A Trip to St Innocent's Orphanage...

2006-03-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

October 2005 I was sitting in my uncle and aunt's basement looking at pictures of Mexico and pondering, "I wonder if I'm ever going to go to Mexico?". Little did I know five months later I would be an Orthodox catechumen and on my way to Mexico with nine amazing people to work at Saint Innocent Orphanage.

Imagine sleeping with three sleeping bags and layers of sweaters and not being able to shake off the freezing cold temperatures. Or taking a barely-warm shower in a dark, unheated bathhouse with the fear of running into a scorpion or tarantula. This was the true Tijuana experience!

Of course, it wasn't all hardship, and the hardship there was was "joyful suffering". It was a learning experience, not only about Mexican culture, but about learning to work as a group and to live for others.

I've been asked to write a story about our trip to potentially be put in The Messenger. When this is finished I will make sure to post it on the blog.

2006-03-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

yeah... i dont know what to say... the trip was awsome, it was so good to meet all of you. i really liked staying at the orphanage because we could spend more time with the boys.... i really enjoyed that. the train ride was long, and boring but it wasnt to bad. at least we had more time to get to know each other. well i dont know what else to write so i'll go for now and maybe if i think of somthing i'll type again.

tony

2006-03-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

This March, 10 brave volunteers have dedicated 10 days of their lives to serving others in Christ, by a visit to St Innocent's Orphanage and Project Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico.

Our group consisted of Andrew, Tony, and Gabe, from Saskatoon, SK, Melanie, Valeria, Mira, Arwen, and Mark, from Victoria, BC, and Josina and Sarah, from Vancouver, BC. We left from Vancouver on March 12th, very early in the morning, and travelled by bus, train, and car to and from Tijuana, spending six days at St Innocent's Orphanage, and returning to Vancouver early in the morning on March 22nd.

The trip was precipitated by a huge amount of support from our home parishes, and from others in the wider community. Some of the fundraisers that were held included: an Autumn Coffee House, and an International Fair, held at All Saints, a Spaghetti Dinner, and a Music Night, held by members of the parishes in Saskatoon, a MaRimba Soiree, held at Holy Resurrection in Vancouver, and various bottle drives and icon sales. We are thankful for the financial support and prayers that went into our trip, and pray that God will bless those who have helped us with this mission trip. It has all culminated in a successful return to Canada and many inspiring stories and events along the way...which we are so excited to share!

This blog will be one way that we who went on this trip will share our experiences in visiting Project Mexico and St Innocent's Orphanage this year. Some things you could expect to see here are pictures of the trip, stories, and journal entries, from the participants. We are also working on a short (20 min) video of the trip highlights, to be shown during coffee hour at a parish near you...

Thank you for your support, and interest! We hope to be able to convey a little of the meaningful experience that we are so grateful to have had...