Can´t deny that I love it here.

Before anything else, a few photos from today. Mary Ellen and I went to a church where about 20 of our kids were going to be singing at the service. Also, Mama and Papa were going to share about Navidad en la Calle (Christmas in the Streets), an event we´re having in a few weeks.

How precious are they. All dressed up, hair fixed.

The proud mom. Such a great mom.



Hanging out after the service by ol´blue.(Marcela, Karla, Jazmin)



Rebecca in the van, eating something covered in chile.

P.S. About today...so much fun. Most of the kids at the church were girls from our room and I was once again reminded of how much I love them. I´m having such a hard time gearing up mentally to leave this place in a few weeks. A few weeks! I don´t even like to say it. They are so special to me and I hate thinking about not having them in my life the way they are now. I read a little bit of what Mary Ellen wants to put on the blog about this very thing and it describes how I´m feeling as well. Please pray for us as we prepare to enter an entirely different world and leave this one.

I think I’ve said it before, but I love the evenings at the house- most of the kids are outside playing soccer or running around. I LOVE this time of day, because if I’m sneaky enough, I can walk around and watch all the kids, without being seen. (Didn’t mean for that to sound creepy…parents like to do that, don’t they? Just watch their kids be kids.) It’s in these evenings that I’m reminded of how much I adore being a part of this place. The sun in setting behind the mountains, and there are kids everywhere having so much fun, who came from all kinds of awful things. And now they are in a home with lots of other kids just like them. They have two parents who have sacrificed a “normal,” comfortable life to provide everything they can for their children. I wonder if some of these kids will ever be a part of another family, or if they’ll only know their Lily family. Being a part of a family of over one hundred isn’t ideal, but I’m constantly telling myself that where they are now is one million times better than where they came from. Yes, there are inconveniences. The kids aren’t hugged enough, sometimes not fed the most delicious meals, their few belongings (and ours) are constantly being stolen, they have to wake early in the morning because there is so much to do… but I believe that every child we have is being blessed by living here. They are constantly learning about the Lord through songs of worship, daily devotionals, and through God’s love that the staff are graciously able to exhibit. I hate that so many of the kids don’t see or believe that God’s hand is in what goes on in this place, but I hope that even if it’s years later, they will accept the truth and lay their lives at the feet of Christ. It’s frustrating to see the kids singing, and even proclaiming to be Christians, when their lives speak otherwise, but I pray that someday everything will make sense. The songs. The devotionals. The miracles. The servants that work so hard to provide a loving, stable home for them every single day. I pray that someday these kids will look at all of these things and see that they all point to Christ. Occasionally Mama Rosa will tell me a story of one of her kids that used to live here, and has later contacted her with good news about their lives. That they have gotten married, have a decent job, etc. What is the most encouraging is when someone calls to tell her that they didn’t appreciate what was done for them while living at Lily, but at some point, they understood that the Lord was in it, and put their faith in Him. These stories encourage me because living here everyday to see these kids indulge in their sin nature is heart-breaking. I see them look for fulfillment everywhere and in everything but Christ. And until they look to Him, they will never change.

I really just wanted to show you a few pictures from a walk I took around the property one day. Didn’t mean to write and write.

Beti, who just had her sixteenth birthday, is hanging out on some sort of tank (probably unsafe).




Her brother, Avelado, loves this dog (Lola). She lives at the jobsite and every once in a while makes the long walk home. The kids swarm around her every time she comes to visit, like something out of a cheesy Disney movie. It’s cute, though.



Nancy reading the bible. I wonder what she thinks of it. I need to ask her.



One night last week, Mary Ellen and I both had errands to run- she to the jobsite and me to Aldama. We piled lots of kids into both of the vans and took off. Constantly driving can get lonely at times, but not when you have the company of these girls.

Rubi and Lorena (being adopted) were the privileged two that drove us down the dirt road. They’re precious.



Gabi.



I took the whole group with me to return a video because I was too afraid to leave them in the car by themselves. However, I was also a little nervous that somehow, in walking two blocks, I’d come back with less than enough kids. (Rosi, Lorena, Karen, Rubi, Manuela, Gabi, Gabi, Brisa, and Osmara)



Rosi, Manuela (she and her two sisters, Cristal and Maria, were recently taken to live with their families again), and Brisa.



Rubi, Gabi, Lorena, and I.



Gabi and I. This girl gets cuter and funnier everyday.



Oh, Kachito. I’ll never have enough photos of him.



This is a favorite. He’s so expressive.



Irela, Carla Joanna (who is being adopted), and I.



New girls! We now have Josalin, who is in kindergarten and is extremely hard to understand…



And her older sister, Estefani, who’s in first grade (I think). Actually, neither of them have their long hair anymore. The poor things. They’ve adjusted well to living here; our biggest challenge is teaching them how to make their bed. So, they’re doing fine.



Rubi and I in my bed.

We originally told the girls we’d pull toothbrushes every night for who’d sleep with us, but didn’t follow through. Now we’re just letting girls who really want to take a turn. It’s a sweet deal for us because the nights are getting colder, so the girls are kind of like little electric blankets.




One day last week the middle school girls didn’t have to wear their uniforms to school, so here they are all dressed up. All these girls sleep in our room, and to be honest, they´re a handful. I love them, but they´re at the age where they want more independence and do not want to follow the rules. :) Please pray that they´d all come to know the Lord.



I needed to run some errands one day for Mama and knew I didn’t know exactly how to get everywhere, so I took Mague and Marcela with me. I thought if nothing else, they could be my comic relief if I get lost or frustrated. The trip ended up being a lot of fun because I don’t get to spend a lot of time with the kids in small groups. We laughed a lot- mainly at me because I was never quite sure where we were going, but laughing is laughing.



One of our tasks was to take one of Mama’s precious dogs to the vet downtown to get her stitches out. Oh, that was another reason I took the girls. I didn’t want to have to worry about a dog roaming around the van while I drove all over the city. Here’s Marcela outside the vet’s office, looking so pretty.



Ok, so here are the shoes I mentioned last week that came from the shoe bank we have for the kids. Brand new pair of the same shoes I bought three years ago at Wal-Mart. Pretty amazing.



Miriam and Leticia come with me when I run errands from time to time. This time, they came with me to Aldama to pick up kids from school. I don’t work with them much anymore on their reading skills, but Katie does. She’s great with them and the girls love meeting with her. Pray that they will learn to read and that they’ll know Christ, too.



Oh, Jaqi. You’re so cute. I had a lot of slobber and snot on my face after this one.



I’m telling you, once you meet the girl, you can’t help but love her. Just look at her.



Beti and her brother, Julio. She’s another victim of the clippers in an effort to get rid of lice.



Noema, one of the amazing staff here at the house. She’s been a huge help to Mary Ellen and I in mornings with our girls. She works so hard at her job, and has been sharing with some of the older girls, as well. So thankful for her.



One afternoon, Mary Ellen and I found our girls dancing…or maybe it was aerobics (don’t really know). Rubi and Karla were their leaders- very cute.



Navidad en la Calle (Christmas in the Streets) is almost here! The orphanage is throwing a huge party for all the kids in a really poor area here in Chihuahua on December 8. The kids are seen here preparing gifts for the kids (we’re expecting around 3,000 kids from the neighborhoods to show up) that include hygiene products and a few little extras. Some of the kids have used their own money to buy the items and are thrilled to be able to help those that have so much less than they do.







Mama, Papa, and Brenda have put so much time, prayer, and energy into planning this event.



Ramon showing off his shoebox gift for Navidad en la Calle.



Kachito and Ana (a teacher at his school) on the ride home.



The Maria Elenas. Except the Mexican one refused to let us take a picture of her. Maria Elena is on staff here and works with the first graders, as well as Kachito and Ramon in the afternoons. She also takes care of a two year old, Julian, who has down syndrome and other disabilities.



Last Friday, the boys dressed up for a holiday party at school. Here’s Kachito with the usual, an empty coke bottle, but with a little Mexican flare.



This was taken right after he threw his hat on the roof. Throwing things outside the van really make that kid happy.



And, he’s gonna throw it again.



Yes, Ramon has a painted on mustache.



This is your everyday Kachito and Ramon.



Getting ready to take off…



Yep. Unless I take him by the arm to his door, he always gets away.



Kachito and Ramon stay in a house with Gustavo, who also has disabilities but attends the public schools.





Mary Ellen and Gustavo are helping Ramon into the house. He’s almost always in his wheelchair, but his doctors say that with lots of therapy he could eventually use a walker.



Antonio, showing me that he can tie his shoes.



I went outside to hang out with the kids working, but instead I found them all playing soccer which is way more fun. In the foreground are Marcos and Javier (blocking the ball). Javi is a great guy and such a leader at the house. I admire his sweetness with the little ones and his responsibilty, as well.



Joana, drinking vegetable yogurt. Mmm.



Miraya, Noema, and Fabiola.




Little Brenda’s brother (don’t know his name!), Josman, and Emmanuel (brothers).




Everybody loves this guy. Vito lived at the house for 6 months several years ago, and now comes to visit a couple times a year. It’s neat to hear him tell stories about the kids from when they were much younger. I hope to have a relationship with the orphanage like he does. But he´s got a really weird sense of humor.




Can you guess what’s going on here? Marcela and Rubi are helping me check my hair for lice. So much fun.


Well, didn´t mean to leave on that note. Oh, I wanted to say something else about Navidad en la Calle. If you think of it, be in prayer for this event. We have enough food donated to feed all 3,000 kids that we´re expecting to show up in the neighborhood, but now we´re waiting on food for the 1,000 parents that will be there. Also, we´re still in need of about 2,000 juice drinks and lots more gifts. Please pray for these needs, as well as organization of the event. This is a huge event and we are a very small staff. Mama is hoping for 100 volunteers to be there all day to help with the gift giving, pinata time (we´re going to have 50 pinatas, how cool!), food distribution, and those bouncy things (we called them moon walks as kids, but here they´re called ´brinca brincas´). Most importantly, pray that God would be glorified through all this. That the kids would be blessed and see that all good things come from the Lord. Pray that He brings salvation to this community.

Thank you for sticking with me on this one. Quite lengthy with photos, but I can´t help but show off these kids.

Peace,

Lauren