WestPointe Community Church - Grande Prairie - Day 1

Today was day one of our groups official time spent in Progresso, Mexico! We started out with a thorough explanation regarding the schedule for our week, as well as a cultural orientation to remind us of the important do’s and don’ts in Mexican culture, brought to us by our amazing C-quest leader Joanne Edwards. While we had plenty of work laid out for us, we took a day trip into downtown Progresso to get a full cultural experience. A scavenger hunt was set up for our groups to partake in, and it sent us scrambling around the pier looking for information from the locals and cheap trinkets to barter for and purchase. Needless to say, people will definitely look at you funny when you ask them to purchase something for 10 pesos (that’s 70 cents Canadian). Some of us got the opportunity to go in and experience the look and feel of the Catholic Church that stands in the main square of the town, as well as talk to those who worked in it.

The day trip was a fantastic experience, and it really gave us a chance to not only build our team working skills, but also to go out and improve on our Spanish and confidence to approach and engage with some of the locals.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for the next few days. Our performance groups worked hard to run through the drime and puppet show, we all learned the lyrics and actions for fun Spanish worship songs, and some of your youth practiced hard to learn verses that they will recite with an audience, in Spanish, for all of the CampQuest camps.

We are asking for prayer for confidence in our youth for the days to come as we perform and recite what we’ve learned, for wisdom and vigilance as we venture to the Mayan ruins and Merida, and for continued safety and health as we continue to adjust to the climate and new elements that come with travelling so far from home (we definitely saw some crispy skin today!)

Overall, we’ve settled amazingly in our “home away from home” for the week, and Joanne, along with her right hand woman Karen, and the cooks of the house, have all done amazing jobs in helping us feel welcome, comfortable and safe.

Look forward to hearing from us again. The prayers are greatly appreciated!