Blog 3!

Hey Guys!

So I am really excited to blog tonight! I had an amazing week and I couldn't wait to share it with you guys! So my week started off pretty calm... there is not group here this week so it is really just odds and ends jobs, and getting to experience Mexico a little
bit!

So on Tuesday 4 of us girls decided to go horseback riding on the beach! It was a really fun time!! The beach was beautiful, there were mountains all around us, and the sky was sooo blue! All I kept thinking was, "How could anyone not believe that there is a God!?!?" It was definitely a memorable day... I was so nervous that my horse was just going to take off.. but he behaved himself so all went well... in riding at least! haha.. I had some rough times once we got back to the ranch.. but that story is for a different time and place :) Ask me when I get home! haha

The rest of the week didn't have too many events, but I really had some amazing quiet times with God. I have been reading through Philippians, and I just find Paul's walk so encouraging... I really pray that I can have even half of the passion and faith that Paul demonstrated in his life in my own walk with God. In Philippians 1 Paul prays for the Philippians, he prays,

⁹ This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love;
¹⁰ that you will see the difference between good and bad and will choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ;
¹¹ that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.

I am in love with this passage! I just feel like that is the prayer that I need prayed over my life! So I am hoping to start everyday this summer by bringing this before God, and praying that He can help me work with these things in my life!

Along with that I also got to sit down with Tammy (the missionary here) and just chat about where I fit in within this ministry. It was a really encouraging time to just talk how God can use me this summer, and at the same time grow and teach me. I really walk away feeling great about the months to come!

Now today was seriously one of the most exciting days ever! We got to go watch the Baja 500. I had never heard of it before I came down here, but I quickly learned. The Baja 500 is an off road race that goes about 450 miles. It starts and ends in Ensenada, which really added to the excitement! So, this morning we went to down to Ensenada and set up camp. In Mexico you don't do the whole hamburger/hotdog on the grill thing.. We brought the grill and made "Carne Asada." It's pretty much like a thin piece of steak on tortillas with Salsa and Guacamole. Very Mexican!

Then the race started! We were about 15 minutes away from the start line; we knew the cars were close when about 7 helicopters started coming over the mountains! I know I keep using the world exciting, but that's really all I can say! haha The anticipation was crazy! The cars started flying by us. At the point where we were standing the cars had to come off the dirt road, make a complete right turn (going around 40 mph), drive past us back onto the dirt, and then around a bend and up a huge dirt mountain! I could literally reach out my hand and touch the cars (or just walk right on the track)!! I put some pictures at the bottom for you to see just how close we were!

You can also check out all my pictures from Mexico at http://picasaweb.google.com/StephanieLeigh87 ! or on facebook :)

So that was my week in a nutshell :) Love you guys! Sorry I have been slow with the emails.. it's definitely harder to keep up with than I thought! But I want to hear from you guys so don't stop emailing!

<3 <3 <3


Love,
Steph

Blog Dos

Hey guys! I am so sorry my blog is late! Last week was crazy, and we had a packed weekend! The picture to the left is the coast of Mexico as we are driving to Ensenada.. I know BEAUTIFUL!

So let me start off by saying thanks for all the prayers this week. I know I asked specifically for prayer for the language barrier, and I really feel blessed in that area. Although I did not pick up the language overnight, I feel a lot of growth already. I am getting more comfortable with the common phrases, and the natives continue to be very patient and encouraging!

We had our first group come down last week.. and good news.. they were from Jersey! It was really an amazing week. The group was college age, so I really got to connect with some of them. Also, a friend of mine from Philadelphia University happened to be in the group! So that was a definite answer to prayer. It was so nice to just see a familiar face in the midst of all the new ones. The group built one of the local pastors, Jamin, a brand new church. Up until a couple months ago his congregation had been meeting in a tent, but the winter weather got too chilly for that, so they ended up merging with another local church for the time being. It was such a blessing to see Jamin's appreciation in all of it. He walked around all week with a grin from ear to ear, thanking everyone for the work that they had put in! The picture at the bottom is church that was built.

Saturday night I got to go to my first Mexican wedding! That was fun! Nothing like the weddings in the states.. haha.. there were kids running up and down the aisles, dogs barking, and just a ton of commotion everywhere!! But it was fun to get all dressed up and see how other cultures do weddings! I also almost caught the bouquet! Thank goodness the lady next to me grabbed it out of my hands! haha I'm not quite ready for that yet! lol

Besides that my week was filled with packing lunches, cleaning, helping with dinner, and just getting to know the people who were here. God is teaching me a lot so far, I guess the thing that stands out the most this week is about doing works in vain. Psalm 127 talks about laboring in vain. I realized that no matter what happens this summer... I really need to focus on the fact that I am doing things for God, not for people or for myself... the things I do need to be because I love God and I want to see His plans fulfilled. Otherwise, it's all in vain. I feel like that is an important lesson for me to start off the summer with. It's so easy to just fall into this cycle where you just do things because you are supposed to, or because you think its good, but you need to do what is best in God's eyes, and we need to do it with a heart for Him.

Every morning we get up and pray with the Mexican pastors; it has been an amazing time of worship! I feel like the first thing to go when my life gets busy is my prayer life, so it has been amazing to dedicate anywhere from 1-3 hours a day just talking to God! Sometimes I get up and my heart isn't in it, but when I walk into the room and see the Mexican pastors so anxious to talk to God, my eyes are really opened to why I am here! I am really hoping to continue to stay focused during these hours of prayer. I know God can really speak clearly to me in these times if I let him..

Thanks so much for all your prayers! Again, I definitely feel covered in them! I love you guys so much and I can't wait to tell you more!

Love,
Steph

Week Numero Uno!

Hola!!

For those of you who don't know.. that means "Hello" in Spanish! That is pretty much the extent of my Spanish for right now! haha! Well I am writing to give everyone an update on how my first week has been! My goal is to get an update out every week! That way its not an overwhelming amount of information! The girls here say it will be tough.. but I guess it is worth a shot!

Today marks one week since I left New Jersey, and to be honest, God has really held onto me tight! I have yet to be hit with home-sickness! I am in shock that I haven't been tempted to jump on a plane and call it a summer! haha. God has really given me awesome people here to distract me from thinking about how amazing my friends and family in New Jersey are!

I guess you guys are interested to hear what in the world I have been doing down here! Well the first 5 days I was here were considered "training days." Anybody who is interning with the C&MA(my church denomination) this summer came to Ensenada on Thursday. We did things like team building games, started building a retaining wall, and tried all kinds of new foods. It is almost like they were testing us to see if we could make it!

One night we ate "Menudo" for dinner. For those of you who don't know.. Menudo is a Mexican soup that is served for special occasions, so it would be very rude to not eat it all. It is typically made with a ton of spices, cow brain, heart, stomach, or intestine(at least that is what it said online, who knows what I ate!). It was an experience to say the least... but I made it through! Hopefully that experience only comes around once!

After 2 days in Ensenada we traveled up to L.A. for the rest of our training. We ate a little better there. :) We had amazing times of worship and also great lessons on how to keep ourselves spiritually fed this summer! Also, I experienced my first earthquake there! It was pretty crazy! It was only a 5 out of 10.. so the building didn't fall on top of me or anything crazy like that! I also got to see Santa Monica Pier! It was nice (but didn't compare to Clemonton Park :) lol) That was really the only parts of California that I got to see.. but it was beautiful to drive through!

Now, since Monday, I have been living in Ensenada! I really like it here! The weather is amazing! I would guess somewhere around 80 during the day and 70 at night. Absolutely perfect! I have been meeting all the pastors and their wives who live down here. They are all so friendly! My lack of Spanish is really making things tough, but they are being very patient with me! The other 3 girls living here are fluent in Spanish, so that is both helpful and intimidating at the same time!

On Tuesday I went to visit a boys home that was set up by the C&MA. It was probably my favorite thing we did so far! It is a home set up for teenage boys who are either from a bad family situation or boys who are sent there because of discipline issues. We just went and hung out with the 2 boys who were there. We played 3 on 3 basketball, boys vs. girls, girls kicked butt! haha I know.. I was shocked too! I really can't wait to go back!

Besides that I have just been helping clean up and get ready for the group this Saturday. It seems to be the calm before the storm! It is nice to have a little down time just to get to know everyone! Again, thank you for all your prayers! I definately feel them!

I guess for this week if you could just pray for the language barrior and that I continue to feel at home here. I am really trying to pick up as much as possible... I am definately better at listening then speaking the language. But thanks so much for all the love! Can't wait to tell you guys more!

Love,
Steph

And here is a slideshow from my first week here!