by jimmy | Nov 16, 2008 | buildingaboat, missions, Uncategorized |
The final day. We are headed home. What a great trip and I really appreeciate you letting me share this mission with you all. Today we went back to the house we built and did a dedication and then went to a park and put on a festival. Literally we went to a park set up a few tables and no time there were 100 people walking around. At the festival we gave out hot dogs, candy, more candy, we painted faces and Played soccer and football. I stayed at the face painting booth for a long time my first painting was a flower pretty much a blue blob. Thankfully that girl came back and I was able to give her a unicorn on the other cheek; a matching white blob. After lunch I came back to the table and Z the guy I mentioed yesterday was at the painting table with like 10 kids around him just having a ball. We had a great time at the park and then back to the compound to say goodbye to the guys from the Atlanta church Thanks again for your prayers and I want to give you a glimpse of this trip and I hope I have. One final note….. This morning we spent some time together and a guy named Rob Harrel got up and told us about something he heard from an old man on a mission trip. He told him you need three types of people in your life. You need a Paul. Well versed in the bible and wise so you can lean on them for...
by jimmy | Nov 15, 2008 | buildingaboat, missions, Uncategorized |
Today has been just as exceptional as the day before. Today was a bit more spiritual for many of us including me. Code for this may be one of the more deep emails you get today. :)Thank you all for taking the time to read. Today was a perfect day it was like low 80s sunny and beautiful. We visited the house again this morning and got everything finished up and painted. One of our group went on a prayer walk which is basically walking around and meeting people. I have found that I really enjoy meeting the people and learning about their families and just talking to them about my family. I just love seeing all the little kids and playing with them. In the afternoon we went to a prison. Not a dunguen like you are imagining in your head, except for those of you that actually spent time in a mexican prison I will try and explain. First I want to try and explain my feelings and what I experienced upon entering. We were driving to the prison and I kept telling myself this was going to be fine and trying to be tough. As we got out of town an enormous prison started to rise on the horizon it was like Huntsville it looked like a fortress and it really started freaking me out; then we drove past that one and one to the prison we were to visit. It had probably 50 foot walls and guys with uzis out front and four guard posts on each corner of its four walls. Probably 300 yards...
by jimmy | Nov 14, 2008 | buildingaboat, missions, Uncategorized |
Well day 2 is in the books. We had a great day. A wet day but great nonetheless. My Spanish has come back again pretty good according to me, I am sure the folks I am speaking to are not too impressed but hopefully not offended. :). We talked as a group about many things and one thing we discussed as a group was not that we were here to serve and help people but that we are here to recieve as well. Here are some of the things I received today. This morning we went to the Pan de Vida orphanage. It is home to over 30 kids from ages 10 months to 14 anos. We did some work around the compound and played with the kids. We also gave them so much candy that they are all probably still awake. One of the guys brought playdoh and some bubbles which were a huge hit. A guy named Scot and I taught a boy named Mathew how to play PIG which we named GATO because we didn’t know the word for pig. We only got about half of the water off the court which was about a 10×15 slab. Mathew is 11 so his jumper needed some work. One of the special things that happened to me today was when Scot started teaching Mathew how to shoot correctly. You know these kids don’t have parents at all but the women that run the orphanage give them tons of love but there are no men. Lots of men are imprisoned and not all for bad things. In Mexico you...
by Hampton | Nov 14, 2008 | buildingaboat, missions, Uncategorized |
Hey everyone just winding down for the day thought i would drop you a note. Please excuse he grammer and typos. Well we are here in Mexico took us about six hours to get to the. AIM compound just West of Matamoras. We got in around 3 today and got settled in while we waited for the other groups to arrive. There are 13 guys total on the trip from Lake Hills and another 30 or so from Atlanta. The guys from Atlanta had a lot of trouble getting here travelwise but everyone made it safe and sound. We had a great time on the way down telling stories and getting to know one another. I rode with Tim our team lead he drove and had Ellory riding shotgun. We had Scot and Mo who are both like 40 and huge adrenaline junkies both into motocross and bikes and neither knew the other. There is Dean who was pretty quiet on the way down till we got him telling stories. Spent most of the trip talking to Brett. He is in the hotel business and has been all over the world. So that is the first group and my team. We played bocce ball and dominos tonight and then spent some time in worship singing some tunes. We are going to Pan de Vida orphanage in the AM to hang with about 30 kids. We have tons of candy and I have some toys that my kids gave me to bring to them. We will be building houses in the afternoon and then back here to the compound around...
by jimmy | Nov 14, 2008 | buildingaboat, missions, Uncategorized |
Hey everyone just winding down for the day thought i would drop you a note. Please excuse he grammer and typos. Well we are here in Mexico took us about six hours to get to the. AIM compound just West of Matamoras. We got in around 3 today and got settled in while we waited for the other groups to arrive. There are 13 guys total on the trip from Lake Hills and another 30 or so from Atlanta. The guys from Atlanta had a lot of trouble getting here travelwise but everyone made it safe and sound. We had a great time on the way down telling stories and getting to know one another. I rode with Tim our team lead he drove and had Ellory riding shotgun. We had Scot and Mo who are both like 40 and huge adrenaline junkies both into motocross and bikes and neither knew the other. There is Dean who was pretty quiet on the way down till we got him telling stories. Spent most of the trip talking to Brett. He is in the hotel business and has been all over the world. So that is the first group and my team. We played bocce ball and dominos tonight and then spent some time in worship singing some tunes. We are going to Pan de Vida orphanage in the AM to hang with about 30 kids. We have tons of candy and I have some toys that my kids gave me to bring to them. We will be building houses in the afternoon and then back here to the compound around...
by jimmy | Nov 11, 2008 | buildingaboat, missions, Uncategorized |
Hello everyone, Some of you may or may not know I am off tomorrow morning for another trip to Matamoras to do some work building houses and playing with the children in Las Colinas. Just wanted to ask for your prayers for my team members and I over the next few days as we travel to and from Mexico. I will again be doing some writing at night and sending to you-all, and Jeannie will post to the blog. Although this is my second trip, I am going with a new group of guys and I do not know a soul. I have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to do this and well; too late now. 🙂 I am excited to see what the Lord does. I do want to challenge each of you over the course of the next few days to do something that you have struggled with and just see if it is really as bad as you think. I will be thinking of each of you and feel free to write me back at the following address jimmy@thirdrailcreative.com. Go on my facebook page for daily posts. You can also check http://hamptonranch.wordpress.com Thanks for your prayers and talk to you soon. ...
by jeannie | Nov 8, 2008 | buildingaboat, Uncategorized |
I went out for dinner and club last night at TBarM. Very fun, and eventful, including a wrong turn or two in the dark met with constant laughter about seriously getting lost in the middle of nowhere. I was met with lots of hugs, and dropped off my care package, speakers for the girls’ ipods that I later learned was against the rules. oops. Live music started and lots of jumping and dancing followed by us all. The girls were having fun, and it was very hard to leave. Can’t wait to hear all the details when they get back tomorrow. Here’s one of the group, some candids of our group, and one of me and...
by jeannie | Nov 3, 2008 | buildingaboat, Uncategorized |
I was reading today in Summer’s blog (Ella’s former teacher who is now in Peace Corps.) and was reminded how thankful I am for the simple things. Water, electricity, and I’ve also decided that 80-90 degrees in October isn’t so bad, even as I remember rumbling about it somewhat at the soccer game last weekend. Summer is teaching English to kids a world away, in Mauritania, where the heat is in triple digits, there is no running water, no real bathroom and a huge difference in customs and culture. However, she is smiling in every picture and excited about what she’s contributing. Love it. Here’s a picture of Ella’s teacher having just henna’d her hands. Notice the Longhorn on the right. I bet she hasn’t heard about last night’s game yet, and I’m not going to tell her! Go Red...
by jimmy | Sep 18, 2008 | missions |
From Custer Road – Mexico, posted by Jimmy Hampton on 9/18/2008 (12 items) Generated by Facebook Photo...
by jeannie | Jun 24, 2008 | buildingaboat, Uncategorized |
It was just yesterday that Jim got some sad news. News of his Mexico Mission trip friend came Sunday about 3 p.m. Here is Jim’s note he sent out in email to a few folks. I have some sad news to share and wanted to request that you all pray this week for the friends and family of one of my mission trip friends. Yesterday, he and his entire family including his wife, and three children were killed in a car crash leaving Custer Road Methodist church in Plano. He was very active in the Mission Trips to Mexico and his wife very active in the church in Plano. Below is a link to the article in the Dallas paper and a nice look at the great people they were. No doubt God has greater plans for them. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/plano/stories/DN-fivedead_23met.ART.State.Edition2.4d6f138.html God bless and thank you. If you’re like me, you’re constantly thinking on how we could be doing more and learning more and making some difference while we’re here. With Jim’s latest news, it makes me remember how fragile it all really is, and at the same time how consistent our joy can actually remain if we stay focused on why we’re here, Who we’re serving and remembering that there’s a purpose we can live out each day. It really is all about the journey, and not where we’re trying to ‘wind up.’ Jim and I have more clarity each day how blessed we are and our level of gratitude continues to magnify. Some weekday mornings, but every Saturday morning, almost without exception, Jim plays this song first before any other… “Thank You” by 33 Miles. The...
