Hey! Wow, the last couple weeks have been a whirlwind. After leaving Ensenada on December 21 and staying with friends in Hermosillo and Mazatlan, we arrived in Guadalajara on December 23. The YWAM base we worked with is just outside the little town of Chapala, about a 45 minute drive from Guadalajara proper.
During our ten days in Chapala, we got to work several days with an orphanage for adolescent and teenage boys, playing soccer and doing VBS, helping with some painting and other projects, and hanging out with these amazing young boys.  Jorge, one of the men who runs the home, explained that in Mexico, boys and girls can only be together in orphanages until the age of 8. Unfortunately, there are not many homes that take older boys. Many are placed in juvies and rehab centers because there is no where else for them to go. It's hard for me to realize that without this home, many of these sweet, energetic, bright-eyed young men would be placed in very difficult places. They blessed us with their enthusiasm and warmth!
 Some of the staff from the base in Chapala are building relationships in a small village called La Pila, where they have a desire to do development and reach people with God's hope. In a village of around 300 people, there are only a few Christian families (the entire state of Jalisco is only 3% evangelized). Our team split into small groups for the afternoon and went out to milk cows with different families in La Pila, finding out about a different way of life, attempting to help the families with their chores, and drinking warm milk straight from the udder- believe it or not, if you mix in a little Nescafe and sugar, it tastes like a latte! In the evening, we did a program in the little plaza in the center of town with our dramas and kid's songs and testimonies. We were treated to homemade carne asada, beans, hand made corn tortillas, and cinnamon tea by one of the Christian families. Singing worship with them under the stars on a very chilly Mexican night encouraged everyone involved.
After spending a day doing work projects around the base, we spent New Year's Eve and day hiking and camping up on a high ridge over looking Guadalajara and Lake Chapala. While we were on the mountain, the team was split into groups doing teambuilding exercises and intercession for the base in Chapala. And yesterday, our final day of ministry, we drove into downtown Guadalajara and went to a cultural market where many young people go to spend Saturday afternoon. There are booths set up with everything from Hell's Angels T-shirts to metaphysical books to tatoos to bead weavings. Our heart was to talk with people and pray for this area, as the Chapala base would like to set up a booth and become a presence for ministry to these young people. It was amazing to hear about the divine appointments that God set up for member of our team there. Last night, we got together with some of the staff from the base, most of whom are just arriving home from Christmas vacation. We spent a couple hours praying and worshiping together, remembering Who all this is about and with and for.
Many of us felt God's presence in a very tangible way during our time in Chapala, as well as the staff we worked with from their ministry.It was cool to see as we reach out to bless other people, God shows up and surprises us with how much He can bless us.
Now we're on a 3 day drive to our next ministry location- Chiapas! As I sit in a hotel lobby very early in the morning and reflect on the last 2 weeks, I'm humbled and blessed by what God's already done in my students, through our group, and in me. I'm excited to see what else he's got up his sleeve!

 Prayer Requests:

-That the seeds that were planted in Guadalajara will continue to grow and be watered, and for blessing for the base and staff there. They went out of their way to spend time with us and help us out!

- Our vans! They're well loved and well used, and are feeling it! We've had some problems with the ball joints and weird clunking sounds that I don't really understand. Thankfully, Jake one of our dads on the team, has a lot of mecanical experience and has been doing constant work. We've still got a lot of miles to go, so please pray for wisdom for our drivers and mechanic, and for safety on the road!

- Continued growth of relationships and unity in our team.

- My co-leader Giezi has been having some minor respiratory stuff going on in the last couple days and my  stomach's been having some issues of it's own for about a week, so if you can be praying for health for us and the rest of the team, that'd be awesome.

-We're still short on our budget, so continued financial provision and wisdom in how to direct the finances we have.

-For clear direction from God as we minister in Chiapas and willingness to obey!