Summer Team....WEEK 1!

Week 1: It’s hard to believe that summer is here and we have already started our Mercy Missions teams here in Mexico! This week (June 6-13) we served with a team of 17 members from the U.S. and were joined by 6 of our national volunteers. It was great to return to some of our regular places throughout the city such as the Neza dump and area of Santa Catarina. We saw some familiar faces and had a great time serving the people. This week I floated between a couple of different areas. I even had the opportunity to fit people with reading glasses! Since this is something I don’t always do down here it was very excited – it’s always great to see someone’s face when all of the sudden…they can see!!

Today was our first day serving with the church in Neza. We arrived on site to find the Pastor ready to greet us and begin the day! We set up a few tents outside in order to shield the children's and hair care areas from the sun. Medical and optical services were inside the church building. The day started off a bit slow before the word got out. But by the end of the day, things got quite busy as more people arrived for services. Throughout the day, 26 people received medical care, 65 received optical care, and 25 received hair care and nail painting (we actually had four members of the team painting nails at once to keep up with the crowd)! The church also fed us a wonderful meal of chicken, rice, vegetables, and tortillas giving us lots of energy to continue working!

Tuesdays at Neza :)

Today was a beautiful day serving in the Neza garbage dump! As we arrived on site, we were greeted by several friends in the area, including members from the church we served with last week. We set up 6 tents today – and the team did an amazing job :). Throughout the day we were able to see 23 patients in medical and 15 in optical. The children’s area was busy with coloring, soccer, and a game of “duck, duck, goose!” The team also combed and styled 10 people’s hair and painted 18 sets of finger nails – opening up the doors for great ministry. In addition, a number of our regular patients stopped by in medical for check-ups and medication refills.
At the end of the day, the team helped distribute 32 grocery bags. Each bag contained a mixture of rice, beans, canned tuna, oil, and other grocery items.


Afterward, we packed up the bus and visited the church that has been built within the dump. We had a time of ministry with the pastors of the church and also had a chance to take a team photo. The day ended with dinner and rest time at the hotel – and we’re looking forward to tomorrow!

Spring Break - take 2!

The week is off to a GREAT start! Just Saturday we received 16 team members here in Mexico City to help us continue to serve the poor and needy here. Over the weekend, we oriented the team, took in some sites, and prepared for this week of serving. Today we visited our first site :). After a morning worship and devotional, we loaded up the bus with the many supplies needed to provide medical, optical, hair and children services for the week. The team worked very hard and made loading the bus EASY! As we arrived on site, we gathered together to pray for the day and receive instructions. After unloading the bus, we set up four different tents under which we were able to set up areas for children, optical, and hair care. The medical area was housed inside the local community center. Today we were able to help over 70 people in the optical area and over 30 people in the medical area – for the first day this was amazing! The children’s area was full with coloring, face-painting, and some soccer games. Several of the young people serving with us also presented an educational program on dental hygiene. This has been so important to the community here and it was such a blessing to watch the children learn how to correctly care for their teeth. After packing up (in record time!) we stopped for dinner at a local restaurant for delicious, family-style fajitas. It was truly a beautiful (and yummyJ ) day!

Spring Break - Team 1!

This past week we began our first Spring team down here in Mexico City. We served with a team of 8 to provide medical, optical, and child services throughout the city.

I was able to help out in medical with translation and in the pharmacy. We had a great team in medical, and together we were able to see almost 200 patients throughout the week. On Monday and Tuesday we worked in local garbage dumps and community centers. On Wednesday we began working with a local church. The Pastor had brought in a group of students to cut hair – they did a beautiful job and the people were so happy to receive hair cuts and beautiful styles!

The church also was very involved with the areas of service. Not only did they help us with counseling and registration, they also assisted in optical and children’s.

On Thursday and Friday when we arrived on site it was such a blessing to see the tents and areas already set up and prepared. With the help of the church, we were able to serve over 1000 people this past week!

Happy New Year from Mexico City!!

Hello hello family and friends!

After spending time at home in New Orleans, I have returned to Mexico City and we are in full swing here!

Our next outreach teams will be here at the end of the month, and the preparation has already begun. We are organizing supplies, recruiting volunteers here from Mexico, and preparing the team schedules. It's an exciting time here!

I've also been able to assist Dr. Becky in preparing medications for our team outreaches, and also the monthly visits we're hoping to begin this year to a local community within the garbage dumps. Our goal is to provide medical consultations and patient education on a more regular basis!

The first Saturday upon my return, we worked with a local church from Valle de Chalco, which is an area near the southwestern city limits of Mexico City. Together we brought a belated Christmas celebration to one of the local communities in the garbage dumps. Nearly forty members of the church came out to assist us in the celebration, bringing clowns, puppets, dancing, and games – there was even a beauty pageant for the children, men, and women! Much of the program featured a message from the Bible such as the power of unity, forgiveness of sin, and Christ’s love and salvation for all. As the program drew to a close, we distributed gifts such as soccer balls, Barbies, hats, clothes, and groceries to the community members. Afterward, the young people from the church performed several of their dramas, again captivating the audience! Together we were able to touch more than 200 lives, and many came forward for the salvation prayer. It was exciting to partner with the church and to see OSI’s vision in action, as we worked alongside the community to share Christ’s love.

We hope to continue these Saturday outreaches throughout the year, when we are not working with American outreach teams. It is a wonderful time to connect and serve with the local community here!

We're also still looking for team members to come down during the Spring and Summer :). Please consider becoming a part of one of these teams, or helping someone else make the trip! I'd love to see you here in Mexico City!

In addition to the excitement at the OSI Base, we celebrate 2 holidays this week in Mexico City. Monday was the day of Candlemas which is similar to Groundhog's day in that it usually means we're headed into springtime! In addition, it is a Catholic celebration following Three Kings Day in January. In January there are celebrations on the day when the Three Wise Men visited baby Jesus. People spend time with their family and enjoy a special desert called rosca de reyes (similar to what we know as King Cake in New Orleans only with fruit on top!). There is a small plastic doll inside representing the Baby Jesus. On Feb. 2nd, those who received the doll dress up the Baby Jesus and there are different parties throughout the city where the doll is present. There is also a celebration for the Day of the Constitution on Feb. 5th where businesses and closed throughout the city (often this is celebrated on Mon. in order to have a 3 day weekend) - what a week!!!

If you would like to receive monthly updates through email, or more information on all that is happening here in the City, please feel free to send me an email at ashley@operationserve.org. Thanks so much for your interest, and I hope to hear from you soon!!

Love, Ashley