It’s extremely difficult to capture the essence of our week in Mexico in just a few words or through the viewing of a few pictures (or even a multitude of pictures). First of all, words and photos only show a part of the experience. They tend to be one-dimensional whereas the full experience was certainly multi-dimensional. Secondly, the week in Mexico affected each of us differently. There were certainly experiences and emotions that we all shared but we each began this trip from our own starting point. Some of us have traveled internationally before this trip, some of us have experienced other cultures, and some of us have performed hands-on service work. But to work and live in community, outside of our comfort zones, with people we were only beginning to know was, I believe, a new experience for all of us.

The first entry on the youth blog, written days before we finished packing our bags for the initial flight to Mexico, posed the question of how our trip might achieve a change in the youth perspective to the world around them. That entry concluded with the idea that, at a minimum, the youth would return to Milwaukee “with a greater appreciation for what we have and what we can do for others”.

Our trip did that and much more. I must first say that our youth, all eleven of them, truly and fully participated in this experience. They jumped right in with their hearts, hands, minds and souls. If they had doubts as we disembarked from the bus Monday morning in the small village of Yautepec, they kept them well hidden. If they had concerns as they trekked up the steep, narrow alleyway to the church, they didn’t let on as they confidently chatted with each other. If they were unsure of what work they would be doing as we rounded the corner and saw the church for the first time, they quickly realized why this was called a service trip.

They spent the days hard at work, each doing very different tasks as the needs arose. They painted, cleaned, and removed panes of glass. They were on their knees, standing, climbing ladders, and standing on overturned buckets to reach into corners. They offered their help far more often than they asked for help. They were as dirty and tired as the adults were at the end of each day.

But they also did what we adults could not do. Without knowing the local language, they were able to communicate with the children of the neighborhood who came to catch a glimpse of these new people. A smile and a bit of laughter are elements of a worldwide language, understood by all children, no matter their age. Our youth connected with these local children, so much so that on subsequent days, more children appeared to play, sing and teach us their games. From those seeds of communication, the older members of the community and the service team joined together. Although the world may seem huge, unfamiliar and at times, a bit scary, our youth began to understand that our basic needs are really all the same. Our life in the Milwaukee area may be far different from life in Yautepec, but love, peace, joy, family are universal desires, and each one of us can help share that with others, no matter the country we’re in or the community we live in or the language we speak.

Our youth experienced a week unlike others they’ve experienced. They saw homes smaller than some of our living rooms. They experienced children much younger than themselves selling trinkets on the streets. They shopped in the local market for everyday food items. They strolled the main streets, quickly realizing the lack of sanitary conditions we take for granted. They experienced the joy and gratitude from a local congregation, thankful for the sweat equity we had shared with them. They encountered a bit of life in a totally different culture. They experienced it with laughter, joy, a new sense of self, and the knowledge that they can make a difference in this world. Whether they’ll fully realize it at this point in their lives, they experienced God in themselves and God in the midst of all our experiences!

So did this trip change their lives? In many ways I believe it did. I’m sure they will still want updated iPods, new outfits or the latest and greatest pair of athletic shoes. But they also have a greater appreciation for what they do have. They have a greater appreciation for what matters in life. Moreover, they have a greater understanding of themselves and their part in this world.

To all the youth on the trip, Meredith, Zach, Piers, Jordan, Clement, Tommy, Ellen, Malcolm, Bennett, Claire and Max, thank you for sharing so much of yourselves with us and with the members of the Diocese of Cuernevaca! Keep this experience in your heart and mind as you face each new day!

-HP

Today is our last day in Mexico and we visited the famous silver mining capital of the world, called Taxco. The town looked a lot like Greece or Spain, as some might say. We saw the Father Federico´s church and home at which he took us up on the roof. It was a surreal moment in all of our lives. Though a little scary for those who were afraid of heights, it was also a perfect photo-op. All combinations of people were used in the pictures, boys, girls, women, men, and families. We then broke into groups and our particular group went to a pizzeria for lunch. When we went silver shopping, Father Scott told us that pure silver would be marked with a 925 on the back. For a gift last night, the Bishop gave everyone a cross specially made for the diocesan center. Many of us got a chain or ribbon to put the cross on. When our long and wonderful day was over, we headed out onto the hilly roads. We got on the bus and to our surprise the bus was hotter than the air outside! On the ride home, many fell asleep but woke up when the food came around. In the past few days our feelings toward the people who have been with us since the start have grown and changed.


Claire
Meredith
Ellen
Jordan

Today we went to Taxco for the day for shopping and site seeing. When the bus originally arrived Brigette sent it back because it was apparently it was too ugly for us. So about 30 minutes later the larger Volvo bus showed up and we started off.
The bus ride was about an hour and a half, it was too long. when we arrived in Taxco we first stopped for a bathroom break, which took way to long. After we went to Father Fredrico´s church, he showed us his home and the roof of the building, which had a nice view. He told us that at night he would go on the roof and play guitar. Then we went to the center of the city, the Zacalo. Which was right next to the Roman-Catholic cathedral, which was considered much to elabrate by us. Then we went to a pizza place for lunch, it was good, after we wandered around for a couple hours. We stopped in several shops, many of them were silver shops, a couple of them sold day of the dead items and masks. Then we met up at the Zacalo and took the hour and a half bus ride back.
We thought there was to much driving during the trip, considering we were in the bus as long as we stayed in taxco. But today was fun and a cool experience, even though I almost got ran over several times in the narrows.

- Max
- Bennett

On the sixth day we went to the habitat house in Cuernavaca. The house was a 2 room house with a bathroom. The woman who lived in the house had a little shop so the people won`t have to climb up the VERY steep landscape. The life style is so different because they had a rooster and a chicken. They also had so many different objects like the stove and they hand-washed everything. The system in Cuernavaca for habitat is so much different because they had to get 4 families that needed their house redone also. Each person helped each other in their houses. Each house usually took about 20 days to build. When we finished with the first house, some people went to another house and some people went back to the center where we were staying.
After lunch, 4 adults (Laura,Hannah,John,and Kathleen) and the whole youth went to the market. We had a list of thing to buy like eggs, rice, mangos, milk, and avacados. In the market there were a lot of interesting smells. Some good like the spices and some bad like the meats. Don`t get me started on the meats. Well.... there were heads of pigs with the eyes, nose, ears, and the head itself. There was also a chicken hung by its feet. Claire saw a woman cut a chickens head off. We were all disgusted. Jordan almost became a vegetarian again after 7 years of being one. They had everything wide open. There were NO glass casings on the meat and flies flying around everywhere. There were squshed veggies and other things I didn`t know what it was. People were staring at us the whole time. People swatting bags at us and TRYING to speak english but it wasn`t working for them. We didn`t have to do a lot of barganing except 1 group, they were being charged 26 pesos for 1 kilo of tortillas. When my group got them for 8.50 pesos. Malcolm bargained and made it down to 16 pesos.(Thats the group being charged 26 pesos). That was are day, nice but revolting in the market.
E.G.

Today we went back to the chrch and sence their was not much painting left to do, most of us washed windows. After that was done we went out side and played Hot Potatoe exept we couldn´t remember the song thingy or anything else about it. After a while a lot of Mexican people came añd made tacos, tamales añd another kind of taco. Then all of the girls and some little mexican kids sang songs Bennett payed Tommy 2 pesos to join in on the hokey pokey.

-cg

Disclaimer -
This blog is bound to contain a handful of spelling/gramatical errors due to the fact that I am unable to think and/or type clearly (due to the fact that I am very tired and I am without my faithful Microsoft Word spellchecker)..........again, sorry.

Well hello everyone!
This blog marks the fifth day of our epic journey to south of the USA (Mexico to specify). In addition, it also marks our final day of painting the church, La Bendita Virgen (the blessed virgin), which by the way looks amazing due to our great paint job and its ideal view of breathtaking moutians glazed with fog. The clear dividing line (on the walls) with a light blue bottom side and clean white painted celing and upper wall accent the rustic red benches (not pumpkin colored...) while nicely contrasting the old tiles which make up the entire floor of the inside of the church. In addition, the outside, covered with the same clean white paint has worked itself well into the walls of the church and compliments the columns, glazed with the vibrant light blue, and creates a truely beautiful setting topped with a red brick roof overlooking the same breathtaking mountianside. This paridise, nesteled within an impoverished neighborhood, was only finally completed with a loving service, hosted by the Bishiop himself, and a "spontaneous" fiesta which won the hearts and minds of all St. Christopher´s atendees. More on this fiesta though (as it was the highlight of the day, and is vieying for the top spot of our trip). Now, I must start from the beginning with this fiesta, as it did quickly elevate itself to a wacky party rather quickly. After the wonderful service, we were promted to an incredible meal of tacos, tostados, and a slew of other asortments which all added to a truely authentic Mexican style cuisine. After this outrageously good supper (I ate two tacos anointed with some beans and cheese) a short lull broke out as everyone tried to digest their food. However, this was truely a respite break, as Scott was soon seen strumming his guitar while singing along with the girls and a bunch of Mexican youth (about 6 - 11 years old). It must have been his music, because soon after a very large crowd gathered around and could be seen dancing, singing, and playing. Not too long after, I myself was pulled into the fray and found myself singing and dancing to an odd song/dance called "Chuchuwa". However, this could only be completed with the very corrdinated Zach suddenly moving from a standing position to one more closely related to the result of a fall (completed with the laughter of Zach himself). I cannot say for sure, but I would guess that Zach was unable to take the "pies pengüinos" and just wanted to enjoy the dirt laden ground for a little bit. Though, I do believe that everyone finished the song on a high note, as we soon became engaged with a clever game of "nests" and "birds" (where there are/were no loosers!!). This seemed to last forever as I tried (unsucessfully 1/2 of the time) to wedge my "grande" body inbetween to innocent bystanders - the point of the game, more or less. However, the day was growing old, so all St.Christopher´s personel had to, sorrowfully, clamber onto the bus which took us back to the Diociasin center. Though, I (along with Zach, Clement, and Max) were able to become the main attraction as we posed in pictures with the local women (they badly wanted all of us, but we told them we had to go). To end the day, we were caught singing oldies as a few lost cows stagged into the road (possibly a sign that we couldnt forget our homeland, Wisconsin...). Well, that is all - I shall leave another day to another blogger to type about anther adventure in Mexico.

-Malcolm

Today on the second day of work, we took the tour bus down to the church. When we got there we could already see the difference. Today our jobs were to paint benches, windows, doors, and touch ups. After a few hours of work we took a break to eat lunch. A while after that, a few kids came down. A boy named Luis, had some fun stealing my hat, after which I would have to chase him to give it back. We did that a few times then we saw the little girls. Ellen, Meredith, and I decided that we should play with them too. All 8 of us went into the church, where Scott helped us dance and sing with his guitar. We did the Hokeey Pokeey, This little light of mine, and If you´re happy and you know it. After every movement we did, this one little girl would giggle and laugh. I felt kind of bad because Luis kept wnating to play some more but I had to do some work. I don´t know much spanish so it was difficult to tell him ¨not right now.¨ Hannah and I also had some trouble buying 20 bottles of Coke because we both didn´t understand what he said. We asked Jordan to come down and help us translate and calculate but she couldn´t understad either. So finally we asked Rev. Ivan´s wife. She came over and of course the man had had everything right, the change and everything, we were the ones that didn´t understand. Right before we left I said ¨adios¨ to the kids and Luis came up to me and gave me a big hug. It feels so good to be a part of this group and to be able to see all of the aspects of their culture.
C.N.

Hello from Cuernavaca, where we have just finished our first day of painting at La Bendita Virgen in Yautepec, a small village in the Diocese about an hour (in heavy traffic) away from the Diocesan Center, but it seems farther away. I type this from a quiet middle-class neigborhood filled with weekend homes for Mexico´s wealthy. The church, on the other hand, is situated in a poor neighborhood and the average perishoner earns only $7 a day. We spent the day painting a church that while rundown was quite beautiful. After just one coat of paint, the simple blues and whites shined brilliantly in the afternoon sun. We finished our planned painting around 3:00, and washed the brushes until 4. The normally good-natured group of youth let forth our first stirrings of discontent at the prospect of washing paintbrushes in water already so thick with paint that it resembled cheap whitewash. So now you´ve got the summary of the day, and as this is a religious trip, I thought I´d throw in a few examples of what the group has taken to calling "God-moments." The first involves a group of children from the villiage who wandered on our worksite after school (yes, they are still in school). They ranged from 7-10 years old though looked younger (though who am I to talk?) The smiles on their faces as Scott talked in broken Spanish (and Jordan and I offered corrections)were priceless, and they, like everyone we have met, was nothing but happy to see us. A second one involves yours truly, though filtered through the far holier lens of Deacon John Hickey. One of the brushes I had judged clean was brought back to me 20 minutes later by our local handyman whose name I cannot spell and will not even attempt. I commented that our supervisors often expect more from us than we expect from ourselves. John, his mind apparently obscured by the turpentine whose smell pervaded the church, forgot what I said, but this eavning attributed a quote to me which I could only wish to have the wisdom to come up with. He told the group about my insight that "God often expects more of us than we do of ourselves." While inacuratly attributed to me, it contained words with which I leave you, this evening. Noone expects themselves to rush into a burning building to save a baby, yet they do. Many of us never expected ourselves to find the time, or the will to go on this trip, and yet here we are, with God as the supervisor of our work.
-ZM

On the second day in Cuernavaca, we went to the city. After two church services (one in English and one in Spanish) we went to lunch and then to look around. Actually going into the main city gave all of us a different feeling. The word ¨poverty¨ came with a whole new description to me. There were beggars on many of the street corners, and it was hard resisting them. It felt wrong to say ¨No gracias.¨ -which means ¨no thank you¨- or to say nothing at all. It was also hard saying no to people selling handmade or other items in the zocolo (main market area in the middle), for many of them were little kids. Going up and down the streets it was very crowded. The extremely narrow streets made it even harder to manuever in and out next to speeding cars. Speaking of out-of-control cars, many of us were praying on the taxi rides we took. There seemed to be no speed limit, no stop signs, and hardly any stop lights. Also, there were winding streets with steep hills going up and down.
Some things that many of us took note to was the way this city, and probably most of the country, has been ¨Americanized¨. We saw stores such as Starbucks, McDonald´s, and Burger King. One member of our crew mentioned seeing a shirt with the words ¨Spoiled Brat¨on it, which made us feel like our culture was in a way invading theirs.
Overall, we´ve all had mixed feelings about this second day on our mission trip, and I´m sure the rest will only be more fun!!
-M.R.P.

And then, on Saturday morning, the trip officially began. We arose early in the morning on Saturday and were driven, by our wonderful drivers, to O´Hare airport in Chicago. We got to our flight smoothly, and we flew without any difficulty for three hours before arriving in Mexico City. Looking out the window, just before the plane landed, we could see Mexico city stretching to the horizon, as far as we could see. This was surprising to a lot of people who had never seen it before, as it was much bigger than I, at least, had expected. After the plane landed, we collected our baggage and were bussed to the place where we would be staying. The bus ride was roughly an hour long, and took us through Mexico city. We were able to get a look at some of Mexican culture as we drove by, and we saw some interesting things out the windows. After arriving, we were shown around by the Bishop Delgado, and we were given rooms in which to put our things. We spent the rest of the afternoon just getting used to our surroundings, or playing with a ball outdoors, or walking to the nearby Superama. (A Superama is a Mexican grocery store almost identical to the common or garden Pick-n-Save) For dinner we had a really good meal that included Guacamole, salad with fresh vegetables, some meat closely resembling beef jerky, fresh tortillas, and rice pudding. It was really good. Then, after a quick game of charades that included the entire group, we went upstairs to bed. Falling asleep was difficult for some, as it was extremely hot. But eventually, everyone did fall asleep. Day One ends HERE.
Day Two began with everyone waking up at 8 in time for breakfast, and a few individuals leaving at 8:30 to walk to the church where, in about 20 minutes, everyone else will be taxied. There is always an english service at 10, and a spanish service at 12. This week, our own Scott Stoner will be doing the english service, which I´m sure everyone is looking forward to.

That is everything until now
So goodbye
this particular blog entry stemmed from the fertile mind of P Gelly