This week I got to be part of the Messenger mailing. Oh...my...goodness.
The Messenger is Mex Med's quarterly newsletter that goes out to over 8500 people. Volunteers come in to stuff, sort, tab, and label each letter so that we can get them out in one day, instead of the process taking days (or even weeks!) with just the 6 of us in the office doing everything. We are SO grateful for these volunteers and would really go crazy without them. I was assigned to the tabber, which seemed simple enough. This machine would pull one newsletter at a time, attach a circular sticky tab to seal it, and then spit it out. I just had to make sure the stack of newsletters stayed at a certain height. All went well for about half an hour, and then the truth came out.
This machine was donated to us when it was on its last legs several years ago. Before they had the machine, people had to staple each newsletter to seal them shut, and that's what made the process take so long. So it's awesome that this (somewhat random) machine was donated. But being that it was about ready to retire several years ago, things have only gotten worse. Every so often (I'm pretty positive it was about every 20 minutes), a tab would get stuck because it wasn't fed correctly. I'd shut down the whole machine, take the unsealed newsletters out, pull the huge honker apart, jam a knife in a tiny little hole that my (apparently not so tiny) fingers wouldn't fit into, hope the tab stuck to the knife, pull it out, put the whole machine back together, run a few test newsletters to make sure everything was lined up correctly, realign the machine since it never was, and then put the stack of newsletters back, all the while maintaining the proper amount of pressure and speed. About halfway through the day, I was readjusting everything and a spring popped off. Now, in addition to everything else I just mentioned, I needed to keep my fingers on the broken piece in a constant state of steady pressure to ensure that the roll of tabs was fed correctly (see picture). If I pushed down too hard or not enough, the roll would get stuck and disaster would ensue. We sent over 9,000 newsletters through this machine - some had to go twice because they didn't get tabbed or it was done incorrectly.
I'm sorry that I took 10 minutes of your time explaining this in great detail. And I don't do it to complain - please trust me on that. I only say this to share the not so glamorous side of my job - it's not all rainbows and butterflies as I play with incredibly awesome kids in beautiful Mexico. It's encouraging for me to see the volunteers (mostly retirees) come faithfully to help us get these newsletters out to people who have supported Mex Med in so many ways over the last 50 years.
Also - it was hilarious and a much needed (although not necessarily desired) lesson in patience. I wish you could have been there!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen...this is the moment I've been waiting for...I'm so happy to report that I am fully funded as of this morning!
I've been hovering at 98% for WEEKS now. Not a bad place to be stuck and I'm thankful that I was able to be stuck there, but what a joy and relief to finally be able to see that number hit 100%! In the midst of the economic downturn, this has happened. God is so faithful and I am in awe of the people he used to get me to this point. Some I've known my entire life and some I met just a few months ago. I'm supported by people all over not just the country, but the world!
I started a cross country road trip (literally. San Diego to New York with many stops along the way...) on May 6, the day after attending Mexican Medical's 50th anniversary celebration as their newest missionary. It was such an exciting way to start this fundraising journey. 165 days later (including 3 and a half months of working full time at the MMM office/Gabriel House), this day has finally come!
I am so overwhelmed as I think back to all the appointments I had, all the individuals/churches/small groups I got to talk to, and all of the people that are now part of my team - not only financially, but also prayerfully. I'm excited to keep doing what I've been doing and let God lead me as I work with MMM and the sweet children at Gabriel House.
How fitting that as the holiday season is upon us (too soon?! sorry) I am giving thanks over and over again for YOU and also to our Savior who has allowed me to get to this point.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
- Psalm 115:1
I've been hovering at 98% for WEEKS now. Not a bad place to be stuck and I'm thankful that I was able to be stuck there, but what a joy and relief to finally be able to see that number hit 100%! In the midst of the economic downturn, this has happened. God is so faithful and I am in awe of the people he used to get me to this point. Some I've known my entire life and some I met just a few months ago. I'm supported by people all over not just the country, but the world!
I started a cross country road trip (literally. San Diego to New York with many stops along the way...) on May 6, the day after attending Mexican Medical's 50th anniversary celebration as their newest missionary. It was such an exciting way to start this fundraising journey. 165 days later (including 3 and a half months of working full time at the MMM office/Gabriel House), this day has finally come!
I am so overwhelmed as I think back to all the appointments I had, all the individuals/churches/small groups I got to talk to, and all of the people that are now part of my team - not only financially, but also prayerfully. I'm excited to keep doing what I've been doing and let God lead me as I work with MMM and the sweet children at Gabriel House.
How fitting that as the holiday season is upon us (too soon?! sorry) I am giving thanks over and over again for YOU and also to our Savior who has allowed me to get to this point.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
- Psalm 115:1
Thursday, October 11, 2012
We had a great day with the dental team last week! Dr. Tamez and Dr. David and Dr. Erica Cervantes (married - both dentists!) were with us and brought along dental hygienists. Almost all of our kids were seen - Sergio was at school and Javier only has 1 tooth - and we even had enough time to work on the GH staff as well. So thankful for clean teeth, even if some of the kids didn't feel that way!
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