Phi Kappa Alpha

Last year in 2018 for the first time Phi Kappa went to the city if children in Ensenada, Mexico. This was an excellent trip and has hopefully set up an amazing tradition to partner with the home there. Ensenada is home to a children’s home set up many years ago that serves the Baja community. At the home the amount of children at the home can fluctuate depending on the need of the country. Last year there were upwards of 67 children at the home and this year it appears as though the numbers are rising. The home it-self has been around for some time and a lot of good has come out of the home. They have a full staff that works extremely hard to take care of these children. They allow groups to come in and work with the home to make the campus better, to help teach the children about God, and serve the community as well. The first ever trip by Phi Kappa had a good group of around 27 students and sponsors. The work we did there was awesome and extremely rewarding. The work that we do at the home is as follows: the week’s schedule is very busy and yet there was a lot of room for flexibility. On Saturday we arrived at the home and were able to go and play with the children for a couple of hours before we left for supper. Then we returned and got to spend time with the teens. After that we all retired to the dorms and got ready for bed. Lights were out early to prepare for the following day. Then on Sunday we went to worship and welcomed the children to the service. The service was in Spanish and English so we could all participate. After worship the dorm mothers of the children cooked us a Mexican meal for us to enjoy in fellowship with the children. As the day went on we had play time and we started our VBS that night for the children. We had a short skit and then had classes for the younger boys and girls and a teen class. After the younger children went to bed, we hung out with the teens. The next three days were all very similar. One group would get up each morning and fix breakfast for the team. We had three groups that would work together for the week. The first group would work on the campus of the home and help work on what they needed. The second group was in charge of going to the baby dorm and take care of them and play with them for the day. The final group went into town and worked in the city. The work at the home in 2018 that we were responsible for was very simple. We cleaned out the old teen dorm and took all the broken furniture out, cleaned everything up, stained the new furniture and then brought in new furniture. The group in the baby dorm played all day and were in charge of fixing lunch for the other group on campus and the babies/toddlers. The final group in town put together care packages that we gave out in town. They would also go and put together huge food bags to take care of a family for two weeks. The day in town was an eye opening experience for all who had never really seen poverty. Many of the homes are made from plywood walls, dirt floors, and maybe a roof made of a tarp. After we dropped food off we stayed with the family and shared some love with them, sang a song, and prayed for them. By dinner everyone was back and had cleaned up. After dinner we started VBS again and finished with fellowship with the teens. Each day the groups would switch until Thursday. Thursday was more of a relaxing day the group goes into town in the morning and eats lunch there. When the group returned to the home we had play time for the day and then prepared dinner for the entire campus. That night was the same. we finished our VBS and then had more fellowship. Finally, at the end of the night we walked through each of the dorms and told the children goodnight. At the end of each day our group would walk to the top of the hill and have a short devo and talke about the day. This time spent together was probably the best part of the trip. We got to see through everyone else’s eyes the impact the trip and Christ was having on them. The end of the trip was clean up and packing and staying one more night in the dorm. This trip was very impactful for all involved and the group has now grown to 57 in the second year. We are very excited to continue working with the children's home, and hope to keep returning for years to come. One of the biggest things we have learned is that when you are trying to bless others most of the time you end up receiving more blessings back. 

 

In Love, 

 

The Missions Coordinators 2017-2018