Some pictures from Linda:

Linda gave us a few pics last weekend that we never were able to put up from the visit of this precious couple from Michigan. They´re taking this dear teenager, Ramon home with them hopefully within the next few months! Here´s Ramon and his new dad.



Instantly buddies... Lorena was sad to see him go.



Its amazing how attached the kids can get so quickly. Its definately not hard to attach to them either.



Ramon with his new mom.




We´ll end this with a video from when Ramon met his new dad for the very first time... and when he was reunited with his momma. So incredible!

Counting down to the goodbye.

Sweet little Rebeka lost a tooth. Samuel, one of the staff, said he was going to pull it out with a piece of string, but she wanted to do it herself. That 'a girl.












The next several photos are of the Michigan group that's here right now. We're so thankful that they're here. If you're ever interested in coming down to serve, talk to these guys. They came down with a plan, ready to work, and are following through. Go team!







Mark, with her future daughter (at left), Jasmin (one of five). Pray for this adoption!
















Abby has made herself right at home. She's been very warm to the kids and is always spending time with them.



Lice check.










Katie, a new addition to the staff team, is hanging out with Julian (our only baby at Lily) along with Sylbia and Mague. Katie, who's had a relationship with the orphanage for several years, is here with her husband, John. They're staying in one of the new apartments in the back of the property, and at this point, are working on finding where they best fit into serving. I'm so thankful that they're here, and I know that Mama and Papa are, as well. The day that several of our girls got their heads shaved, Katie was a source of comfort. She's their hero.




Christy, with her future daugter, Marta, at right.




Mark in the kitchen with several kids, including Angel in the jean jacket, his future son, as well as his little brother, Rafa (red shirt).






Yep, Careli lost all her hair. And is looking pretty weird in this baby hat thing she found. Don't you miss her, Sid?



Receiving a donation. This happens all the time. A car pulls up with all kinds of food that Mama and Papa has no idea about. Praise God.





Cute little Tonito. (Antonio)



This is why we got rid of the kittens...we found them EVERYWHERE. Don't make fun of my t-shirt pillowcase. You gotta do what you gotta do.







No thoughts this weekend. I took a nap instead of making more time for the blog. Please forgive me. Merm, thanks for writing so much. Hope the photos are sufficient. Somebody eat some macaroni and cheese for me.

Hair and Company

Let's mix it up and put the entry at the start of the blog. Gettin' crazy in Mexico.
Believe it or not, it is cold in Mexico and the whole house is sick. Over the past couple of weeks nearly everyone has faced a plague… this includes a terrible cough, all-over body aches, and often a fever. I’m finally getting over my bout with the plague after a week of battling. I bought some prescription medicine over the counter (love that about Mexico) and have noticed an almost immediate improvement. I still have an awesome nasal sound added to my already southern voice (I never knew I had such an accent until Linda started pointing it out), but I imagine I’ll be sleeping through the night in a matter of days. Unfortunately, Lauren and I are pretty convinced we won’t really be “better” and “healthy” until we get back to the States.

Because of both the cold front and the fact that our time is coming rapidly to a close, Lauren and I started having some of the girls sleep with us. They serve as good company and are kinda like an electric blanket. I think its adorable that they would want to be our little bed buddies.

I started reading Suffering and the Sovereignty of God this week. My dad brought it to me when he was here though I didn’t ask for it and I must admit it was the sovereign hand of God that brought it here. The book was made as a result of a conference… the book reaches a broader audience than the conference did… you know, like me, in Mexico. It has been so good for me to read. I hadn’t realized how this experience was testing my theology. Wednesday morning, I was in charge of doing the devotions and wanted to talk about what the Lord was teaching me about this. I got up in the morning in a terrible mood and confessed to Lauren that the last thing I wanted to do was share with the kids about the Lord. Thankfully, I didn’t have a choice… and so the Lord continues to break me of my desires and challenge me to follow through with my responsibilities. I started with the same confession to the kids- about my exhaustion and selfishness as a result of a dumb sickness thats been keeping me from sleeping. Thanks be to God the Spirit moved in me and changed my attitude as I talked... I ended up crying as I shared about the Lord and His sweet sovereign hand over them. It is so hard to look at a group of one hundred abused (in every way our sick minds could imagine), abandoned, lonely children and tell them this about the Lord. Only the Spirit could convince me of this truth, and He did so by giving me a picture of Christ in my mind… beaten, mocked, abandoned. Judas kissed Him on the cheek and then gave the Innocent over. I am ashamed to confess that this horrifying truth can sound so cliché to me at times. Yet despite my lack of reverence, we have this Savior that is able to identify with all of our pain and emotions. The whole thought process really birthed from meditating on Hebrews 2:10-11, 17-18:
"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren…Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted."
I have friends that worship false gods... the gods of Hinduism, the thoughts of Buddha, and the false god that many Americans call the God of the Bible. This Jesus that I worship does not look down on the pains of these children with hopelessness or fear. He can identify and sympathy with all that they feel. I love this about the true and living God. I'm thankful to be exposed to this and be changed through the fire. God is good in a million ways.

I’ve been really anxious about going home… this time about what I’m supposed to do. As always, “I have an idea…” about what I could do, but nothing is very clear. Last time I said those words I ended up in Mexico. Oh me. Its hard to plan because I still can't imagine life without these kids. They've captured me.


Americans! We had a group of 12 arrive from Michigan Friday night to begin a week-long trip. For all of you Michigan-based readers, your friends and/or family has arrived safely and are doing well. The kids like visitors; it livens up the routine.... frankly, I do too. Oh, and this group is a good one. They all seem to know at least a little Spanish, and they came ready for work. Seriously, the men were literally covered with grease to their elbows by lunch their first day. They all said to tell you "hello" and I plan on getting some feedback from them before they leave next weekend. Its hilarious who has stumbled across this little blog. It was started for our friends and supporters, but some of these strangers-made-friends in the visiting group came in quoting stories and referencing recent activities. Hilarity. Point is, look for some more "special guest appearances" next week from Michigan mouths.

**For those of you who read this and know Sadie Cravens, please call her on her birthday. She’s turning 14 on November 5 and I know it’s gonna tear her up that we’re missing it. That lil’ gal and her sister are absolutely precious to me, so love on them if you can.

Have a joyous week, my friends.
Mary Ellen
_______________________________
And now its photo time:

Linda and I went to pick up a buch of kids the other day from school-- in a pick-up truck. I was feeling a little insecure about driving the stick-shift so I took the back and stuck her in the front. They were good times.
This kid's name is crazy hard to say. ...and guess how old he is... now guess how old his dad is. I promise you'll never guess! (**Answer will be featured at the bottom of this entry)



Me and some of the cutest boys ever in the back of the truck.



I tried to put these pictures up last week and failed. Because of the inevitable lice problem, Mama finally got fed up and decided to shave some heads. I was initially really defensive of the girls, but now that I've gone a week without lice, I think Mama is a genius. It was one of the craziest days yet at the orphanage. I had to hold Flor Susanna down (she now looks like a little boy) and put Brisa in my lap for the cuts. My clothes were covered with the hairy mess.
So, this is an overview of the chaos... in case you ever wondered what it looked like when a salon comes to an orphanage. These "new talents" are the ones that gave Lauren and I our classy, feathered hair-do's.



Brisaida... being a little goofy. Her sister refuses to let me take a picture of her while Bri would pose for hours. She's one of a few that live at the orphanage with their mom, "Tia Celsa"... the only reason this little lice-infested hair continues to esacape.



They told Alondra (lil' girl on the right) that her hair was going to look like Mrs. Beckham... hilarious. She has no idea who that is or why that would ever be cool- a little young for the Spice Girls. Look at Brisa on the right... Mama said she was gonna have to lose all her hair, so she was in panic mode.



Ana Karen was hilarious with these ladies. I ain't gonna lie.. I was pumped to see her hair go. We'll go ahead and call her a "carrier."



These are a few of the girls that escaped the hair masacre.



Brisa and Jasmin... Brisa cried and cried before her hair was cut. I literally had to hold her in my lap, covered with hair, as they cut it off. Afterwards, we went and gelled her hair and styled it a bit. I took a couple pics and she was sold on her new look. Jasmin embraced it from the start. She wanted it cut and was proud of it as soon as she stood up. I think some of her future family members from Michigan read this, so I thought you'd appreciate a picture. This girl is great.



A couch shot... hilarious. Look at all their faces.



Just a few of the girls that endured the loss.



They all really lost their personalities with their hair.



I know I have a ton of these, but Karen was just too hilarious in this one.



This is one of the pictures I kept trying to put up last week... Beto, Karla, Ruby and Joana makin' cookies with Ramon's future fam.



That's it for this week. Love ya'll.

***Answer: the age of the kid featured above in the back of the truck= 8 years old. His dad, no joke, is ninety something. What in the world?!

Merm here...

A bunch of the girls got their hair cut off this week due to the lice. Oh me. This isn't even all of them.

More of the group cooking away...



The group that came to visit their new family member, Ramon... they made cookies with Linda. THe kids LOVE Linda's cookies and cinnamon rolls. They were talking about them long before she came.



Look at this precious lil' boy.



I surprised Ana with a cake for her 11th brithday... Chocolate con fresa, su favorito.



Joana and her "computer"... I love the creativity.



I have some more fun pictures, but I'll have to try to load them later... we're totally out of time!

Here Kitty, Kitty:
I mentioned in my last blog that due to the allergy-irritating kittens that had consumed our home I was forced to wear my glasses. Well, I made it my mission to get rid of the little things (everyone was talking about it.. but no one was doing it). Mid-week Maria Elena (the Mexican), our precious down syndrome baby, me and the 7 kittens piled into the car. My plan was to take them to the pound (mama gave me incredibly vague directions), drop off my other two passengers, and then head downtown for the two boys at their special school. We didn't have a box to put the kittens in, so someone put them in a garbage bag and stuck them in the backseat. We weren't two minutes from the house before the things were crawling all over the car... and me.. and Maria Elena and the baby! We were cracking up. At one point there was one on M.E.'s back and head, one at my side and one at my feet... right there with the gas and break pedals. We had to pull over and put them in the trunk, praying they didn't die from the heat. At this point, we were out of time and decided to head toward her drop off point. We stopped once to ask a group of men selling tires and car parts if they wanted a cat. They didn't. One man spoke English- he told me he grew up on the border in Tijuana, learned English there, was driving around the country selling old tires from the back of his truck and smoking lots of marijuana. Yikes. He had enough wrinkiles to make me believe he'd actually never been indoors, and he never did explain how he lost all his front teeth. Adventure. Two and a half hours later after dropping of ME, picking up the boys, and picking up ME we set back out to get rid of the cats. We ended up at the city trash dump. This was the most disgusting, poverty-stricken neighborhood I have been yet. There were people digging in the dumps for their daily needs, houses built literally of boxes and old tin roofs, and so on. But, we still had no home for the "gatitos". After making a couple more wrong turns we came up to the "pound". Maria Elena, the Mexican!, let me do all the talking. Thanks. The man had me bring the cats in (in their trash bag, mind you) and put them in a cell where one little kitten was waiting for company. The thing was pitiful: he had no eyes, his hair was matted with blood and who knows what else, and his tail was hairless, like a rat's tail. For all you animal lovers, I am sorry for sharing this story. It was honestly only one of many insane things that happened this week. I hate it for the cats, but I'm glad to be waring contacts again.

Linda:
So, as we mentioned, we have the pleasure of being in the company of Linda for a few weeks. She's been such a treat and doing some pretty incredible works here. The Lord is doing some huge things with adoption through her. On top of that, she's been an unbelievable blessing to Lauren and I. We haven't had a lot of womanly influence since we've been here, so its been so great to learn and fellowship with her. The other day she rode along with me to pick up the boys and have some pictures developed.. we're on the main road from the orphange talking about the ins and outs of adoption (I had a ton of questions, cuz I don't know anything about the process) when all of a sudden a truck pulls up next to us, trying desperately to get our attention. I hesitantly look over, assuming their creepy men, but it was a young mexican couple interested in adoption. I translated (always hilarious), introduced trhem to Linda, gave them little bits of information that we knew and went on our merry way. This is a place of miracles.
By the way, my dad helped me work on my stick-driving skills while he was here. I've learned to start the car a good 5 times but no one has ever taught me to slow down and stop. Since my two mini-lessons with pops I've driven multiple times. Linda got to help me through Chihuahua city (something I swore I wouldn't do until I had practiced at least 3 weeks). I only killed it once in the middle of a major road.

Fellowship:
Lauren and I spent the weekend with at the home of Paloma and Greg. Paloma is from Mexico and met Greg while they both studied at John Brown. They do a ton with the different orphanges... the two seem to have their hands in a little of all the ministries here. They are stinking amazing. Paloma had the two of us, three other girls serving at another orphanage in the city, and a girl that just started a transition home for girls that grew up in the orphange and are transitioning into the real world. It has been an amazing 24 hours. We all have this insane common interest and experience... and we've been able to laugh a bunch as we share ridiculous stories and life-lessons. We're all about the same age and totally blown away by the work of the Lord here. My mind is spinning with ideas and convictions and thoughts about the Lord. What in the world does the Lord want me to do with my life?!

Growth:
I've been learning a lot and having some really sweet times with the Lord. I'm flying through the books (well, one so far) that my parents sent me and so thankful for the new reading material. I'm learning more about suffering and the goodness of God... I'm so thankful for this experience, these people, and the things the Lord is exposing me to. The weeks are flying by... only 7 left, I think. Ah, I am sick-anxious about leaving. I think I'm going to have the girls sleep with me every night, embrace the lice, just to hold on to these moments. I. love. these. girls. Please pray that the Lord would start preparing me for the goodbye.
I pray you're all well. As always, thank you for loving children that some of you have never met. Thank you for loving and supporting us. Thank you for reading our stories and praying. I'm really overwhelmed and thankful right now.
Peace be with you!
Maria Elena

P.S. (as always) Family, since I've been sitting here writing this, Jim Croce and John Denver have played in the background... I'm in the car with you all, singing along and we're on our way to some fancy family vacation... North Carolina or something. :) Miss ya'll and our road trips.

It's Linda again...

Big God, Little Me.

This past week I have been in awe of how BIG my God is. Things that have developed and happened this week were a direct result of things God spun into the divine plan many years ago. I am speechless when I see God's hand in events from recent occurences, but when I can "connect the dots" from 50 years, I fall to my knees in worship and total adoration.
Ramon was able to meet his new dad this week and get re-aquainted with his new mom and sister. Words could never describe this moment except to say that I could feel the hush of angels wings.
Monday, Oct. 22, I have an extremely important meeting regarding a sibling group of 3 girls and I am asking for your prayers. BIG GOD, little me.
My most heart-wrenching moment this week was when an 18 year old girl came to me and asked me if I could find a mom and dad for her. She desperately wanted to be adopted. Her pleading eyes and sincere heart just broke me. So, for all of you who read this, please help me pray for these kids. I know that an "official" adoption is not possible... but maybe an "unofficial" adoption of the heart could work for teens who have graduated from High School and would like to study (work in the US with families). At what age are you too old to be loved and part of a family? Maybe 120 years old, I don't know.
Supplies for the "BEDS for BOYS" project were officially ordered and scheduled to arrive in time for Hart Baptist Church to work with. Twelve people from Hart, Michigan coming down from Oct 26th- Nov. 3rd. Their goal is to build 32 STURDY beds for the new boys casa and 8 homework tables. Also, there are numerous electrical and automotive projects as well. Please pray for this work team to be a blessing and to be blessed.
I love you all,
Linda

A note from Lorena

This weekend Merm and I were able to hang out with some more pretty cool people. We’re constantly being introduced to awesome Godly people in Chihuahua who challenge us, serve us, and encourage us. It’s been good for me to talk about all that’s happened and is happening at Lily, and to hear what’s going on within other ministries in the city. I’ve been reminded of how much I love life at Lily, and frankly, I’m getting a little freaked out about having to leave in a month and a half.

I’m growing more comfortable with the kids, and with comfort comes out more sin. Unfortunately, as my Spanish is getting better, I’m learning how to talk back to the kids. Yeah. It’s not good. My temper is shorter, and when the kids come to me with the same problems and excuses, I’m not giving them a chance to be heard. I just cut them off. And then I feel awful. They really are family, and with family, I think we feel more freedom to use our words in a hurtful way. This week, I’ve tried to be more Christ-like in this area. When the kids get home from school, I’m prayerfully trying to love on them more. I want to give them a big hug and ask them about their day, instead of sitting them down to do homework right away because I assume it won’t get done otherwise. Or at night, when the same girls complain of stomachaches, I want to sit and empathize with them instead of sending them to bed, upset and annoyed with me because I don’t want to listen. But it’s so hard! God continues to love us through His grace, despite the million times we screw up. I don’t understand His love, but I know that I’m called to imitate it through His Spirit.

Speaking of stomachaches, so many kids and staff are sick right now. The climate is changing and as a result, we’re all a little messed up. Each night at bedtime we carry around a couple bottles of medicine and hit every kid that has a cough, and fever, or a headache. A different combination of kids have stayed home from school everyday this week because they’ve been too sick to go. Please pray for health in the house- I’m afraid that it’s never going to go away!

Adoption has been a hot topic lately because there are soooo many cases in the works. We’ve had a few different families come and visit recently who are adopting, and it’s incredible to see these new bonds grow. Linda has been busy ever since she got here- she has her hands full, for sure. On Monday, she’s going on a search for a woman who has children at Lily. Currently, they don’t have the proper status to be adopted, and Linda is hoping to change her mind. I don’t want to puff Linda up, but the woman is on it. Not only is she incredibly persistent with keeping these cases moving, she’s constantly ministering to the staff and kids at the house. She’s been a blessing to me, and I know the kids are thankful for the few weeks she’s able to spend with us. They’re also excited for the group from her church to come- the poster with all the faces is a big hit, Stacy. And it’s still intact. :)

Okay, photos. I got lots of ‘em.

Oh, the kittens. We finally took them to the pound. Well, Merm did. In a bag. You should ask her about it. Funny story.




Lorena, on the left, is one of the girls who will prayerfully be going through the adoption process in the future. How exciting! Side note, Jaqi is totally crossed-eyed looking at her toothbrush. Actually, I bet 20 bucks that isn't hers.




Lorena and Gabue.




The kids work for an hour every afternoon. They love it.




Another Gabue.




Gabue and Christian with Carla Joanna, who is a pretty hard worker. The couple who's adopting she and her brother, who's at another orphanage, are staying with us at the house right now. Pray that the end of the process runs smoothly so that they kids will be able to go home to Tennessee by Christmas.




Jennifer, one of the highschoolers who I've been able to get to know a little better. She's sweet. Always makes sure I get a hug in the morning before she goes to school.




Mireya, who's in the charge of the work in the afternoon- she means busniess. She's very responsible and the little ones seem to love her a lot.




Flor in a dumb fight over a stick.




A work group.




Jasmin, on the left, is being adopted along with her 4 siblings. Beti, on the right, has 2 other siblings at Lily. I'm working with her now on learning the alphabet.





One afternoon, I picked up Kachito and Ramon from school in the blue truck, so we were all squished into a tiny space. The trip home turned out to be a great opportunity for a photo shoot. Here are a few highlights. PS- Kachito is a nut.





















Thanks for keeping up with us, friends and strangers. Please keep Lily in your prayers.