It was a brisk hazy morning. I rolled out of bed as the sun began to peek over the horizon, and through my bedroom window. After showering and getting dressed, I stumbled out the door a few minutes before six to meet Tom Crosby who would be driving the two of us to the border.

As he rolled up in his massive SUV, he rolled down the window, and asked, “Do you have your passport?” Grumbling to myself, I went back in to find my passport, and get into the car.

By 6:05 we were en route to Tijuana. The blood orange full moon was setting over the mountains in the west reminding me that we had to be back in Arcadia by 4:30 so I could MC the Chinese Moon Festival event at the Arboretum.

Tom and I exchanged casual conversation as we sped toward our Rendezvous pint in San Diego, a McDonalds near the TJ border where we met up with the Notorious Rotary Amigo, Dick Martinez.

After our finishing our Luxurious McMuffins, and McCoffee, the three of us drove to the border parking lot, and proceeded to walk across the border, where we met up with our TJ Rotary Amigos, <name> and <name> who were waiting for us in a blue Jeep Cherokee.

We piled in and headed to our first site, a small rundown elementary, and kindergarten on the outskirts of Tijuana. It was a Saturday so there were no kids at the school. We got out and looked around at the grounds which amounted to dirt playground with a dilapidated chain-link fence, a few Classrooms that were marginally equipped with a whiteboard, desks, and chairs for about 30 students, bathrooms with no running water, that had fallen into such a state of disrepair that four Port-o-potty, outhouses had been brought in provide an alternative.

After taking some photos and looking around for about 15 minutes we piled back into the can and headed to our next site, an all-girls orphanage at the end of a dirt road which houses girls between the ages of 6 and 18. When we got out of the car we were greeted with hugs and thanks by all the girls, and the director <name> followed behind to welcome us, and show us around the grounds. The girls went back to their activates, some sitting and enjoying the shade provided by the Patio Cover Our club had built last year, others preparing a little lunch for themselves.

Tom took measurements for a second Patio Cover which we will be building when we go down with the Club on the first Weekend in January 2013, while <Name> downloaded Photos of the schools and orphanages where the beds donated by Philip Clark, (founder and principal of Arroyo Pacific Academy in Arcadia) and Frank Griffith, (Arcadia Rotarian and Founder of Sitmore and Doolittle consulting) were being used by orphans and school children in Tijuana. (thanks again to the hard work of our Rotarians who showed up to load the trucks that came up from Mexico to take the beds back to Tijuana)

Because of our time constraints we were unable to visit a few other schools and orphanages where our TJ Amigos had planned to take us, so we headed back to the Border where we decided after a 2 hour wait that we should all set about getting passport cards so we could avoid the long wait on the way back next time.

After Crossing back into California, Tom and I sped back to Arcadia, battling some lite traffic so I could shower, Change and get up on stage to welcome in the Harvest Moon, and the wonderful, Dancers, singers and musicians who helped to keep the Chinese traditions alive here in Arcadia.

During the drive we were quiet, a little tired from the hours of travel, and focused on reaching our destination, I thought to myself: Where else can a person go, and find people who will volunteer their time and effort to make it possible for us to make a positive impact on the lives of those who are less fortunate than us? While this is only one of the thousands of projects that are going on all the time through rotary, this experience helped me understand how organizations like Rotary help us grow as individuals by serving others who need and appreciate our efforts, and how through Rotary we can, as Albert Einstein said, Lead lives of value, rather than just chasing success.

Heartfelt thanks goes out to Dick Martinez, Tom Crosby, Eric Barter who couldn’t make it for health reasons, All the members of Arcadia Rotary and our Rotary Amigos south of the border who work so hard to support an organization that made this trip possible.