The Hershey Family

• Last Minute Reminder!

  Hey friends! We will be sharing a bunch of pictures and videos from Mexico at 12:30 at Hope in the Bison room if you’d like to join us.

  We will have some pizza for you guys and would love to see you there!

  August 13, 2023

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• Catching Up

  Hi Friends,

  It has been so good catching up with so many of you over the past week or two. God was so good in giving us a wonderful trip to Pennsylvania. We were able to be a part of a big family gathering, Norah and Lena were able to enjoy some precious time with cousins, and we shared with my home church about Mexico. It was a lot of info, pictures and video to squeeze into an hour but Sarah and I were both very grateful with how the presentation went. We were humbled that there were about 100 people in attendance to hear how the Lord worked in and through us this past year. Thanks to all the family and friends who came to hear us. And we were especially surprised and encouraged to see some relatives that had driven an extra long time to be with us for that… thanks Faith and Joy!! And thank you Mount Joy Church of God and Pastor Vaughn for inviting us share our stories with you all.

  

  Sarah and Mark sharing at the Mount Joy Church of God, Mount Joy, PA

  

  Luncheon after the service

  

  Fun time with family… hiking, mini-golf, Amish buggy ride, Pickle ball, ice cream and more!

  This past Saturday we were able to share with our Widow’s Group about our year in Mexico as well. That group has been a sweet source of encouragement for us over the years as well. I am glad to be back with that fun group of ladies as well! And then this Sunday will be our “Hershey Download” where we will share with the church body at Hope about our time in Mexico. For those considering attending that gathering, we will meet at 12:30p (after the 10:45a service) for a lunch and our presentation with a time of Q and A. We will provide some pizza, but if you would be willing to bring a drink, chips/snack/veggie or a dessert, that would help as well. We will be in the Bison Room (the old Sanctuary). We are looking forward to gathering on Sunday with you. If you are unable to be a part of it, my parents’ church in Pennsylvania was kind enough to video record our presentation there and if you contact me, I can send it to you.

  Between now and then, Sarah will be starting her new job as a teacher at Trinity, the girls will have their first day of school in Andover and we will all be traveling to Dallas for Sarah’s Grandfather’s funeral on Friday. So, there is a lot going on for us, but I think we are doing alright amidst all of it. Thanks for your prayers as we continue to catch up and figure out what life, school, ministry, work, and whatever else looks like for us this Fall!
  August 8, 2023

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• Unpacking

  It has been such an abrupt change and I can’t say we have been all that busy, but when people ask us “how does it feel to be back?” or something similar I can’t say we always really know how to respond.

  Though we have made the trip back to the US, there is another journey in unpacking our feelings and emotions about the whole experience in the next weeks and months. Some of the emotions are obvious… glad we now have a dishwasher, water pressure, dryer, cockroach-free living conditions haha and good to see friends, family, etc … but we miss a ton of stuff too… mainly the people we met along the way during the year there.

  The ending to our time in Mexico was good. It was a whirlwind with a lot of goodbyes. Other than a few students who we were unable to say goodbye to for one reason or another, we feel good about how we left. With that said, it is just difficult transitioning from working hard to invest in some people to never seeing them at all. I’m trying to figure out what is the best, though limited, way to reach out or keep in contact with some of them. That is just one of the things we are processing as we are getting settled in back home.

  I also see life in the US moving a little quicker. We have the ability to fit a lot more activities and appointments into our day. That doesn’t mean we should necessarily do that, but I at least feel the pressure to do so. It almost feels like there is a treadmill that is going 10 mph and I am standing beside it and I know at some point I am going to have to jump on it but it feels a little daunting at this point. This week we signed Lena up for soccer and Norah for theater, and are in the midst of taking them to the dentist, eye doctor, school checkups, back-to-school shopping, etc. It does feel weird doing the back-to-school thing when they were just finishing school two weeks ago!

  We have also been grateful to have received a lot of “we should hang out now that you are back” or “we need to catch up” comments and we are starting to do that and are enjoying that, but know it will take time for that whole process! In the last month in Mexico there was a lot of “we should hang out before you leave” so we are now experiencing that on the other side of things. One of the ways we are reconnecting is taking a trip to Pennsylvania to see family. Some of the people we will be with, we haven’t seen in two years (or more) due to the whole living in Mexico thing:) We are excited to be back with them and also appreciate your prayers as we have the opportunity to share about our time in Mexico with my home church, Mount Joy Church of God.

  It is good to be back… and I enjoyed getting to share at Hope this past Sunday and are grateful for the thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate each of you! And if you are one of the people reading this from the Pennsylvania area, feel free to stop by this Sunday at the church (30 East Main Street, Mount Joy 17552) 10:30AM to hear from our whole family as we share stories, pictures, videos, and maybe even a fun little game or two… we’ll see!

  

  Back at Hope!

  

  Back in our backyard!

  

  Back to heat and humidity! (Note the screenshot was taken after 10pm and check out Guadalajara- they are amidst the rainy season with nice temperatures now)

  

  Back to my office!

  July 26, 2023

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• Home sweet home!

  We just got back to Andover this afternoon and now the real work of unpacking begins! It was a little easier to just sit and eat snacks in the car. We had an easy last leg to our journey with no rain, though it is pouring now! We are thankful that we were greeted by some yummy snacks, helpful supplies and thoughtful gifts when we walked back into our house from our loving church family. Some of our sweet friends placed some fun greetings for us throughout our house and even cleaned for us. It is good to be back. We are spoiled by so many and feeling really grateful by your generosity 🙂

  We have no doubt that there will be some big adjustments for us and the girls. It already feels like a pretty abrupt change but we will try to process it and walk through it together as best as we can. We look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday and then in the coming weeks as well.

  Although the van and everything made it through their trip as well back to Guadalajara, there were a few difficulties but the Lord proved safety and peace amidst those things as well. I’ll share more in the future but we are very grateful everything worked out as well as we could have hoped!

  

  The cul-de-sac girls provided some nice artwork on the driveway for us!

  

  Happy to be home! Grateful for all the memories and friends made:) Can’t wait to continue to share how the Lord worked during our time in Mexico.

  

  One tired travelin pup

  

  Getting unpacked and putting a thoughtful gift in its new home:)

  July 14, 2023

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• Made it through!

  The van and all it’s contents went through without any problems! And we made it back across the border with no issues as well! The girls did great on their end as well and had a good flight and are currently in Dallas. We can’t wait to see friends and family again:)

  I’ll update more later!

  July 12, 2023

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• So far so good!

  I’m super grateful for Angel for his help in driving today. We rarely even used google translate! And of course Charlie is a champ. We had a good day of driving… 12 hours in the car and made it to Monterey, which is about an hour further than Saltillo where we had originally planned to stop. Tomorrow we will leave the hotel at 5am, and meet the church van at the border. Please pray that all the logistics and crossings go well. We think we have everything we need but are hoping for smooth transitions. We are also meeting Estaban at the border, who is taking a bus there from Guadalajara. He has started a mechanic business and a Hopester piled a bunch of mechanics tools in the van for him as well. He and Angel will drive the van to Guadalajara. There are also Bibles, TUMI seminary materials, sound equipment, computer equipment and more in the van.

  Thanks for your prayers. If everything goes well, I will be in Dallas by tomorrow night and the van will be well on its way to Guadalajara.

  

  Monterey

  

  Mi amigo

  Mexico is very beautiful and diverse in its topography

  July 11, 2023

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• Here we go!

  Yesterday was a wonderful day at church. I had the opportunity to preach one last time to our people and we were blessed with lonche de pierna from Janet afterwards. Muchas gracias! There were many pictures and goodbyes. We will miss our sweet church family. It was a sweet send off from them. Then today we had a full day with much packing (Mark) and cleaning (Sarah) and final goodbyes (the whole family). The girls went to school as we celebrated our anniversary with the aforementioned activities 🙂

  

  After picking the girls up from school with Charlie, we hung out at a park by our house and then went to dinner. After dinner we walked around Las Fuentes (our school’s neighborhood) one last time. It is so beautiful there. We walked by the school once more and I caught Lena hugging the door to her part of the school, in her way saying goodbye to it.

  

  

  

  It was a great way to end our time. Now, we are praying for good weather, easy traveling, safety, and logistics involving the border crossings for the donated church van and myself. I’ll be traveling all day tomorrow and then crossing Wednesday morning. After a stop in Dallas and time to collect the rest of my family, we will all be home by the end of the week. Thanks for your prayers with all of those things!

  Looking ahead a bit, I’ll be sharing at Hope in less than two weeks and then also the following week at my home church back in Pennsylvania. And then the girls will be starting school again! I have no clue what it will be like to be back and get settled-in. I experienced culture shock moving to Mexico and have no doubt there will be some elements of a reverse culture shock as we get acclimated back to the US of A. We are so grateful for this special year. We really feel like we had an impact in God’s Kingdom and are excited to share even more about it!

  I’ll provide another update in a couple of days… thanks again:)

  July 10, 2023

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• A week from today I will…

  … hopefully be crossing the border back into the USA! Prayers please as we travel July 11th through the 13th. There are a number of logistics and things that need to come together. Please pray for Hope’s old church van that will make its way to Guadalajara. It will serve our wonderful church down here. It will be used for mission teams. It will help transport groceries and work project materials. It will be well used and well cared for here. On its final voyage out of the United States it will be carrying many different tools for ministry to be used in the Kingdom of God. Please pray for the trip, for the Hopester who will be driving it across the border, and that it all will be able to enter the country with as little expense and difficulty as possible.

  As I think about our last week in Mexico…

  We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

  We have been helped and encouraged by so many.

  We have tried to pour ourselves out into the lives of whoever God brought our way.

  We have experienced rest, joy, frustration, understanding, self-awareness, victory, and really good tacos while in Mexico.

  It will take some time to unpack these experiences when we get home and even fully grasp some of them.

  We do not have much time right now to reflect as many things are imminent or immediate for us as we are in these Last Days, but God is good to us! It is surreal that after many years, this dream has happened and a new stage of it is just beginning.

  Okay, now I am going to go play futbol with my students one last time.

  

  Some students and teachers gave me a custom Chivas jersey to celebrate my time at Lincoln. It was a really thoughtful gesture. I love it. Okay… time to play.

  

  July 5, 2023

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• Packing it in before pack it up

  Before a massive photo dump, I want to share that, rain has finally arrived! It started a few weeks later than normal and the heat has been worse than any other year according to seasoned Guadalajarians (thats probably not a word). But, just all of a sudden, the faucet has been turned on and we can generally expect nightly rains each day until we leave. The rain has cooled off everything a bit and also kicks growing into high gear. It really is a wonderful climate here in this part of Mexico.

  

  Just so you know, I leave Guadalajara July 11th and will be driving the Mexico portion of the trip with Angel. At the border on the 12th, we will meet a Hopester who is driving our old church van to the border with a bunch of ministry equipment in it that will be a blessing to our school, church and other individuals serving the Lord here. Angel will drive the van and its contents back to Guadalajara and I will return to Wichita with the Hopester and Charlie (our dog). It is weird to type those details. It is happening! Less than two weeks!

  Our time has been punctuated with packing and parties (and I expect the remaining days to be much of the same) so let me present a plethora of photos to show everything.

  Photo dump!!!!

  

  On Father’s Day we went to a different church, as we were invited by a student and got to see him help lead worship on the keys!

  

  Father’s Day Fun!

  

  Had to enjoy some delicious Apple Pie for Father’s Day!

  

  A cool Lego mosaic of notable places and things in Guadalajara at a Lego store

  

  I love this pic of Lena at a Father’s Day thing at her school. She was dancing and singing to a special Father’s Day song.

  

  Escape Room! So I created another escape room challenge for my students. This one had a fun theme and I made it pretty challenging.

  

  Escape Room fun:)

  

  Team work makes the dream work!

  

  Teams were able to solve it in about 30-40 minutes and the winning class got to shave my beard:)

  

  Saying goodbye to one of my classes in a fun way:)

  

  And Mrs. Hershey joined in too!

  

  We invited a few students to eat at a Harry Potter themed restaurant:)

  

  The girls got a kick out of it!

  

  The beautiful neighborhood surrounding our school… the most peaceful, pretty place to go for a walk… or a swim in the fountain if you are a dog photobombing our picture

  

  Mixing it up with some of the students on the soccer field at club:)

  

  Some of my futbol-playing dudes! And a clean(ish)-shaven me after the Escape Room winners were done with me

  

  A time of worship and prayer with Mrs. Hershey. It was an emotional goodbye as these 9th graders have had some special times together.

  

  And… just walking down the street after getting me a bag of eggs, as one does here. The things we will miss about Mexico!!

  Hopefully some of these pictures can help you experience some of our life right now! We also hosted a fun evening with teachers/spouses last night, I had dinner with a good teacher friend, there are many graduation celebrations and now we are headed over to a students’ house for some fellowship… We are really packing things in! It’s good stuff! Thanks for your support as this crazy, fun, challenging, and fulfilling season draws to a close for us!

  June 28, 2023

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• Four Fun Facts about teaching at our school!

  As our family withers away in the heat (no rain in sight yet), I’m trying to be thankful and soak in all things I will know I will miss about teaching this special year.

  Fact #1: It is a ton of fun just hanging out with these Jr. High Students

  

  I have loved getting to know my Junior High Students this year. They are at a stage in life where they are growing independent, discovering their gifts, figuring out who they will be and making decisions for the Lord. I feel they are at a crucial time in their life and it has been a lot of fun teaching them, cheering them on, and coaching them in life. On a lot of Wednesdays I’ve been able to go to a sports club with them and either give a devotional or lead a small group of 8th grade guys and always play some futbol (soccer). Always made time for futbol!

  In the picture above, I had the opportunity to speak about the “Father Heart” of God to my Junior High Students. It was a good time as I shared my experiences as a dad as well as how I’ve experienced the Heavenly Father’s kindness, goodness and discipline in my own life. A group of students mobbed me with a big hug afterwards. It will be awesome to continue to see them grow-up (from afar) and see what the Lord has for each of their lives!

  

  I was able to go out for afternoon tacos with a teacher friend (Mr. Isai) and some of my 8th grade dudes… “Quatro Tacos por favor”… I’ll miss these tacos, but these guys even more!

  

  Sarah was able to host another outing at our house for the 8th grade girls. It was so much fun to hear all of the laughter and chatting!

  Fact #2: It is amazing to teach the Bible to so many students who need to hear it!

  

  One of my 7th grade classes:)

  

  The other 7th grade class with their Story of Scripture charts! We tried to pack a lot in this year:)

  About half the kids are Christians at our school and it was such a privilege to be able to bring the Gospel to all 88 of them. We had fun learning together in the classroom. I definitely learned a lot about being a teacher. It was a love/hate relationship. I’m not good at the details, lesson plans, grading, and some of that stuff, but I do enjoy tackling questions in class, having fun with the students and challenging them. Some weren’t all that into the class, but others were really engaged and have given me encouraging feedback. If I was to teach again next year, I would be better prepared with even more of plan, now knowing what works and doesn’t work.

  Fact #3: Spying on your daughters at school is the best!

  Every day is “take your daughter to work day” with our schedule. With the school being so open, I easily see Norah at PE, recess, lunch, library and around the school and on special occasions I get some glimpses of Lena doing her thing as well.

  

  Norah in the library:)

  

  Gym class!

  

  Norah and Lena hanging out with staff kids before school!

  

  Lena’s Birthday Celebration at school… 6!!!

  

  Lena at Spanish tutoring. If you speak to her in Spanish, chances are she will understand all of it. It blows my mind how much she has learned this year.

  Fact #4: We celebrate the wins! Our school (and Mexican culture in general) goes big for celebrations!

  Our school is celebrating their 50th year in existence! Woohoo! Congrats Lincoln! It has been fun being apart of this landmark year. Due to Hope’s generosity, we have been able to help provide funds for new computers, technology equipment and a new portable sound system for the school. Thank you Hope! Last night at our big 50th year party, the school administrators recognized and celebrated those gifts. It was a great celebration. I’m proud of the work that our school is doing and pray that God continues to bless them. They are looking for land or a new school because they have outgrown their current space and are also paying a premium renting it as well. We ask prayers for help in that regard.

  

  Our big celebration!

  

  Can you find Lena?

  

  Mrs. Hershey playing a shocking game with some of her 9th grade students!

  I let a student who had a birthday try to pie me in the face at the celebration:)

  

  And I did a little boxing too!

  It was a big, busy, tiring week (including a 14+ hour day yesterday working) but we are grateful about all the relationships we are able to continue to invest in as we wrap up our time in Mexico. Thanks, as always, for following along!

  June 16, 2023

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