Yo. Libby Kim here (I am 10 years old).
Today our group went to the clinic and gave many people checkups. Here were our jobs:

Libby (me) – height and weight
Grace – temputure
Emily – pulse
Dad, Mrs. Kim, and Dan – REAL doctor stuff

We got to meet lots of cute little kids and the best part was we actually got to help them!
After that, we went to a park with the kids we helped. We ate some tamales, and lemonade. Then we went back to the campus.
TTYL!
-Libby

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This is Catherine writing. WOW! I’ve learned today that eternal plans are always perfect and my plans may/can/often will get thrown out the window. Today we ran clinic in the morning here at the B2B campus for some sick kids and staff members. After that we spent some time with kids from the Children’s Homes (orphanages). I know that when I thought about spending time with “orphans” I always had cute little 3-year-olds in mind. I wasn’t super-fond of the idea of spending time with older kids as was planned for today. There’s a language barrier AND the older they get the more stand-off-ish they are (just like they are everywhere in the world). I was SO blessed by our interaction today with the kids, though.

Two specific kids stand out in my mind. One was Joel who was mentioned in the book “Reckless Faith” by Beth Guckenberger. He is the child who, at the age of 4, asked for dinner one night when there wasn’t any more food left at the Children’s Home. After they gave thanks for food that wasn’t there he asked if he could have, not just food, but meat. After that, he asked if he could have not just meat but STEAK. For those of you who know the story, you know how a miracle happened that night. The boys at that Children’s Home ate, not just steak that night, but the finest cuts of steak money could ever buy! These were donated by a business man who had brought many cuts of his finest meats for a convention and had leftovers that he donated. Anyhow, Joel played today at the park with us the way 8-year-olds usually do. Then he received a pamphlet about the “Four Fantastic Facts” which he picked up and started reading. He wouldn’t put it down. He was captivated by it. He read it while sitting at the park. He read it while walking back to the bus. It was a privilege to cross paths with this little man. I can’t wait to see the man he will become because I know he is destined for greatness.

Another child stands out in my mind. Her name is Mayte. She is 13-years-old and is a lovely young lady who I can tell is quite bright. She asked me to sit next to her. She played hand games with me. She learned a little dance with my daughters. All these children are still so tender-hearted even though they’ve been through so much. She told us that her birthday is this Friday. The entire day, every time I saw her, she had the sweetest smile stretched across her face. When we said good-bye and dropped the girls off at their Children’s Home there were hugs and kisses. As we pulled away from the home, Mayte was standing in the center of the doorway and had the saddest eyes and the blankest expression I’ve seen in a long time. It broke my heart.

There is so much to do and each of these children are so precious it makes my heart ache and I want to cry. We ate lunch with them today at the boys’ Children’s Home. It is at an old abandoned school with a chain-linked fence. Many of the doors and windows are broken. The foundation under the building is sliding down a hill; literally crumbling under them because of the rain. The Children’s Home is surrounded by a cement wall with broken glass bottles lining the top to keep people out. The kitchen is sometimes empty. The kids sleep in rickety bunk beds on cement floors.

I pray for strength to do what I am supposed to do each day. I am thankful that I am not responsible for the Grand Plan but only responsible for my part, day by day. I am eternally thankful that I can hold the hand of someone who knows the Grand Plan and knows exactly how to make it happen.

Pictures from today: http://public.fotki.com/dll15151/monterrey-mexico-2009/day-3/

Hello peeps! This is Emily Kim (I am 9 yrs old), right now I’m on an awesome mission and today our group helped a lot of kids in a childrens home. We gave out bracelets to the girls and gave cars to boys. We also painted a huge garage and built a door…well, at least some of a door. We (Grace and Emily) also went swimming and the water was soooo cold. We also beat Mr. Dan in a race in the pool. Mr. Kim beat Libby (his daughter) and Grace though. So this is all, because I can’t think of anything else we did. Okay we’re out of paper so I guess this is THE END.

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Hi, this is Tony Kim writing. We had a wonderful day today and I felt the Lord truly blessed us with a wonderful opportunity to serve. We went to Manantial de Amor children’s home for girls. The girls that live there are orphans in one respect or another. Some kids are true orphans, others are left there because their parents can not afford to care for them, etc. As Emily wrote above, we gave out some gifts and our girls spent time with them. Then we got started on seeing kids for various medical complaints, routine physicals, etc. The director of the home was very appreciative as there is no insurance and little money to have these kids get medical care. In addition, the director and his wife have 4 kids of their own and we were able to do screening physicals on them. As a result, we found one of the kids may have a more serious underlying problem that needs further evaluation and this may result in saving her from future problems.
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Gal 6:10

Pictures from today: http://public.fotki.com/dll15151/monterrey-mexico-2009/day-2/

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