Tag : joy

 

Sisters. These girls live in absolute poverty.  Their parents, along with all of the other adults, leave to work in the strawberry fields all day, and the girls are left on their own. Yet, these girls are so warm and fun. Every time we visit Trece de Mayo, these girls run up to us and give us huge hugs.

 

 

 

Me and my girl during a mission trip to Baja.  Happy Valentine’s Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we were singing by the campfire, my wife, Marla, gets a bunch of the kids and she goes off under the stairs to play with them.  The kids in Baja are such a treasure.

 

 

 

Some of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had on short-term mission trips have been singing praise and worship songs with Oxacans in Baja.  Here, the ladies prepared fish tacos, and we sat around the campfire for hours and enjoyed the warm fellowship and music.

 

 

 

On the left is my son, Morgan Weeks, and his long-time best friend, Eric Wermuth, at the end of a long day of construction work during a short-term mission trip.  Going on a short-term mission trip can have a profound impact on your life, and the experience can be extraordinary when you serve side-by-side with your close friends.  For me, I was traveling with my family and close friends, and this trip to Baja was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life.

 

 

 

While traveling through Nicaragua, we met Michael and Joan Vilasi (vilasi@live.com), who had moved from America to start a home for abused and abandoned girls on the Isle of Ometepe, Nicaragua.  The girls at the home were awesome – so sweet and appreciative for the support of American Christians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masaya, Nicaragua.  This is one of my favorite photographs.  The joy and beauty of the young girls stand in stark contrast to their severe poverty.  Their family has no front door. The family uses plywood and a large piece of furniture to barricade the front door opening at night.  To the right of this photo, there is plywood covering the opening for the front window with graffiti on it.  They have no running water or electricity.  The interior floor is dirt. Yet, such joy. Such contentment. Such warm fellowship.  Such love.

 

The “Masaya Girls” are a treasure to me.  I have a large print of this photo in my house, and it serves as a continual reminder of the words of Paul, “For I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.” Philippians 4:13.

 

When we go on mission trips to third-world countries, we go with the hope that we can help other people, but I often find that the nationals are more of a blessing to me.