Kalyn, Jessica, Gracie, Jared, and Anthony

This weekend was a great trip. We got there on Friday at 3 and we went straight to the orphanage. We got to hang out with the kids and then make them dinner. After a week of cutting up broccoli and onions, I was happy to get the ball moving. I wasn't sure when we could give them the meal, but I was happy to do it on Friday night. At about 6:30, we went shopping for some fruit, yogurt, whip cream, seasoning, tortillas, and meat. It was quite an adventure going on the shopping spree, and after going to 2 grocery stores, we finally got it all.

I was beyond blessed and proud of the group as we all worked together and made enough steaks, fruit salad, brocolli salad, heated up the corn bread, and served the kids all within an hour. With the exception of one of the bowls of the broccoli salad having some extra sugar in it, the meal went well, and the kids enjoyed it. The boys really liked the whip cream cans and even said "Ana said I could have it" to Jen when she tried to get the cans away from them that they were cutting open. Trust me in this - it made not a fun little game for the rest of the night and on Saturday morning trying to get the cans from them so they wouldn't hurt themselves or each other with the sharp edges.

It was a slightly rainny and very cold weekend, but it was amazing. We all went house shopping on Saturday and Sunday and it was quite an adventure. On Saturday, we started at one house and each person led us to another. In the end, I think we went to 8 houses with maybe one "prospect" in the end that we had to wait until Sunday to see. After the 3rd attempt to go see this "already furnished house", I think that we were all in agreement that the adventure was for more exciting than the outcome. My boy gave it an absolutely hysterical "thumbs down". He could not stop laughing because I think he thought it was a little hideous to say the least. Anywho, there is one other potential house that is totally cute, close to the orphanage, and is pretty near to being perfect. Please pray that I will get this soft yellow house and that they will rent it out to me.

This weekend was Gracie and Anthony's first trip down to CdE, and they were absolutely amazing. Good thing Gracie has some good reflexes since little Florentino tried to give her some tongue. They are both really excited to come back and plan to on the next trip. The kids loved them to death, and more importantly, the kids received the love that they were pouring out. Anthony reached little Freddy who, quite honestly, isn't the easiest to reach. It took him 4 months to like me. :)

Please pray for Patty and Keith because they will have their work cut out for them with all of the people who have hearts that are growing for these kids that they have so deeply let in.

This weekend was great. It's becoming more and more real that I am moving down there. I went looking for houses on Saturday with Manuel, Adrian, Jesus, and Jen. There was only one that I considered a true possibility, but they need to decide if they will rent it out to me since they rent it out to a family on the weekends.

I found out that I am only going to be teaching the junior high kids English. It's going to be interesting because (as most of you I sure am already aware) these are the most rebellious kids. The boy I sponsor is in that group along with his friends and so many of the other kids I love. I can already tell you who my best students will be... and won't be. I am really looking forward to it though, and I am excited to be able to play yet another role in their lives. I still have to work it out with Gabriel as to what hour I will be teaching because he's teaching all of the other classes for their age group. Lord, help him!

Keith's friend from work (Leslie) and her husband (Paul) came down this weekend. They sponsor 4 of the kids and they even take on their other sibling to make it 5. We took them and Guadalupe (Keith's boy) to lunch, and boy can those kids eat! We found out later that sometimes kids will overeat due to their past, and since we just found out that their mother passed within the last year, that could definitely cause it as well. The oldest boy (age 9) ate 8 tacos, and they all ate atleast 6. Let's just say that us adults (with the exception 0f one) all only at 4. This can tell you how much these kids overate. Jesus (the one that ate 8) had a horrible stomach ache that night. It was so bad that he shed some tears. I think he eventually got some peptobismol, and he was better in the morning. More than anything though - it was such a blessing to watch them bond with their sponsors. They fit together perfectly, and I think everyone cried when they had to say goodbye. It was an absolutely beautiful bonding time between them.

Paul is actually going to be donating 100 pounds of antelope and deer meat to the kids. What a huge blessing! These kids don't get very much meat, and we're going to use some of it this weekend for when we give them a big Thanksgiving meal.

Jen Pinner came down for the first time as well. It was great watching her interact with the kids and even having her translate for me. She completely fell in love with 2 of the brothers, and it is so amazing watching someone's heart let these kids in. She is thinking about sponsoring them, and so we'll see if her and Obie can work it out. She is already trying to figure out when she can make another trip down.

All in all, it was a great weekend. The kids are so full of love and life, and I can not wait to see them again in 4 days. :)

So, I had my first sending off moment....

Last night, I told the Prims. I knew it was coming, I tried to prepare myself for it, but really, how do you do that? (besides prayer of course) We did "show and tell" for the first time this year, and then it was my time to do a "tell and tell".

I looked around at all of their eager to hear faces, and I tried to speak. What do I say? How do I explain this? I had no idea... I couldn't plan it, it was too hard. I just said, "some of you already know this, but I need to tell the others that don't know." I looked over at Jennah, and she knew what was coming. I was hoping she would do her little, "You're moving to Mexico?" outburst that she's done at Amadeo and at other events... then it would have helped ease me into it - at least a little bit. Yet, no luck with that.

Then, as I began to speak, I started crying. I could barely get the words out. "On our next Prims night, it will be my last. I am going to be moving to Mexico in January." I went on to explain that I will be with the orphans there, and that the only thing that helps me is knowing that they each have parents that love them so much and that they have people like Ms. Nia and other people that will always show them God's love. I need to go down there so that they know people love them and want to be with them. I explained to them that this is why I didn't know if I was going to do Prims this year, but that I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could, and that is why I did it this year. I told them that I am going to miss them a lot, and that I have known some of them for a really long time, and that this is going to be hard on me to.

I then opened it up for questions... I've babbled on enough through my tears, I needed a break.

They asked me for how long I would be there.... if I could come and visit..... and if I could bring pictures of the kids for them to see. How sweet is that?

Nia then had them surround me and pray for me. Their prayers were so sweet. The hardest part of the praying though was the crying. I heard hard crying on my right side, and I assumed it was Jennah. I looked up at her, and she was just praying and being strong and beautiful - without tears. It took me a couple of looks to figure out that it was Adoniah. She had turned her head away from the group with her arm still reaching out to touch me. I have known her the longest out of her little life. I remember going to her 1st birthday party. Emily prayed that she wouldn't cry and that we could stop crying.... but right after the prayer, she started crying in her seat.

After lots and lots of hugs, we went out to the playground. Rebecca made me a sweet little card and walked around to each of the girls and had them sign it. Grace, Skylar, and Taylor had already left, but she got all of the others. From Anika to Embree to Kailyn and Kat to Grace, Skylar, and Taylor to Cheyanna, Bekki, and Summer. It was hard. However, Johnna, whom I've only known for a few months and tends not to be on the sentimental side, said, "Why is everyone crying". She has no idea how much I've known some of these girls...

Yet, we all made it through the night. At last. They know. I have one more time with them which will be a party, and then I will definitely be trying to find a time to visit them again. Some want to write letters and so I will definitely be doing that. I would love to be any of these girls pen pals. They are going to be one of the hardest parts of going... but I know I must, and once I'm there, I will be blessed.

As Shane Claiborne affectionally refers to Mother Theresa...here is a quote from "Momma T":

We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not
how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it.

It's so true.

Lord, let us live lives of great love Thank you Lord that You are that great Love and that You reside in us and desire to continue to pour Yourself into us.

No one actually thought I could go down there without posting any pics, did they? Here's just a few:

Florentino - he's so cute. I was having a conversation with a local and he was standing there with us. The guy said, "you think he's cute?". Of course I responded with "Yeah, he's freakin' adorable". When I asked him if he thought Florentino was cute, he responded with "No". I couldn't believe it. Shortly afterwards, they were talking and Florentino told him, "Yeah, she loves me a lot". That just made my day - how cute is that!

Antonio is just too cute. I love this picture of him in his calm state.
Saturday was camo day. I think I started it all...lol. I came in to say hi to all of them and I was wearing my camo outfit. A bunch of the girls all went to get their camo clothes to show me how they have some too. Here's Ruby and Dulce looking as the babes they are in their threads.
Edgar Jesus is totally crazy. I don't know why some of the boys had markers all over their faces, but they did. Yet, Edgar went around on this little bike and kept running into poles on purpose. Everytime we would be pedaling up to one, he would repeatedly say "This is crazy. This is crazy." He's a very interesting little boy that can be super sweet but yet he can also have intense anger issues.

God is so good.

I am reminded of the last verse in John when he says "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." Oh how true is this.

I think about my own life and the lives of those around me. I feel like I could write a 20 book series about my own life and all of the things that He has done for me. God is amazing, and it's in times like these that I am just completely blown away and blessed.

Am I dealing with some tough stuff? Sure. My boy was cutting his arm to give himself a tattoo on his hand, the different teens that go down are going through all sorts of funk. I have some things that I have to go to the Lord for and search out for His direction, but He's working. He's working in our lives, guiding us to where He wants, and He is giving us everything we need.

Honestly, I have been dreading every time I tell someone about my move - because I am waiting for something that will hinder me in some way and it hasn't happened yet. I am waiting - where's the hardship with this one? Where's the trial? Sure, you could consider over a year of waiting a trial, but that's over with - so where's the new one? God has blessed me tremendously, and I am so glad to be able to say that I am free. Emotionally, I am free to be happy now. I have told all the people that can actually be hinderances, and they have all given me their blessings. I am free to be excited and know that this is real. It is going to happen, and I am going to be able to be a teacher, mother, sister, friend, mentor, and a helper to all of those kids down there as they let me. I am blessed.

It's always a good time to think about the books in your life that you could write... What would your series say?

Update on this weekend.

I had been very anxious during the previous two weeks about this trip. To me, the unknown can be one of the scariest things. I actually had a nightmare about telling Manuel about my move. In the dream, he didn't really care and he didn't have time to talk to me.

Well, once I got down there, I realized two things: 1) His daughter was in town who is away at college and 2) The nana called the police because she thought somebody tried to steal her propane tank. Hmm... could these be some distractions and things that would defer our needed conversation? I think so.

Yet, before he got up, I told my brother Adrian. He was the first one that I told. I love him to death, and I knew that he could keep it a secret until I talked to Manuel. He was really excited. (I actually did have a dream that he would be excited too.)

Then, I told Manuel that I needed to talk to him, but that I could wait until he had time. While he was dealing with the police, I told the cooking Nana. I love her - she's the cutest little thing ever! Oh, and she even hikes the fence to go home. :) Anywho, I explained to her how my bosses said yes, and that I am going to move there on January 4th (Yep, I picked the date). Her response was - "How beautiful" and then she gave me a hug and a kiss. Have I mentioned how much I love her? She's amazing.

Finally, Manuel was done with the police, so I could talk to him. Keith wanted to see his expression, so Manuel was walking in the middle of us. I explained how I have always had the desire to be there as much as possible and that I have been praying to make it more full time. I explained to him how God told me that I needed to wait until He said it was time, and that a few weeks ago, God told me exactly that. I explained to him how I asked my bosses if I could work from home and that they approved it. I then told him that I would like to find a house in Imuris or Teranate so that I can work from there during the day and then be at CdE at nights on the weekends. Once he realized I didn't want to live on the orphanage property, he was excited. He said that it was very wise to not live on the property so that I could have some down time and so the kids wouldn't distract me during my work. He also said, "This is very good. I wish there were more people like you out there." Yay! He's for it. He "approved" me moving down there... He also volunteered to help me find a house. We continued to talk, and he said, "This is actually God. I have been looking for an English teacher, and I have wanted someone from the States. Can you be our English teacher?". My immediate response was "yeah, I can do that". I can start work earlier in the day and make this my "lunch break" so that it will not interfere with my job. It's funny because just the day before, I was thinking about how much I missed being in the classroom and I almost started crying on the playground missing it so much. I also included being a "substitute english or computer class teacher" on my list of things in my head that I could help them out with. Oh, how God answers our prayers and heart's cries in ways we don't even expect.

Finally, I had to tell Jesus. I was the most nervous to tell him, and that's only because I really didn't expect him to have a good reaction. He was actually the only one I didn't have a dream about his response. See, with me moving down there, he is going to have more accountability than he's ever had before - so it might not be a completely happy thing for him. But, as he was sitting underneath the monkey bars on the little wood plank, I sat down next to him and told him I had to talk to him. I told him that I was going to live there in January. His immediate response was "why?". I'm sure there's lots of reasons why he asked that but I just responded with explaining to him about how I will still have my job, I'll have a house in the city, and that I will be his new English teacher. He seemed to be pretty good with it and then he finally understood. I wouldn't say that he was completely stoked about it, but he definitely wasn't upset about it either. This weekend was the happiest I have ever seen him. He was in such a good mood all day on Saturday and Sunday, and we goofed off so much. He is such a beautiful kid, and I love how his little nose scrunches up everytime he laughs.

Some other highlights and fun things on this trip:

We got to do 2 worship songs for them during church. We did "Big House" and "Get Down" by Audio Adrenaline. I briefly explained them in the beginning, but I don't even know if they could hear me over the music, then Raul explained them the songs afterwards.

Someone on the trip, who shall remain nameless, kept pointing out the f word that was in one of the Spanish-English dictionaries, and then I finally ripped it out of the book and shred it into pieces. One good thing came from this though - I now recognize it and know it, so I will be able to respond appropriately when the kids say it. I also learned a new verb - chinar - which means to pester and annoy. It's one letter away from the other word, so I can just tell someone "me chinas" when they speak to me like that... I had some practice with that too.

We watched Bridge to Terabithia with them. I brought that down along with Transformers, and they watched it on Saturday night. I love watching movies outside with all of them. They seemed to like it, and I love that movie because it has quite a few good lessons in it.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Oh, I have 4 people trying to find a house for me right now. I am going to try to get a decent sized one so people can stay with me.

Before I talk about my most marvelous weekend ever.... I want to talk about Friday before I left.

Friday morning started bright and early for me. I woke up at 6:38 after going to bed at 2. I thought Jiffy Lube opened at 6 or 6:30, so I wanted to be one of the first ones there. I got there at 6:55, and I waited until 7 because they still weren't open. When it was finally 7:03, I went to the door and realized they didn't open until 7:30. So, I hit up Albertson's to get some of the items needed for the trip. I still got back to Jiffy Lube before they opened, and I even had time to get a yummy Pumpkin Latte from 7Eleven. Yum. Anywho, after that, I went on the rest of my errands and to do list:

• Walmart - to see if they had chicken feed, movies, and a few random other things.
• Petsmart - since WalMart didn't have chicken feed
• Feed Store - they of course did have the chicken feed and scratch. (I feel like I know something about chickens now - of course after they made me feel stupid.)
• Gap @ AZ Mills - to exchange clothes I got from the one in Prescott.
• Best Buy to see if they could fix my camera (shutter button fell off - again). With a price of $180, I pleasantly declined their service.
• Circuit City - they don't fix anything you didn't purchase from them.
• Kits Camera - $240, told me to go to Kelly Camera.
• Pure Fitness - paid till the end of the year and ended my automatic withdrawl since I will be cancelling my membership in January.
• Dollar Store - had to get some clothespins for Maria since I got the chicken feed for Nana.
• Fry's to get the refrigerated foods that I couldn't get at Albertsons earlier.
• Checker to get an air filter because Mazda has to have everything so specific to them.

Finally, after all of that, I went home to eat lunch and then went to my mom's class to meet her kids. She's been wanting me to go for 2 years, but I always have so much stuff to do on my days off that it doesn't always work out... Clearly, I didn't have anything to do on this day, so I had time. I spent a good 2 hours in there with her kiddos: Zaeden (her favorite), Nik, Tyler, Gregorie, Lucus, Evan, Davis, and Trent. They are such a cute group of lovable boys and it made me really miss my old kids and working in the schools. It was also great to see my mom interact with all of them and getting to know her kiddos.

Yet, I wanted to talk about something that I saw during all of my errands from store to store. I had the pleasure of watching thousands of people participate in the Breast Cancer Walk. After the 2nd straight mile of watching people walk, I started to cry. I was just so overwhelmed with people's care and concern for the cause, for their loved ones, for the things they did to make it a positive experience, and because of the vast amount of people. I started to pray for them and for the people that they are walking for and for their healing and comfort.

It was weird though. I have never been one to cry. I used to only cry a few times a year (3 or 4 tops)... and now, I cry all the time. I don't know what happened to me to make me more sensitive, but I am glad that I am. I am sure that it is due to the kids at CdE and seeing how they emotionally deal with things. After telling who knows how many boys that it's okay to cry and that it's good for them, I may have just learned that as well. Yet, more than that, I think it's just God. He has helped me learn how to be more sensitive and to see the depth in more things when I didn't see it before. I am able to see the depth of love that people have for others... and even animals. I am able to see the passion that people have and their heart behind it. God has opened my eyes to so many things, and I know they are still closed too much. I can't wait until they're open completely.

Oh, and then after my mom's school, I had one last stop - Walgreens to get a picture of the new girl from the trip before. :)

Little girls like Lily, in particular, have so much attitude. Here's some updated pictures of her though. It is crazy how fast kids grow up and the different things that they come up with and say.