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.

A sneak peak

Homemade slide? Water?

Kids from the Day Home.....

To Be Continued....

Last Day of Preschool

Silas went to his last day of Betty's preschool. Yes, she is the same woman who also cares for special needs babies 24 hours a day.
She still finds the energy to teach a group of preschoolers 4 hours per week.
Silas has very much enjoyed his first preschool experience. He is such a classroom type of kid. So very different from his big brother at that age! He loves to sit and colour, do crafts, sing action songs and learn all the things kids learn in preschool. Having a little boy who does whatever the rest of the class is doing is a bit of a novelty for me.

It was such a good experience for him to have his own "school" and for me to have a few hours a week that I can do other ministry or work. The last two days I was able to work in the 'Day home for children with disabilities'. When preschool finished at 12 , Aili babysat him nearby until lunch break (1pm). Today, I was also able to spend the afternoon with the kids at the Day home.

The Preschool is in English so he didn't learn a whole lot of spanish there , other than how to say "MIO!" (MINE!) and other preschool survival banter.
The pre-school age kids from the orphanage come as well as some other staff children.

He came home this morning with a big piece of orange paper covered in snap shots of his time at preschool and a group picture. He proudly showed off his craft of the day, a kite, as well as a balloon with the words "Adios Silas!" on it. He also had an adorable stuffed monkey wrapped around his neck. Thankyou for loving on Silas Cristin and Betty! You made him feel pretty special today...and he loves the monkey.

Sweet kids from the Cuna (Nursery).

Afternoon at the river

What a day.

The sun was out. The wind was gone. It reached 25 degrees celcius.
Perfect weather for a holiday. Thankfully it was a national holiday today in Mexico.
We took full advantage of the situation and spent the afternoon at the river with friends.

Isn't the scenery amazing!
I've never seen "HR" rock that green. Usually this is a dry, dusty, sandy river bed. Because of the unusually wet weather we've had on the Baja a river is now flowing. There used to be all sorts of things in the river bed. Water wells, little shacks, roads...
They were all washed out along with the bridge.
The river is no longer a raging torrent but more of a shallow rippling stream.
Perfect for playing in.

We had a good time visiting with some friends of ours. Angelina works in the clinic at the mission here. We have known her and her family for 4 1/2 years now...since the last time we spent time here. It's been nice to re-kindle and solidify old friendships and also make new ones this winter.

There were quite a surprising number of people at the river this afternoon. A lot of families having picnics and enjoying the water.
There were also people taking advantage of the plentiful supply of water in other ways. Women were scrubbing clothes while kids lathered up their hair in the river.
I really like being here. I enjoy the culture, I love the food, I respect and appreciate the people....(gonna miss it).

On a completely random and somewhat unrelated topic....

I'm doing a lot of contemplation and processing as we come to the end of our time here.

I think because of what we have experienced here in Mexico, what we have read and seen reported from Haiti, and other drama we have been going through (outside of Mexico) my perspective has really broadened this past year.

I really don't think anything shocks me that much any more.

Poor living conditions make me sad but they don't horrify me , news reports upset me but don't surprise me, finding out people have sin or ugly secrets in their lives disapoints me but it no longer shocks me. I am no longer one of those people who gasp and say "It can't be!" (and then turn and look away at something more pleasant), because it can. This is the world we live in. I don't think I've become a cynic or jaded but just more aware of reality. Realism without God leads to despair. Realism with God includes hope.
People are people, people make bad choices, people have a sin nature. In this world there will be suffering.

Our world is full of both beauty and ugliness,

mercy and hatred,

good and evil,

forgiveness and bitterness,

joy and sorrow,

miracles and heartbreaks.

These contrasts exist not only in nature and in society, but in our very own hearts. I think that was a big turning point in my own heart, knowing and fully understanding my own condition.

There is no room for judgement and pride when we can look, in honesty, at our own hearts and realize that in the same situation, in those same shoes, with the same history....we might just do the same thing. Sometimes the contrasts co-exist in the same heart. One thing to keep in mind is that the side we nurture and feed eventually takes over. There will always be a war inside me...the spirit of God vs. the sin nature. Which one will we feed?

If we get to that point of honestly and humbly examining our own hearts.... all that's left for us is acceptance of the reality of who people really are. Then we are able to meet them where they are at in order to love the way Christ loves.
"Eat the meat and leave the bones."
I heard someone say that in refference to listening to less than great sermons. It's an intesting thought though.
Look for the good and leave the bad...because usually it's all in there mixed together. Don't throw it all away, but use discernment.

It's an interesting way to look at life and people too.
Look for the good in people, it's there somewhere.
It may be hiding behind a lot of undesirable behavior or history but its there.
Separate the sin from the sinner. Can we do that?
God did.

Anyway....I have no idea what that rabbit trail had to do with swimming in a river.
I've been doing lots of thinking lately, I guess, and as usual that usually spills over into my posts.

Maybe because this country that I've grown to love is full of such stark contrasts too.

A few pictures from last week

Last week we said goodbye to our jogging stroller.
It served us well for 8 1/2 years.
I hope it will now meet someone else's need for a few more years.

The kids and I went out to a nearby community with two Mexican friends of ours who work in "Alcance" (outreach). Each afternoon a group of staff split up to go out to different migrant labour camps and neighboring communities. They teach a little bible lesson (this week we learned about kindness), sing a bunch of fun actions songs, play games and then serve milk and peanut butter. I think each community and camp have their own specific day for class and have the same teacher each week. It was obvious the kids were excited about their class as they ran after the old Alcance van. They dashed out of homes and yards as we drove past announcing the class was about to begin . It was also obvious how much the teachers love each one of the kids and their ministry to them.

As you can see in the above picture, Aili was our milk server.

This is a picture of a Oaxacan woman kneeling and weaving their trademark colours into fabric to make a traditional dress. It is a very
tedious proccess. I don't think my knees (especially 7 months pregnant) would ever be able to unfold after kneeling on a cement floor for that long.
Little Louisa is standing behind her wearing one of the hand made sweaters the visiting group from Alberta left for them when they made the new house. Warm clothing is such a need here on the Baja of Mexico. There are some places that are notoriously hot, further from the ocean, or further south, but right here it gets very windy and cold. In the winter here it can hovor just above freezing which doesn't sound that cold compared to somewhere like Canada. It's more accurate to compare it to camping in Canada in October or in May...no heater, flimsy tent, and no sleeping bag. We still use the propane furnace in our trailer every night.

The work on the new "guardaria" (daycare) building is coming along quickly. They have already framed, wired and plumbed the inside and are now starting on dry wall.
The day care is a very important ministry here. Mothers here typically work long hard days in the strawberry fields just to make enough to provide some most basic neccesities for their families. Preschool age childen are left unattended, or older siblings are unable to go to school because they must watch the home and the younger siblings.
Early each morning the day care van picks up the enrolled preschoolers and brings them back to the guardaria. They are all bathed, given clean uniforms (while their other clothes are washed), taught a preschool curriculum, fed, nurtured and loved until they are dropped off back home in the afternoon.

Processing

My mind is full of scattered thoughts and my heart is full of feelings I can't make sense of. I am so conflicted about going home. In some ways I am looking forward to resuming my "normal" life but in a lot of ways it will be very hard to leave our life here. There will be a lot of goodbyes. We have 6 days left so maybe its a little early to be worried about missing people but I know those days will go by really fast. Thinking about gives me a little mini panic attack.

Life is so different there than it is here. I wonder what it will be like to go back to "normal". Will it feel like we never left or will it all feel very foreign. Like clothes that used to fit perfectly and when tried on again later ,just don't feel right at all. Is our other life going to fit us after our experiences here? I don't have a clue.

We spent a few hours visiting our kids up on the hill in Santa Fe. The kids who call me "Tia". I met the five new cousins (and the Aunt and Uncle) who recently moved into the shack/ hovel they moved out of. Ten kids all together basically living in the new little house...with a couple more babies on the way.

I didn't take my camera because I try to be careful not to appear that I am there for a photo shoot. I think that its important to be aware of the reality of peoples lives, but I don't think my pictures would ever really capture it . I also don't want to sensationalize ,or even worse, appear rude or arrogant when I am visiting someones home. I would be offended if someone came into my house and started taking pictures of parts of my house that aren't the nicest. The duct tape on my kitchen counter, cracks in the ceiling , or the grime in my laundry room. I assume they would also feel uncomfortable if I went around their home taking close ups of their horrendous living conditions.

I clicked a couple of mental snap shots today. Some heart warming, some heart breaking.
The sun setting on 11 children as they run up and down a dusty little road together jabbering in Triqui, Spanish and English.
Silas reaching over to hold little Ramiro's hand while four little ones walk down a hill with the ocean as their backdrop.
A pregnant mother painstakingly combing her little girls matted hair.
That same mother casually pulling lice out of her 3 year old daughters hair, biting them and spitting them onto the dirt.
Carmela's beautiful smile.
Carmela's heartbreaking tears.
Little bare feet with sores on them.
Alvaro running to a nearby tiendita to bring Nathanael and I each a bottle of orange soda.
My mental snap shots include skinny dogs, fences made of old tires and twigs, roaming roosters, dust, dirt, woodsmoke and filth.

I spent a lot of our time snuggling and talking to little Carmela. That girl has wrapped herself around her "Tia's" heart. She told me that I was her Tia (auntie) forever even when I go back to Canada. I assured her I would be for "siempre". Someday I will come back and I will come and find her for a hug. Her reaction to that assurance about broke my heart.
It's going to be hard to say goodbye to these kids. I miss them already and I was just there this afternoon.
I am SO excited for the princess "Tea Party" at the Children's Home on Friday!! It will be so fun to see Minerva and Carmela all dolled up for their first party. It will be an amazing way to celebrate our winter together and to say goodbye.

New School Uniforms!

In Mexico school uniforms are as essential for school attendance as pencils and notebooks. Without the appropriate uniform children cannot attend school.
Since leaving the Children's Home Minerva and Alvaro have began attending a school in their own neighborhood. At 11 and 13 they are both in 2nd grade. They had never, before being interned at Hogar Para Ninos, attended school. They were unable to pay the fees, buy the needed supplies and they were expected to watch the younger siblings.
They have been attending school without uniforms (because it is a very poor neighborhood they make acceptions temporarily) but they had a deadline to have the appropriate attire.
These two are loving going to school but I can't imagine how humiliating it must be for them to be dressed in rags when every other child has matching school uniforms. No child wants to stand out that way.
Some money was raised (by a Sunday school class I think) and given to a friend of ours , who helped to dig the foundation for the new house, to help these kids. We decided to spend the money on something that would have the most impact on their lives.
Education.
The key to bring their generation out of extreme poverty.
So many doors open up for them if they can manage to graduate highschool.

This morning we had the privaledge of taking Minerva and Alvaro out shopping at "globos" in San Quintin. It was such a fun little outing that included snacking on churros and bags of fresh fruit pieces (with chili and lime of course). After leaving the market we went for lunch at a taco stand. It was amusing to watch skinny little Alvaro wolf down a huge torta. It was fun to treat them in such a small way (each meal was less than $3) before we go home. I know they were hungry, fruit is a luxery, and a whole pile of beef on a bun (a torta) is more meat than that boy has seen ....well probably since the last time we took him out. It was kind of like old times. Us and our two extra kids. They are such sweet kids, so gracious and appreciative.
I can't even describe how thrilled they were about these new outfits. Can you see it on their faces?
Just watching them look themselves over with pride was so entertaining.
I was amazed at the transformation myself. They are such gorgeous kids.


Here is Alvaro trying on shoes at "globos". I had such a fun time helping him find just the right shoes. He needed black shoes for school but finding the right size was tricky.
The little stores that set up only on Saturday don't typically have a lot of sizes in stock.
The handsome black leather shoes were such a contrast to the too-small worn out sandals he was wearing. I don't think I have ever seen ,or may ever see again, a boy so proud of a pair of shoes.

They are so proud of their new head to toe outfits. We made sure to get them with plenty of room so they can use them next fall too.
Little brother and sister are proudly sporting some "new" hand-me-downs as well.
I am starting to sort through and purge the clothes that we have worn all winter. Our cupboards will be pretty bare once I weed out all the worn out, too small and very sun faded clothing.
Did you notice the flowers they have planted in the little flower box? And the little Canadian flag?
Its nice to see them take responsiblity for, pride in and make improvements on what they were given. I think they must have gotten the little flag from one of the people who built the house. The funny thing was that the flag was upside down origionally. It makes sense , a leaf hangs down from a tree not up. A Canadian friend made sure to fix it before the picture was taken. I kind of thought it was cute.

Louisa has ,what looks like, her own little school uniform. Actually, she is the fourth little person to wear this outfit. It was given to Roman (last time we lived in Mexico), by some American friends who were leaving some clothes at the Children's Home. Then, a few years later, it was passed onto Silas...and from there this little girl with a huge smile. It was such a good quality little outfit that it was still in good shape!
I was glad to see Louisa healthy and smiling again. She was really sick last time we visited. She is such a little doll. I miss them already. I am going to miss them so much when we go back to Canada!
Next week here at the orphanage is a "Fiesta de Te" a giant tea party put on for all the little girls and their dolls. The cafeteria will be beautifully decorated and the little girls dressed in special dresses saved and made for the occasion. There will even be tables set specifically for their dolls (so I have heard anyway). Aili and I have have made arrangements to bring both Carmela (the girl standing behind Louisa in the striped shirt) and Minerva. I am SO excited to take these two girls, who have never in their lives had a birthday party, dressed like a princess, or even had a tea party ...to the giant princess themed fiesta.
I wish I could have captured for you the look on Carmela's face when I told her about it. I can't even describe the look of sheer awe and ecstacy on her face. I told her to bring her princess Belle doll (the one she recieved for Christmas). Now I just need to find some dresses for them.
I am filled right up to the brim with warm fuzzies right now. Sometimes giving and compassion here is a tricky thing and often leaves the giver feeling less than good about the situation. Often I feel even more helpless or sometimes even taken advantage of. There are all kinds of issues with and a very delicate balance between helping meet peoples most basic needs and creating attitudes of entitlement and dependancy. It's not all warm fuzzies. Sometimes there is compassion that in the long run is not all that compassionate.

It was fun to do something with someone and have it be just fun....and at the same time know that it's pouring love into their life.