sorry for the extended absence. the 3 week tour was absolutely amazing. my head is still spinning. i jumped right back into work here in Mexico. so i am slowly catching up. i am posting photos at the link to the right –> as i have time. and will continue to add more stories of what God has been teaching me in the coming days. i will do my best to get an update or two each week. so keep checking back… in the meantime; here is a little diddy i wrote for my church back home, in regards to the week long mission trip to just outside Tijuana, Mexico: enjoy…..

“We save lives, but you save souls”
How can I put a life changing experience on paper? How can I describe the incredible feeling of being a vessel used by God to reach a community thousands of miles away from home? How can I show you the dusty, dirty, barefoot, happy smiles of the little kids? How can I get you to hear their laughter? How can I duplicate the joy a small home brings to 6 firemen? How can I share the community, the love, the bonds built by hug therapy around a campfire? How do 57 strangers become my new best friends and a part of my family in less than a week? How do I explain the challenges, the struggles, the growth of being in a different country, culture, and being without running water, or electricity? How can I summarize all that pastor Mont, pastor Amado, Joel, Tim, and I shared during worship around the campfire? How can I share Joel and RJ bringing us into the presence of God, singing “You are God” under the stars?

I guess I can’t. I can only say that “You are God” and You are indescribable.

I can tell you that God is doing amazing things everyday. And as much as I want every single person who reads this to join us next year on this trip; I know that you can make a difference and spread the spirit in your regular daily activities at home, school, and work. We all have chances to spread the spirit and stop the fire everyday. We are extremely blessed. God has given us way more than we need. We have soo much that we take for granted. We have an amazing community of believers here at Westbrook. We have a great staff and great brothers and sisters who really love each of us and help us draw closer to God and bring Him more glory and praise. Let us encourage and challenge each other to not let this be just a one week experience; but a life of service and day by day let us continue to pursue God and never let our passion fade.
On a more personal note I want to say to my teammates an extra special blessing. Prior to this trip I only knew a handful of our 58 person team, but now every one of you are part of my extended family. I guess a week camping without running water, electricity, mirrors, hair gel, makeup, etc, etc combined with the intense manual labor required to build a firehouse will bring intimacy pretty quickly . But I never felt like an outsider. I never felt like I was being judged. I always felt encouraged and loved. Everyone had an amazingly positive attitude throughout the whole week, and that made everything seem so much easier. God truly loves a joyful giver. I wish I had more time to get to know each one of you better, but Lord willing, I will be back to Chicago and Westbrook soon, and we can all go to Mexico again next year!! But those I did get to spend time with were definitely a blessing. Those who I got to work alongside, or chat with by the fire were able to leave an impression on my life. God used each one of your gifts, talents, and heart to build this firehouse and to reach an entire community – both the community in Mexico and to strengthen our community at Westbrook.
This trip has taught me a lot. A lot about myself, about God, and about life. Thank you all soo much for being a part of that.
Please keep in touch:
HavingaE@yahoo.com AIM: ShaggE14 MSN: eric.havinga@hotmail.com

Dios te bendiga (God bless you)
~Eric Havinga