Thank you to our surrogate grandparents

After Christmas we had the privileged of meeting several people that are using their retirement years to serve God and others. The "RV'ers" usually start arriving the first of the year and continue to roll in and out of the mission until spring.

We were a little worried that the new retirees wouldn't appreciate their rowdy noisy neighbors.

I was pleasantly surprised that our new neighbors not only tolerated my kids but loved on and invested into their lives this winter.

One of the difficult things about deciding to follow God's calling in our life, pack up our family and spend six months in a foreign country was sacrificing certain things. It's one thing to sacrifice for myself but ,as any parent knows ,making your kids give up certain things or lack certain things is much harder. Taking my kids away (for a time) from a very close relationship with my parents was something that weighed on my heart.

God proved to all of us in such a tangible and special way how , when we step out in and actually trust Him, he is able to abundantly provide for our most basic needs. Even just the need of an eight year old girl to have a girl chat with someone other than mom. The need of a little boy to "help"and learn all kinds of things from someone willing to answer a million questions. The need of a mom and dad to go out alone together while a trusted "grandma" puts the kids to bed.

We are so grateful for all the hugs, time, long chats, patience, silliness and even popsicles that our kids were recipients of this winter. These people worked hard all day in their various jobs but still found the energy and desire to minister to our family as well. We made some very dear friends.

Thankyou for your all the time spent playing Uno with Aili, helping Roman with his reading, teaching Aili to knit, taking the kids for nature walks, showing them around the clinic, babysitting.......

I could go on and on.

To sum it up thankyou for making them feel special and for making this winter so much easier for them.

On the road again

Driving back up the Baja Peninsula. The grass is lush and tall and the wild flowers are blooming everywhere. This is definitely not the same landscape we saw on the drive down.

Aili has taken up knitting which is a good way to keep her busy fingers, busy.

The border crossing. Leaving Mexico behind.

Its really a shame that we don't see these north of the border. Where else can you find a giant flaming Mary statue or an un-liscenced Curious George?

or a large rooster?

On a more serious note. Crossing over into the U.S and leaving behind everything familiar has been harder than I anticipated. Not that I'm not enjoying public bathrooms with not only toilet seats but paper seat covers but it's strange how foreign and even overwhelming everything looked. Going from rural Mexico into the bustling city of San Diego is a bit of an extreme change. I turned my Spanish worship up loud and held on to the last bit of my life in Mexico that I could.

We spent Sunday and Monday night at an rv park in the San Diego area. We spent the day yesterday hanging out at Mission beach and visiting an old school amusement park and video arcades.

Silas' first impressions of the U.S compared to rural Baja.

"That is a BIG side walk" (The first large paved parking lot we parked in)

"Someone needs to sweep this patio!" (another , possibly dirtier, paved parking lot)

"That girl is wearing her underwear" (A woman in short shorts)

"That girl is naked!" (A woman in short shorts and a tube top)

It's been funny to watch the kids readjust to a different environment, and I admit at times a little embarassing. It was also a lot of fun to spend the day just enjoying each other. Our focus was just on our own kids and our family. For almost 6 months our focus has been on so many other kids and ministries that it was good for all of us to just re-group and enjoy each other.

We will be pulling out of California and making our way toward Canada this morning. We do have some reminders of Mexico and are setting of a "bug bomb" in our trailer while we are all in our car travelling. The sand fleas got really bad before we left Mexico, I suspect the recent warmer weather and the wet winter made the sand fleas were pretty happy. We haven't had more than a couple little bites all winter but the last few weeks have been miserable. If you have ever been bit by a flea, and reacted to it, you know how intense and horrible the itching is. Aili is covered from head to toe right now in bites. They seem to only like her, me, and Silas has a couple bites. They are picky I guess. Poor Aili looks like she has chicken pox! Anyone who knows would understand how desperate and miserable we are if I am willing to spray chemicals all over my mobile home. I still don't know if its the right thing to do but bringing a trailer full of fleas home with us isn't an option. We may have only picked up one little flea but they have an unnerving way of multiplying.

I know to anyone who hasn't lived in a place like rural Mexico the idea of fleas is pretty gross. I have a clean ,frequently washed and vacuumed trailer (fortunately with no carpets) and my kids bath daily and have all winter. I guess its the price we pay when we are hugging kids that live in a poverty stricken area and running around in the Baja sand and dirt. We'll chalk it up to a missionary experience. :)

So many goodbyes

This past weekend was full of so many goodbyes as we prepared to pull our trailer out of the spot it had been parked since October. Here are a few friends in neighboring trailers (staff housing) that came to see us off...or make sure we left. I told them I snapped the picture to prove that we had friends. :)

The day before we left Mexico we drove up to Santa Fe again to say goodbye to all the kids up there. There are now 10 children living in the same household. It's been a great way to pass on extra clothing and lighten our load home. A few of the cousins and Minerva didn't make it into the picture. The older girls were washing their hair. I think they were making their own little salon in memory of the events of the previous day.

We doled out lots of hugs to our 5 kids and as well as to the 4 other "primas" (girl cousins) who have also started calling us "Tia and Tio".

After the tea party our last two evenings and day included going out to dinner with some good friends, having a backyard bbq with more of our amigos, and visiting our favorite casa. Oh, and a whole lot of work! Packing, sorting, organizing , cleaning, ......

I'm missing the kids already!

Some very dear friends of ours. The houseparents of Casa 4 made us feel very welcome and opened their home and their lives to us right from the start.

Mireya (I don't know if I spelled that right) has been a confidant, a prayer partner, and a person whose arms are always eager for a big hug. She works so hard and loves the many children in her household despite serious health problems.

"Goodbye Teacher Aili!"

That was the chant as we left the house that evening. Aili has been teaching Casa 4 an English class for the last couple months.

Some more girls that I'm really going to miss! These ones came out to our trailer to say goodbye Sunday morning.

Have I eve mentioned I hate goodbyes?

I prefer "nos vemos" or hasta ano proximo"

I hope we will see them all again in the not too far away future.

Little Girls

Girls at the tea party doing what comes naturally while wearing a poofy dresses.

My sweet Minerva. I am so glad that we were able to make this special memory before our winter together came to an end.

Each of the girls walked through the arches , was presented by their full name and then escorted down the steps by our administrator Mario. Every princess needs to be treated like a lady by a handsome prince. It was such a great way to honor the girls and make them feel special.

Beautiful Magai and Nieves.

Brenda and Dahlia looking fabulous.

Some more glamorous girls from the Children's Home.

Girls waiting for their grand entrance.

Two little princesses from the Daycare. The children who attend the day care come from some of the poorest homes and communities. I was so glad to see that all the girls from the "guardaria" were able to attend. They showed up in their little Disney princess dresses looking so cute.

Anyone have used princess or flower girl dresses that you don't know what to do with?

How about making a little girl feel beautiful.

Back home we are so surrounded by princess stuff...it gets sickening actually. Little girls have no shortage of dresses, gowns and tiaras. Little girls back home have rooms full of toys, play jewelry, and dolls.

These little girls live in shacks made of scrap material, cardboard and plastic, no running water, and usually no electricity. They wear clothes we wouldn't use as rags, and go barefoot in cold weather. Whole families share one small mattress laid on the damp dirt floor.

Every little girl, no matter where she comes from wants to feel pretty, to feel special and to feel that they are valued. If they are not made to feel those things in healthy ways , especially by the men in their life, they will eventually find unhealthy ways to fill those voids. They will only live up to what they feel they are worth in life.

Carmela and Minerva ready to dig in!

Carmela enjoying her first tea party, possibly her first party of any kind.

The "old theatre" was beautifully decorated and each girl received a little party favor at the end of the party.

Aili and Judy. Two "staff kids" at the mission/orphanage.

Gorgeous little girls. One is the daughter of staff and one is the daughter of a student at the Bible Institute.
A former staff member sent down a box full of tiaras, fans and other pretty little accesories for all the girls.

Carla's Beauty Salon

This past Friday was our annual "Fiesta de Te" (Tea Party) for the girls at the orphanage.
I made arrangements to not only bring my daughter but two girls from Santa Fe as well. Two girls who call me "Tia".

I brought them back to our place to shower and get ready for the event.
It was a first time experience for Carmela showering in a real shower with warm running water.
It was also a first time experience for me combing, blow drying and making beautiful lice infested hair.

Our salon treatment began with a "special" shampoo. I told them that their "little friends" weren't invited to the party and that we needed to chase them away. They thought that was pretty funny.

Ahead of time I packed them each a little bag to take with them down to the staff showers/bathrooms that included a towel and a little toiletry pack filled with hygeine essentials...and a few beautifying luxeries as well.

Back at the trailer we snacked on apples and cookies (we missed lunch) while we blow-dried, combed and quickly got ready. The girls got a kick out of the "hot wind mashine".

I managed to find two dresses for the girls and pairs of shoes for the girls to wear. Aili wore the dress we bought a few weeks ago in Ensenada. She looks like snow princess next to the other girls. I guess thats the reason she usually wears brighter colors.

Three princesses ready for the ball.

When we went to pick up the two girls Alvaro, I guess there had been a bit of a misunderstanding because Alvaro was ready and eager to come too. I explained that it was a "girl only" party but after seeing how crushed he looked Tio decided he should come spend the day with the boys. Tio Nathanael was on kid duty that afternoon anyway. Alvaro enjoyed visiting with his amigos at the orphanage (where he spent several months last year) , saying hola to his old house parents, and gorging himself at the cafeteria. It was nice for the guys to spend that time together before we left.

Check out the jeans on Alvaro. They are Romans hand-me-downs. Alvaro is 11...Roman is 6. The jeans are a boys size 6. Thats a very tiny 11 year old! I'm glad they fit him so well though.

Day Home water park

A couple sprinklers, a hose, and a slide made for a fun afternoon for some very deserving kids.

The last couple days have been a blur of activity. I can't even begin to write it all down right now. So many things I want to share and write here so I can look back and remember what amazing things we are experiencing...but I am still too busy experiencing them :)

I'm sure I'll be reminiscing and processing it all here in the days ahead.

Until then ,here is a glimpse.

Spring celebration

Spiderman taking a stroll with a bumble bee boy.
Not something you see every day.

Every spring the kids in the "guardaria" (daycare) dress up in donated costumes and give us a little parade. Silas sporting his own costume, not exactly sticking to the fairies and animals theme, decided to join them for part of the procession.

Since we are celebrating spring I had to show off one of the strangest and most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. The big tree at the "tiendita"(snack shop) is flowering and loaded with these. They resemble something out of a Dr. Suess movie not something that should be on a real tree.

Directly under the colorful tree are two super heros on a cookie break.