This week in Mexico 8-29-25
Back to school! Thanks to your generosity, we were able to help the kids in our community have everything they need for the new school year! Here’s a glimpse of our week of outreaches in Mexico.
Quick links to the other parts this week:
Happy Friday, GTF fam! 
School begins for our kids here on Monday! Labor Day weekend marked our first arrival in Mexico 20 years ago! Can you believe it?! Our one year old is now 21! (And he’s building the railing for one of our outreach projects!) Neither Jack nor I had any idea what the Lord had in store for us when we came to Mexico. God has been so good to GTF and our family, and I’m so grateful for all of you who join with us in prayer and support for these outreaches. ♥ It’s wild to realize just now that it’ll be ten years since we lost Jack this October. So Aidan and I have been in Mexico almost as long without him as we were with him. God has truly been so very good to us. Thank you for being here with us! ♥
I’m trying to get these pics shared with you early today, because it is hot here! On to our pictures from our outreaches! I’m excited to share them with you.
Back to school time!
Education is one of the most crucial factors in helping families overcome generational poverty. Parents pray for the ability to help their kids have better lives than they did. And we are so grateful to be able to help! This year, we have several kids moving up to the next school, from elementary to secondary, and from secondary to high school!
Handing out supplies!
We had detailed lists from the school and long text group chats with the moms to know exactly what each kid needs for school, including sizes and types of uniforms! All the families went through backpacks and supplies from last year and tallied the sizes and types of uniforms needed. The cute table below hides just how much work everyone put into getting all the details for more than 50 kids right!
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Our escuelita- kids’ group
Having the moms and abuelitas join us is such a special part of our kids’ group now. They began helping and then realized how nice it is to join their kids in things they missed out on growing up. And now they do it together.
Groceries to families in need!
Every month, we fill a bag with nonperishable grocery staples for families in need. We bring things to make food all families eat here, beans, rice, and tortillas, along with some pasta, shelf-stable milk, and soap and toilet paper.
And we always try to bring snacks for the kids!
Project – Railing for Israel’s House
When our son, Aidan, offered to build the railing for Israel and Ericka, he told them that, although he has a lot of experience welding, he had never built a railing before. A lot of the work he did involved extending and repairing metal playground sets. There’s a group in the US that takes down metal playground equipment being replaced and brings it here to install it in communities, schools, and orphanages.
So there’s a lot of figuring out to do in building his first railing. Part of this was closing off the open ends of the metal tubes. We don’t know how it’s traditionally done, but Aidan figured out a way to cut a piece, hold it in place with a magnet, and weld the opening closed. It works and, most importantly, Israel is happy with the result!
It’s also fun that he’s working on a house that we originally built (for a different family, it’s a cool story you can see here) when he was small.
This kid has grown up watching me ask our crew to take good progress pics for us while I’m not there, so he took detailed shots for me!
Jaime and Vanessa’s house
Our crew continues plastering at Jaime and Vanessa’s. This is typically the stage where it begins to look more like a home. I’m so excited for this sweet family to have a space of their own and for Vanessa to be able to be home with her little one.♥
God is doing amazing things here, and I’m so grateful for your prayers and support that make it possible. Thank you so much for praying with us for those we serve together! ♥
Quick links to the other parts this week:
Thank you for your love, and your prayers for those we serve around the world! It’s absolutely amazing what happens when we come together and follow the Lord’s leading. I’m beyond grateful for you all!
If you’d like to see more than we can share here, email me for access.
Thank you for keeping us, this ministry, and our outreaches in prayer, and thank you for your support! We couldn’t do any of this without you.
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God bless you!
♥ Samantha