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Mission Trip to Los Fresnos, Texas and Metamores, Mexico
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March 20-27, 2004
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Our mission team is ready for a great week!
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Our mission team returned from Los Fresnos, Texas and Metamores, Mexico on Saturday, March 27, 2004. The photos, captions and reflections represent just a part of the story they have to tell.
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Click on any photo to enlarge.
Reflections from Lucy: This trip was a wonderfully invigorating spiritual experience. Being part of the integration of the Pereira family and the quality time spent with Dr. Nancy Rodriguez were both highlights for me. In both cases my meager knowledge of Spanish was stretched. It gave me just an inkling of what it must be like to be dependent upon communicating in another language.
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The Pereira family recently arrived from Cuba. Asiel is Filberto's nephew and they are the new caretakers at Bayview Refugee Center. Our mission team had the privilage of working and sharing with them all week. |
Asiel and Madime Pereira struggled with every word they tried to communicate. They came two weeks before we met them from a life in Cuba where Asiel's life was in danger. Asiel was clearly willing to do whatever it took to build a life for his family in America. He clearly has the spiritual strength and will to follow in his Uncle Filiberto's footsteps! Asiel told us that he didn't have the "palabras" (words) to thank our church for their generosity in helping his family.
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Jane and I had the privilege to spend an extensive amount of time with Dr. Nancy. She is such an inspiration! I don't have the "palabras" to describe her. Words like loving, caring, humble, driven, motivated, inspired, sincere, and capable come to mind. She is Catholic and has such a beautiful and devoted spirit, I told her that she is our own version of Mother Theresa. She shook her head vehemently and said "noooooo", but grinned and giggled at the thought. As difficult as it was to communicate, I found myself caught up in the aura of her presence and wanting to stay and work with her. It is good to return to the comforts of my own home but I miss the people who shared their lives with us for a week! I'm ready to go again!
Reflections from Jane: The trip to Texas/ Mexico for Mission
work~~ What did it mean to me? This is my second year to go, and upon
arriving I felt as though we were returning to "old friends",
we were so welcomed. Accomplishing projects that needed completing, or
as last years, needed started, gives me such a feeling of accomplishment.
I, who has never done any construction work of any kind, am learning,
and not only am I learning, but in doing so--I'm making life better for
others. To be able to see such joy in the children, amid such squalor
in Matamoras, and see what a few people with many students like me are
doing to make it better. It also makes me very grateful to have been born,
raised, and to live in my life in the midwest. People are probably the
highlight of the trip for all of us. The people we met last year---seeing
what improvements have happened to some of them during the last year,
the working staff who are so dedicated and so grateful for what our Church
and "we" are able to do, and the new friends we met and were
able to share in their lives for a little while. It is and will continue
to be a very rewarding experience for me. I hope others will be able to
join us next year!
Surveying the Dining Hall that we constructed
in 2003.
Of course, there was time for a few hours
at the beach on South Padre!
Recent rains left the roads in the colonia
nearly unpassable with deep ruts and sinking mud.
Mission Team members visiting with residents
of the colognia in Metamores.
Proud homeowners of a SWGSM home in the Metamores
colonia.
Mission Team members visiting with residents
of the colognia in Metamores.
One of the youngest residents of the colonia.
Don trying desperately to fix a pesky leak
in the caretakers house at Bayview Refugee Center is Los Fresnos.
Everything looks better with a fresh coat
of paint!
Feliberto Pereira, Director and Founder of
Southwest Good Samaritan
Ministries works with friends at Bayview Refugee Center.
The view inside the newly finished chapel
at Bayview.
A colorful cross is the focal point for the
newsly constructed chapel.
Mission Team members visiting with residents
of the colognia in Metamores.
Ed takes a break from a hard day of work.
Feliberto and residents of the colonia in
Mexico.
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Surveying the Dining Hall that we constructed
in 2003.
|
Of course, there was time for a few hours
at the beach on South Padre!
|
Recent rains left the roads in the colonia
nearly unpassable with deep ruts and sinking mud.
|
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Mission Team members visiting with residents
of the colognia in Metamores.
|
Proud homeowners of a SWGSM home in the Metamores
colonia.
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Mission Team members visiting with residents
of the colognia in Metamores.
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One of the youngest residents of the colonia.
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Don trying desperately to fix a pesky leak
in the caretakers house at Bayview Refugee Center is Los Fresnos.
|
Everything looks better with a fresh coat
of paint!
|
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Feliberto Pereira, Director and Founder of
Southwest Good Samaritan
Ministries works with friends at Bayview Refugee Center.
|
The view inside the newly finished chapel
at Bayview.
|
A colorful cross is the focal point for the
newsly constructed chapel.
|
 |
 |
 |
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Mission Team members visiting with residents
of the colognia in Metamores.
|
Ed takes a break from a hard day of work.
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Feliberto and residents of the colonia in
Mexico.
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Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
(217) 428-4336