…
When we arrived in Loreto, of course many memories from last year came flooding back. When I was at home it seemed like it had been forever since I’d been there. Now that I was there it seemed like it was only yesterday.

Its hard to decide what to limit my stories and memories too. Everything from food to people are worth writing about. I had really missed my cousins. We’ve always been close, but living with a family for 2 months causes you to get to be about as close as cousins can be. Ethan, the cousin who was born 2 days before I left last year, was now a toddling 1 year old. And did I mention, even more adorable?

Getting together with the church family was definitely a highlight. They welcomed me back as if they’d known me forever. They did the same for my family.

Probably one of the most memorable things that happened while I was there, is that this family informed me that they had named their baby girl, Kaylene. Being foreign and different sounding I guess they had grown to like it. I was pretty honored and excited about that. I assumed they were going to spell it different being that the pronunciations are different in Spanish, but I was surprised to find out a few days ago that they had decided to spell it the same way. Just a fun tid-bit. And I should mention she’s about the sweetest-natured, cutest little girl in Mexico. Curly hair, huge brown eyes, long lashes… . Of course there’s no reason that I would be biased in that opinion. But I’ve got about 20 pictures to prove it. (see above)

The Sunday we were there church was pretty emotional. It was my Uncle’s family last Sunday there, and the people were very sad though very understanding that the leadership of the church was their responsibility now. They acknowledged that their dependence was on Christ not my Uncle or themselves. I think it was extremely rewarding for my Uncle and his family to see. As person after person gave testimony I was inspired to serve as a missionary like never before (how ever it be, in whatever capacity). My Uncle had over 15 years ( 5 of them there in Loreto) of his life in Mexico. He’s learned the language, become a part of the culture, all for the sake of Christ. He’s the furthest away from anyone I’ve ever known, to wasting his life. I was definitely challenged to follow Christ and seek for accomplishment and success in the name of Christ and not my own.

I wish I could adequately describe the sacrifice the Christians have made in order to follow Christ. Some have given up good relations with family, reputation, and more, all in order to follow hard after God. There's no walking the line--its all or nothing. Its something that's hard to appreciate until you hear their personal testimonies, which they love to share.

I hope I get to go back, meanwhile I'm praying for my friends there. That God will keep them strong in the faith.

...
Last week my family returned from a seemingly short trip to beloved Mexico. For me, its beloved, because I was there for 2 months last year and formed many friendships and came to greatly appreciate the language and culture. I never dreamed I'd have the privilege of returning exactly one year later, to be greeted by their smiling faces and welcoming arms.

It was a joy that my family (all except for big sis Jolynn--this was the only sad part) was able to make it this time around. Especially as this was our last opportunity to visit my Aunt,Uncle, and cousins before they moved back up to the states.

Several months ago when we started praying about going to Mexico as a family, everything started to come together. Uncle Mike asked, that if we did end up coming, if we could bring a trailer to help bring some of their belongings back with us. In other words, could we help them move?

My brother Jeb, had just purchased a horse trailer, but we didn't have a vehicle to pull it with. As time passed and we continued praying God provided and we were able to purchase a suburban that we needed anyways, trip or no trip. I can't really express how excited I was getting at that point. It was starting to look like what had started as a far fetched idea might actually become reality. God works that way a lot. Why am I so surprised?

Its a long story filled with details as to how the Lord worked everything out, but we ended up having quite a load of things to take down to the church my Uncle was helping lead.. .Including 10,000 copies of the Bible books, John and Romans, for the church in Loreto to distribute in their evangelistic endeavors!

The day we left, our goal was a town in central TX where we used to live. We visited many friends there--some whom we hadn't seen in 6 years! Monday, a day later, we left for the border. Uncle Mike met us there and Tuesday we headed to central Mexico. (600 miles south of Del Rio).
The trip was mostly uneventful except for some "interesting" run-ins with the Mexican police. I guess the trailer drew their attention, but once they had us pulled over they were accusing of us speeding when we weren't. I guess its not that rare, (for them to falsely accuse) so thankfully my Uncle was able to just discuss things with them and talk them down to a few pesos. Funny story though, My uncle was in the process of telling us about some of his experiences with the cops. As he told the story, we got pulled over, and so he told the "policia" that he had just been telling his family how bad the cops were about pulling people over for stupid stuff. The guy handed him back his driver's license and sent us on our way.

I'm waiting

I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Kaylene

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My passions: The Gospel, Evangelism, People, Photography

My family: 2 parents, a brother and 2 sisters

Ministries I participate in and/or support:

I know if I could spend the rest of my life talking about Jesus and serving Him, I would feel "accomplished" and truly successful and happy. And though moment by moment, its hard to keep this in perspective, I know for sure that I'd rather be His than have riches untold.

God is faithful to give me purpose day by day, where I'm at, and for His glory.  I'm currently working as an 'on call' caregiver for the elderly. I stay busy with endeavors such as photography and keeping my EMT certification up to date.

The sincerity of someone’s words and actions stands out to me. Its louder than their short comings. Real people are my heroes. God’s working personally in this area of my life. I want to reflect my Savior Who is in me, no matter who I’m around. Not being hypocritical doesn’t mean letting everything that’s in your heart and mind flow out. Its about not pretending something’s there when its not.