Sadie Shares

Hello Family,

It’s been about 2 months since we’ve been here in Mexico and I must say that it’s been filled with many ups and downs.  As with any place, there are things that we love (the amazing tacos, for one) and things that we… well, strongly dislike.

We live off a major street in the city so I’d like to say we’re close to the action.  So close, in fact, that we get a pretty good audio gauge of all the crime and disturbances in the city with police and ambulance sirens whirring by (seemingly) every few minutes.  It’s actually difficult to keep the windows open in our living room because the constant noise gets really annoying and uncomfortably sobering.

I shared that one of our biggest concerns with moving to Mexico City lay in questions about our collective safety.  Though we trust that God is our ultimate protector, it is often easily forgotten when we keep hearing stories that shake our peace of mind.

A couple weeks ago, Benny and Janice’s car got broken into as we were having our Sunday gathering at The Well.  One would think that your car would be safe on a quiet Sunday afternoon but it was not the case that day and as a result, the Yu family had to deal with a shattered passenger-side window and a gone-for-good iPhone.

My wife, Sadie, in the midst of all this has been trying to remain strong and confident but it’s been extremely difficult.  The dam of built-up fear and anxiety burst this past weekend when one of our well-meaning and informative friends admonished Sadie to “expect to get mugged while living in Mexico City.  It’s going to happen.” Um, OK.

Sadie shares her recent journey and I thought it was a beautifully honest reflection.  We hope it encourages you and as with any chapter of any story, keep in mind that what you read is just part of an ongoing process of learning and growing.

Halloween 2009

Sadie’s story:

the past 30 days

HELLO FRIENDS!

Hope this update finds you well.  Just thought we’d catch you up on the last month or so.  Things are very exciting right now as it seems like a momentum-shifting period in the life of the community here in Mexico City.  The rehab house for trafficked victims (The Well) is continuing to be renovated through the help of various teams that are passing through for short periods of time.  We are adding a Sunday morning community gathering in addition to our Saturday nights in order to help more people join in on the movement.  We also just held an amazing “Iluminarte” event — a quarterly arts showcase to reach out to the community and share about our vision for ending Human Trafficking in Mexico and the world…

We also spent 2 weeks back in California to take part in the inaugural Origins event in Los Angeles as well as the annual Newsong Alliance staff retreat.  It was a beautiful time spent with family from all around the world– people from Thailand, Beijing, Australia, Mexico, India, Brazil, Dallas, New Jersey, Toronto, and more joined the team in California for a time of rest and recalibration.

During our visit back to California, we were able to spend lots of quality time with friends and also witnessed an amazing consciousness and fund-raising event called the Cupcake Camp held in Irvine/Santa Ana at the Atrium Hotel.  Nearly 1000 people showed up to eat, submit, purchase and/or judge cupcakes for the cause of anti-Human Trafficking.  It was extremely inspiring (and delicious!).

Hope these pictures inspire you (brought to you by the iPhone which I am currently using as a glorified iPod touch and camera)

Club Nokia-- site of the first Origins Event (conference) in Los Angeles. We are prepping for soundcheck here

Team Mexico City representing at the Newsong Global staff retreat. So proud of our crew.

Brent and Celia from Australia joined our staff festivities. What an amazing couple. Brent is a gourmet chef and Celia is a former journalist.

This is a snapshot of the turnout at the first Cup Cake Camp OC held at the Atrium Hotel. Nearly 1,000 people showed up to this fund-raiser for The Well rehabilitation house for trafficked women.

OH MY GOSH. Micah's first kiss... held at the Cupcake Camp. How appropriate-- sweets, battle trafficking, and more sweets.

It was great to be reunited with friends in California. Sadie taught Annette how to do the scariest face in the world.

Back in Mexico City as of August 3. A busy month of hosting teams from Vancouver, Irvine, and L.A. The renovation of The Well continues. A picture of the Vancouver team putting up the fencing on the roof.

Another shot of the fencing on the roof.

we took part in our first Iluminarte event. It's an arts showcase to reach out to the community. This is moments before kickoff as people are hanging out and enjoying food.

a shot of a b-boy doing his thang at Iluminarte

this is a shot of the "Chilaquiles," a reggae-style Mexican band. Such great people that we're becoming friends with.

Thank you for your support, positive thoughts and prayers.  We need them in a bad way over here.  If you can, please pray that human trafficking would end here in Mexico City and that one day, the world would be free of slavery.  Easier prayed than done… but one day, it will happen.  We believe it and that’s why we’re here.

love,

DK and Sadie of City Release…