CRAZY WEEKEND!

Ok, so here's how it started, we leave Longview around 10:30, and what do we find...SNOW, in APRIL, in TEXAS...already a weird start to the trip.

Then we get outside of Dallas, have lunch with Phil Taylor's G-pa and on our way to hang out at a mall we get rear ended by a girl who doesn't have insurance, doesn't have her driver's liscense on her, isn't wearing shoes, and was already late for a job she was going to get fired from anyways for being late too many times. Much to Phil's dismay, he was very pleased that the interior of his car would forever smell of dunkin' dounuts coffee.

We then go to Target and sample stuff from the febreez/lysol isle and get some window wipes to clean up his car.After all of this we uneventfully, thankfully, head over to the ball park at Arlington. We find our seats, second deck, second row from the top (not gonna happen). At the start of the game they announce that today was the coldest starting game time temperature the Rangers have ever had at that stadium, 38 degrees, and that was while the sun was still out. So we sit in our seats for an inning before we move down.

The game ends and the Rangers win!On our way back we stop to get gas. Phil fills up the car and as we're about to leave his car won't start, nothing, no noise, nothing! So, phil says he knows what the problem is, it's just that it's under the hood, and he can't pop the hood. So on a whim we start opening doors and turning the key and in the end we get it running. The rest of the trip is uneventful and i'm just thankful to have made it back in one peice and alive!

Spring Break 2007 Video

Spring Break 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

First off I want to thank you all for your support and prayer during this journey I went on! God truly moved not only in the lives of those we helped, but in mine as well. My team and I accomplished many things, but none of that would have happened had we not gotten there.
My journey begins back here in Longview. We were supposed to leave around noon on Friday March 9th. We were first told that the buses would be late, which was understandable, then a little late turned into 2 hours, which turned into another 2 hours, and so on. Finally around 11:30pm the VP of student affairs came and said “look, the buses aren’t here, so why don’t you guys go back to your rooms and go to bed, we’ll figure this out in the morning.” So we went back to our rooms not knowing until the next morning that the buses had shown up at 12:30am. After basically what turned into a 24 hour delay we were on the road!
The trip to Guadalajara was uneventful which was good. We made it there in about 30 hours, that’s one long bus ride! We arrived to the place where we thought we were staying; a very nice church in what I was told was the richest part of Guadalajara. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty comfortable with this; a nice safe neighborhood, we each would get a mattress, and Starbucks was just down the road! So, after we had everything moved in a lady came out and said that we weren’t staying there. I was pretty disappointed, not only was the place really nice but we had moved all of our stuff inside. So after talking with some people we loaded everything up into 3 trucks and drove to the place where we would be staying in the slums of Guadalajara. If you recall I wanted to get out of my comfort zone on this trip, the first place didn’t do that, this place did. It was a two story pieced together house the church was hoping to use to house groups such as ourselves; we were the guinea pigs. Just the guys stayed there. We ended up sleeping 5 guys in a room about the size of a dorm room all on the floor in sleeping bags. There were two showers in this building, but little water pressure and no hot water, but plenty of cold water (I am now more grateful for warm showers!)
Once we got settled in we went down to the church to see what we would be doing. The church was only a few blocks away from the missions, which was nice because we wouldn’t have to drive to the church, we could just walk. The pastor showed us what he wanted us to do; build a bathroom. There was already an existing men’s bathroom, they wanted us to build a women’s bathroom. He also wanted us to start working on a sitting area/pastor’s study next to the church. We ended up putting in a new window and getting the roof nearly complete before we had to depart. But the bathroom was our main goal.
Working on the bathroom consisted of digging a couple of large holes for footings, pouring a foundation, and slapping concrete onto styrofoam and metal framed sheets. Working on this project was frustrating at times because I don’t know Spanish and I don’t understand engineer language, so there were parts of this project where I just stood there and wondered what the heck they were talking about as the engineer major in our group talked to the translator who talked to the Spanish speaking pastor. Then all of a sudden we were doing something. But, in the end we completed the project and it is now ready to be painted and plumbing put in!
We were supposed to do VBS but that never happened because something wasn’t communicated, which was fine because we still got to interact with the kids during lunch, random breaks, and after we got through for the day. The last night we were there we also had plenty of time to play with the kids.
Our last day there we got to go to downtown Guadalajara and do some shopping. While in downtown we had a guide show us a couple of buildings before we went to the market. The market was a three story building filled wall to wall with any and everything you can imagine. It was intense! But at the end of the day I walked out with a t-shirt and a hammock which I’m still trying to figure out where to put.
After our time at the market we went back to the church where they had dinner for us. After we ate and played with the kids some we gathered in a circle and the pastor and the people of the church gathered told us how grateful they were for us and all the work that we had done. It’s always touching when you can see how the people you help react to the work that you do, even when it’s something like building a cement bathroom.
In the end God taught me a lot. While I didn’t necessarily get the spiritual mountain top experience I was looking for I did gain a lot more respect for the blessings that I have. Having a government regulated roof over my head and walls around me is truly a blessing I never really thought of (they don’t have building codes in Mexico). Having a water system that filters out all of the bad things that made much of my team sick during the trip is another blessing I’m truly grateful for. I’m also grateful for hot showers! I think if anything God gave me a gut check that showed me how blessed I was to live in America, to attend a Christian university, and to be surrounded by an amazing support system of friends and family. I am truly blessed to know each and every one of you and I am so thankful for your support not only in this trip but in my life!

In Christ Alone,





Adam Pautsch

Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or comments you may have, you can contact me through:
o Email: adampautsch@letu.edu or Apautsch@comcast.net
o AIM: theonlyamp12
o Phone: 651-269-6450

View Pictures (facebook photo album) & Video (you tube upload) here:
Album 1 : Album 2 : Album 3 : Album 4

Video

Have you ever tried this?

Missions Trip: Guadalajara, Mexico

Below is a sample support letter for my spring break missions trip to Guadalajara, Mexico.

Temperatures

60 above zero:Floridians turn on the heat.People in Minnesota plant gardens.
50 above zero:Italian and English cars won't start.People in Minnesota drive with the windows down.
32 above zero:Distilled water freezes.The water in Bemidji gets thicker.
20 above zero:Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, and wool hats.People in Minnesota throw on a flannel shirt.
15 above zero:New York landlords finally turn up the heat.People in Minnesota have their last cookout before it gets cold.
Zero:All people in Miami die.Minnesotans close their windows.
10 below zero:Californians fly away to Mexico.People in Minnesota get out their winter coats.
25 below zero:Hollywood disintegrates.The Girl Scouts in Minnesota are selling cookies door to door.
40 below zero:Washington DC runs out of hot air.People in Minnesota let their dogs sleep indoors.
100 below zero:Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.Minnesotans get upset because they cannot start the Mini-Van.
460 below zero:ALL atomic motion stops. (Absolute zero on the Kelvin scale)People in Minnesota start saying...."Cold 'nuff fer ya?"
500 below zero:Hell freezes over.Minnesota public schools open 2 hours late.

I'm still Alive

To the few faithful readers i have i would like to let you know that i am still alive and kicking. I just simply forgot about this blog and haven't really had time to update it.

Anyways, i've started my second year here at Letourneau in Longview Texas and so far things are going well in the spring semester (yes, i skipped the whole fall semester and summer). Summer and Spring were fun, i water skiied in the summer, and took classes in the fall.

In the fall i was an RA in the honor's apartments here on campus which has been a blast! I've been able to use some of the gifts that God has given to me in a way to help out others.

During Christmas break i had something exciting happen. I got engaged to Heidi! It was a very exciting day for me and i'm also very excited to begin planning a wedding and getting married.

Well, that basically summs up my last year or so. I'm scheduled to graduate in May 2008. So that's another day to look forward to! I'll try to do a better job of keeping this updated with various things that go on during the course of the semester.