Mexico Mission Trip {Back in Rio Chico}

We arrived back to Rio Chico from the Copper Canyon on Friday afternoon.


Ready to work!



Talitha digging holes for trees

 

On Saturday, a group of us worked in the up-and-coming orchard, planting some fruit trees, tending the trees, and preparing water lines.

Sunday morning before the service, a crew of went to Cuarenta Casas (Fourty Houses), a historic site with the ruins of some Anasazi Indian homes. The homes were built into the cliffs of the mountain, so we had to take a rather rigorous hike to get to them.

It was fascinating to see homes built in the cliffs! The Anasazi Indians built their homes like this for protection from the other tribes.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon, they held worship services in Rio Chico. One of the men from Rio Chico took a bus to all the nearby village to pick up people for the services.

The church, Sunday afternooon

 

We loved their music-- it was so joyfully and everyone stood up, sang along, and clapped. 

The children sang some songs for everyone. We also were able to do some Sunday School with the children and sing with them. To help them with their Sunday school,  we wrote out some simple Spanish songs on posters and gave them a CD that we had made.

        

We even got to lead some songs which we really enjoyed! We sang some in English (with a Spanish translation for the people) and some in Spanish that we had learned before hand.

On Sunday, the church service was at 2pm and after church, all the local people stayed for a potluck supper. While the potatoes and meat were cooking, people sang together in the church and socialized. A few of us took a short hike up the cross on the hill above Rio Chico.  

 

When we got back, we sang for a while and wrapped up the day with dinner together. All in all, we immensely enjoyed the wonderful, joyful worship time with the local people. The faith of the people down there is so genuine. Through their struggles and hardships, they have learned to trust in God and He is their hope. Their faith is amazing because it shines amidst their poverty and hardships. All the Christians and missionaries radiated so much love and joy.

Sunday marked the end of our fabulous time in Rio Chico. Monday morning we left Rio Chico. See Traveling Back post to read about our trip home.