Happy pictures

Just a few pictures that make me happy.

The lovely Senorita Sandra makes me smile. She experiences something everyday that few people can grasp, complete dependance on the kindness of others. Despite her severe Cerebral Palsy ,which leaves her unable to do so many things we take for granted, she has a beautiful inspiring spirit and a very intelligent mind. She is fluent in 2 languages, writes her own worship music, and consistently exudes a spirit of joy and a love for the Lord.

Kenya can't help but make me smile. Her innocence and uninhibited energy keeps her teachers on their toes. I love her camera poses! Smile Kenya....or do that. :)

Childrens Prayer Service

Once a month the childrens home has a special child lead prayer and update time in the chapel.
Generally a couple children from each of the "Casa's" (households) says something that they are thankful for, shares how God has worked in their life the past month, or requests prayer for a certain situation.
The above picture is of one of the housemothers with three of the children in her casa.

Our boy Alejandro decided to come sit with his Tio Nathanael.

I love this service. It really gives the rest of the staff a chance to get to know the kids a little better.
Some of the things that stand out the most in my memory was a teenage girl sharing about the recent death of her mother. Her strength and maturity astounded me as she expressed genuine gratitude to God for her many blessings. She requested that we pray for her strength and comfort as she seeks God's purpose for her life without her mother.

Three children ask prayer for their mother who has been very ill. Their mother worked in the kitchen here at the orphanage for many years. She is currently battling some kind of devastating illness and her children are now living here "because she knew we would be safe". Please pray for Alma. Her children need her to recover.

A little girl with cerebral palsy shared "What it is like to be a child with a disability". This little girl whom I have known and adored for 4 1/2 years now broke my heart. She shared how badly it hurts when some kids mock her or are cruel. She shared how it feels to watch the other children swinging on the swings and sliding down the slides, wishing she could do it herself. She has a dream of walking without her walker and asked if we could pray that her legs would grow stronger and that her balance would improve.

Little Brenda certainly had my daughters attention as she shared what it was like to be disabled. We had a long discussion about it later. It is evident as I talked to my daughter ,and got a glimpse of her compassion, that experiences like being here this winter are shaping who she is and the woman she will become. She was baffled to find out that some children and even adults find it uncomfortable to interact with people who are different from them or have some sort of disability. She is so at ease and natural around the kids here who have disabilities. Wheel chairs and walkers are a common sight. She realizes that a girl with Spina Bifida is a girl just like her, with the same kinds of hopes, hurts and interests as any other little girl.....her legs just don't work the same.

I wrote about last months Childrens Service in another post and mentioned that two children here had a special prayer request that a family member would come and visit them. They have gone several years without a visitor. As you can see that is a majority of their life.

Just to show what an amazing God we serve I have an update.

This past visitation day these two children , pictured below, received a surprise visit from an aunt they had never met. A sister of their father. Their "house dad" Eduardo shared with us this incredible answer to prayer. Something as simple as a visit from a relative....meeting an aunt for the first time was something huge to these kids. I am so thrilled for them! I hope and pray that this relative will continue to visit and get to know these two precious children.

Aili insisted on wearing her new Mexican dress to the special service last week. She asked one of the people in charge if she could have a turn to share too. I new she wanted to go up, but I didn't know what she had planned on talking about. It was so cute. She was so brave and looked like such a big girl up there behind the podium.
The person translating was so used to translating from Spanish to English that she repeated Aili's first sentence in English instead of translating it into spanish. This resulted in chuckles of amusement from the audience. Poor Aili thought everyone was laughing at her (notice the red cheeks) but she continued as if nothing had happened. I only found out how rattled she was after she burst into tears afterwards. I assured her it wasn't her everyone had laughed at. She said something like:
"This is our last "day of prayer" here in Mexico. This has been a very good experience for me and my family. I learned a lot of Spanish. Sometimes it was hard to be away from home but I know God was with me the whole time."
Then she went on to thank God for keeping Silas safe. That day and the day before had been hard on little Silas. In two days he had been backed into by a truck, had a nasty fall, and climbed up a stack of 20 lb cement blocks only to have a couple tumble down on top of him. I think his guardian angel was working overtime. Aili's description of accidents and resulting injuries not only turned my cheeks red but they provoked more gasps and laughter from the audience causing Aili's face to turn even more red. It was pretty cute.
Right now, my 8 year old who seems to be going on 18 is preparing a lesson plan for her class of students. She recently assembled a group of orphanage kids and is regularly teaching English to them. She has props, stickers, homework, and prizes all in her teachers bag. I just shake my head and chuckle (when she's not looking of course!). She's such a little leader and teacher already...whats she going to do in 20 years?

Horny Toad

Science class?

I think I will consider our discovery of a very large horny toad part of our schooling today.
That way I can justify calling in sick for the rest of it.

I think our pet was a little under the weather too. He was breathing but barely moving.
We decided we should let go take a nap under a tree.
I think I was actually a little jealous of the sleepy toad.
A nap sounds pretty good right now.

Chabella

Presenting the star of the show Senorita Chabella.

Rescued as a tiny baby and brought to the childrens home.
Loved by all who know her.

We first met Chabby 4 1/2 years ago. She and Aili were neighbors when they were both little girls.
Because she requires a lot of love and extra special care she has her own caregiver at the childrens home. There have been several different people who have taken on the challenging role of being Chabella's mommy (and sometimes daddy). Each of them still love her dearly. Currently a young lady from Canada is her mama. She does a great job!
Chabela is interactive, speaks some words and knows a ton of sign language.
She is always ready for big hugs!
She can't help but put a smile peoples faces.

I am going to miss this girl!

I just noticed her shirt

Chabella

Jesus loves me.

Yes, he does. I know she puts a big smile on his face too.

Betty's Babies

This little sweetheart is baby Max. He is most definately a heart melter! He's a flirtatious little snuggler.
There is a retired couple here who have been serving for several years taking care of special needs babies who are not able to go into the general nursery. Betty, who will be a great grandmother soon, amazes me with her willingness to sacrifice sleep, time and big chunks of her heart day after day for these precious little ones. The rows of little framed faces that cover one wall of her house testify to just how many sleepless nights she has had over the years, how many hours she has spent in a rocking chair and the unimaginable number of bottles she has washed and filled. That is love in the nitty gritty of dirty diapers, screaming colic and a sink full of dirty bottles.

As a foster mother, I also see in each one of those little faces a piece of Betty and Phil's heart. So many goodbyes. In one of our recent conversations about the pain involved in "goodbyes" she said that every time it hurts and every time she knows she'll do it again, loving the little ones God gives her. She will leave the heart mending to God. She said there is no way she can heal herself from all the losses, she'll let God do it in heaven.

She has had quite a few of her babies die, some go back to family, and some get adopted. I have only experienced holding one baby who's spirit had already gone to heaven....I can't imagine several. Betty and Phil recently said goodbye to a little girl who came into their care at a few weeks old. She was three when she left. I can't imagine. That would be like passing Silas to a stranger and walking away.

I said goodbye to 3 babies this past year and my heart still aches for them on occasion. I think about them. I wonder where they are. I pray for them. I say silent happy birthday's to them. Just a taste of that makes me look at this woman with so much respect and compassion. At the same time assurance that God continues to provide a limitless resource of his love for these little ones.

At 10 months old little max is doing so well. He was so very tiny when when we arrived 5 months ago. Non existent pre-natal nurturing, being sold and abandoned at only days old left this precious boy in a state of "failure to thrive" among other problems. He was rescued and brought to Betty when he was a few weeks old (mas o menos). When I first met him he resembled a newborn more than he did a baby who "should" have been a chubby, playing, sitting baby. He is growing though, getting stronger, and devoloping at his own pace. He is now off of the feeding tube and takes a bottle. He is already exceeding expectations and I know he will continue to amaze us all. He will do life in his way, in his timing.

Miss Celina was brand new when we arrived in October. A tiny newborn girl with a cleft lip and and gorgeous eyes.
She has thrived under Betty's care and has even had her first surgery.
Isn't she beautiful?

I don't think Betty knows how much I look up to her but if you haven't already figured it out, she is basically my hero. I don't think I've ever met a more humble woman, she would be totally embarrassed if she knew how much I admire her.

I am somewhat unabashedly fascinated by Celina and the care of her cleft lip/palate. I think I've asked Betty enough questions about Celina's colic, her feeding, her breathing, her surgeries and everything else that comes with caring for a baby born with a cleft lip/palate to classified as a very annoying person. I think when I look at Celina , in a way, I see my Samuel. Maybe that's why I find it all fascinating. He didn't live long enough to be fed with a special bottle, to keep me awake with colic, or to be scheduled for surgery. I find myself emotionally cheering her on.

As we are counting down the days until we return to Canada I am trying to savor, to experience, to mentally capture as much as I can. I let my eyes rest on each of the children a little longer. I hug a little tighter.

As I snuggled little max I began to long to begin our baby fostering again. We have gone about 8 months without a baby now and although I am now enjoying sleeping through the night (Silas is finally leaving me alone at night) I miss everything else that goes along with it.

To help care for some of God's precious little ones click

here.

More from our day in Ensenada

In case you wonder whats in the bags. I'm porking out on homemade (obviously not by me) potato chips drenched in "chili" and lime. The other bag is a little ceramic wall plaque that says
"El domingo
la reyna no cocina"

Had to have it. It totally backs up my sentiment about not having to cook on Sundays.

Little road trips are great for getting to know new staff. They didn't even get puked on!

Silas scored a little guitar from his trip to La Bufadora. We bought Roman the same guitar (although wood colored) when he was 2 years old on our last big trip to Mexico. I guess its a tradition now.
The fact that Silas has his own guitar will come in handy when Roman gets a real big kid guitar on his next birthday. Both my budding musicians will be able to serenade me to their hearts content.

Spontaneous trip north

Yesterday we were informed/decided we should take a trip to Ensenada for visa purposes. We decided to make it into a fun little spontaneous outing. We took along two other staff women. One is from North Carolina and one is from Switzerland. We also took along our girl that we sponsor, Magai.

As usual the 2 1/2 hour trip took a little longer due to stopping for car sickness, bathroom breaks (I use the term "bathroom" very loosely), and to rinse out the coffee can. If you don't remember what my coffee can is for you can visit my post about our trip to Bahia de Los Angeles. Once again, I gave all my kids and myself Dramamine before we set out on the winding mountain highway (we only ever have problems with car sickness on the Baja highway). The only one I overlooked was Magai. We picked her up from her Casa and it didn't occur to me at the time to drug someone else's child. The poor girl is SO shy and quiet she didn't say a word about not feeling well, despite me asking on a few occasions, until it was too late. I was quick on the draw with the coffee can and baby wipes though. I was rather proud of myself and my puke catching prowess. Really I should be able to put that kind of thing on a resume someday. After two separate bouts of needing the coffee can we arrived at La Bufadora.

We did some strolling and souvenir shopping in the tiny little tourist trap town. It has an amazing view and is set right on some rugged cliffs next to the ocean. Since we will be leaving Mexico soon I allowed the kids to each get something we can take back to Canada with us. La Bufadora is also known for its "blow hole". The picture of my three kids watching the water spray out is so classic.
Can you tell which one is cautious?
Which one is exceedingly sensible?
Which one is overly curious and fearless?
I think Roman would have bounced right over the edge if I hadn't been there to dampen his enthusiasm.

As you can see Aili got her hair braided. I am thrilled that we can go for at least a week without our daily mother/ daughter hair battle. She was very brave the whole time. She is the girl who has always hated having her hair combed, washed or touched at all. Aili also got a pretty little Mexican style sun dress as a souvenir and to wear to the upcoming orphanage annual Tea Party. More on that later. She is very pleased with her new dress and stated "It isn't even scratchy". It passed the Aili sensitivity test.

To add to our somewhat exciting and mis-adventurous trip, Silas was literally backed into by a truck. We were all standing around looking at the displays outside one of the stalls. The little shops are all lined up along both sides of a narrow street which is mostly used for shoppers. Not very many cars pass by. I was standing holding Silas' hand looking at some overpriced trinkets when I heard "Look out!" and saw a flash of green in my peripheral vision. In that second I reacted by lifting Silas up off the ground by his arm just as a truck backed right into him. Because I was holding his hand he merely bounced off the tail lights toward me. If he had been standing next to me not holding my hand (he rarely ever wants to hold my hand) he would have been backed right over. Yikes! Daddy flipped out a little. I had an attack of coronary palpitations. The Americano in the truck apologized. Apparently he was trying to turn the truck around on the hill in a narrow street. I felt kind of bad for him actually.

Once we had our fill of aggressive vendors we drove half an hour north to Ensenada. We haven't been north at all since we drove down the Baja in October. We went to a specific area with a shopping center that looks like San Diego or any other American city. I stepped out of the car in aww of all the curbs and pavement. All the "normal" looking buildings and "normal" stores and restaurants. It was like stepping back into a different world. Walmart, Starbucks, HomeDepot, Costco, Subway, Scotiabank, Applebees....so many familiar things. As I woke Silas up and pulled him out of his car seat he looked around blinking "mommy! Where aw we?" We took the kids to MacDonalds and they each got a "Cajita Feliz" (Happy meal...actually Happy box). It was the first time Magai had been to McDonalds.

Walking into the Super Walmart was another experience for us altogether. It was a little overly exciting for some of us but I managed to restock some basic items without too much humiliation. It's good to know how much is available only a few hours from where we live. Good to know for the next time we come to Mexico anyway.


Oh and I almost forgot to say that we bought coffee...fancy coffee from a coffee place! It even came in the nifty cups with the plastic sippy lid. mmmm.

Only those people who have ever paid $2 for a shot glass sized cup of lukewarm water of questionable origin and a dish of instant coffee mix will appreciate our enthusiasm of a piping hot cappuccino.