...well...

Well, it's midnight on Sunday night. My last sleep here in Ensenada, Mexico. Myself and the other Bdot crew are rolling out to San Diego for the day and night, and then fly home Tuesday.

I don't really know if i can really write much at this time. Im not sure i have any wise epiphanies for you all yet... i think most of my reflections and ponderings will come most when i return home to the bustle of Burlington, the north american 'church life', quickly bombarded with 'stuff', but also embracing the comforts of familiar faces, a language I speak, and a community i love. It's bitter sweet indeed....

it's definitely been sad saying the goodbyes the last week or so - sharing community, ministry, and a home like here at EOC draws people together. Diverse people of different ages, personalities, and nationalities - but a unity I only see in Christ. What a blessing it has been to meet every single ones of these brothers and sisters... I wish you could all have the chance to live and work alongside them b/c i know you would be blessed like i was... but i'll be back - and perhaps next time you'll join me!

but I am so grateful for my community back home too. my church. my friends. my family. for supporting me and encouraging me as i ventured out for this wee chapter of my life. I could not have done it without your support - financially and prayerfully! Gracias! I look forward to the next chapter of the journey - sharing my experience with you, sharing with you the hearts and passion of these brothers and sisters here in Mexico, sharing with you my photos and stories, sharing with you what i've learned.

so like i said - i dont have much to say...??!! (when am i not wordy and rambling... come on!) But i will continue to post and share with you on this lil' bloggy thingy. I'll try and post more pictures too (for all you folks who haven't been able to check them out/stalk us on facebook. )
So keep posted as a come on back to the mother land!

thanks again my friends.
and adios.
Rhonda
(aka Mamma Rho)

TOP TEN

TOP 10 - no wait- TOP 20 REASONS

WHY I LOVE MEXICO AND WILL MISS IT SO MUCH...

20. Because 'todo bien in el barrio'!!!
19. Tuesday night games night! Obvi!
18. Beach bonfires. and fireworks. no wait. just the bonfires. the fireworks terrify me.
17. Driving around in my sweet ride - the 15passenger van! ah yeah!
16. Coca. from a bottle.
15. Meeting people from all over the States, Canada (go Yukon), and of coarse Mexico every week!
14. Attempting to learn Spanish...or smiling and nodding "si" (aka I have no idea what you just said!)
13. Worshiping with a chapel full of youth and adults everyday!
12. $5 Chinese Buffet!?! need i say more?
11. Watching "The office" after a long hard days work...
10. Taco stands on every corner sure beats Tim Hortons on every corner in my books! And alot cheaper too!
9. The simple smile of a child whose excited to see you even though you've never met them before....
8. Hearing 'you can do it sister' and other such encouragements every day - in broken English from my Mexican brothers!
7. At any turn catching breathtaking views of mountains and the ocean!
6. Grocery runs with Kimyco... and stop offs at Mi Ranchitos...and watching eva & jose bicker as they make us our food! (ok, i know that was three... but they go together!)
5. Jeep offroading everyday. With Marvin.
4. Getting to watch my interns grow and serve - especially those Canadian punks that tagged along with me :)
3. Living in community.. a taste of the acts 2 church if you ask me...
2. Being a part of a real life 'extreme home makeover' every week. except cooler. and realer. and way more practical.
1. Living everyday with purpose and tangible opportunities to be the hands and feet of Christ in amazing ways!

Deception - a link from cait!

The following is a blog posting from my friend Caitlin"s blog
Hope you enjoy her insights as much as i did

When I was driving today I was thinking about the phrase "two-thirds majority world"- I think I must have read an article recently that used that term. Also, at Guelph, development students almost always use "majority world" as opposed to the common "third world."

So, I was driving, thinking about the phrase "2/3 majority world" - but this time, rather than just letting it be a fleeting thought, I actually did the math. I pretended for a second that 2 out of every 3 people I know lived in poverty. It is sad and strange how the phrase became so much more powerful when I used people that I know in my imaginary illustration. The bizarre thing is that I was driving and if I had pretended that two thirds of the people on the road were a part of the 'majority world', 93% of the cars on the road would suddenly disappear because only 7% of the world's pop'n owns a car. Almost everyone I know owns a car. Most families have 2 and many have 3 cars...

It made me think about how even though two thirds of the world's people live in conditions that I can't even begin to understand, I never see it. I feel like this one third of people who live like I do, live in such a bubble- in such ignorance of what the world is actually like. What makes this possible is a complete stratification of poverty- we NEVER see the other two thirds. We live in complete oblivion ( or purposeful ignorance?)- we forget that "our world" is really only a tiny fraction of the bigger picture. I am not saying that there are not seriously poor people here in our midst- because there are-but it's sad the criteria that I use in order to determine if someone is poor- where and what they live in, where they get their clothing, how many and what type of possessions they have, etc. Especially when a great majority of the world does not even have food security or access to save drinking water.

Imagine a world where the 'two thirds majority' world intersected with our 'rich one third world' - imagine that you didn't need to fly across the world to see what that really looks like.. Imagine if suburbia didn't protect and shield you from the reality of how MOST people in the world live. Imagine if most of your neighbours didn't have access to basic health care, water or food? Imagine, like I did, that two out of every three people you saw every day lived in sub-human conditions?

I wonder if things would change? I wonder if we would actually do something. Maybe the reason that we (myself fully included) are so apathetic is because we are masters of deception. We have successfully convinced ourselves that we deserve excess- and more than that, that our 'one third' world is really all there is. We have convinced ourselves that we need to compete with our neighbours so we are not poor in relation to them. We consume so we don't get left behind. We consume and compete because we think financial freedom is real freedom- but we are in chains. Chained to the very thing that we think gives us life, freedom, and choices.

I don't know what make me think about the actual breakdown of rich and poor in the world today- but I am glad that it happened. I don't want to continue to live in ignorance. I need to remind myself daily of the realities of our world. If I don't- all that I am left with is the lies that I tell myself- that I am all that matters, that wealth is determined by what I have in relation to those immediately around me.
I need to remember that not that long ago, I met people that lived and worked in a garbage dump- that I could hardly breathe in. There is a lot more to the world than what we can see.

a rough missionary life!

don't get me wrong... this 'missionary life in a 3rd world country' isn't so rough. aside from many 'luxuries' and comforts... we are always having a great time together as staff and community!

I've been reminded of and taught a lot on joy this summer. getting to see what being 'content whatever your circumstances' really looks like as I watch 3 young siblings play with 2 empty plastic coke bottles... finding joy in family, in simple things... as i see a mother or father weep for joy at the site of their new home which to us would be the size of a small tool shed, to them is a castle... to even just falling asleep so tired - that good, satisfying tired - where a smirk is on your face as you drift to sleep. that kinda joy...

I'm encouraged again that living this acts 2 kinda life... this living together, sharing together, encoruaging one another, so that no one is in need kinda living is so life giving. i know this 'camp life' isn't for everyone, but this community life should be. i thrive in it. i love it. i love that there's a person just a walk across the hallway... i love that laughter abounds from this place.
This experience is so much more than giving and 'intense ministry'. It's also been about community, memory making, and a whole lotta fun.... God knew what He waqs doing when he made us relational beings...
here's some random pics of some of those memories and good times so far!

transformers! INTERNS-A-CON!

EOC BLOG

Wanna check out some posts of some of my interns and see some more pics?
Check out the EOC blog

www.eocyugo.blogspot.com