Big Girls Don't Cry.

Wow.. I never knew how hard it would be to leave.. I was a summer intern at EOC for 2 months this summer. There i developed many relationships with families, other interns, the EOC staff and especially God. I knew from the beginning that this would be a hard transition.. but i didn't know how hard. I would give anything to do\say the following things again...
1. "Marvveeeeeenn!!"
2. Ask Kimyco how her trip to Costco was..
3. yell TODO BIEN EN EL BARRIO and not look like a crazy person..
4. Stay in a room with a roomate(miss u britt) and our room ghost *Jeremy* :)
5. Have church at the beach! Beside the ocean! *i'll get over the sand fleas
6. Shopping with Brenda.. did someone say Segunda!?
7. Meeting someone new every single day..
8. Feeling humbled..every moment
Okay.. this list could go on for ever... to sum up.. there's no place like EOC and there's nobody like the EOC staff.. i miss you all. very much.
I can not wait to see everyone again in November. Till then.. todos bein en el barrio!!
\Sista Steph/
*sorry for the lame post.. my next one will be ful of emotion that will make even Scott cry. promise :) *

adios!

Well, it's midnight on Sunday night. My last sleep here in Ensenada, Mexico. Myself and the other Canadian crew are rolling out to San Diego for the day and night, and then fly home Tuesday. We've been here for just 2 months, but it feels like... home...

I don't really know if i can really write much at this time. Im not sure i have any wise epiphanies for you all yet... i think most of my reflections and ponderings will come most when i return home to the bustle of Burlington, the north american 'church life', quickly bombarded with 'stuff', but also embracing the comforts of familiar faces, a language I speak, and a community i love. It's bitter sweet indeed....

it's definitely been sad saying the goodbyes the last week or so - sharing community, ministry, and a home like here at EOC draws people together. Diverse people of different ages, personalities, and nationalities - but a unity I only see in Christ. What a blessing it has been to meet every single ones of these brothers and sisters... but i'll be back - that much I know...

So until then... (or until my next blog post)...

Mamma Rho is signing out...

Top Ten...

So I've spent the summer here at the EOC... hosting groups, mentoring interns, leading worship, plugging in here and there... and Im about to return back to Ontario, Canada next week. As I begin to attempt to articulate what Im going to miss most, it's next to impossible! What started as a lil' top ten list I wrote for my blog (www.rhosadventures.blogspot.com) the 10 reasons turned into 15... then 20... and im sure i could write an endless list of things I will miss around here...


It's been quite the journey! Im sure I'll share something a bit more substantial in the days to come, but until now, take a look at this list and maybe you can remember a few of the wonders of Mexico as you read thru them - or maybe you'll be intrigued to come and see for yourself!

TOP 10 - no wait- TOP 20 REASONS

WHY I LOVE MEXICO AND WILL MISS IT SO MUCH...

20. Because 'todo bien en el barrio'!!!
19. Tuesday night games night! Obvi!
18. Beach bonfires. and fireworks. no wait. just the bonfires. the fireworks terrify me.
17. Driving around in my sweet ride - the 15passenger van! ah yeah!
16. Coca. from a bottle.
15. Meeting people from all over the States, Canada (go Yukon), and of coarse Mexico every week! How cool EH???
14. Attempting to learn Spanish...or smiling and nodding "si" (aka I have no idea what you just said!)
13. Worshiping with a chapel full of youth and adults everyday!
12. $5 Chinese Buffet!?! need i say more?
11. Watching "The office" after a long hard days work...
10. Taco stands on every corner sure beats Tim Hortons on every corner in my books! And alot cheaper too!
9. The simple smile of a child whose excited to see you even though you've never met them before....
8. Hearing 'you can do it sister' and other such encouragements every day - in broken English from my Mexican brothers!
7. At any turn catching breathtaking views of mountains and the ocean!
6. Grocery runs with Kimyco... and stop offs at Mi Ranchitos...and watching eva & jose bicker as they make us our food! (ok, i know that was three... but they go together!)
5. Jeep offroading everyday. With Marvin.
4. Getting to watch my interns grow and serve
3. Living in community.. a taste of the acts 2 church if you ask me...
2. Being a part of a real life 'extreme home makeover' every week. except cooler. and realer. and way more practical.
1. Living everyday with purpose and tangible opportunities to be the hands and feet of Christ in amazing ways with an amazing ministry!

poverty has a new face.

My name is Brittney, today I begin my eighth week of living down here in Mexico at the Ensenada Outreach Center. I really don't know what to say, I don't think its possible to sum up the past seven weeks in a couple of paragraphs...or even a few pages. The things I've seen, heard, and been blessed to be a part of have changed my life forever. Being here has made me realize that living in California, on the western coast of the United States has made me so spoiled.

Poverty: The state of being poor; lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts.
the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor; indigence (thank you dictionary.com)

In America (or even Canada for my Canuck friends) we have our share of poverty. When I used to think of poverty, I would picture a person on a street corner begging for food, or I would see a person cashing in their welfare check or maybe I would picture someone I know, someone who wears the same shirt to school everyday or wears beat up old shoes with holes in them, although these people never had faces. Now, for me, poverty has a face. When I think of poverty, or the definition of poor, I have a new view.

Picture this: a child dirty and tired...but somehow smiling and happy. When I say dirty, I dont mean a lightly soiled shirt with a pair of lightly soiled jeans. I mean dirty, the kind of dirty that hasn't had a proper shower in few weeks, maybe a few months and quite possibly ever. His teeth are already rotting and falling out, but he's only nine. He's probably never brushed his teeth with real toothpaste, and maybe he's never even actually brushed his teeth.
When I say happy, I mean the kind of happy that is real...you could even call it joy.

These kids find their joy out of the simplest of things: a rock, a few nails and a piece of wood, or even just a bottle of apple scented bubbles. And as much as they have their hard times (the nights they wish they didn't have to sleep on the rocky, dirty, uncomfortable ground or eat the same potatoes and beans for dinner) they are always smiling. The smiles are created by the simplest things: when you hand them a new toothbrush, a new outfit and especially when they are given their own set of keys to their own new house. And even though these people are the deffinition of poor and live below the "american poverty line" they are happy. I envy the joy they find in the simple things in life.

This trip has given me a new appreciation for what I have at home. I actually have a home and a bed and a dresser to put my clothes in. I never thought there would come a time when I would be thankful for a closest. I hope that when I go home I'm able to remember everything I've learned this summer.

AGAPE

Agape - "Agape is disinterested love. … Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It begins by loving others for their sakes. … It springs from the need of the other person."
Love.
Before coming here to EOC, I never realized how easy it is to love someone. For example, two weeks ago I was invited by another intern to visit a family in which she had built their house a few years ago with her church group. I stepped out of the van, walked over to their front gate to be greeted by this little girl with her arms stretched out, about to give me a big hug. Here i am, a random stranger to this girl... yet she greets me with a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Love. It can happen so easily between any two people. From any walks of life. Doing missionary work here has opened up that concept for me.
Back at home, in Canada, I had a different idea of what love was. I had to of known that person for a long period of time, I had to know their life story, had to have complete trust in them.. etc etc... Now if you've ever gone to Sunday school, a Christian retreat, or even church... you'll know how much God wants us to simply love each other.. Just as we are. I never really "got it" until this summer... I never understood fully how to love your neighbor.. until now. It's so simple. How and why do we make it more difficult than that? God wants us to love each other.. as brothers and sisters in Christ.. but we seem to limit how much we give out our love.
Doing this internship really brought out a piece of me that i didn't know existed. I don't know how else to put it.. But this summer i am more fired up about what God has to offer than ever before..
God has shown me true AGAPE.

Consuming fire, fan into flame...

We have all heard, and sung along with many different types of worship. From full bands to choirs, from acoustic to electric, from rock to hymns. Our worship is no different than that of worship across the world, it consists of a keyboard, an acoustic guitar, and 2 or 3 vocalists (depending on the night). We play songs everyone knows, and have sung so many times before. But being up on the stage, watching these people worship while on their Mexico adventure, you see something different, something that isn't always there. A spark. A spark that slowly expands into a flame. It's like being here, in this environment, helping these people that are in dire need sparks a new passion in them. You can see it in their faces, and you can hear it in their voices. As the week goes on, I see people who on the first day stood with there mouths shut and arms crossed, where on the last day, their eyes were shut tight, their mouths full of song and their arms reaching for the heavens. I see that little spark in their eyes has erupted into a fire of passion for god, and for his worship. Watching this evolution of the spirit is an amazing thing. Not everyone feels this flame, but seeing those who do makes the worship we do here at the EOC so much more than just song.