Buenos Dias, my friends!
We are enjoying a spectacular mission experience here in Cuernavaca, Mexico. All participants
are in good health and accounted for, even the leaders are thriving!!! As always, the kids amaze
and impress the adults with their acceptance, humor and spiritual grace. All are working hard
and we fully expect to complete the painting on time. It is such a joy to see our kids swarm
over this building with paint rollers and brushes in hand. They are so proud of their work and
themselves; it is a gift to watch them accomplish this miracle. The adults are also working away,
pouring paint, rolling walls, washing brushes and keeping things moving along. Our food has been
yummy and many thanks to Theresa, our cook, for taking good care of us. We are enjoying “real”
Mexican food and the whole group loves it. Lots of fresh fruit and salad compliment each meal.
As a mom, I am also happy to report, that soda consumption is almost nil. Our plea to drink lots
of water is being heard.
We enjoyed a spectacular, and I mean spectacular, thunderstorm last night. Since this is the
rainy season in this part of the country, we were pleased to learn that it usually rains at night.
Most convenient. Today, the sun is shining and there is a fresh, moist world waiting for us to
enjoy. We will paint until 4:00 or so, and then be visited by local artisans who will tell the
story of their cooperative and the effort they are making to eliminate the exploitation of their
kind in this country.
We begin and end each day with a worship service in the chapel (and also at noon). Fr. Justin is
leading us in a wonderful journey through our baptismal vows. He has a true gift for spiritual
leadership and we are blessed by his presence. The rest of the time, he is pretty much “one of
the guys” which is a source of great humor to many of us. He is dangerous with a paint roller.
Jill has led us with beautiful music and our voices can be heard loud and clear as 26 of us make
a joyful noise in the profound acoustics of our chapel.
Please know that we feel your prayers as we share time together and that we are also praying for
you, our loved ones. A special blessing to Andrew Munoz and Niki Rogers is a part of our daily
prayer. Without our home team, we would not be here now, experiencing this life-changing week.
As my last word, God has blessed us with the talents, treasures and gifts that each participant
brings to the table and to this experience. Please keep us in your prayers as we journey through
this week.
In God´s hands…….
Marilynn Patterson
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