Our first mission trip:March 2010~Mazatlan, Mexico

This past January we were confronted by our discipleship pastor, Kenny Lowman. He remembered that we had expressed interest in a mission trip to New Orleans the previous year and it had not worked out for us to go. He told us about the mission trip to Mazatlan and basically told us we were going. :) It was going to be a week long with spouses only. We would do mission work the first part of the week and have time with our spouse the second half. We went back and forth with the money issue, but we finally let go. Our church is really big and we did not know anyone going. We felt a little out of place because everyone else seemed to know someone. We did not even make it to Mazatlan the first day and we were already making connections with our group.
Our job while we were there was to build two houses for two different families. These families are chosen by the local pastor that partners with the Homes for Hope Foundation. When the homes were complete we had a dedication ceremony and presented the families with their keys. The experience was amazing...we built homes for these families that were living under a tarp held up by sticks and dirt for a floor. Their lives are changed because of the grace of God. Our lives will also forever be changed. In part because of God's work through us, but also because of the everlasting relationships we came away with. To our Mazatlan buddies~ All of you will always have a special place in our hearts!