Arriving in San Diego

Well, we had another very successful Adult Trek week in Tijuana. Unfortunately, we didn't keep up running posts throughout the week, so we'll try to post things in retrospect...

Here are some pics as we wait for the 992 bus that will take us to the America Plaza trolley station after arriving at the San Diego airport.

 Gerry, Alejandra, Catalina, Josie, and Chris

 Alex grabbing some lunch at the bus stop.

 Diane, Suzanne, and I

 Michael just chillin'

Rich looking at something...or maybe visions of bucket lines are dancing in his head...

tomorrow is the big day, we are leaving at Oh-dark-o'clock in the morning. Accuweather says the high tomorrow in Tijuana will be 86 degrees, with a low of 71 and it will be roughly like that all week in Tijuana

Time to start packing!

only 26 days until we leave for Tijuana

it it probably cooler in Tijuana than it is here.

90 degrees today in Bellevue.

yep, accuweather.com tells us it's 81 degrees in Tijuana today,

and in September it will be sunny and 70's all month in Tijuana

Let me try to post a few pictures again. Some of the earlier pics are from the 2013  Teen Trek and the latter pictures are from the 2013 Adult Trek. The pictures showing Ophelia's completed house are from the 2014 Teen Trek, as we got to visit it on our way back from our work site! They are living in it and are already adding a second story to it. We are proud to have helped with the process of helping this family's dream come true!

¿Donde estamos?

¿Donde estamos?
no need to buy a spanish phrase book, i stole a few phrases from another blog at
http://nohaybronca.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/a-spanish-cheat-sheet-for-travelers-in-mexico/
Questions are the key to any conversation:
¿Cómo estás?                   How are you?
¿Cómo te llamas?             What’s your name?
¿De dónde eres?               Where are you from?
¿Erés de aquí?                  Are you from here?
¿Que hora es?                   What time is it?
¿Donde esta X?                 Where is X (downtown, the hotel, the restaurant, the park etc.)
¿Donde estamos?              Where are we?

Learn the question words: who, what, where, when, why, how…
¿Quién?                         Who?
¿Qué?                            What?
¿Dónde?                         Where?
¿Cuándo?                       When?
¿A que hora?                  When/what time?
¿Por qué?                       Why?
¿Cómo?                          How?
¿Cuánto?                        How much?
¿Cuántos?                       How many?
¿Cada cuanto?                How often?
¿Por cuánto tiempo?       How long?

¿Me puedes dar dos tacos por favor?            Can you give me two tacos please?
¿Cuánto cuesta esto?                                   How much does this cost?

 important for courtesy:
Perdón                           A catch-all excuse me or sorry
Disculpe                         Sorry, excuse me (when you want someone’s attention)
Con Permiso                   Excuse me (when you want someone to let you get by)
¿Mande?                         The Mexican way to ask what? when you don’t understand what someone said.

From Start to Finish

Hello Everyone!  May name is Ron Sangalang and I've been on the Adult Trek for the past several years. I've just returned as one of the adult leaders on this year's St. Louise high school Mission Trip to Tijuana, Mexico. During this week we had a chance to visit one of the homes we helped build during both the teen and adult trips last year. I'll post some pictures of the house when I figure out how to do it successfully.


Hasta luego,


Ron

only 42 days until we leave for Tijuana
... already I am trying to pack.

here's our packing list from 2005:
http://www.stlouise.org/Bulletins/Adult%20Trek%20Packing%20List.pdf

A Family Affair

St. Louise has a small group of parishioners who have developed a strong family bond over the past 10 years. Each year the core group (with occasional extras) heads to Tijuana, Mexico to help local families build needed additions to their modest dwelling places. Experanza International is the charitable organization that brings groups to Mexico from all over to do this volunteer work which is similar to “Habitat for Humanity.” This September the St Louise Adult Mission Trek will have 19 people ready to do manual labor alongside some of the local residents. Over the years some of St Louise’s trekkers got involved in the teen trek and then graduated to the adult trek when their children were out of high school. Kris Daly, leader of the Adult Mission Trek, went for years with her daughters. Now she still volunteers with the teens in July and heads up the adult trek in September. Geri Navaja went with his children for many years. Last year his wife(Alejandra) went for the first time with him and his daughter, Cat. This year Geri and Alejandra will have three of their other daughters going with them. 2014 will be my third trek. In 2011, when I wanted to go on the trek for my first time, my 18 year old grandson, Chris, said he wanted to go to “take care of Grandma.” I think he was a little worried that it might be dangerous (which it wasn’t!) I was delighted to have his company—it was a bonding experience. Then last year three of my grandchildren graduated from high school. I offered to have them join me as a “graduation gift.” Two of my grand-daughters (Grace and Kate) took me up on the offer. Again, I was delighted to share the experience with my family. I think it is something they will remember for the rest of their lives. This year I hadn’t planned to go on the Adult Mission Trek because of some work conflicts. But suddenly I felt the pull-- and let my boss know that I really wanted to volunteer again. When I told some of my family about my plans, my son-in-law --Per( who just retired from the military) said he was interested in going. I was excited because I knew that he would probably be a lot more help than me. Then his son (Chris) heard that Per was going and said that he’d really like to go again too! So, for the third time, it will be a family affair for me. I encourage anyone who has ever wanted to “help the poor” on a personal basis, to join us for the St. Louise Adult Mission Trek. We work hard part of the time but also get to go places and do things that you find new and exciting. When you come back from your week of service, you have a really warm feeling about our neighbors to the south who love their country, want to improve their home and just could use a little help from their neighbors to the north! And while you are at it, why not see if any of your family would like to do it too?

Youth Group leaves for Tijuana this weekend

The Youth Group at St. Louise leaves for Tijuana this Saturday.

They will be blogging their adventures on the Youth Ministry blog site

at www.stlymcor.blogspot.com . Keep them in your prayers.
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Blessing mass

Our blessing will be at the 9 am mass on August 24.
More info to come.

La Gloria is on Google Street View

Google Street View isnt every where yet ....but I was excited that someone with that oddball camera mounted on their car actually drove past the Posada and thru the marketday and in front of the  taco shop...the pictures were taken summer 09...they were just building the OXXO next to the taco shop...and they were only half done with the new building at the posada. You can zoom in and read the mass schedule posted on the wall outside St Anthony's.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=tijuana,+mx,+la+gloria,+esperanza+international+posada&hq=esperanza+international+posada&hnear=La+Gloria,+Tijuana,+Baja+California,+Mexico&filter=0&update=1&t=m&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=32.441046,-116.996584&spn=0.000036,0.01929&cbll=32.441215,-117.004882&panoid=jRlmsnWSQwdFIcJ0q_B4oQ&cbp=12,59.96,,0,13.01&

Post your favorite TJ photos

I liked this photo, taken on Friday, Sept 13 2013, it shows the completed floor.(and signaled the end of our work week)

and this one, with the ocean view from the top of the house we worked on:

19 Strong!

Hi Everyone,
we are 19 strong going this year. Everyone stay healthy and in shape as we will need everyone.  I look forward to seeing most of you on Aug. 19th at 6 pm for our pot luck. We can answer any questions then.  Kris

St. Louise ADULT TREK 

September 6-13, 2014 

Sign up now!  

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St. Louise is excited to be embarking on OUR TENTH YEAR of Adult Trek to Tijuana, Mexico. Trek is a weeklong mission trip where we help a needy family build a home, as well as participating in various cultural and educational activities. It is a great opportunity to serve in our global community while stretching our boundaries and cultural awareness.

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We will have gatherings prior to the trip in order to prepare for our adventure. We encourage you to participate in these gatherings to help build team spirit and stay informed about trip plans. If you have any questions or would like to sign up, contact Kris Daly at thenwdalys@msn.com or 425-644-7045. Information and forms are online at www.stlouise.org. Watch the bulletin for details of upcoming Trekker gatherings.

Here are some things you should know:

1. You do not need any prior experience to participate. Only a willingness to serve and openness to trying new things. The minimum age requirement is 18 years old for the Adult Trek and there is no age limit.
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2. The total cost per person is $850 and covers all travel expenses, as well as room and board. It also includes a donation to the Esperanza International Savings Fund that allows families the opportunity to own a home of their own.  
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3. There will be some preparation prior to the trip.  We encourage you to participate in the gatherings in order to build community and stay informed about trip plans.  
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4. While on Trek we will be doing strenuous labor each day. Please consult a physician prior to trek if you have any doubts about participating in the activities while at the work site.  

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That’s it for now! If you have any questions or would like to sign up, contact Kris Daly at thenwdalys@msn.com or 425-644-7045  Check out www.esperanzainternational.org for more information about Esperanza International. Also for a great video about the experience just click on “Volunteer Guide”!
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Pictures from our previous Trek's and the application are at 
http://www.stlouise.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=209424&type=d&pREC_ID=470364