Update and a few Photos from Our Summer in Oaxaca!
We have been so busy serving and photographing all over San Diego and Mexico, we have neglected updating our site. We apologize for lack of new content and we will be updating what we have been doing in last 6 months and share more about our fun crazy summer! For now, here are a few photos from our recent trip to Oaxaca with Adventures in Life Ministry. We will explain more about what God did soon…
Cooking & the Gospel
Adventures in Life Ministry is dedicated to spreading the hope that can only be found in Jesus. Dave Miller, Executive Director of Adventures in Life, will also tell you that it’s not enough to preach Jesus. In Mexico, the mortality rate for children under 5 is twice that of the United States, mostly due to malnutrition and hunger. Children can’t hear the Good News of Jesus when the “grumbling” and hunger pains are all they can think about. And when they do have an opportunity to hear about Jesus, and come to saving knowledge of Him…the question still remains, where will their next meal be coming from?
Photographing on mission with Adventures in Life in Oaxaca I have seen their work as they try and deal with these issues. At Summer Camp, the kids get 3 full meals a day, packed with tons of protein. Many of the kids who come to camp might have some sort of meat protein once a week, if that. They can have as much as they want!
This Summer they began an exciting new “culinary arts” program. Partnering with recent Le Cordon Bleu graduate Yesenia Martinez who lead the classes in our camp kitchen, she taught the first group of students in a sort of cooking boot-camp, giving them information to help them understand what a career in cooking might look like. 
On their final full day of camp the young students were brought to Oaxaca City to meet Chef Rodolfo Castellanos, Owner/Chef of Origen Restaurant. With the help of Bricia Lopez of Guelaguetza Restaurant in L.A. the kids got to visit, get to know and cook with Chef Rodolfo in his kitchen. It was a great morning and the Chef was more than gracious about sharing his story and how he worked hard in kitchens all over the world before making it back to Oaxaca to open his own restaurant. He encouraged them to dream and work hard, regardless of if they wanted to be a Chef or not.
It was a exciting to see the kids look around at his restaurant and listen to someone who is from Ocotlan, Oaxaca and think that with a lot of hard work and perseverance they might be able to be a Chef as well.
These are issues most short term missions never address. I think many of these missions trips are so focused on spreading the Good News to as many folks as possible, they never think about the physical needs of those they are trying to minister to. It’s safe to say Adventures in Life is trying to meet the physical and spiritual needs of those they are ministering to.
Thanks again to Chef Rodolfo for being such a gracious host. Thanks to Bricia Lopez of Guelaguetza Restaurant and thank you to Chef Yesenia Martinez for your willingness to come to Oaxaca and share your passion for food with the students.
Outhouses and Donkeys
I awoke in the middle of the night, raised my head off my fluffy soft pillows, rolled out of my big king-sized bed; my feet touched the floor, it was warm and soft. That feeling of carpet under my toes jolted me to the fact that I was not in Oaxaca anymore, but back home. That causes me to think about the pastors and their families who have such great love for their people that they live and work among them; bring hope and peace to them through God’s grace. They could choose to live in the USA with all our conveniences, like carpet instead of concrete or dirt floors. And indoor bathroom instead of ones you have to walk outside to use. But, they don’t.
Typical bathrooms we used in the village of San Pedro. Raquel is not really using it at this time just posing for the picture.
Typical way to plow a field.
Typical way to transport water from the stream to their homes.
Typical way to cook over an open, smokey fire.
Every time I return from a mission trip I wonder again why was I born here in the USA instead of in a place where life is so hard? Why do I get to live this life that includes vacations and amenities that most of the world can never even dream about? I have no answers to these questions just prayers for those around the world and a hope that my travels will open the eyes to people in the USA who seem to have no time or money for anyone but themselves.
See what Adventures In Life is doing for the people of Oaxaca and Like their Facebook Page HERE
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