Mission Trip Update

I will be flying alone from San Jose to Los Angeles on Monday, April 1, late morning. I will join the Christian Surfers United States Surf & Serve team of around 12 people in Los Angeles, and we will all fly together late that afternoon to Santiago on a direct flight.


Two other women are going on the trip:  Solveig, the wife of Cheyne, the trip leader, and Mikayla, the leader of CS San Francisco. I know both of them already. Solveig & Cheyne will also be bringing her baby daughter Lou who was born in November 2023. Most of the team members have been to Pichilemu before, but only one other member is fluent in Spanish (besides me).


The construction projects we will be working on include completing tiling, etc. in the locker rooms (work that last year’s Surf & Serve team began) and doing some building upstairs at the Pura Vida swimming pool and fitness center. Fitness and swimming are a major focus for Youth With A Mission Pichilemu. They have a lovely “indoor” pool where national swim meets are held and where they offer swimming lessons and water aerobics to the community. There are also workout rooms and a coffee shop in the Pura Vida Sports building where we will be helping with construction. This Instagram link shows some of their facilities and ministries. https://www.instagram.com/p/CymKGy0x8Nz/




photos at the Pura Vida pool facility from December 9, 2023 (Joe's first birthday in Heaven!)


Here is a YouTube video that tells about the overall ministry of YWAM Pichilemu The last man in the video is Mitch Anderson. He and his wife Juliette are the founders and directors of the Pichilemu base, and they are the people who planted the seed in our hearts to move to Pichilemu as missionaries in 1989. (Juliette, their daughter Katrina, and their daughter-in-law Cole are also in the video.)


Here is a link to a report about last year’s trip, which includes a beautiful, short video of that trip. https://www.christiansurfers.com/events/chile-surf-serve-2023/ Gets me pumped to go and serve!

Please pray for me! To contribute financially, use Venmo @josephmccroskey, or choose a trip expense to support at https://www.myregistry.com/giftlist/chile-nz-australiatrip

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting! I will review your comment as soon as I can check my email, and if I approve it, it will post here. God bless you!

Popular posts from this blog

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY

Image
¡Hola! 🦋 Wednesday, April 10 After the morning routine of dance exercise class, breakfast, and devotionals, I tried to help set the new swimming pool men’s locker room water heater thermostat. I didn’t succeed, but my teammate Kevin found a YouTube video in Spanish to guide the staff in setting it. After that, I painted the kitchen some more, and removed signs from the entryway walls so Mikayla could paint without obstruction. It’s not easy being green! (Trying to go from blue to yellow 🫠) The Pura Vida pool (I got to peek at the pool every time I took a bathroom break because the bathrooms in the gym are not completed yet.) They made a delicious burrito lunch for us on a lovely long table with tablecloths on Wednesday Making progress with the cement for the skate park After working, we went to Playa Caletilla in the van to watch the sunset  The house at the top of this photo is the one my family rented when we came in December Riding in the van with Mikayla, Solveig, and Baby Lo...
Read more

Trip Reflection 🗺️🪞

Image
As I wrap up this trip blog, I want to revisit my goals for the trip and reflect on each of them. I have written my reflections below each goal in purple type. My intentions for this trip were: 1. To serve with the CSUS Surf & Serve team at Youth With A Mission YWAM Pichilemu in Chile, doing construction work; to build relationships with fellow team members. My time in Chile seems sooo long ago! The Mission Trip was awesome, and I grew so close to the other team members that I cried when they left! I look forward to continuing to build relationships with them in the future. Almost all of them have been on previous trips to Pichilemu. Who knows? Maybe I’ll go again sometime. I am especially glad to have gotten to know Mikayla better, since she is our new Regional Director for Christian Surfers Northern California. Mikayla and her fiance, Joey 2. To rekindle and deepen friendships with Chileans. (We lived in Chile from 1989 to 1996. I visited in 2005 for 3 weeks, and last Dec...
Read more

Coffs Harbour / Kiwi Down Under Farm 🚉 🧄 🫚 🧺 📦 🥝 🧑‍🌾

Image
  Monday, May 13 I got up and called my Mums to wish them a Happy Mother's Day (a day later than mine in Australia). Then I started packing up my bags for the 2-hour train trip to Coffs Harbour. Judith took me to the Wauchope Station and beautiful indigenous-style artwork. I got confused with the military time and arrived 2 hours early. (Hence I had time to catch up on past blog posts.) More art deco Koalas and beautiful indigenous-style artwork at the Wauchope Station A unique selfie My train to Coffs Harbour Beautiful countryside on the train trip.  I'm so glad I decided not to rent a car! We stopped at many quaint towns with interesting names: Kempsey, Eungai, Macksville, Nambucca Heads, Urunga, and Sawtell.  This town had many lovely old church buildings Some deforestation and development One of the towns There were lots of cows along the way I bought lunch at the Buffet on the train - Spinach Feta roll and fruit salad - mediocre, but food! A glimpse of The Great ...
Read more