My Recent Trip to Tijuana

This was the "bridge to mexico." They didn't check our passports, id's, baggage, nothing! Just... bienvenidos come on in!  

This is the orphanage compound that we spent most of our time at. This kids love to hoop. 

This was probably my favorite moment of the trip. It was right in the middle of our longest day of experiencing the suffering in Tijuana. We came back from the "dump" and some kids were helping the cook make dinner. I asked if I could help and they taught me the proper Mexican way to roll out a perfectly round Tortilla. My last tortilla was definitely a lot better than my first but I was no where near the perfection the locals were turning out every three to my one tortilla.

This was the meal I helped make. Actually, "helping" might not be the best word choice since it implies I some how aided or quickened the process of making dinner.

We played an epic soccer game in the Mexican mountains against the kids that live in an orphanage there. We lost badly, but like the tortillas it was one of those cool moments where I felt like I was diving into the Mexican culture by playing soccer on a dirt field and a perfect setting in the mountains. 

This community is built on what was once a garbage dump. 

The dump was shut down years ago and they covered the trash in dirt. The entire mountain and valley in this picture is literally a trash pile covered in dirt that people have made their homes on. 

At the bottom of this valley was a river that was full of trash. I was reminded of the River of Life promised in Revelation to appear in the new Jerusalem to be an eternal source for the living water of Christ. I long for Jesus to come back and fill this river with water. 

As you know, all the injustices of this world can be traced back to Disney. I thought it appropriate to record the obvious source of the suffering in the dump. 

Aaron touching the Pacific Ocean for the first time 

Every night we snuck out of the compound and headed to a corner six blocks away that was serving up the best tacos I have ever had! It is pretty obvious from the expressions of Larry and I that we were pretty excited about these tacos. The best part was the fact that one taco was only one dollar! 

Ocean Beach California

The Training School recently took a week long trip to San Diego and Tijuana. 

Conclusions from the trip: 1. Four years of Spanish and I can only ask people who their favorite soccer player is. 

2. I love Cali and would not mind at all living there one day. "Ocean Beach Christian Church" has a nice ring to it..eh?

3. The human spirit is incredibly resilient and creative in the face of poverty and suffering. 

4. Sex trafficking is seriously fucked up and I am really struggling with why God allows this to happen. 

5. I really really love Cali. 

Here are some pictures from our short stop in San Diego's Ocean Beach neighborhood. More pics from Tijuana to come soon. 

Ocean Beach is an awesome community full of local surfers and vagabonds that have travelled all the way across the country for the promise of sleeping on the beach next to a bonfire ablaze with Christmas trees that were dug out of a dumpster. 

I had forgotten how refreshing and rejuvenating the sun, sand, and waves are. 

Some how Ocean Beach has remained a haven for those of us who hate the "man" and corporations. There were no big businesses, hotels, resorts, chain restaurants, and the homes were literally surf shacks sitting on five million dollar lots. 

We watched the sun set one night. Did you know when you watch the sun set on the Pacific coast you can see a green flash when the last rays of the sun disappear under the horizon? I thought I might have some sort of little flash that evening. 

Some of us stopped into the Hummingbird Coffee Shop to load up on some of this molecule to keep us going. The coffee shop was split right down the middle. On one side was a coffee shop the other was a fed ex store.