Plan an upcoming mission trips to Mexico in 2011. Visit www.ExperienceMission.org

Hey from Ruiz! So this week we’ve had the pleasure of working with the Youth Group from Grace Church in Texas. I have been very pleasantly surprised by how much the students love the children here. They don’t ever seem to get tired of jump-roping and playing soccer and football. I love seeing the smiles on both the students and the children’s faces. No matter the stress of the day, it always puts me in a great mood. The kids just have such joy, which always makes me see the brighter side of life and focus on my blessings.

There is a girl named Brenda who has been hanging out with us all week. She is around 14 years old. It has been great to see her build relationships with the students that are here. Brenda is always laughing and smiling, which is very encouraging for the students. It was really funny when Brenda, Bethany (a student from the group) and a friend of Brenda’s and I were talking about boys. Somehow that subject always seems to cross over the barriers of culture and language. It was great to see how happy it made the people/kids here that the students took the time to get to know them.

–Alyssa