Ensenada Outreach Center - YUGO

This weekend we had a group here that went out to the villages to do Project Joy. Project Joy is also what many people call the "shoe-box-ministry." The group that came was a small youth group from LA. They brought down over 200 boxes filled with gender-oriented toys and school supplies to hand out as Christmas presents. They started out the day in the village by doing a regular VBS; playing games in the street, singing songs and showing a short bible-based drama followed by group prayer. after that was done they organized the large crowd of kids into two lines: boys and girls. then they handed each child a wrapped shoe box. the kids all filed back into the church and "on the count of three" they all opened their gifts. It was so moving to see the amount of excitement in the faces of these kids as they opened the boxes. They were so happy about the few things they got. The kind of things that we would just fill our stockings with. Things like stickers and play dough. They were so grateful. There were enough gifts that we were able to pass them out at two different churches. My favorite part of the day was after we had already left the second church and we were on our way back to the EOC. We passed an orphanage that had housed teens with special needs. Fortunately, we had some left-over presents still in the car. The group automatically wanted to stop and hand out the rest of the presents to the kids they saw. When we stopped and got out with the gifts the seven children out front started screaming with excitement. They were overwhelmed with joy. As we were driving away after passing them out, one of the kids that was in a wheel chair sat there with his new toys and blew us kisses until we drove out of sight. Another one of them with Down Syndrome was jumping up and down as he rummaged through his new box of toys.

As I'm getting ready to go home for Christmas I've been thinking a lot about what I'm going to be getting for my family or what I'm going to ask for my family to get me. This weekend was a reminder for me that I cant forget what I'm doing here while i'm back home in Sacramento. Its so easy to go home and (as Scott would say) "leave my cross at the border". While I'm down here in Mexico i live with a constant appreciation for the life i have at home. There's a constant feeling of gratefulness knowing that back in California i have all the comforts i want. I never really feel like I'm 'in need' of anything while i'm here. but as my trip home gets closer I start to have that feeling again. My mind goes back into the "what the world thinks I need" instead of the "what does my life actually need" mindset. I was reminded many times this weekend that as I go home for Christmas I need to be careful as my heart shifts back into the comforts of home. I need to not forget the difference between my 'wants' and my 'needs'. God will always provide. :)