Paintballing

Last weekend I went paintballing with my church youth group. We went to this place called American Canyon because one of the kids had been there before and said it was good. When we got there we thought it looked really cool and kind of like a forest. The main field is 65 acres and then there is Air Ball, Teepees, and Zulu Territory. The main field is just trees and then 4 forts but is a LOT of fun. The Air Ball part is just blow up obstacles that you can hide behind and attack your opponent. The Teepees are just like what they sound like, they are a bunch of teepees that you hide behind and attack your opponent. In the Zulu Territory there are no rules for the speed of the paintballs or anything like that. We started off in the main field but it closed for lunch right after our first game so we went to the Teepees and Air Ball area because they were still open. We hung out down there and just played games against each other for a long time. I was having sooo much fun--you really have no idea. Then we realised that we had been there longer then we had planned so we figured that we might as well stay till they closed. So we went back to the main field and played like 3 more games with everyone and then the park closed so we headed home. We spent the whole ride home talking about how much fun we had and hoping we could go again.

The Final Part of the Mexico Trip

The last day before the long and boring ride home we crossed the border and headed to the beach. San Diego beaches rock! This year we had more time at the beach then ever before and we were glad to have it. We got to spend like 4 hours at the beach running and getting sunburned. It was great--I love that beach. Then at 4 we packed up and headed over to the Fashion Valley mall to buy dinner and I got Chinese food. Just Chinese food because last year some idiot got caught stealing shoes at the mall so we weren't allowed to shop this year. Then we headed to the church that we stayed at on the way down and unpacked to go to sleep. That night we talked about how much we were looking forward to next year and how we wished we were still in Mexico. Shortly after that was lights out so we could get up early for the long drive back home. I'm already planning for next year's trip.

Day Three on the Site

Right when we got on the sight the morning of the third day, we started getting the roof boards up and the tar paper done on the walls. I was on the roof with Papa Sig (group leader) and Kyle Sig (Papa & Mama Sig's son). While we were putting on the roof boards the people we were building the house for asked if we could put in a sky light, so we thought about it for a little while and then said yes, because it hadn’t been done before and we wanted to make a new record. We had to put extra support where the sky light was, because otherwise it would have been a weak spot. We also had the problem of trying to get a hole in the board because we didn’t have a power saw. Then out of no where, the guy we were building it for brought out a power saw and cut the board for us. (The group next to ours was mad because we weren’t supposed to have power tools, but it wasn't our power tool. It was funny.) Shortly after we had the sky light in, Kyle had to leave to help Smit do the barbeque. After he left we started putting the tar paper on the roof and then the roofing tar. Then I had to tar the all the nails and stuff to make sure no water could get in. By the time I was done with that the rest of the people were basically done with the house, so we gave the new home owners the key to the house and took some pictures. The most important part of the whole trip is the end when the family finally has a good house. Then went back to camp for some AMAZING tri tip that Smit makes. For the last night in Mexico Patrick and I made a huge fire and we all sat around it and talked and sang till it was bed time.

Day Two on the Site

The second day was a lot more fun and productive all around. We started off by breaking people up into groups. Patrick and I were a group and then there were 3 other groups--all of us were making walls for the house. In all there are seven walls and two roof parts that make up the house. After Patrick and I were done we put up our wall because no one else could do much more then make the walls until it was up because it was the front. After it was up I went down and helped Kelsey’s group finish and bring up their wall. (They were down the hill a little bit and it is a steep climb.) Once all the walls were up I started working on the roof parts with Kelsey, Patrick, Mama Sig (adult leader) and Hanna. When that was finally done we had to bring it over to the house and put it on top of the house. After that one was on I got on the roof and started putting the bird blocks in. (yes they do just what they are called, they block the birds from going into the house) While two other people and I were doing that, the other wall was being made and at the end of the day it was finished and put on next to the first half. Then we headed back to the camp site, had a bonfire and dinner and went to bed--we were pretty tired.

First Day on the Work Site

So the first day on the work site we built the frame for the foundation, and two walls, and also poured the cement foundation. Right when we got to the site we started to make the frame for the foundation. After we had it all square and level (which didn’t take that long) we had to dig about 3 inches down around the edges to make sure the foundation doesn't move. My first job was to make sure all the dirt was loose enough for the people with shovels to get it out. That ended up only taking me like 5 minutes because I got to use a pick axe and when I have one of those I can dig through just about anything. Then we started making the cement and walls at the same time. This didn’t work as well as it has in the past two years because we had a bunch of people that didn’t really want to do any work. (If and when they did work they wanted their friends right next to them so they could talk the whole time.) The cement takes a long time to make and is really hard because we have to make it by hand. This year Patrick and I broke the record of most cement mixed at once. (We mixed 6 buckets and the record was 5 so we thought that was cool.) While we are down there we don't have any power tools because we don't want it to seem like we are better or have better things or anything like that. After all the cement was in we all helped put together the second wall then we had to go back to camp because there are gangs where we do work and we don’t want to have to deal with that. Back at camp we just hang out until dinner. After dinner we have small groups and big group worship then we go to bed.

My Mexico Mission Trip

On Easter I went down to Mexico with my church youth group to build houses for the week of spring break. We meet Sunday before church and check in so that we know that everyone is there. After checking in we go to church service. In the service there is a part where we have to go up front so the whole church can see us and wish us luck. (I hate that part). After the service we go out to the vans (for those of you that don't know, we drive down to Mexico) to load up and say goodbye to people. After saying bye to everyone we headed out. I really don't know what happened till our first rest stop because I slept on the ride down. At the first rest stop we ate our bag lunches and changed seats. We do a lottery to see where we sit and at each stop we change seats so people get to know more people--people riding with me know that I like to sleep. Then we got back in the vans and I went back to sleep till the second rest stop. That was fun because I got Taco Bell for dinner. The third rest stop was the coolest rest stop we had because we got there just in time to watch the sun set. I wish I could have taken a picture but I didn't have a camera. Once the sun had set we hung out for a few minutes, then finished up the drive to the church we were sleeping at. After all the people were there we unpacked the box truck so we had all our things. After that my Aunt and Bestemom showed up with some more Taco Bell and Easter candy for me (they spent Easter in San Diego). It was cool seeing my Aunt again since I haven't seen her in a few months. Once they left, we were up for a few more minutes but then it was time for bed. Last year we were there too and some of the adults slept outside so me and Patrick and Chris asked if we could sleep outside too. The adults said yes so we all set up outside on the grass and went to sleep. Then at about 2 AM the sprinklers went off...that was a very weird way to wake up. So this year we slept outside but this time we were on the cement.