My Missions Trip to L.A. and Mexico

I always loved to travel and have seen many different countries over the years.  I began traveling abroad when I was 21, but last summer I embarked on a new adventure.  I went on my first missions trip with a few other members of my church and it was my favorite trip ever.  First, we went to Los Angeles.  In Los Angeles we had the opportunity to work with several Christian ministries that help the poor and the homeless.  We spent our first day at a soup kitchen serving the homeless.  My friend Eric and I were working in the kitchen preparing the meal.  We were cooking alongside of a man who used to be homeless himself.  Now, he has a place to live, but comes back to the soup kitchen to feed others.  He appreciated the warm meals when he was homeless and chose to give back to the people who gave so much to him by becoming a volunteer.  This man had so much great advice to give to us.  We all talked the whole time we prepared the meal and he left a special impression on Eric and I.  We had a great time working with him and we all prepared a great meal for the guests.  After serving the meal, we went back into the kitchen and though our work was over we continued to talk to this man for a considerable amount of time.  He had so much to share about life and we were grateful to hear his views.  We also visited an old motel that had been turned into homes for the homeless.  It was called the Kingdom Center.  Different churches all came together to help the homeless by preparing rooms for several families with all each family would need.  The families are chosen and live there for a small fee and are encouraged to get involved with the church that sponsored them.  It was great to see different people with different views and beliefs working together to help others as God instructs us to do.  Another day we worked at  a different soup kitchen and participated in a prayer group for Hollywood after which we went up to the Hollywood Hills to pray over the city.  We also went to South Central L.A. to help put flooring down in an elderly woman's house.  This woman was a white woman whose husband was a Pastor.  When he died she returned to Texas, but she was very lonely there until an African American Pastor went to bring her back home and gave her this home to live in.  It showed us that even in an area where there was once so much violence done to those of different races, people can live together in peace regardless of the color of their skin.

However, the most amazing part of the trip for me was our weekend spent in Tijuana, Mexico.  It is a sight to see when you cross over the border from California and enter Mexico.  In California you are surrounded by beaches, palm trees, and beautiful houses.  When you enter Mexico you feel like you have gone back a century.  Everyone lives in broken down houses, the majority of the roads are dirt roads, and skinny, starving dogs roam the streets.  We stayed at a missions base at a man named Sergio's house who runs several orphanages, a hospice and a home for the elderly.  While we were there we worked at one of the orphanages.  We were glad to see that the children were well cared for there.  We brought them toys and had a barbecue for them.  The children really enjoyed playing with us.  We painted their nails and they painted ours.  They all wanted to do our hair for us and we let them.  You had to see the hair styles they left us with!  It was quite a sight!  We had so much fun with the kids.  We put tons of packets of gum on the table for them to choose from and they were so excited.  One girl was counting each piece of the gum she chose to see how many days the gum would last. It was sad to learn that many of these kids have families living in the area. However, these families are so poor that they can't afford to take care of their own children.  They leave their children at the orphanage during the week because they know their children will have food to eat and get an education.  On weekends these children go home to see their families.  There were some children in the orphanage who were true orphans, but very few.  However, the highlight of the trip for me was going up into the mountains where the poorest people live.  We brought with us toy cars, gum, toothbrushes and some clothing to pass out.  At first we saw few people, but as people heard that we were there all of a sudden we were surrounded by kids.  All they asked for was one car or one pack of gum.  They were so excited and so were their parents.  I remember a little boy who must have only been about 3 years old.  Someone had given him a toothbrush and he was so excited.  He ran to his mother, shaking the toothbrush, so happy to show her what he had been given.  There was one mother who we gave a couple bars of soap to.  She never stopped smelling the soap or having others smell the soap.  As we walked up and down the mountain we saw houses that were in shambles and small shacks with too many people living in them. However, more than we saw the houses they lived in, we saw the people and how appreciative they were that someone thought of them and thought of their children.  Every time we gave a child something not only would the child's face light up, but the adults with them were also so grateful.  I'll always remember the children who surrounded us all along the mountain just to get a pack of gum.  It's amazing how grateful children are to get something so little, when they often live without getting anything special.  I know if I gave my nieces or nephews a pack of gum or a toothbrush as a gift, they wouldn't be very excited.  These children however, don't have much at all, and we had the opportunity to brighten their day.  I know the kids were thankful for what they received, but I really believed watching them lifted us up more than we lifted them up.  When we had given out all we had come with we were disappointed to not have more to give.  We all learned what a gift it is to give to others and that it is definitely more important to give than to receive.  We learned the next morning that 12 people had been killed in Tijuana the weekend we were there, but never once did we feel unsafe.  All we were thinking of was the people and how we could make just a small difference in their lives.  We may have made a small difference, but in reality it was them who made the biggest difference in us. 

Vocabulary

1.abroad: overseas: to another country

2. embarked: set forth on; took part

3. adventure:journey; trip

4.opportunity: chance

5. preparing: making

6.appreciated: was glad for

7. impression: impact

8.considerable: long 

9.grateful: glad; thankful for

10.participated: took part in

11.amazing: great, special

12. highlight: best part

13. shambles: destroyed; falling apart

Activity:

Matching Column

1.participated                                             a. destroyed; falling apart

2. embarked                                               b.glad; thankful for

3.shambles                                                 c.overseas; to another country

4.preparing                                                d.took part in

5.grateful                                                    e.best part

6.highlight                                                   f.set forth on; took part

7.abroad                                                    g.making

8.adventure                                                h.great; special

9.considerable                                            i.long

10.opportunity                                            j.chance

11.appreciated                                           k.journey; trip

12.amazing                                                 l. impact

13.impression                                            m. was glad for

Grammar Point:

Throughout the paragraph above I have used adjectives.  Adjectives are words that describe nouns.  An example from the paragraph is: "skinny, starving dogs".  "Skinny" and "starving" are adjectives.  They describe the noun "dog." Can you find more adjectives in the above paragraph?  Please make a list of all the adjectives you find and write a sentence for each.