Friday -- Not good-bye. Just bye for now...

Just a few closing pics. Liliana, the child the NBYG sponsors. Our Joe Hat Winners for the week. And then a few God High-Fives. A God High-Five is when something happens that confirms that God is aware and present and part of what you're doing. Our mascot for the week turned out to be the giraffe. It was a challenge getting the giraffe head for our giraffe costume down to Mexico. We carried it on the plane so that it wouldn't be crushed during the flight and it was quite an attention-getter. The Southwest crew and even a TSA agent posed for pics with our giraffe head. And so it became our mascot. And a God High-Five. When a few of our skit cast went to hear Esteban play his guitar at a concert (featuring the music from The Greatest Showman...another God High-Five), there was an enormous metal giraffe outside the school. And when we arrived at the house site on Thursday to present the keys to Senor Marcareo and his family, he was wearing a giraffe t-shirt. It could be coincidence...or...it could be God giving us a high-five.

It's been a great week. The first of 51 more filled with service...and with anticipation for our return to that city on a hillside in Ensenada.

 

The Joe Hat Award Winners for the Week

We used to have the Festival of Sharing Hat that we awarded...but we lost the hat. So...we found a hat that Joe Mayes wore when he played Inspector Gadget during our City of Children skits one year and we've made it the new award. Each night the hat was awarded by the interns to the person that day they saw exhibiting service beyond the call of duty in a manner befitting the spirit of Christ. It was always a hard selection because everyone worked so hard. The truth is everyone who went on this trip was winner whether they got the Joe Hat or not. But...here are a few of our heroes for the week for you to enjoy and celebrate.

 

 

 

 

 

 A Few God High-Fives...

 

 

 

 

Thursday -- The Big Finale -- Working on the Lipdub

The 2018 lip dub was a phenomenal undertaking and we thank you Skid, Eli Waldron and Mike Jones for rising to the challenge. Featuring a cast of The Entire City of Children and our crew -- more than 100 people -- and countless cameos all shot one one continuous take, our annual lipdub is an incredible undertaking. This year's edition was set to the soundtrack of The Greatest Showman and was accented with visual references to our week. In short, it's a musical reminder of the many highlights that took place. But. To see it. You'll have to come to True North.... or...stay tuned...and perhaps we'll post it here.

But believe me when I tell you it was The Greatest Lipdub in Mexico! (But far more thrilling and blessed was our wonderful week in The Greatest Place in Mexico -- The City of Children, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.

 

Thursday -- NBYG finally makes it to La Bufadora

Year after year, La Bufadora has figured prominently in our skits. Even this year when Ernesto Mystico our fortune teller and mystic and Leondardo Flamazo the ringmaster of the Circo de Ole joined together to say the magic words, those enchanted words were "Abracadabra La Bufadora!"

But for all of our talk about La Bufadora, the NBYG had never been. This year we took care of that.

La Bufadora is just under 40 kilometers from Ensenada, even closer to Maneadero where we started from. It's a geographic and oceanic wonder -- a natural phoenomenon where the ocean waves rushing into a narrowing cleft in the rock creates an exploding jet of water that's pretty spectacular.  The rumble of the waves as they roll into the rock and the resulting water spout were mesmerizing.