The people i met along the way...

The gringo girls...

These are three young ladies that all saw almost everyday while I was living in Mexico. Though all of our journeys were different amounts of time we found plenty of time to make a friendship that none of us will ever forget. Since all of them affected me in different ways you get to hear a little bit about each of them. From the left we start with my friend Rachel Larson. Rachel is from Happy Valley, Oregon which I always though was the coolest place to live. Not because I'd ever been there but who doesn't want to say they live in Happy Valley? Anyways, Rachel was one of the first people I met while down in Mexico. We sat in the kitchen for hours just talking and learning a little bit about each others lives. Rachel taught me the importance of love throughout our journey together in Mexico. Rachel met a little girl named Florecita and fell in love. In love to the point where it was all she talked about. She wanted to make a difference in her life and the lives of her family members. On Rachel's birthday she did just that, visiting the family and giving them everything she could afford to give them with money that she was given for her birthday. Seeing the condition of their home and the love of the family she felt as if she needed to do more. She did just that returning to their home a few weeks later with a bed so the family no longer had to sleep on the dirt ground. Though the story goes much more in depth and has touched the lives of many that have read it I can't post it all but you can try to check it out at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150234613427130.318804.504222129&type=1. Hopefully you can just copy and paste that and it will work. Sine that link goes to another girl in the picture I guess ill move onto her next. All the way to the right we have my friend Maddie Webber. Maddie was actually my intern the previous year and had returned to work at YUGO again from Canada. Though we had met before we weren't the best of friends and barely knew each other. Maddie taught me many different things while I was in Mexico even though we only had a very short 3 weeks to get to know each other. The thing I think she taught me the most was to just be yourself. Maddie and I spent many hours in conversation whether that be on our Saturdays that we had off or while working together in the cafe we were always talking about something. Our conversations some how always ended up going into something more than a light subject and always dug deep. We regularly talked about how the world wants you to be something that you can never be. Throughout all of our conversations I think we taught each other that even though the world tells us Christianity isn't the "cool" way to go it's the best way to go. We needed to be ourselves and not be scared of what people said about it. Then last but not least we have Holly Conrad. Holly was from Kansas City, Missouri and had moved down to Mexico with her brother Sean, sister-in-law Trisha, and nephew Dominic. Holly was one of those people I saw everyday. Though she didn't regularly go out on work cites she would be waiting for us when we got back to see how our days had been. Holly was another person I had many conversations with. Our conversations ranged from talking about how our day was to going to our deepest darkest secrets. Holly was someone that was always there for me and I know she always will be. While in Mexico Holly taught me many different things but the biggest one was never let yourself become comfortable in your faith step out and do something about it. Holly could have stayed in Kansas City and lived with her mother but instead she stepped out and moved to Mexico. She did school online instead of staying with all of her friends. She stepped out and did something big for God instead of for herself. Even if she couldn't tell that gave me a lot to think about in my own life. We meet many people in our lives but these are 3 that I will never forget. Three people that will always hold a place in my heart and that I will always be there for and know that they would say the same for me. These are three people that I consider some of my best friends...

The people I met along the way...

This is my buddy Nathan Alpert. I met Nathan for the first time a day after moving to Ensenada, Mexico. Nathan lives in Mexico with his wife Charity, 2 sons Adam and Aaron, and daughter Lexi. They moved to Mexico this summer following God's call all the way from Alabama. Nathan and I seemed to be the comic relief while I was down in Mexico. Every time I was with this guy I feel like we were making a joke about something. Whether we were singing happy birthday to random staff members or quoting movies and TV shows I feel like there was never a dull moment while we were together. Though we had plenty of laughs Nathan was also there as a listener and a mentor for me. Always bringing up Bible verses in our conversations, bringing up topics from the Bible that are heavily debated by the world, or telling me stories of past experiences and how God had worked through him to do big things. Whenever I was assigned to a job that wasn't the most appealing Nathan would always tell me "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" Colossians 3:23. Though his daughter found our friendship a bit strange due to the age gap Nathan taught me a lot down in Mexico and is a friend I know I can always turn to. I'm excited to get to see my buddy again soon. Since its such a small world it turns out Nathan's father lives within 10 minutes of my house in West Palm Beach and will be visiting him soon. God works in funny was but always puts the people you need to walk along side of you. I thank God for Nathan and his family that they could be apart of my new big family that I have down in Ensenada, Mexico.

The Return

I have been informed with some very exciting news that I will in fact be returning to Ensenada next summer. For those of you who don't completely know my story I will try and sum it up for you. My freshman year of high school I was given the opportunity to go on a mission trip with my youth group to Ensenada, Mexico. On this trip we were going to be building a house for a family that couldn't afford their own. I loved the trip so much and was completely changed by what I saw. This made me want to help more so the next 2 summers I went back on the same trip. When it came to my 4th trip I decided I wanted to do something more and I went and interned at the ministry we went through. Now for my 5th time back I am going to be interning again! This time continuing the trend of doing a little more than the last. Last summer I interned for 6 weeks everyone told me that was a really long time and they didn't know how I could do it. Truthfully after 6 weeks though I missed friends and family I wasn't ready to go home. This summer my plan is to intern for 9 or 10 weeks wishing that I could stay longer. Though this trip is amazing and has changed my life it is not free and I need your help to get me there. My room and board will cost me about $70 a week and I will need to purchase 2 plane tickets and have some other money for some living expenses. I can not do this alone and will need all of your help. If you can not donate financially I could always use prayer as moving to Mexico without your friends and family from home can always be a bit nerve wrecking. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this! If you could do anything to help me out you can contact me either through facebook or e-mail me at qckslvr05matt@yahoo.com Thanks Again!