Jeff, Timi and Michel

Francisco's bike is a favorite for all,including the adults. The other day I saw four boys all riding on the one bike, draping from all parts. I went out to yell at them to be careful, but right then they turned and I saw that Jeff was the driver. ;)

Our Friendly Animals

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A vampire bat in the girl's bathroom.

Carissa has no fear of frogs. (only toads b/c they give you warts.)

The fun never stops here. With the rains, we have seen a new multitude of "animales" y "mascotas". (animals and pets) The guys moved a microwave that wasn't working to their porch and it was turned into a cage. yeah...kind of weird, but it keeps the boys busy for hours! So, now it is full of beetles, frogs, spiders, and other things that give you nightmares. The other night, after the kids were in bed, we found a snake (not as big as the picture makes it look.) We think/thought it was the extremely venomous Coral Snake. Joel wanted to keep it for our animal collection, but I put my foot down. Anyhow, Dave stoned it to death and then dug a hole to bury it in. We gathered around the grave and looked smugly at the snake. The other gross bug in the cup is called a "matavenano" or "deer killer" b/c it supposedly contains enough venom to kill a horse or deer. Once again the fun never stops. :)

sun halo

1 Cor 3:7
So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Mom told me today that she really likes my updates, so I am now inspired to post another one.

Let's see...what's new...The kids have recently watched "Chicken Little" and now "!se cayo el cielo!" (the sky is falling.) Anyhow, today a very strange circle, almost like a rainbow surrounded the sun and the kids were excited about it. Could you see it in the Midwest too?

I tried to put a new tire on the vehicle that Carissa and I use. I was feeling pretty proud of myself that Francisco (age 11)and I figured it out, but then we had problems removing the jack. We had to go for help and Dave came out. Then all the boys gathered around and Joel came to check out the action and informed me that all of my nuts were put on backwards anyways. Oh well, at least I didn't have to struggle with pride. ;)

Last night a little boy came (age 9). DIF brought him just for one night as he had run to the police station for help (I think he was being beat by his family? We have sketchy details.) The police took him to DIF (our CPS equivalent) and they brought him here, soaking, cold and crying. He is running around laughing today...He is supposed to be leaving today. Pray for Pancho's situation. He has been through more at 9 than most of us will ever have to deal with.

Lisa Aschliman is here, helping us out. She has been a huge help with our summer school. Lisa and I head up to the states tomorrow to pick Bruce up in Tucson and to get the longest Walmart list ever.

The Adventure of the Circus

All the kids wanted to jump off the swings and for me to catch the action in mid-air. Here is Michel's big jump.



We took the kids to see circus animals and out to the plaza for icecream/playground if they knew their memory verses and had behaved well. It was a really funny afternoon with plenty of memories! The animals were trapped in very small cages or tied to stakes. All of the animals seemed relatively miserable in their dirty, hot cages, but the elephant was straining against his chains. I thought about freeing the animals, but they all seemed agitated enough to think again. I also wouldn't want to have Mexican circus employees after me. For most of the kids it was the first time they had seen lions, elephants and camels in person. I stayed far away frmo the camel as I became convinced it was going to spit on us.

After we saw the animals, we went to the plaza and all of the kids ordered ice cream. In one of the pictures, I am feeding Timi, covering for Jenna as she was kindly "explaining" to Andres the importance of sharing his ice cream with his little brother. When Jenna and Andres returned, he was much more willing to share! :) We all then went and played at the playground, each kid wanting me to follow them exclusively around with a camera, catching every moment.

Odette

Odette is a friend from Magdalena, we meet twice a week as she wants to perfect her English. When we are together, I address her in Spanish and she talks back in English...A pretty good system. She just moved back to the area after studying in Mexicali for 7 years and was really feeling lonely. She is also going to come with me to CVE for two nights a week to do a Mexican cooking class with the kids. I am so excited about this as I have been wanting the kids to learn more about Mexican cooking, but obviously, with my background, I only know the basics about cooking beans over 30 different ways. :) She has come to our Bible studies and plans to start coming to church. The picture is from a Wednesday night. It had just rained and there was a double rainbow. I am glad to put up this picture today as tomorrow I have the Sunday school lesson about Noah and God's promise with a rainbow.

God may have promised to flood the whole earth again, but my street still becomes a river! :)

The great bike ramp

Last night the boys used some logs and plywood to construct a large bike ramp. Uriel was getting an impressive amount of air, but he tumbled over the bike and ended up needing stitches. Praise the Lord that Gloria is a nurse! Jeff said in the hospital that Uriel didn't even flinch when they were cleaning the wound. He is a very quiet boy, strong, determined, but silent. Please pray for his complete healing, and that the only wound he has is external. As the photo shows, he is back on his bike. Chad, Jay and Jeff, the accident makes me miss you, all boy! :)

Tucson...

On Friday night, Bill and Joan watched Gloria's girls and the "cotorras" (old maids) headed up to Tucson. We were in the vehicle for 6 hours to be in Tucson for 3. Let's just say that Tucson has the nearest Applebee's. yep, we drove to Tucson to eat at Applebee's. We also had a big list at Walmart to shop for. We had a great time, with many funny memories. One being the worst experience I have ever had at the border. We had this woman on a power trip who was so mean to us. oh well, we made it through, and it gave us motivation not to become bitter old women. :) I have some pretty funny video footage, but I have yet to figure out how to put videos on the blog. (It is probably better, Jenna and Nicole might kill me.)

Would you like me to watch your kids? ;)

I had the opportunity to watch Moises and Gabriel on Sunday and Monday, and let me say that I realized that two toddlers can definitely keep someone busy! I had so much fun and a lot of help from everyone around here. Jim and Jeanie Rink are here, along with Lisa A and Lori F. On Sunday night they made supper and Jeanie made chocolate pie. Somehow Moises ended up completely covered in chocolate and whipped cream. It was in his ears and hair. Oh well, I would rather deal with that then his two other explosions. ;)

Paola y Francisco

This week in our staff meeting, Gloria asked that we prayer for Paola, a 12 year old girl, with much need for a change in her life. Without giving too many details, please pray for a genuine heart change in Paola. Jeff asked us to pray for Francisco. He is 11 years old, and needs our prayers. The battle going on in these's kids' lives is immense and we pray that God change both of them.

We also start a remediation and normal summer school to catch our kids up and help them to excel. Denise and Carissa have been working hard to get this organized and off the ground. Joe and Denise leave us Sunday night for a visit to the states and we start Monday morning, so please pray that the kids don't fight the idea of more school, but intially accept the fact.
Thanks for praying with us!

Yum!

So, tonight the kids were out, playing, the girls were practicing the national anthem march with Joel and Dave (Dave Scedgel is here for the summer. He is from IL somewhere) when the boys came up carrying a dead chicken. We have a chicken coop here and for some reason the boys felt threatened by the chicken, hit it on the head with a rock, and it died. The picture included is of Armando and Michel. They are carrying the chicken to the cook's house. I am unclear if we are eating the chicken here or if it is for her house, but I hope we have turkey tomorrow. :)I know chicken meat always comes from dead chicken, but somehow, I don't really like seeing my food freshly dead, with stuff leaking from it's mouth.

More of Bill and Joan

I couldn't link it to my previous post, so I'll try it again.

Bill and Joan's 28th Anniversary

On Sunday Bill and Joan celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary. With a TEAM effort, we made caramelos (if you don't know what those are, it is time for you to come and visit) Marie, Nicole, and I worked on Caramelos and the beans, Jeff made the salsa, (and cut most of the meat, I was kind of a wuss) Joel grilled, and Carissa and Jenna made the cake. I am pretty sure Gloria was working... The kids served them food like waiters. Bill and Joan sat in the middle and everyone else sat in a table around the edges. The kids discovered that if they clinked on their glasses, that Bill and Joan had to kiss. :) So funny! While we were doing dishes, Jenna started a water fight, and soaked me, an innocent bystander. ;)

On Sunday I was hit with the verse Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." All of the people here that I am working with are going to memorize it in Spanish for next week. I am encouraged that we can call unto Our Lord and He will answer.

Moises

The little boy with his face pressed against the class is with "Mama D" (Denise) He lives in Bob and Joy Huber's house with his brother Gabriel. They were brought to CVE late one night, in pretty bad shape. They had been abused by a friend of the mothers. Moises recently turned 1 and usually gets toted around by someone, he is too cute to leave on the ground. (Although sometimes we try so he doesn't get spoiled) Please pray for his mental, emotional, physical and spiritual development. he is cute, huh?

The new photo is with José (in the white) and Gabriel (Moises's brother) When Gabriel first came to CVE he had a broken arm and all sorts of bruises. The suspect that he was left for days with a broken arm unset. The neighbor turned the caretaker into DIF. (equivalent of child protective services) It is hard to know what of the boys is just being spoiled or whiny and what is caused from their past. (Both are alcohol babies.) In fact, if you know effects of alcohol babies, e-mail me symptoms.

La Cruz Roja

Hey everyone! A work team is here from Princeville, IL and I spent yesterday with the group, working as a medical translator. (Way out of my comfort zone!) We went to a school in the morning and brushed teeth and then in the afternoon, some of the workers from the Cruz Roja came over for medical training. The Cruz Roja is run by volunteers and is Mexico's ambulance service. Most of the volunteers and young and barely trained. We did basic CPR and trauma training. (Actually, all the CVE workers were trained in CPR also and how to use a defibulator. So, if you should need revived, I may be able to help you, but probably call your local hospital instead of waiting for me to get there. Plus, I don't really ever want to have to shock someone's heart back into beating!) Anyhow, during the afternoon translating/training session, I think my brain was fried. At one point, I was supposed to translate, "And then when the blood coagulates..." Yeah right.;) I can't even spell or say it in English

Today we had a mock disaster in which we practiced what we would do in an emergency and the Cruz Roja came to practice what they would do in an emergency. The two "victims" pretended they fell off a roof. They were both Americans and needed someone to translate. The ambulance made it in six minutes, with sirens blaring. The kids all watched as the Cruz Roja workers treated the situation as an actual accident and loaded up the victims and drove away. It was interesting to be a part of a mock disaster, and hopefully it is something we will never have to do for real.

Please pray specifically that my Spanish would increase by leaps and bounds by the day. Actually, please pray that for the whole team here. Thanks so much!

Meet my new favorite T-shirt

I don't wear green everyday, but almost. Man, i need to go to bed. Love and prayers, Amy

I am back from Tecate...

For those of you who don't know, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to a Mexican church in Tecate Mexico with Nicole, the social worker here in Magdalena. It was a great opportunity to see a body of believers in action with strong family support, which can sometimes be hard to find. Praise the Lord for His work there! Please pray for the church in Tecate as it seeks to reach others for Jesus' name! Nicole and I stayed with a family that lived in Mexico. Across the street from their house is a large fence that is the division between the United States and Mexican borders. We ate a lot of wonderful Mexican food, visited a lot of houses, went to Bible studies, services, helped with VBS preparation, visited an orphanage in Tecate, and were almost killed by the driving. (The city is very close to Tijuana, and they have very bad reputations for the driving and I think it has rubbed off on the people of Tecate.) :)

I hope to write more about this experience later. Thanks for those who didn't give up on me and are still checking!

Also, can anyone tell me what this creature in the photo is? It was washed up on the beach...I couldn't figure it out...no, not my toe, the jelly looking thing.