Some memories from Morelia, Mexico. Includes before and after montage of the park renovation.

I've noticed somewhat of a phenomenon - the resurgence of 80s pop culture. I'm pretty sure that this is because children of the 80s like me have now come into careers and are beginning to have real disposable incomes. Thus, DVD box sets of He-Man, repackaged Atari systems, Rubik's cubes, and, most interestingly to me - movies from 80s brands. Hitting the theaters soon will be big-budget reduxs of the Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. American capitalism is not stupid - there is big money in nostalgia, especially nostalgia that they can get people to spend money introducing to their kids. Who knew that toy makers would become big time movie houses (e.g. Hasbro)?

But, I must admit, I am intrigued by such things as these movies. I was both a huge Transformers and TMNT fan as a kid. I participated in discussions about the relative power of Megatron and Optimus Prime. I owned the original Turtles graphic novels by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. I knew every word to the "Turtle Power" rap. I was such a Turtles purist, in fact, that I hated the cartoon because it changed the creation story of Splinter. Unfortunately, judging from the trailers for TNMT, I am pretty much embarrassed. Transformers looks like it may have potential, though.

So, am I just a blind consumer who is being sheared like the dumb sheep I am? Am I getting taken once again in the consumerist frenzies that originally were Transformers and TMNT? Perhaps. But isn't life aided by these creations? How can you argue with "Freedom is a right of all sentient beings" and "If you fight for what's right, and stand up for what you believe in - that's TURTLE POWER!"

Failure is a tough pill to swallow. My life has essentially been a long effort at trying to be successful at things, and so when real failure hits, it is quite a blow to the ol' fragile ego. It is especially bitter when the failure was preventable from the outset. Nevertheless, I must deal with it and take it in stride and do my best to overcome it.

Sometimes being so focused on things that you consider (and probably are) more important can take a blow to other goals that are important as well. I have a great appreciation for grad school, but it still has been hard to do what it takes to be successful in incredibly technical and esoteric pursuits such as Greek. Being out of town for four weeks has not helped (ironically, two of those being for another class).

But, ah well. Life is still good. It's just a short delay for graduation. Fortunately, graduation is not determining life at this point.

Yes, I am back from Mexico, and there is much to say but not much time to say it. The long and short of it is that this was perhaps the best short term mission team I have ever worked with. We encountered countless obstacles of one sort or another throughout our experience, but the team handled everything with a seemingly limitless amount of patience, grace, and joy.

The project itself was incredible - we managed to completely renovate a city park in the matter of three and a half days - including digging up walking paths, laying 10 tons of gravel, running backhoes, repainting bleachers and playground equipment, trimming trees, planting bushes and new trees, restriping a basketball court, painting murals, and a number of other things. The mission church we worked with - Rid de Vida Iglesia de Christo - was tremendous and took care of us very well. The community was deeply impacted, especially the neighbors around the park. One neighbor became a huge champion for us and now has a great relationship with the church. We held a huge carnival on Saturday that saw more than 300 from the community participate. All in all, a huge impact was made for the spirit of Christ last week in the bustling city of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.

Well folks, I am headed south of the border today through next Sunday to hang out at the beach and renovate a community park in Morelia, Mexico, in that order. We'll be driving through the night tonight, so pray that goes okay.

Here is where I'll be in case you need to find me: