In Classic Mexico Fashion...

So, I'm sitting at the Middleton's house in Chihuahua(this is the couple that first introduced me to Lily of the Valley)! In classic Mexico fashion, everything that I thought was going to happen was changed at the last minute. Rather than sending Brenda and I to Tijuana today, they're sending Samuel on Monday. It is for the best though. Lauren and I will update before we leave tomorrow, but I just wanted everyone to know. :)
Peace out,
Mary Ellen

ME is going to Tijuana.

So, I slipped into a little internet cafe-like place to let you all know that I am leaving Friday afternoon for Tijuana. We are in great need of computers and unable to afford them. It turns out that Lily 1 (the other orphanage) has an anbundance -I guess- and they are willing to give us 4 computers. I am traveling by bus for 24 hours with Brenda and we´ll be gone 6 days. Oh my. I just said 24 hours in a bus. Lang, remember the 4 hour trip in the back of the bus in December?! No doubt this will help both Lauren and I with our Spanish... but I´m gonna miss her. :/ To be honest, I wasn´t really excited about the trip, but Mama´ has arranged it so that I will spend one night in San Diego, California and be able to visit their host church. I´m not sure what I´ll do there, but I´m pumped. It will be neat to meet all the people I emailed prior to coming here and see some familiarity for just a minute or two. Please pray for our safety and that the trip will be refreshing. I´ve been feeling pretty weary this week. I had my first real cry today and I still don´t really know why. The needs here are so great and I´m feeling more helpless than ever. Still, I´m reminded of what Mama´ told me when we first got here... she was telling us how hard this lifestyle is for her at times, but she can feel herself dying to the flesh everyday. I want that more than I want comfort. ...but that doesn´t mean you should stop praying. Pray for Lauren while I´m gone as well. It´s an opportunity for her to be really blessed by the girls, but bedtime just might kill the girl.

A few highlights before I go:

>I endured the worst temper-tantrum I´ve ever seen... I put one of the girls in their usual punishment position (on her knees with her arms raised- so dumb) and she was flipping out. I held her there and said she couldn´t leave until she was done with her hissy fit and calm ("hissy fit" does not translate in Spanish)... ten minutes later she stopped... but only because she had fallen asleep. Why is nothing I´ve learned in "Parenting and Family" class at Seminary applicable here?!?

>Literally every time Lauren and I take the boys home Cachito throws something out the window.. everything he can find. Seriously, ask Lauren about the backpack (one of my favorite stories). Well, about 10 minutes into the trip home yesterday he´d thrown out two rags, a bottle and another piece of trash (that nearly landed INSIDE the car he was aiming for). THEN, he threw out one of the airconditioning vents from our van onto the bed of a big truck. Are you kidding me? I had to keep going, and it turns out that the air doesn´t work anyway. Adventures with Cachito.

>I helped tutor a few kids with their multiplication tables and learned that in english we have a verb, "to have got". I'm going to start using as often as possible... For example, "I have got a friend named Lauren."

>We saw a girl picked up yesterday by her new adoptive parents. It was both beautiful and painful to watch. I think everyone who is able should consider adoption.

That´s all for now. Sorry about all the parantheses and side notes. I´m writing in a hurry and I ain´t gonna proofread. Thank you all who have been so generous with your financial gifts and packages. God is using you to show us His provision! Also, my mom wanted me to give out her email address... it´s betsy.ross@insightbb.com
´My dad gets one or two more emails than her :) due to his work schedule. She may be a better candidate for questions.

Love you all!
Merm
PS- Any emails about your life are appreciated. In fact, I love them and want more. I´ll get back to everyone when I return from Tijuana.

Maria Elena esta´aqui.

We´re still friends!





This is Team Vito: Gregorio, Estefan, y Vito. These three provided a terrific time, some yummy food and some big laughs. Please come back. Seriously. It was dang nice to feel short again.




Kim, this is what happened to one of the books you gave me. I JUST brought it out and it was broken day one. Ridiculous.



Ana Karen owns fake leather pants. That is good stuff.





This is Bella. She says she has a headache at bedtime every night. Right.




This is Flor and her brother Cristian. I am very close to Flor, so when her brother arrived we were immediately buddies. On the first day of school, he went with all the other kids... but then he never came home. They say he ran away, and no one seems to be alarmed about it. I´ve cried at least three times over this (the first being with Flor) and prayed for him every day. Apparently this happens from time to time, but I don´t know if I can handle it again. Please pray for him.





the kiddie pool.





Rebeka and Jasmin looking soooo adorable.





The last day of summer we went to the alberca (outdoor pool) with the group that was here from Texas.





This is Brenda. She is so wonderful and an outlet for laughter for us. She is so goofy and helpful with the Español. Brenda has been working at the orphanage after living here and is about to graduate with a degree in Accounting! What a stud.





Meet Cristal. She always needs a bandaid.





Hey there, friends. I´m afraid this is gonna have to be short and sweet. We´ve had really bad weather and I´m just now able to write (and we need to be on our way back to the orphangage!)...
Our dia libre (day off) has been changed once again, so it looks like we´ll be taking off from Friday afternoon-ish to Staurday night. So! Here I am with the dearest little family in Mexico writing to you.
Lauren and I slept in til 10 this morning- the latest we´ve slept since arriving here. We had a delicious coffee beverage and had some quality time with our new Mexican brother, Daniel.
A couple funny moments from the past two weeks:
1. The two boys we take to school have an interesting combination of handicaps. We have a great time with these two. Cachito LOVES to give wet-willies. First he says, "hola". Then, within a minute there is slobber plastered on your face, arm, or wherever he sees fit. Every time I am so annoyed and then immediately laugh out loud.
2. Three of the girls woke me up last week at 3 in the morning to tell me there was a snake in the bathroom. I took a broken, filthy broom and checked each stall (including under the poopy pants that were left by some unknown niña). I am convinced it was this hissing bug that I saw in the bathroom. The best part is that one of the girls (13 yrs old) peed in her pants when she heard it.
3. Lauren and I did the electric slide Sojourn-style (with LOTS of enthusiasm like we learned from Dave and Maggie).

Okay, that´s just three and they weren´t all that funny. We GOTTA go. Love you all.
Peace,
Merm

PS- for our address, email my dad: smoody@ford.com
He´ll know a vague list of our needs as well. Sorry. We´ll get that out next week for sure!

PPS- Read the book of Job. It´s so good. Specifically ch. 23.

From Lorena...

It's Saturday night and I've survived the first week of school. The schedule has drastically changed, but I’m adjusting. We wake up at 4:15am every morning (4:15!), and start the same routine- prayer, chores, devotional, and breakfast. The kids leave for school between 7 and 8, and either Mary Ellen or I drive a couple of boys to a special needs school in Chihuahua. It takes almost two hours roundtrip, and we make the run twice a day. During the day, we’re able to rest a little, and we also help out with whatever needs to be done. Mary Ellen has been working in the office quite a bit, and I’ve been…driving lots. These tasks aren’t always the most exciting, but we want to be a blessing in anyway that we can. And if means driving around all day or sitting in the office, that’s what we’ll do. When the kids get home around 12 or 1, they have to go straight to the cafeteria to do their homework, with the help of some of the staff. After just one week, I’m realizing how behind so many of the kids are in school. It’s impossible to give each of them the individual attention they need because of the adult to kid ratio. After homework is finished, the kids can play for a while until dinner and devotional. Then, we’re off to bed. Most of the girls in our room are asleep by 9, and Mary Ellen and I go to bed soon after that.

Okay, here’s the deal. I’m hanging out with Mary Ellen and Daniel (whose parents let us stay with them on our days off) and I’m super distracted. We’re listening to music and goofing off and I just can’t stay focused. So…here are a few pics from the week. Enjoy. More to come next weekend. Love y’all.








We unloaded a truck of rubble from the jobsite for the new boys home here. These little guys came along, too.





After a few hours of working at the jobsite. Miriam is someone that I want to become closer to, but she is easily frustrated with my Spanish so it's difficult to talk to her for very long.





A group I took to the jobsite to work. We always have fun, but it wears me out!





Driving through Chihuahua.





Coming into the city.





These are the guys that Mary Ellen and I take to school. The one on the right loves to test me. Laughingly, he'll threaten to throw objects out the window and sometime he does. One day this week, he threw his backpack into the bed of the truck, and threw the other guy's backpack into the bed of another truck. I successfully retrieved it and tried to scold him, but was laughing on the inside.





Mary Ellen singing Yankee Doodle.





Before school.





Brother and sister.





I think the kids just finished explaining how some of the girls in our room woke Mary Ellen up in the middle of the night b/c they thought there was a snake in the bathroom. Sergio's sister had a little accident because she was so scared. Here, he was scolding her for getting too close to the snake, which turned out to be a big bug.








Our cat had lots of kittens right here on the couch and the girls crowded around to watch. Big news in the house.





The orphanage is way down the road on the right. Click on the photo and you can see it.





I think this was taken on the way to the jobsite. I love living close to the mountains because I'm constantly reminded of God's power in His creation.

This is Jaqueline. She is amazingly adorable. It's funny to speak English to the little ones because they still don't understand that there are languages other than Spanish.

Maria Elena otra vez (again)...

Lauren and I had Dairy Queen Blizzards on our day off. Delicious.

We took like 40 of these. Its Brisa (one of the twins), Ana, and me.

Every night I say, "snug as a bug in a rug... don't let the bedbugs bite!" to Ana as I tuck her blankets around her...

That's a little shout out to the McEvy family. :)

She loves it. When she tries to repeat it she pronounces bug as "boog".

Ana nearly suffocated me.

This is always so funny to me. Gabi got squished by a giant hand.

and then it picked her nose.

Yo y Flor. I call her, "mi mono"... aka my monkey.

¡Estoy feliz aqui!
I am happy here. It has only been four days since our last day off, but it was a very difficult few days. I´ve had quite a bit of drama with one of the teenage girls that sleeps in our room. I relate to her tendency to rebel and manipulative ways with people in authority over her... I was tempted (and still am from time to time) in the same ways as a teenager. Apparently, because I talked to Mama about some of the things she´s been doing, I am now a gossip. Please pray for her and I. The last thing I want to see is a bunch of behavior change in these kids and for them never to understand why.

Right now Lauren and I are staying with the our new Mexican family. They are so wonderful. Last night we went and ordered pizza and ate it as a family. The oldest son had Lauren and I ride with him to pick it up and insisted we practiced speaking Spanish. Golly, I´m terrible. Because they´re all so fluent in English, I feel like an idiot. I can play games and sports with the kids, but it is dang hard to have adult conversations. The whole family is pretty comical, so as we were all informally standing and sitting in the kitchen with pizza in our hands, I just kept looking around and smiling. It felt really familiar- like a night at my parent´s house when random people just stop by and we´re all laughing and teasing one another... the only difference is they´re all darker complected.. and smaller... and speaking Spanish. If I have to be so far away from familiarity, I´m just glad I get to escape here once a week. We´re getting in the habit of making cookies or other baked goods as a thanks for their hospitality. Kit Kat- we made your Devil´s food cookies last week and they were a hit!

Please play for Lauren and I concerning our health. Nothing major, but its all a little uncomfortable. I was convinced that a itchy, dry patch I have on my arm is from a spider bite (though everyone else told me otherwise)... now, as I have two more similar patches on me, I´m submitting to the fact that it could be a fungus. SICK. I don´t like saying that I have a fungus-- in Spanish or in English. In addition to that, I think I might have lice and the lice shampoo is way too expensive here. For those of you who have asked to send stuff, lice shampoo would be grrrreat. Lastly, please pray for out tummies. Our diet is way different here. I´ll leave it at that.

We have an American group from Texas visiting since Friday. The group is made up of mostly high-schoolers, a couple college guys and a dad. Pray we´d be a blessing to them and help them to serve the orphanage. I like having groups here because we get to joke around in English (many of my awesome jokes don´t translate well), and we get to keep our drinks cold in their fridge. I do miss the occasional ice cube.

Thanks for all the emails and notes. They make me smile.
I miss my nephew and bear hugs from the people I love.

Peace be with you,
Maria Elena
(Ñ- they have that symbol here on the computer! It reminds me of Isaac)

PS For those who have mentioned wanting an address... please email me at moodyme@gmail.com and I will give you one.

Also- a shout out to Sadie and Shy. No kid we ever meet will compare to you two. You are both so dang special and Lauren and I miss you like crazy. We're hoping ot get a calling card so we can call you next week! LOVE YOU!

A note from Lorena...

"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in holy array." Psalm 29:2

¡Buenos dias! The Lord has blessed Mary Ellen and I with a place to stay for a day off, and so this morning I´m sitting in the home of a loving, Christian family in Chihuahua who has graciously taken us in. To sum up my stay at Lily thus far, one word comes to mind: thankful. I´m in constant awe of God´s provision, as He has worked out many of the details I was unsure of before I left, and continues to amaze me with His provision now.

The first few days at Lily were difficult due to fatigue, not knowing the language, and wondering how Mary Ellen and I could best be a blessing to the staff and kids. Slowly, the Lord is chipping away my insecurities and showing me how I can serve here.

We are under the leadership of an amazing Godly couple, Papa Ed and Mama Rosa, who come before the Lord every morning to lay everything before Him. I see them struggle through sin and be blessed by their faithfulness, and it is so apparent that the Lord is their source of strength. Spiritually, the Lord provides through a time of individual prayer that Mama and Papa have set aside for all of the staff every morning. We also come together for prayer and worship together, which I always look forward to. Through this time, I´m learning to more fully surrender to the desires of my flesh to prepare for another day of service. The Lord has provided physically, for we are able to get plenty of sleep each night, eat three meals a day, and are remaining healthy overall. And the very fact that I´m sitting in a stranger´s home who has completely welcomed Mary Ellen and I in is a blessing we didn´t expect. The days at the orphanage are long and full of activity, so to be able to escape from that to refuel has been incredible.

Here's a short rundown of a typical day-
Wake up around 6:30 for prayer.
Wake the kids up, and clean up the rooms around 7:30 or 8.
Around 9:30, have group devotional with the kids and eat breakfast. Clean up.
The remainder of the morning is set aside for work on the house grounds and maybe a little play time.
Lunch is around 2 or 3, and after cleaning up, we may take a trip to a park or pool, or stay home to play.
Dinner is later in the evening, followed by more cleaning, another group devotional, and finally bedtime around 8. The girls in our room settle down by 9:30, and Mary Ellen and I fall asleep soon after. A very long, but good day! Mixed in are trips to a local nursing home to sing a few songs, or a visit to friends of Mama and Papa who give us fresh milk from their farm. I'm also able to run errands for Mama and Papa, such as driving into Chihuahua a couple times a week to load up a truck with dairy products that a major milk company donates to the orphanage. What a blessing this is!

I'm encourage by the way Papa and Mama live, and because of it, my prayer life is being challenged. It seems that every good thing that comes to the orphanage is the result of prayer. Papa and Mama are very bold in their requests to the Lord and eagerly await His reply. I look forward to growing in this avenue of my faith.

The area that brings the most discouragement is the huge language barrier that stands between me and the kids. Mary Ellen and I room with approximately 40 girls who range in age from 6 to 15 or 16. Communicating effectively with this many girls in my own language would be difficult, and with knowing very little Spanish, it´s nearly impossible. I´m beginning to get to know the girls on a surface level, but more so I want to know their hearts. Please pray that Mary Ellen and I would be able to learn the language quickly, and that as a result, we would be able to form deep relationships with them, as well as with the 70 other kids living at the house.

Here are a few other ways that you can pray for us: 1) Pray for Papa and Mama- they are amazing, but human. Pray for rest and rejuvenation of their bodies and souls. Their work never ends at the house, and they take little time off. 2) Pray for the staff- they care for so many kids everyday and the long days wear on them. Pray that they would return to joy in their salvation and that with this joy, they will be able to minister to one another and to the kids. 3) Pray for the hearts of the kids. So many of them have been scarred by awful family situations and don't know that they are loved by their Creator. Pray that the gospel would become real to them and that they would see their desperate need for Christ! 4) And for me, that I may work hard with a pure heart.

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. I can confidently say that I am in the Lord's will by being here. I wish I had a few photos to share, but I'm having a little trouble with my camera. In the mean time, enjoy Mary Ellen's- she's a pro.

With much love in Christ,
Lorena...although some of my friends here say my name should be Laura, pronounced "loura". (You were right, Nick. Oh, I hate to say it.)

PS- I know that some of you have expressed interest in wanting to send things that we or the kids may need. If needs arise, I will be sure to let you know. And one more thing- the weather is fantastic (a little warm) and the mountains are beautiful. I hope to show you some pictures soon. Also, I need a haircut. Long hair is overrated.

A note from Maria Elena...

We made it! Lauren and I just woke up from a wonderful night stay with friends of Mama' and Papa'. Our second day here Mama sat the two of us down to give us a bit of an explanation of how things work at the orphanage and their expectations. This fiery little Puerto Rican can put the fear of God in you. I honestly wanted to cry. I still feel a bit inadequate for this job. The good news is that as I began to watch Mama and Papa work and interact with the kids I realized they're are pretty "inadequate" independent of the Lord... the good news is that they are submitted to Him and He is performing miracles in this crazy place!

L and I are sleeping in a room full of bunkbeds and about 35 or 40 girls 12 yrs and under (with the exception of a couple of teenagers). Next door to us is another room of 20 or so teenagers and a few of the staff. I sleep on the top bunk and Lauren is below- for now- the plan is to trade monthly... :) I need to take a picture of my bed because it's hliarious. My bedding includes one fitted sheet that I use as a cover, a small Winnie the Pooh blanket (one of those fleece ones girls make all the time that are tied on the ends) and, until the American group left a bunch of goodies for us, a travel-size pillow. The kids have given us a few gifts though, so Lauren and I both have a hilarious collection of stuffed animals and toys to decorate with.

SO... our job is to "mother" these little ones spiritually and physically. This includes passing out toothpaste at night, getting the kids in bed (seriously, the most difficult task!!!), looking at scratches and hearing complaints about a variety of aches and pains, offering water and a high-five after a lost tooth (we've had 3 in the past two weeks), and being a disciplinarian. OH my. This is a wonderful job, but a very difficult one because we speak so little Spanish. My language learning is coming along, but it is very slow. I don't know if I'll ever feel sufficient. On top of working with the girls, I help in the kitchen, the outdoor chores, chaperoning from time to time, and do some tutoring work with two of the boys that are mentally and physically impaired. Also, when the American groups come we'll be the ones expected to take care of them and help them integrate into their short-lived life in Mexico (we have a group from Texas coming this weekend!).

In other words, the days are pretty full- We wake early with the adults/staff for devotions and prayer at 6:30 and stay busy for most of the day. Lots of chores in the morning and fun in the afternoon. We've gone swimming, to a waterpark, played a bunch of soccer at every nearby park, and a bundle more. A week here feels more like a month... or two months.

Here are a few pics.. cuz I've taken a good 500 already:

Meet Eduardo Najera... a Chihuahuan NBA basketball star. He comes back every year with other NBA players and plays a "Juego de las Estrellas". The city is crazy about him.

Some government officials invited 25 of our teenagers to go... I was the "chaperone". They figured out that I like basketball. Perfecto.

Me and a few of the girls are standing with the wife of "El Presidente".

This was our view... the seats were terrible but free. Later on a man let me down to the front so I could take pictures. This is one of the benefits of being American.

Gustavo and Cielo.

Tonio... possibly the cutest kid around. He and his 3 sisters live with us. As you can see the bottom window broke out of the door. This has benefited the littl-er ones as now they can exit the building without ever opening the door.

Ahhhh... meet Flor. She's become my best lil' buddy here. She is the only one of her siblings that live with us, so we act like sisters. Notice the lack of hair- she got the bugs we don't like to talk about. :/

THe American group that was here brought a parachute. Hilarious.

I wanted just one cute one. THey couldn't do it.

Irela, Ana, Brisa, and Rebeka... Four of our bunkmates.

We shouldn't have favorites, but this lil' guy is one of them.

These signs and others were on our walls when we arrived. Presh.

They are not supposed to play by the construction site... I took pictures anyway.

They were filthy by the time we got them down from there.

This is the other Flor. She can be hilarious, but she is by far our greatest discipline problem. I have never met a child like her. Seriously, please pray for her. I thought Lauren looked cute in this one though it makes Flor look a little handicapped...

So, Lauren and I are still friends. In fact, I am so thankful she is the one here with me. Surprisngly, we haven't taken any pictures together.. but two. We'll take care of that eventually.

Oh my, this took WAY too long. We should be back at this house within a week or so where we'll be able to update and receive emails (hint, hint). This will have to do for now.

Peace,

Mary Ellen, Maria Elena, MERM, Pollo, Ini