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 February 20, 2004
Seventy-three forgotten, abandoned children are now well provided for and living without fear at the Living Hope orphanage in Puebla, Mexico. Eight adults and two children from Woodland Hills spent New Year’s week in Puebla ministering to these children and the dedicated workers who now care for them in a safe, loving environment.
The children were abandoned by their parents and forced to live on the streets where they were easy targets for abuse. “If I had a fraction of what has happened to these children happen to me, I’d be curled up in a corner,” says Joan Eggert who, along with her 10-year-old daughter, Jordyn, was part of the team. “But they are so trusting and so loving, they just run into your arms.” Unfortunately, most of the children running into their arms had the flu.
Shortly before the mission team arrived, what the Mexicans call the “United States flu” had swept through the orphanage. Although the team was a little apprehensive, they just couldn’t resist holding the children. “They just want mommies and daddies, so they can curl up in their laps,” explained Joan. The team realized early on that they had all been exposed to the flu virus shortly after arriving at the orphanage and that there was no point in holding back now. So they loved, hugged and cuddled with reckless abandon.
Before it was all over, half of the team contracted the flu. But Joan said, “Even after they got sick, nobody was sorry they went. They were all blessed.”
According to Associate Youth Pastor Jordan Schroeder, the purpose of any trip to Puebla is to bring money and a crew and ask the people that run the orphanage what they would like the team to do. “It’s all about service,” Jordan explained. The leadership team spends considerable effort trying to impart an attitude of service into mission trip participants. Jordan explained that they want to avoid any appearance of “Americans coming with all the answers.” Instead, they aim to humble themselves and serve the leaders of the orphanage in whatever way they request.
In this case, the assignment was to paint the ministry house. The ministry house is a three-bedroom home with a kitchen and living room. It’s also where the team stayed during their visit. But when team members are asked about the trip, very little is said about paint – it’s always about the people.
 On New Year’s Day, the team put on a carnival for the kids. There were balloons, games and all the usual carnival fare. Many of the kids were still sick, but they didn’t seem to care. They all had a tremendous amount of fun. And since it was New Year’s Day, there was already a sense of celebration in the air.
While ministry to the kids is always a big part of the trip, the real purpose is to minister to the workers that keep the orphanage running. The kids always get plenty of care, love and ministry from the workers. It’s the workers that need encouragement and help – even in the little things.
Joan is a hairdresser and spends her time there doing the workers’ hair. One woman, with hair to her waist, wanted a perm so badly that she was willing to sit in the chair all day despite the fact that she was a flu victim and had a raging fever. She had been waiting and anticipating the team’s visit because she had been promised a perm during the previous trip. When the woman came in for her perm, she was obviously ill. Joan hesitated for fear of catching the flu, but she said the Lord reminded her that “it’s not about you; you’re here to serve.” The perm went well, and Joan never did get sick. From that point on, she chuckled every time she caught herself hesitating because a person was sick.
 Esperanza Viva (Living Hope) Youth Home was opened in September 1995 by Jerry and Susan McNally, who left St. Paul to open the orphanage. While the McNally’s are responsible for oversight of the home, it is almost entirely run by indigenous people. The current president of the orphanage is a Mexican.
The ultimate vision of Living Hope is to develop property into the City of Hope which could support over 1,000 children and workers. With this expansion, there would be greater capacity for outreach to the community at large, and according to McNally, “It would become a shining illustration to the world of the Father-heart of God for His weary and downtrodden children.” As an early step toward fulfillment of that vision, a church was recently opened to serve the Puebla community.
Among the workers at Living Hope are Ryan and Molly Nielsen, missionaries from Woodland Hills. The Nielsens, along with their two young children, moved to Puebla in September 2003. They are expecting their third child in August. Molly said that during a one-week trip to Guatemala, “the Lord called us out and changed our lives completely. Now we are here serving long term.”
 The Nielsens are appreciative of every group that comes down. They say that the support in prayer, encouragement and fellowship that they receive really makes a difference to them. They delight in watching each team member experience things that will change him or her forever. They also watch for any sign that there may be future long-term missionaries in the group that just don’t know it yet. There is a real enjoyment in watching the team bless the children, and seeing how, in turn, the children bless the team. Most team members agree that while they go to bring a blessing, they leave more blessed than they arrived.
Michael Bushilla has been to Mexico twice before, but not to the orphanage. This time he brought his wife Paula and 12-year-old son Alex. They sponsor a boy and a girl at the orphanage and were able to visit them. The boy, Luis, is also 12. He and Alex formed a bond in spite of a challenging language barrier. Because he has been on several trips, one might wonder if the trips get routine. But Michael says, “Every mission trip changes you to a certain extent. It puts everything back into perspective.” Commenting on this trip he says, “It was an awesome experience.”
The Eggert family also sponsors a child at Living Hope. When they selected a child, they looked for someone near Jordyn’s age so that the two could more easily relate. They decided on Ofelia, whose birth date is only one day before Jordyn’s. This was their second trip to Puebla, and Joan is amazed at how at home her daughter is there. She said Jordyn looked at her during the trip, and in spite of being sick with the flu told her mom, “I never want to go home.”
 How much trouble is it to go on a missions trip? There are a lot of meetings for planning and some just for bonding with other team members. Then there’s the fund raising activities. But was it too hard? Joan said, “God opened all the doors, we just walked right through.”
So what’s a mission trip like? Joan sums it up like this, “It was just amazing. I call it a love-soaker.”
article by Mark Kretschmar | 
