Week 7
Can't write a whole lot, it's Friday and I am finishing up some work stuff.  I am heading down to Rio Bravo in about an hour to see Luis one more time and to hand out a bunch of toys that Jana sent down.  Should be a lot of fun.  This week was another great week.  Monday was a little frustrating, but nothing too serious.  God provided and everything worked out ok.  It was hard leaving the Colonia yesterday knowing that would be the last time I would be there working, maybe ever.  Who knows where God will have me next summer??  Jen came in last night so her, Billy, Laurie (Billy's wife), and I are going down to Rio Bravo.  If i get a chance once I get back I'll write some more, kind of a over view of the summer...stories I forgot and what not.  I also plan to put up a web site w/pictures from the summer.  I'll try and post that soon as well.  God bless you all and I'll be home Monday.
PHil

Week 6
One more week, I can't believe it.  These passed 2 weeks have been insane, they've gone by so fast.  What an incredible week this has been.  My Spanish is finally starting to come to me pretty good.  I am actually starting to sound like I know a little spanish again.  It's beginning to flow again instead of me stumbling over words all the time so that is good.  It could be because I say the samething over and over again.  Puedo tomar un foto de... usually tu y tu familia...toda famila.  Which means can I take a picture of you and your family or you and all your family.  So I'm glad that my spanish is finally coming back to me.  Professor Jolley if you are reading these let that be some encouragement for 205 next semester since all we will be doing is talking in Spanish.
One a more serious note...God was ALL over this colonia this week.  Everyday it seemed like we had more and more people telling us that a family member at their site was saved or a kid at VBS accepted Christ today. So many awesome things.  Auristella, our VBS coordinator this week (Pascual had to go back home for the week) said it was just incredible how the people were starving for God.  She was telling us how she didn't see herself as an evangelist and didn't have to be b/c people were coming up to her and saying, "tell me about God I want to know about Him."  As she said it was evident that somebody had been praying for the people in this colonia and sure enough of the interns says, "ya there was AIM (Americans in Missions or something in Missions) had gone through that colonia and done prayer walks throughout the colonia.  Auristella said she felt the samething last year in a colonia when her and Cindy Sweenie had walked through a colonia the week before they had gone there to build and said people were just seeking out the Lord.  It is exciting b/c AIM was in the colonia we are going to build in next week, this week.  So we hope and pray that the results are the same.  What an awesome colonia.  One of the churches (westland) actually painted another groups house, just somebody across the street from where they were building.  The man did not believe that they would do it so he did not buy the paint, so this morning when they arrived to paint the house they had to wake the man up, take him to the paint store, they bought the paint for him which he was not expecting, then painted his house.  The whole time he kept asking why.  They also gave him money for his family.  His wife looked like she was about to burst, she was SO pregnant!  But he just kept asking why, why are they doing this and Auristella explained it was b/c God loved them so much that he sent these people here to do this.  This group got done early and instead of kicking back and relaxing and getting to hang out w/their family they were able to bless a completely different family and the man came to know Christ today and his wife did the day before.  What a blessing!
These groups here were just so awesome.  Westland has been here about a million times so it's like we don't even pay attention to them anymore or should I say they don't pay attention to us b/c they are like old pros...whatever it works out.  We aso had a group from WI, Robbie Swick's church (he was an intern down here last year...GREAT GUY!)  Swick actually came as an adult helper w/the junior high group they brought.  We had two groups bring both junior high and high school.  The other group that did that was from Atlanta or A-town.  They were also a lot of fun.  All the groups this week...CRAZY!  Mainly Westland, Sugarhill(A-town) and community from WI.  We had a first time group from Buffalo NY who did a great job.  I really enjoyed them as well.  Had some great leaders in that group.  I told them I'd visit them the next time I'm in NY...I've never been but who knows it could happen.  We also had a group from TN.  Shane Knight brought them.  He used to coach football at Rogersville in MO.  He was also the speaker this week.  He didn't do too bad.  A lot better than last year.  The groups were a real blessing to me, b/c all the energy they had flowed over to me and this being my 2nd to last week I definitely needed that.  They made it really feel like week one.  That is kind of a theme here for the staff.  "This may be week 6 or week 7 or whatever to us (staff) but to these kids it's week one."  So to me it really did seem more like week one than 6, except for the tired part, but ehh...what are ya gonna do?
Anyhow I had probably better get to bed.  I was hoping I'd make it there by 3:30 and I think I will so that's nice.  Go to the beach tomorrow then hopefullly head down to Rio Bravo to see Luis and the kids at least one more time.  I'm sure I'll go again before I leave, but Rob leaves Sunday morning to go to Tecate...I'm jealous...so this will be the last chance for him to go.  So hopefully we can find time to do that and I HAVE to do some shopping.  I haven't got to go yet this year :(
Hope all is well back home.  I'm prayin for you all and thank you for all the prayers we are receiving down here.  Please pray for the colonia we will be workin in next week.  As well as the kids coming and the kids on their trips home.  God bless you all!
UNTIL NEXT TIME...
PHil

 

 I wrote this one 7-8, but didn't publish until 7-11 sorry.  I will try to up date again soon.  By the way I did curse myself.  I sold 11 copies of the video.  I think all the churches planned on going home and making their own duplicates!

What a day, what a day, what a day!  Headed to Mexico today expecting an amazing day and let me tell you that's definitely what I got, only I had no idea.  I took my own camera down, which I normally do on thursday since it's the last day of the week, and I shot about three minutes on it and a good 20 or 25 minutes on the mission discovery camera.  I seriously thought it was some of the best shots I had got all year.  I had a lot of good tender moments shots from the different sites and the kids (American) were cooperating great with me and just shooting some AWESOME stuff.  I redid a skit that I had tried to do yesterday, but decided not to because I didn't get enough shots, partially because the battery on the camera died.  Anyhow, today I had plenty of shots to do the skit and just a lot of great footage.  The only thing that went wrong in the Colonia today was I didn't get to see Luis until right as I was leaving.  I guess we just kept missing each other all day long, so that was sad (but I think Rob and I are going to try to sneak down to Rio Bravo on Saturday and see him and eat at Goat Cheese).  I got back to edit about 12:45 or so, which is pretty early.  The joys of working in Rio Bravo.  I plugged my battery in to charge so I could have enough juice to capture all the video and went and changed and cleaned up some, came back started to capture the video and had nothing.  Then I had footage from last week.  I ran out of tape earlier in the week so I started taping over last weeks tape instead of using a new one.  I rewond the tape until I found footage from yesterday, then I fast forwarded it to see if I had somehow just skipped some, then watched a little closer and last weeks footage had a strip down the middle left side of the screen and I finally realized that strip was todays footage.   I took the tape out and the ribbon part of the tape had got caught out side of the cartridge, just a little bit.  So all that great footage I thought I had, was non-existant!  At first I thought, hmm...this could get interesting.  I started calling a few people to see if I could get a hold of Rob in the Colonia still and have him take some video on his camera since it has a video feature and some still shots of the families we were building for.  Well needless to say I didn't get ahold of him in time, but I did end up getting some footage from a couple of the youth pastors that I was able to use tonight on the tender moments video.  Today's video on the other hand...I decided I would just go back and steal footage from throughout the week, which I did.  This was kind of interesting seeing how I am used to getting clips from 20 minutes of footage today I had over an hour worth the footage to try and find clips from.  I guess that's good though, I did find some stuff that I hadn't used in previous days and used it as well as using some stuff that I had already used.  I felt really bad for the campers.  The had done some awesome things for the camera that I'm sure they were excited to see on the big screen, but were not able to.  I felt awful.  The video wasn't terrible, it just wasn't very exciting because not very much of it matched with the song that was played.  I have thought quite a bit about this whole situation and I truly think that God is just humbling me.  I know and I admit that I am a prideful person!  I take too much pleasure in seeing peoples reaction to things I do and too much pleasure in receiving praise about stuff.  I think this was God's way of reminding me that I don't have control and though he did allow me to come up with something for the day it wasn't what I (key word there, I) wanted.  It wasn't the best that it could have been.  But maybe because of this I put somebody on the video who I had passed over all week and would have not got on the video otherwise?  I don't know, if I did what would be the fun in that?  Anyway, it didn't stop there.  I quit working on the tender moment video last night because I didn't think I had enough shots and I didn't like how they were falling in to place and I was getting frustrated so I quit that and went and passed out on my bed reading my Bible at like 10:30.  I came in tonight, with no more shots than I had last night since I lost all the footage of today, and everything just started falling into place.  I was almost done in an hour which is pretty good.  The computer said it was updating the time line, but was taking longer than normal so I decided I would go call Brent and Clay and see how they were and if the computer would fix it's self in that time.  Well I came back and it was in the same position.  I couldn't cntrl alt delete it even.  It was totally frozen, so I had to restart the whole computer with the restart button.  When I opened my project back up nothing I had done tonight was on there...all of it gone.  Rob was here and I'm glad he was because I might have lost it and broke the computer had he not been here.  But we started looking around and found the autosave files which had MOST of the stuff I had done so that saved me another hour of working on tender moments video.  But I got it done and I am now duplicating videos. 
This week has been crazy, I've worked on videos every night I think after chapel.  Seems like that's all i've been doing!  I was all thinking that I have a 3 day weekend to just relax and chill and do a whole lot of nothing, but John Dolph wants me to shoot a promo video for him at the beach tomorrow.  A promo video of the buses or something like that, he said he'd talk to me about it tomorrow at the beach.  I thought about not going...not really.
This all happened today after yesterday was crazy as well.  Yesterday I didn't leave the Colonia until after 1:00.  I was very much hurried to finish the video in time and I actually didn't get to thicket until about 15 min. until 7 and the evening program opens between 15 and 10 min until 7 so..it was pushing, but it got done.  Once again, God provided just what I needed!  Funny how He has a time schedule and no matter how much I try to work out my own it does no good unless it happens to correspond with God's....if that makes any sense?  It's getting to be that time where I am really tired and should go take a nap while the videos are recording!  Hope you enjoy this.  If you have any questions be sure to comment on this or you can email me at ptd797s@smsu.edu feel free to do either.  God bless you all, please pray for us at the beach tomorrow that everybody be safe, pray for the families with their new houses, for the kids leaving to go back into the real mission field, and finally that God will prepare the hearts of the kids who will be arriving on Sunday.  God bless you all.  Miss you all back home.

It is now day two of week 4 in hot bug infested Weslaco, TX.  Do I sound frustrated?  I'm not really.  The bugs are ridiculous here though.  I was nearly carried away by masquitos this morning after I left the pool area where I take showers (long story, the shower in my room is so small if I were to drop the soap I would have to get out of the shower and pick it up, plus the spout hits about my chin so doesn't do a lot of good when you have a huge afro!).  This week is going pretty well, considering the situation...I am shooting 9 sites which is the most I have ever done.  Last week was 8 and they were all really close.  This week there is 9 and farther apart.  We are in Rio Bravo this week, as apposed to Reynosa where we have been.  Rio Bravo is special to me for a couple reasons.  My first trip down here two years ago we built a house for a lady name Graciala.  I was fortunate enough to see her today.  Of course she didnt' recognize me at first because of the hair, but once I pulled it back she knew who I was.  She had a picture of Jana and was trying to find her.  Rob and I talked to her for a bit, to make things easier Daniel (the son of the Vacation Bible School Director) came and helped interpert for us and explain that Jana wasn't coming this summer because she is doing an internship in Iowa.  She seemed pretty upset, but gave me lots of hugs anyway so that was awesome.  The other reason I love Rio Bravo is becuase of Luis.  I spoke of him a little in the last entry I think.  Luis is an 8 year old Mexican boy who I am going to take home w/me one day.  He has officially become my "video assitant".  He has been doing some shooting for me, I'm still trying to teach him not to press the red button (the record button) every time he moves.  Makes the clips very choppy, but it's a lot of fun!  He reminds me how bad my spanish really is.  He's really good about helping me talk my way through things though.  Kids so smart, he's only 8 and still amazes me!  He's got a whole photo album of him and Mission Discovery that I have to go see at his house some time.  He hung out with me yesterday and today.  Today was the first day of VBS so I got to see his mom and two sisters as well.  His parents are amazing people as well.  Pretty young, but his dad is really awesome.  They actually moved the house that mission discovery built for them last year, moved it from infront of their old house to the side of it.  The father said, "it was in my way, and we couldnt' see the road."  So he just uped and moved it.  He is now putting a picket fence up infront of the house, it's not exactly a pretty white picket fence like I'm sure you all are imagining, but it is definitely the nicest fence on the road.  Such awesome people they are!  That's the past 2 days in a nut shell.
Last week, junior high camp...thought it was going to be rough, but I ended up having a good week.  Monday was a rough day.  I didn't get finished w/my video until really late.  Like after 6pm so I missed dinner and was almost late for evening program.  But the week got better.  I ate a lot of good pastries from Pan de Vida AND Jim Bates was here.  He is a youth pastor who aslo does a minsitry called midnight ministry where him and some people come in and do lock ins for youth groups.  That's how I met him originally.  I think it was my junior year or just after my sophomore year something like that.  But he was here a week I was here last year as well.  He spoke last week.  Amazing guy!  I had so much fun with him last week.  He made a good point, we live like 10 minutes from each other yet went a WHOLE year without seeing each other.  He actually talked to me about an internship...kinda scary.  That sounds all grown up and stuff!  I'll worry about that later.  Anway, last week was a lot of fun.  I didn't really get to connect with the campers until Friday, seems like I've been so busy that i'm missing the fun of being down here.  Jenny (Pocohauntas) and I talked about that tonight.  The bad thing is that it won't really change this week.  I've been working on finishing two promo videos for "Game Time".  A new thing we are doing in the afternoons down here.  It is actually for Brooke's internship that she is doing while down here, but I get to make the promo videos.  We shot for something like 2 hours on Saturday and I worked over 3 hours making the first one and have to finish the second one tonight.  I really should get on that!  And tomorrow night I have to work on my tender moments video (which by they way, last week was the first week I did my own tender moments video or tear jerker video or money shot video...whatever you wanna call it and I had to turn the volume up to drown out the sobbying! am I braging noooo...what can I say, it was junior high kids!) then thursday night I have to do the duplicate thing all over again, soooooo HOPEFULLY after this week things will lighten up a little bit!  After next week Maury will be back and I won't know what to do having him around to help out when needed!
Hope all is well with those reading this.  Please pray for VBS, I never heard how many attended today, but it was ALOT!  They expected 80 women for the women's ministry part of it.  Don't know if they reached that or not.  I'll try to keep you updated.  God bless you all and hope to hear from you soon.

I am going to attempt to rewrite all that I wrote last Thursday that got deleted, but I am going to be back and forth while writing this because right now I am capturing my video from today (Monday 6-28).  Once it all captures I will have to make the video so I will be back and forth then.  The past few days have been a struggle.  I became very sick yesterday, flu like symptoms.  I was in bed most of the day which was nice.  I kept wondering why God would make me sick, but I knew there was a reason.  I figured if anything it was because He knew I needed the rest.  I feel much better today, I'm not completely 100%, but pretty close.  I stayed in Mexico all morning and I'm here working now so not too bad.  I said earlier that I wrote a really long entry Thursday night while I was duplicating videos but the computer froze so I lost it all.  I was pretty frustrated because i was up until 6am friday morning working on duplicating videos, but I got it done!  Last week was in incredible week, stressful, but good.  The last entry I made had a letter from Pastor Jesus about what he is doing.   I think I spoke some about Pan de Vida, a missionary bakery.  The story is that the baker realized that he didn't really have any specific talents so he prayed that God would use him some how and sure enough they started an evangelistic bakery called Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) in the front of a church.  Wow let me tell you, GOOD STUFF!  and all for a quarter.  Well not everything.  Most all the pastries were a quarter, but they also made a pig in the blanket type deal that was 50 cents.  It was all so good.  The last day there I bought $2.00 worth the bread which doesn't sound like much but that was 8 pieces.  I still haven't eaten it all.  Last week was good for me because I actually got to use spanish more.  The last couple days a group used me as a translator a couple times which was a little rought, but over all not too bad.  This week I will use spanish a lot because we are in Rio Bravo and that is where Luis is, I got to see him today.  I love that kid.  He's so cute and so smart.  Only 8 and I swear he's smarter than I am!  I think I"m going to kidnapp him and bring him home w/me ;)  He's adorable!  i'll be sure and take plenty of pictures and video as well to bring home.  My video is done capturing so I guess I had better get to work.  God bless you all and I'll try to keep you updated as the week goes on.  I have to edit a promo video this week as well and make 3 more duplicates of last weeks video to send to people because we ran out (I sold 26...new record for me).  So I've got a busy week.  Hope to hear from so people soon.  Love you all.
PHil

Well I wrote a huge message for this past week, but the computer messed up and I lost it all.  That pretty much sums up my night.  It's 5:40am Friday morning and I am just now about to finish up duplicating videos.  Isn't technology wonderful...grrr...  I will try to find some time to write again tomorrow(well today...friday or maybe saturday).  However I will go ahead and write out the letter from Pastor Jesus of the colonia we were just in.  He was an interesting man.  Seemed as though he truly loved the Lord, he had silver fronts on his teeth, I din't know what to think about that.  His mouth was blingin' all over the place yet he's in a dirt poor colonia??  Not so sure, but I haven't heard his story so I don't know.  Here is the letter he gave me.

Dear Bretheren:
Please receive a warm greeting from Jesus Castellano, Prince of Peace Church, and its mission in Reynosa.
I am happy to communicate that the Lord's work is growing.  With His help, we now have established seven churces and are presntly extending ourselves to a new area:  having open-air street meetings for lack of land or building.  Property is avalable for purchase, however we are still in debt with $8,000.00:  $5,000.00 for Triumphant Entry Church and $3,000.00 for Emmaus Church.  Our ladies' groups are diligently working but it is not enough.  This is my reason for seeking economic input of sources to co-operate with us in meeting this need as time is runing short for availability of property.

Week two now done, well not completely.  All of my work is done. I am finishing 4 more copies of the video for this week to sell tomorrow.  It's almost 2am on Friday morning.  I figured I would finish these up so I could go to the beach tomorrow and relax on the beach in the beautiful South TX sun.  This week went really well.  Maury and I worked out a good system finally.  He thought he networked two of the computers to where he could shoot so many sites and I could shoot so many then he could do part of the editting and I could do part then just transfer the files from one computer to the other, however...the versions of premiere are different.  One is version 6.0 and the othe ris 6.5 so it did not work which caused a little bit of a problem, but nothing we couldn't handle.  I have already had a bunch of people ask when and where to buy the video so that is exciting!  One lady actually slipped me a note with the money inside.  The outside of the folded note had my name and a heart how could I say no...even if she was 47!  So I have to set one aside to make sure she gets hers.  She was is a very nice lady from Michigan.  Her daughter, who is here also, braided part of my hair.  The lady helped out later when a braid was falling out, I was looking for her daughter and she fixed me up instead.  I am still hoping to get some pictures sent back to Aaron so he can post them.  I didn't get to it tonight due to working on the tender moments video and duplicating the tapes.  However the weekend is upon us and hopefully I will have some time to do that.  I've got around 30 pictures.  i won't send all of them, just some to let you see what's going on and yes, even what's going on w/my hair.  My goal is to change it every week ;)  I got to speak a little more with the people of Mexico this week, well I made it more of a point anyway.  I still need to work harder.  I really need the practice and Billy Drum, the staff member incharge of interns told me that not this next week but the week after we will be back in Rio Bravo near Luis.  Most of you know the story about Luis.  He is a 7 year old boy who I fell in love w/last summer when I was here.  I've seen him once, he is the one who told me I have crazy hair.  He's adorable.  I'll try to get some pictures of him on the web.  I am also going to try and burn a dvd of what I have been working on in the past two weeks and hopefully send it back sometime soon.  I'll probably just send it to my parents so if anybody is interested let me or my parents know and I'm sure they will let you borrow it ;) Quick story...Lakeway church is here this week.  One of the guys was actually here 2 years ago (right after my senior year) when I was here as a camper.  This is his 3rd year in a row here.  Pretty impressive.  This is the church Jenny/Pocohontas is from in Austin (Lake Travis) TX.  They are the biggest group this week w/55 boys and 15 girls...a lil lopsided huh.   Other groups are from Michigan, Minnesota (I think, somewhere north and cold), and just south of Atlanta.  I've had a lot of fun w/all these groups.  The Atlanta group calls everybody by a nickname and you get your nickname by telling an embarrasing story and from the story they give you your name!  My nickname is disKO because my story was about breaking the disco ball w/my head at the ICTHUS dance last fall.  Get is...disco...KO like in boxing.  Anyway, they are a lot of fun.  I taught a bunch of people the moose song tonight, it was great, of course!  I must get to bed though.  I got up at 4:20 this morning and took Rob to the airport.  We had to stop by IHOP of course.  That was interesting.  I've slept 10 min. since then.  So I"m starting to get tired!   Hope everybody reading this is doing great!  I love getting your responses.  Please keep them coming and I'll keep trying to update.  I love you all.  Please pray for safe travel of the students coming in and going home.  Also pray for our day at South Padre.  Don't get worried mom, but I guess a local kid died there the other day.  He got drug out by the undertoe.  I'm really thinking about catching up on some reading tomorrow and soaking up the sun instead of fighting w/the undertoe...we'll see what happens.  So pray for safety there.  Also the Mexican people.  So many kids have been going to Vacation Bible School.  3 bus fulls plus today!  It has been amazing to see them all there learning about Jesus, many for the first time.  Pray for those kids as they learn at such a young age!  Thank you all for your support, it means a lot.  There is a strong power in prayer!  God bless you all.
PHil

Well week one down, six more to go.  It was a successful week, Maury actually used the shots that he and I had both taken to make what we call the tender moments video or the "money shot" video.  This is the tear jerker for everybody.  We take all the close up and put them in slow motion and play them to the song "Remember me" by Mark Schultz...and ya it's rough on everybody to watch and probably why most people buy the video.  The weeks video turned out ok I guess...for the first week.  I'll get better or that's what the joke is around here, nice shot...you'll get better.  Just joking around.  The campers all complemented me (well the adult campers) on the video and said they really enjoyed it so as long as they enjoy it that's all that really matters.  The weather cleared up a little bit toward the end of the week.  Thursday was a beautiful day in the Colonia and Friday was also a wonderful day for beach day.  Yes for you who do not know, friday is the day of for the campers and we take them to South Padre Island for the day.  I went and got a little sunburnt but I did actaully wear sun screen, aren't you proud mom ;)  When we showed the tender moments video friday night it did again keep it reputation as the tear jerker.  There were people crying everywhere so as Rob said that is good indication that you are doing your job.  It is good because if they buy the video when they watch it back home it will remind them of what it is like on the other side of the boarder and remind them of what all they learned here in Mexico.  Also it is good to show to folks back home to see how they were able to interact with the people of Mexico.  I am still wanting to improve my interaction with the people in the couple/few hours I am in Mexico everyday.  As of right now things are kind of slow.  Weekends are the time off...well "off" besides doing a few odds and ends here and there, for the staff.  I had to make a few changes to the staff video, but other than that and a little bit of laundry Saturday has been a wonderful relaxing day.  This next week might be a little more interesting for me since it is a high school week instead of a junior high week.  The junior high kids finally started working with me for the video but it took them until Thursday to be really comfortable on video.  Hopefully the high school kids will be better!  Hope all is well back home, or whereever you are reading this.  Be sure to keep in touch.  You can responde/make a comment to these messages or email me at ptd797s@smsu.edu.  God bless you all and please continue to keep praying for us, the people of Mexico and the campers who will be arriving thing week.  Thank you all!
PHil

Believe it or not I actually got today's (Tuesday's) video done early so I could actually come and update this.  A lot has happened in a few days!  Sunday Maury (the president of Mission Discovery) and I worked on the staff introduction video for 3 hours.  He had worked on it for 2 hours the night before as well and this was just editing, not including the time it took to shoot it!  It turned out good though.  Yesterday was our first day in Mexico with campers.  Maury, Jim Weber (the musician www.jimweber.com is his website I think) and I went around together video taping.  It was some what of a struggle due to the rain we have been going through here in South Texas and in North Mexico.  The "dirt" streets were no longer dirt.  They were extremely muddy and standing water EVERYWHERE!  Our vehicle never got stuck, well it did once, but some how we got out.  When we were stuck Jim asked Maury (who was driving), "How big is you God Maury?" just joking with him and sure enough we ended up driving right out.  It was pretty awesome.  We didn't actually get out of the colonia until almost 1:00 which is really late.  This was due to the bad roads and not being able to get from site to site very easily.  I cut all the video yesterday.  It took me 3 and a half hours to cut a 3:03 minute video.  Not too bad I guess.  I received a lot of complements on it so I guess that's a good thing.  Today I was able to interact with the kids in Mexico a little more and have a short conversation with a woman standing in her front yard.  Maury and I split up today to cut back on the time.  He shot the video for half of the 8 sites and I did the other half and we met up at the church for Vacation Bible School to both shoot there.  Well I was not totally sure where the church was from the site I was at so I asked a lady for directions and she helped me out.  I couldn't completely understand her, but I got there just fine and that is good for me because i really do not know this colonia!  Anyway, we ended up leaving the colonia today at 11:00 on the dot and I cut the video from 1-4:30 with a few technical difficulties on part of the computer, but I feel much better about todays video than I did about yesterdays.  We'll see what everybody else says.  I have been having a hard time getting the kids of the camp to interact with me for recordings!  I guess that's not totally true.  Manly just the guys.  This week is a junior high camp so I can relate, I remember junior high...kind of...but the girls are crazy so i guess they make up for the guys.  That is stereotyping, there are some guys who are very energetic and some girls who will hardly look at me.  I have shot a lot of great video of the Mexican people.  Of course the kids are curious of the camera so they love the fact that I am taping them.  So far things are going great!  I'm not getting a whole lot of sleep at night since we have to get up at...between 5:30 and 6 since breakfast is at 6:30.  The drive to and from Reynosa is right at an hour dependeing on the border and traffic, but pretty close to an hour.  Hope all is well with everybody reading this.  Thanks to those who commented.  By the way Aaron (my cousin) said he would post a site of pictures and give me the link if I would send him pictures.  I am kind of limited on my resources...such as a computer to put my pictures on that is connected to the web, but I'll see what I can do and let you all know on my next log.  God bless you all and please keep praying for the work God is doing in Mexico!
PHil