It’s about 11:45 pm (Ohio time), finally arrived at the mission village here in Monterrey, gotten a chance to eat some dinner, finished orientation, and now have the chance to wind down and reflect. As I’m sitting here alone in the villages kitchen area thinking back on our day, I can count so many little blessings:

1. One of our physician members (Tony) poured out his heart this morning during our daily devotions. Seeing him openly vulnerable to us allowed me to realize just how much I can bless others by breaking down personal walls and being “real” with people – especially to the ones I love.
2. Our team consists of 3 young kids and seeing them pray [like children] made me long to be a [spiritual] child again. It was so beautiful!
3. We had 3 large boxes full of medicines confiscated by the Mexican customs agent(s) upon our arrival. Though they’re still confiscated, we are PRAYFULLY hoping that we can pick them up tomorrow without any problems. The three kids have been our prayer warriors! I had the privilege to join the girls in prayer – [with the encouragement of Catherine, our other physician member] they just sat down right in front of the customs table and started to lift up prayers. The custom agents not only asked if the girls were praying, but they saw some of the spiritual tracks we had brought and were actually reading through them! One of the custom agents also said to me [in broken English], “If this was up to me, I’d let you pass…I know you’re helping us, so thank you.”
4. We’ve just arrived, but have already met some GREAT people…great servants! Hopefully we continue to build on these relationships.

I pray doors continue to be opened! Here is a very brief itinerary for the rest of our week:

Tuesday, April 21
Breakfast, quiet time, small groups, Casa Hogar Manantial de Amor child homes (medical clinics, fellowship with children, etc), dinner, debrief.

Wednesday, April 22
Breakfast, quiet time, small groups, receive kids from Casa Hogars child homes (medical clinic), field trip (with kids?), dinner, debrief.

Thursday, April 23
Breakfast, quiet time, small groups, Rio 1 child homes (medical clinic, fellowship with children, etc), dinner at Pollo Loco, debrief.

Friday, April 24
Breakfast, quiet time, small groups, Casa Hogar Douglas child home (medical clinic), dinner, market, debrief.

Saturday, April 25
Breakfast with bags on the porch (?), depart for airport.

STAY TUNED! Today’s pictures are posted here: http://public.fotki.com/dll15151/monterrey-mexico-2009/day-1/

Looking up,
Daniel Lui