Domingo en Mérida

Sunday was a great day! Grayson, and I (Molly) went for a stroll before church while Laura jogged. I got some great pictures in the morning as the light was great!

We had a great breakfast at the hotel and then Gabby picked us up for church about 8:45.

Church was wonderful. We actually saw somebody reading Andy Stanley's book.. 'The Best question ever' . The music was great.. I got chills when we sang Blessed is the Name of the Lord and Wait for the Lord En español. We actually got to see a baptism and new members join the church.

After church we headed over to the church gym for a church social.. and then we head back to the hotel for a quick rest.

About noon we went to a pool party with the church leaders and their families.. It was great to be able to jump in the pool and cool off and really talk to the church members. It always is amazing to me how similar we all are.
A neat part of dinner was they had hired some women that had made hand made tacos and we had Muy authenic tacos.

We were at the pool party for about 3 hours... and then we headed back to the hotel and then we headed off to the town square as Sunday's they have a big market going one. We actually got caught in the rain and ended up just getting some ice cream. We all got back to the hotel a bit wet, but happy.

Then we all got a chance to siesta or read or rest up for the rest of the evening. For dinner Gabby and his family took us out to a more American restaurant, kinda like a TGIF... it was in the nice part of town, by the big museum and the huge Merida walmart..

Merida... Saturday

For not getting to the hotel until 8PM (central time!).. we had a pretty full and great night.. we really had a great opportunity to see the city up close and personal.

Genny and Christy were waiting for us, and it felt so good to meet a friendly face so far from home. After a quick stop off at the hotel we went to Trompodos for dinner with Christy and Genny. It was pretty yummy... and neat.. the restaurant was an open air restaurant.. We probably should of sat closer to some fans as it was Hot! Every one got some yummy food, and Jennifer, the adventuresome one tried a drop of some habanero salsa and could not feel her gums for the rest of the meal.. you really need to be careful about the food that you are warned that is spicy.. as it can be uber spicy.

After dinner we went to go watch the Shalom soccer team finish up there game.. there was the neatest park/field.. unfortunalty.. Shalom lost 0 to one.. but it was a great game. We all got to meet Gabby and his wife.. and his sons and a couple other Shalom people..

Then Genny dropped us back to our hotel and we made our first journey to the Merida town square that is about 5 blocks from our hotel. On the weekend it is the place to be.. we walked around and I am sure all the girls made mental notes about different shops and vendors to come back to, as where I am sure Alan is amazed at our abilities to window shop.

For me the highlight of the stroll was walking down a street that had been closed off to traffic so the restaurants could put more tables out, and there was a band and people were up dancing. Every thing felt so alive. It was also pretty cool as we ended up next to a theatre that evidently was having a dance recital because all these little girls were walking out with the parents with bouquet all smiling.

The square has on it the oldest cathedral in the Americas.. and the governmental palace.. it was truly beautiful to walk around.

Every one has been super nice.. we all just need to remember not to drink the water.. (especially hard to remember when washing your face or brushing your teeth.. and not to flush toilet paper..

all I going to say about that is...if you are not supposed to drink the water..sticking a hand in to a mexican toilet to pull out toilet paper cannot be good for you!

It has really been great to see how similar we all are.. even when we are all from different places. Can wait for what we can all learn about the lord this week!

¡Estoy en Mérida!

Well.. We made it!

The trip down was pretty uneventfull.. little bumpy on landing both in to Mexico City and Mérida, which made all the kids on the plane laugh geefully and the adults clutch their arm rests.

The plane from the ATL to Mexico City was great. Free selection of movies and Alan got to watch Georgia play baseball on ESPN2. All and all, uneventful, every one got to the airport right on time and we had time in the ATL to get a quick bit to eat, and to make sure we all had water for Mexico.

The ride from Atlanta to Mexico City was about 3 hours.. and we had a two hour lay over in Mexico City which was just about perfect as the airport is VERY big, (well.. it is a big city!). The only confusing part was they did not publish the gate until 45 mins before the flight

.. so we were going on faith that we were in the right general area.. (we were!)

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Where are we Going

When I mention to people that I am going to Merida MX on a mission trip.. I am often asked. where is Merida.. So here is some info on Merida.

Merida is on the Yucatan Peninsula, which is in southern Mexico. It is with in driving distance of Cancun and it is very close to Chichen Itza. It is the capital city of the Yucatan. The city was founded by a Spanish Conquistador , but it was built upon the Mayan city of T'ho.

Send Off!

This afternoon we had our send off party! I think we are all kinda in shock that the time has gone so quickly and that we are leaving in less then a month. We are all so excited about what are are going to learn about God and Merida.

Who We are- Leslie

Leslie.. Our Leader!

She began her friendship with Jesus Christ as a child and has grown to love Him more through the years. She began attending church at North Point in 2001 and switched to Buckhead Church in 2003. She has been involved with small groups since 2001 as a group member, a group leader, and a volunteer helping others get into small groups. She has also served with the singles' ministry, Host Team, and Production Team. In 2006, God began growing a passion for missions in her heart. Her first mission trip was June 2007 to Shalom Church on the Group Life trip that Lila Peete led. She was very excited to be invited to lead the Merida Connections trip because she has a passion for intercessory prayer and a special place in my heart for Shalom.

Who we are- Grayson

I grew up on an island off of South Carolina named Daufuskie. When I was a child my parents made the decision to expose me to different religions so that I could decide where I felt most comfortable. Christ has always been a part of my life but it wasn't until I was in college that I began to trully seek a relationship with him. My sophomore year in college I decided to become Catholic. After a year of classes on Catholicism, I was baptimized and confirmed that Easter. As I grew older I began to grow further away from the church. I still wanted God in my life but I was lost as how to go about that. In 2006, after much encouragement from friends, I attended Buckhead Church for the first time. It was an incredible experience! I then started Starting Point and began to understand and develop a personal relationship with Christ. This year I became involved with Waumba Land, and have loved every minute of it. I never thought I would go on a mission trip but one day it just struck me and I felt called to do it. Each day I work to become closer and closer to Christ. I am so excited about our trip and I love our group!