Mexico Christmas

Well my Christmas was a little bit different this year.  My family did all the normal things--the family party, the Christmas dinner, and the early morning gift opening. But for me the these two fun days were just a little different.  On Christmas eve I got to talk to Elder Peay (more to come on that) and Christmas morning I set off on a little adventure to Mexico.

This year I decided to spend Christmas doing humanitarian work in Mexico.

I left early Christmas morning and I got back on January 3.  It was 10 days of absolute perfection,  10 days of unfathomable beauty, 10 days of eye opening changes, 10 days of my dreams becoming reality. 

Over the course of my trip our entire crew built 13 houses, made 200+ blankets, and changed a few lives in the process.  

But this trip not only helped these people, it changed me.  Before the trip I never saw myself as selfish or ungrateful, I mean I have done volunteer work most of my life.  But afterwards I began to see how much I had never been grateful for.  I went to a third world country.  I saw people who had nothing.  I saw starving people.  And for 10 days I was able to forget myself and  just serve.  I was able to exhaust all of my energy, and put my entire heart into these people. And as I did, I left pieces of my heart in Mexico.  This trip changed my life, it changed my heart, and it changed the things I saw as important.   The people I met on this trip have become people I would call family. The people of Mexico have taught me how to give of myself, they have taught me what is truly important. And thanks to them I have changed.

And I think I'm gonna make this trip a yearly thing.  Because already, I'm homesick for Mexico.