Hola, My name is Grace and I am 11 years old. Today we went to “Meme’s Rio”. It is basically a poor shanty community along a river. Meme is a great lady who works with B2B as a housekeeper and a nanny. She doesn’t need to keep living in the Rio but she chooses to because of her passion and love for the people who live there. She is going through a difficult time and needs prayer.

The kids helped the grown-ups check the kids and the adults and we did vital signs. What surprised me was how similar the kids were to me, Emily, and Libby. Even though we live very different lives we all love to play and have fun. I really had a good time today helping the adults and spending time with the kids and the adults.

This trip has been really fun and GOD has helped me, the other kids, and the adults be able to help heal some people physically and spiritually.

Peace Out,
Grace

—–

My heart is so heavy.

As Grace said above, we went to Meme’s Rio today, which is a shanty neighborhood where 1/2 the homes don’t have running water, and no homes have bathroom plumming (i.e., you pee and poop in a hole). Meme has worked hard and done enough to move out the neighborhood, yet she has chosen to stay behind because she loves the people of her community and wants to be there for them. As I walked down the dirt path, all the shacks and trash were to my left, but the most beautiful mountains were on my right…just such a stark contrast…and it felt so wrong? We saw patients from the community, and the girls (Grace, Libby, Emily) were such a great help doing all the vital signs! We ended our time at the Rio with prayer, especially for Meme – it was extremely emotional. Her yoke has not been light…

I’m reading “Reckless Faith” by Beth Guckenberger, who is the co-founder of Back2Back Ministries here in Monterrey, Mexico. She writes: That day…I had a defining moment – an experience that impacted our thinking, touched our hearts, and compelled us into a new course of action. It changed our lives. I used to be afraid of that word, change, as if it implied somehow, that I need to be corrected. But now I have a different view of change. It is a shift in perspective and not the Extreme Home Makeover kind of change we see on television. It is a shift in what we think we are capable of. It is a shift in where we want to see our life heading. It is a shift in how we are willing to spend our time, talents, and resources. I want to be courageous enough to change. I want to be courageous enough to be like Beth, to be fully obedient [spiritually], and to live my life with a reckless faith/abandon that allows me to participate in the furthering of His Kingdom and His glory. Where should I serve? China? How should I serve? How do I serve? Who will support me? Is it wrong of me to desire [a lot] more than just paint some building or help put up a door or see a few patients in a poor neighborhood? I want more.

I feel so ill-equipped…and even unworthy.

Looking up,
Daniel Lui

Part of Meme’s home and probably the best one [aesthetically] in the entire community.

Pictures from today: http://public.fotki.com/dll15151/monterrey-mexico-2009/day-4/