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Earthquake Victims in Oaxaca, Mexico

I just got back to my home in Puerto Morelos from Oaxaca, MX (pronounced wa-ha-ka) Oh, my, what a wonderful trip!

Have you ever gone somewhere with the intention of helping people and come home feeling like you received more blessings than you gave? Well that is just how I feel. The people of Oaxaca are gentle, kind, warm, full of grace and hospitality, thankful for every little thing, resourceful, and self-less. They took me and the team into their homes everywhere we went. They fed us.
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They gave us their beds. They hugged us and thanked us, not just for the material things we brought, but for caring enough to come, and they cried when we left.
lady with red scarf ss
I often sit down to tell you all about my adventures and end up just talking about the amazing connections with wonderful people along the way. There WERE adventures on this trip. The bridge was out and we had to drive through a river.
driving through the river to Santa Cruz ss
We drove for twelve hours through winding, dangerous mountain roads.
mountains 2 ss

We walked the dusty streets of earthquake devastated, poor villages.
team two bikes street rubble ss
We ate grasshoppers.
crickets centered ss
We brought food and clothing and basic health and first aid supplies to earthquake shattered homes.
kids and donations street ss
But as always, it is the faces that stick with me.
pink shirt lady across the street sss
The hugs and the smiles. The giving hearts of people who have suffered. The deep connection that crosses language barriers.
smily lady ss
How do you put your heart into words? How do you explain the feeling you have when someone you just met clings to you and begs you not to leave? How do you put into words the feeling you have when those you came to help with the basic needs of every day living give you expensive gifts in return like hand-made traditional clothing and beautifully colored woven things?
flower weave
Life is so full of blessing. All the more so when those blessings come from unexpected places.
my world is rocked again,
laura
for more go to www.thehappifyproject.com

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