Written by: Spencer Barnabee

We woke up early this morning in Ensenada and drove 3 hours south to San Quintín, where we will be staying the rest of our time here. Our motel "The Old Mill" is a beautiful place right on the water that has been welcoming groups like us for almost 50 years. Once we settled into our rooms we ate lunch in the restaurant downstairs. While the meal was delicious, the most memorable part of it was playing card games at the table together before our meals came out. One team member almost caused an earthquake from slapping the table so hard trying to grab a salt packet for one of the games we were playing. 
 
After lunch, we headed to a local church to meet with the pastor and his family. From there we were supposed to go visit more families, however, I in particular was in for a special surprise. I got to see a kid named Israel, who I had met when I came down to Mexico almost a year ago. I have kept in touch with his dad, who is the youth pastor for the church. I had told him we were coming down and if we could, we would love to reconnect. I didn't know however, that Israel would be there today. He walked over and a smiled bigger than I ever have before. I lifted him into my arms and hugged him for as long as I could. Seeing him get emotional made me start to tear up, but it also reminded me of the purpose of why we are here. To build relationships and have interactions that go far beyond just the week we are here. 
 
Wanting to see Israel again was a big part of why I came back and it was such a blessing. We will be getting to see a lot more of him and his friends the next few days. What also really touched me was what happened after the church. Our plans changed and instead of visiting families, we went to a concrete soccer arena and played soccer with the kids for hours. That may not seem very special on the surface, but soccer is a universal language that we can speak with them no matter how bad at it we may be. Getting to love them by just participating was a blessing. 
 
What also blessed me was seeing others in our group start to connect with some of the kids just as I did a year ago. Some of them were reading their Bibles with the kids; some went to the playground and went on the slides with them, and others just talked with them and tried their best to communicate. What's important isn't whether or not we effectively spoke Spanish, it's that we invested in those kids and those people simply out of love. 
 
We are here to show love to God's children because He first loved us. Getting to play soccer and love on them was exactly what we are called to do. It may not seem flashy, but that's ministry. What is even more special about this group isn't just that they love others well, but they love each other well. I laughed more today than I have in a long time. From playing card games to very random and hilarious conversations in the van while we are driving. This group has created a culture of love that I believe and pray will be seen by those we are serving and ultimately point to Jesus.