We have our own translator, for one thing (thank you Alberto!!) and we're officially thinking in Spanglish (look, I can even give you un ejemplo of como I think).
We all have very interesting sunburns (*cough* Kate *cough*). It makes it rather difficult to fall asleep sometimes. Last night, all of the girls had the brilliant idea to sleep outside, under the impression that it would be cooler out there (which it actually did end up being). Once we kicked the boys off of the trampoline and finally got ready to sleep...half of the group decided they'd really rather sleep inside. In the end, Mary, Catherine, Desi and I were the only ones left on the trampoline. Once it started to rain, and then pour, Mary decided she'd rather go inside, too (I can't imagine why). Around two in the morning, Desi, Catherine and I moved to huddle beneath the palapa, where we stayed until morning. Because we were up so much earlier than the rest of the group, Catherine and I decided to give a little wake up call to the boys around 8:30. We convinced the new cook, Rosie, to part with a few pots and spoons, and we beat on them in the entryway to the boys dorm, yelling "BUENOS DIAS! LEVANTENSE!!" They still think it was a group of Spanish girls -- we're going to let them think that for now.
Hola from Kate, la mexicana
Well, I've managed to defy the odds (and the bets of my friends) and I'm still alive after 8 days. I have been having a blast in Mexico con mis amigos. From this experience I'm definitely a changed person. Not only am I about 10 shades darker but yesterday in the shower I saw a frog and instead of running away screaming, I said hello and offered it some shampoo. I love spending time with all the cute kids and jumping on the brincolin (trampoline). Well, that's all for now. I have to go change because Fernanda just peed on me.
Much love, Kate and Becca
P.S Mom, Daddy and Guillermo, I love you a lot and you should bring me a large box of cheese-its (and a baguette and a slurpie) when you pick me up.
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Hey everyone back in SLC! Today we had another long day of bottomless working and many other horrible activities. Some of these activities included sleeping in hammocks, jumping on the trampoline, eating cereal, playing soccer, drinking Coca-Cola, and hanging out with about 70 amazing little children. This morning Barb let me drive the truck down to go get clean water from the pump and I am really improving on my stick-shift skills. The kids really seem to be enjoying the VBS program we are hosting for them because not one of them has stopped smiling the entire time! I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to come down and make a difference in these kids' lives. I have to go now but I miss you all and I can't wait to see all of you at church when I get home. Thank you everyone, especially you Mom and Dad, I love you so much.
Sincerely, your beautiful son of the Lord, Scott McKinstry
Love,
Barb
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Greetings from the fly and humidity capital of the world, Mazatlan! This is Jon Williams reporting and let me just say that is is crazy here! There must be at least 1000 flies in the chow hall alone not mention all of the other bugs and the 7 million odd some leaf-cutter ants that live in their colony behind the dorms (thanks for that article mom) and the humidity is at least 100% most of the time and the heat does not make it any better. I was a bit tied up yesterday, which was the first day of the VBS and you will understand what I mean when Barb posts the pictures. My lips are sealed untill then. Oh so yesterday we went to a place called Stone Island and it had the perfect beach. Smooth sands, right wave height, perfect wave breaking point, no jellyfish (which was nice, because my sting on my ankle still hurts! :( Speaking of which, I have some other injuries caused by odd things like that machette cut on my finger) and they had plenty of activites like kayaking (try kayaking into a breaking wave, you will flip!) and others in addition to free access to non-alcoholic beverages. Now those were tasty! Did I mention that there were no other people until we started to leave? That was the nicest part! But still, I can not wait to see you all and get back to dry heat, air conditioning, the family, a bugless meal and (just to tick off my parents) electronics w00t! Until next time, this is Jon Williams.
-----------------
Hola from las Chicas Mexicanas! Really, Kate almost looks Mexican now. Well, at least she isn't getting whiter by the day, anyway.
Today was our second day of VBS, Kate and I are in charge of the Bible Group -- we get to teach small children (and not-so-small children) about Jesus. Our first day was nothing short of terrifying. It was really intimidating, especially teaching the 10-11 year olds and the 12-14 year olds, because they're old enough to really know what's going on and they sometimes make fun of us for our Spanglish. We've gotten so much better, though! We have our own translator, for one thing (thank you Alberto!!) and we're officially thinking in Spanglish (look, I can even give you un ejemplo of como I think).
We all have very interesting sunburns (*cough* Kate *cough*). It makes it rather difficult to fall asleep sometimes. Last night, all of the girls had the brilliant idea to sleep outside, under the impression that it would be cooler out there (which it actually did end up being). Once we kicked the boys off of the trampoline and finally got ready to sleep...half of the group decided they'd really rather sleep inside. In the end, Mary, Catherine, Desi and I were the only ones left on the trampoline. Once it started to rain, and then pour, Mary decided she'd rather go inside, too (I can't imagine why). Around two in the morning, Desi, Catherine and I moved to huddle beneath the palapa, where we stayed until morning. Because we were up so much earlier than the rest of the group, Catherine and I decided to give a little wake up call to the boys around 8:30. We convinced the new cook, Rosie, to part with a few pots and spoons, and we beat on them in the entryway to the boys dorm, yelling "BUENOS DIAS! LEVANTENSE!!" They still think it was a group of Spanish girls -- we're going to let them think that for now.
Hola from Kate, la mexicana
Well, I've managed to defy the odds (and the bets of my friends) and I'm still alive after 8 days. I have been having a blast in Mexico con mis amigos. From this experience I'm definitely a changed person. Not only am I about 10 shades darker but yesterday in the shower I saw a frog and instead of running away screaming, I said hello and offered it some shampoo. I love spending time with all the cute kids and jumping on the brincolin (trampoline). Well, that's all for now. I have to go change because Fernanda just peed on me.
Much love, Kate and Becca
P.S Mom, Daddy and Guillermo, I love you a lot and you should bring me a large box of cheese-its (and a baguette and a slurpie) when you pick me up.
------------------
Hey everyone back in SLC! Today we had another long day of bottomless working and many other horrible activities. Some of these activities included sleeping in hammocks, jumping on the trampoline, eating cereal, playing soccer, drinking Coca-Cola, and hanging out with about 70 amazing little children. This morning Barb let me drive the truck down to go get clean water from the pump and I am really improving on my stick-shift skills. The kids really seem to be enjoying the VBS program we are hosting for them because not one of them has stopped smiling the entire time! I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to come down and make a difference in these kids' lives. I have to go now but I miss you all and I can't wait to see all of you at church when I get home. Thank you everyone, especially you Mom and Dad, I love you so much.
Sincerely, your beautiful son of the Lord, Scott McKinstry
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