Alyssa's border town

Piedras Negras is a Mexican border town, across the Rio Grande from Eagles Pass, Texas. This is Alyssa's 2nd home, she loves the people there. Her first mission trip was between her freshman and sophomore year of high school. Our church took a mission trip, and she has been going back to Mexico every chance she gets.


Alyssa began studying spanish in kindergarten, and she had a gift for linguistics...we saw that immediately. She was fortunate to have spanish throughout most of elementary school and then continued through high school. Her minor in college is spanish. She spent 7 weeks last summer in Costa Rica, teaching english in an elementary school. God has gifted her for not only a love for the spanish language but for the people that speak the language.

I cannot count the number of times Alyssa has gone to Mexico, but it is typically every summer and sometimes at Christmas. The organization she works with is Hands and Feet Ministries, it is based in Adairsville Georgia. The first few times she took the 2 day road trip to Mexico. Christmas of her senior year we put her in a van on Christmas night with people we did not know and they drove all night. The picture below is from this summer, but the two on the left are Zac & Katherine Roland...two of the ones she rode with that Christmas. Their two boys are Shepherd & Avery. The others in the picture are Chris (right), a summer intern with Hands & Feet and Julio, a local that Alyssa hangs out with, and skypes with when she is in Rome.

Zac & Katherine left Calhoun Georgia to work with the school in Nava (pictured here). This is a private school that Hands & Feet helps support. Alyssa was able to spend one of her three weeks teaching in Nava. She lived with the Roland family, Chris, & several dogs.

Praying before lunch at the Nava School. This is often the only meal the children get, and according to Alyssa it isn't much, but they are grateful.

Alyssa typically flies into San Antonio and someone will pick her up at the airport. One year we put her on a plane on Christmas night and a pastor in San Antonio took her to his home where she spent the night until someone from Piedras could pick her up the next day. We always trust God will take care of her no matter how she travels!

Alyssa is considered an intern when she works in Piedras. She helps coordinate mission groups that come to minister. They do VBS in the summer and have birthday parties for Jesus at Christmas. They also work on construction projects, such as drywall, tiling floors and painting. Here are some children helping paint.

Alyssa pays her own way when she goes to Mexio, though we usually pick up the tab for the flight. She did raise support when she went over spring break of this year, and the response was amazing!

Throughout Alyssa's life she has had great examples of mission work. She was in Girls in Action in elementary school and attended Camp Pinnacle where she learned more about missions. As college students graced our home, they were often talking about mission trips they had taken. She saw faith in action. She saw young people who influenced her to go to the nations.

People ask me how I feel about Alyssa going to live & work in a border town. I tell them that eventually I will get a passport so I can visit her. I know that if she is doing what God called her to do, then she will be safe and God will provide. She is God's child, we just get to guide her and love her.