So cute, Riley's. She is one awesome gal.
Karla was chosen to march with a few other girls from the primary school. She looked os cute.
This is me and my girl Karla afterwards... she's one I'd love to take home with me. She's not smiling cuz she was ticked off about the parade. She said the girl in front of her wasn't taking it seriously and threw her off the whole time. It was cute to see her get mad about it.
Rubi..
Brenda had the cutest costume of them all. She has no hair, so it was sweet to see her feel girly again. The speed-talking tomboy has another side to her after all.
One of our days off we took the kids to the park in the afternoon... these guys are so dang cute.
Brendita and the monkey bars. She fell right after this.
Scooting away after the big fight.
Flor loves dogs a bunch.
Luz and Yenifer... the best of buddies.
Doug, you look hilarious in this one. I like have you fellas here because you can stand to carry the kids around for insanely long lengths of time.
Cielo with Vito's sunglasses. She thinks she's hialrious.
I´m not going to lie about the fact that we show a little favoritism toward the Kinder-kids. I picked them up last week... we got Takis (the teeth-roting spicey chip that every Mexican loves) and went back to the house. The kids drove, we took pictures, it was fun. I want to keep him forever.
Pablo with one of his buddies from school looking like Revolutionaries.
This is Luis... check out that stache.
Some of the boys resting after all their boogying and marching.
The wall says, "Drugs Kill." I love this picture.
Some of the teenage boys at the end of the parade. What studs.
Javier... such a jolly guy.
Brenda had the cutest costume of them all. She has no hair, so it was sweet to see her feel girly again. The speed-talking tomboy has another side to her after all.
Me and gramps. I love this man... and I finally got him to smile for me. Abuelo and his wife work at the orphanage. We pay them in food. They are two of my favorite people around.
One of our days off we took the kids to the park in the afternoon... these guys are so dang cute.
Brendita and the monkey bars. She fell right after this.
Vito bought this Spiderman pinata for his brother's birthday. You'd think it would have been a blast for the kids... Luis got smacked in the face by Beto when he swung for it, none of the little ones got a single piece of candy because the big kids tackled them and took it all, and they were all rebuked because they were late taking baths. At least we got a good laugh from the event.
I had someone sleeping with me every night this week. Friday... I had two. This was a tight squeeze and almost resulted in a broken arm for me.
These are from last week:
So, we got this donation of clothing last week. Included in the mix of jackets and shirts was a tiger costume. I kept hoping someone would find it and try it on. Both Tonio and Abelardo did. SO awesome.
Here's Tonio after he defeated his little sister. She's 3, I don't know if he can brag about his muscles.
So, we got this donation of clothing last week. Included in the mix of jackets and shirts was a tiger costume. I kept hoping someone would find it and try it on. Both Tonio and Abelardo did. SO awesome.
Here's Tonio after he defeated his little sister. She's 3, I don't know if he can brag about his muscles.
Scooting away after the big fight.
Flor loves dogs a bunch.
Luz and Yenifer... the best of buddies.
Doug, you look hilarious in this one. I like have you fellas here because you can stand to carry the kids around for insanely long lengths of time. Cielo with Vito's sunglasses. She thinks she's hialrious.
I´m not going to lie about the fact that we show a little favoritism toward the Kinder-kids. I picked them up last week... we got Takis (the teeth-roting spicey chip that every Mexican loves) and went back to the house. The kids drove, we took pictures, it was fun. I want to keep him forever. Neither of these two ever lack expression or animation.
New girl Yoseline with Carely and Jaqueline. These girls are awesome.
New girl Yoseline with Carely and Jaqueline. These girls are awesome.
Andrea is such a cartoon.
I´ve never known a brother-sister pair to love each other so much. When I pick the kids up, I get Jacqueline first. I go to Antonio´s class second... he runs out, gives me a kiss and then the two of them hug for a good solid minute. It´s amazing. Here they are with Taki-fingers.
I won’t go on and on this week about the fact that our time here is nearly over. Two and a half weeks, actually. \ You all know and can probably imagine what we are feeling. It’s all so weird... we're sad, happy, freakin' out, tearing up frequently, hugging big, taking too many pictures, and so on. I said it all last week.
The kids only went to school for three of the five days which makes all the “routine” (if you can call it that) a little off. Mexico celebrated yet another Independence Day on the 20th… nearly 100 years since the Revolutionary War. A good ¾ of our kids got all dressed up and made their way down the main strip of Aldama dancing and such. They were awesome. I was so proud of our girls. I've never felt like such a mom. Lauren and I were among the many that helped them get ready- makeup and hair fixed. Noema, one of the staff, made all those flags you see the kids carrying. I hope the pictures and bit of video capture a little of how amazing these kids were.
The big buses have been down and now we’re out a car. I’m not a real dramatic person and don’t tend to worry much, but I’ll tell ya that when I saw the truck Lauren crashed in, my stomach turned. I am so grateful that she is okay. I cried in prayer Friday night in gratitude toward the Lord. His mercy is real. Please pray that her soreness would lessen and that she would be able to drive fear-free. We would love to start raising money for a new truck for them (as every vehicle is greatly needed!) though we don’t know what the details of that would look like. Please contact one of us if you’d like to help.
Thanksgiving. I can’t believe I missed it. This was the first major holiday I’ve missed in my life, and I am not a fan. Lauren and I went, along with Team Vito, the young newlywed couple living here, and Mama and Papa to Paloma and Greg’s house for dinner. I’ve mentioned Paloma and Greg before. They’re this incredible couple- he’s American, she’s Mexican- so they have that cool international flare. They seem to have their hands of support and encouragement in nearly every amazing ministry around this city. Point is, they welcomed us in with a few others for dinner. It was so good. She may be Mexican, but this woman fixed up a classic Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, every dessert that I love... She even went up to El Paso in order to get missing ingredients. No doubt we have been shown hospitality here. Our conversations were different than any other Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever had. We laughed over stories of the kids and ways we’ve seen the Lord work miraculously. We got Papa started on missionary biographies (my favorite too) and he couldn’t stop. Seriously, my faith was increased from this one evening. Oh, and we all laughed hard… really stinkin’ hard, which I love. I’m so sad I missed the comforts of home and family, but I am thankful for this Thanksgiving... that's appropriate, I think.
I know a lot of you have been praying for the Christmas in the Streets event… and God is definitely working through it all. We started a couple weeks ago praying and fasting every Friday night, and it has proven to be an amazing time. How often do you set aside 3 hrs to just pray? I don’t ever. The evening is presented as optional, so the kids that want to be there are there. As far as I know, all the food that we have been praying for has been provided, and we are now just waiting on the rest of the presents. Mama and Papa have been on the radio a ton and are now taking the kids with them to help announce it. Everyone is getting pumped… only two more weeks to work out all the details. Oh my.
I guess that's all for now. I've been told I write a bit much. Remember, I have one person to talk to here, so I think I'm excused. Call me and you won't have to spend all your time in front of the computer. Consider it, friends. Have a great week, our faithful readers.
I´ve never known a brother-sister pair to love each other so much. When I pick the kids up, I get Jacqueline first. I go to Antonio´s class second... he runs out, gives me a kiss and then the two of them hug for a good solid minute. It´s amazing. Here they are with Taki-fingers.
I won’t go on and on this week about the fact that our time here is nearly over. Two and a half weeks, actually. \ You all know and can probably imagine what we are feeling. It’s all so weird... we're sad, happy, freakin' out, tearing up frequently, hugging big, taking too many pictures, and so on. I said it all last week.
The kids only went to school for three of the five days which makes all the “routine” (if you can call it that) a little off. Mexico celebrated yet another Independence Day on the 20th… nearly 100 years since the Revolutionary War. A good ¾ of our kids got all dressed up and made their way down the main strip of Aldama dancing and such. They were awesome. I was so proud of our girls. I've never felt like such a mom. Lauren and I were among the many that helped them get ready- makeup and hair fixed. Noema, one of the staff, made all those flags you see the kids carrying. I hope the pictures and bit of video capture a little of how amazing these kids were.
The big buses have been down and now we’re out a car. I’m not a real dramatic person and don’t tend to worry much, but I’ll tell ya that when I saw the truck Lauren crashed in, my stomach turned. I am so grateful that she is okay. I cried in prayer Friday night in gratitude toward the Lord. His mercy is real. Please pray that her soreness would lessen and that she would be able to drive fear-free. We would love to start raising money for a new truck for them (as every vehicle is greatly needed!) though we don’t know what the details of that would look like. Please contact one of us if you’d like to help.
Thanksgiving. I can’t believe I missed it. This was the first major holiday I’ve missed in my life, and I am not a fan. Lauren and I went, along with Team Vito, the young newlywed couple living here, and Mama and Papa to Paloma and Greg’s house for dinner. I’ve mentioned Paloma and Greg before. They’re this incredible couple- he’s American, she’s Mexican- so they have that cool international flare. They seem to have their hands of support and encouragement in nearly every amazing ministry around this city. Point is, they welcomed us in with a few others for dinner. It was so good. She may be Mexican, but this woman fixed up a classic Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, every dessert that I love... She even went up to El Paso in order to get missing ingredients. No doubt we have been shown hospitality here. Our conversations were different than any other Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever had. We laughed over stories of the kids and ways we’ve seen the Lord work miraculously. We got Papa started on missionary biographies (my favorite too) and he couldn’t stop. Seriously, my faith was increased from this one evening. Oh, and we all laughed hard… really stinkin’ hard, which I love. I’m so sad I missed the comforts of home and family, but I am thankful for this Thanksgiving... that's appropriate, I think.
I know a lot of you have been praying for the Christmas in the Streets event… and God is definitely working through it all. We started a couple weeks ago praying and fasting every Friday night, and it has proven to be an amazing time. How often do you set aside 3 hrs to just pray? I don’t ever. The evening is presented as optional, so the kids that want to be there are there. As far as I know, all the food that we have been praying for has been provided, and we are now just waiting on the rest of the presents. Mama and Papa have been on the radio a ton and are now taking the kids with them to help announce it. Everyone is getting pumped… only two more weeks to work out all the details. Oh my.
I guess that's all for now. I've been told I write a bit much. Remember, I have one person to talk to here, so I think I'm excused. Call me and you won't have to spend all your time in front of the computer. Consider it, friends. Have a great week, our faithful readers.
Peace be with you,
Mary Ellen
I'm ending with a video... We told Mama we wanted to interview her (with our inflatably microphone) on behalf of Linda and Gary for their church presentation. I think she only heard "interview" and "Linda and Gary".. we had to do it over, but I thought I'd share with you the first clip. This woman is a nut. I'm gonna miss her... she's taught me so much about discipline and sacrifice and faithfulness amidst the highs and the lows... praise the Lord.
A couple questions about the comment-makers. Is "Kevin" THE Kevin Boswel or THE Kevin Foflygen? Second, who is "looking for you everywhere?" Were you in one of the groups this summer?
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3 comments:
Awesome! You got Thanksgiving! I wondered about you as I sat down for dinner on Thursday. I also need to say that I love that picture of Ramon. What a gorgeous brother I have. Keep em coming while you can. Praying for you! I know the time is drawing near...
Wow, what a great video!! Your laughter and face said it all...Joy and Happiness!!!!!Both of you are such blessings...It makes me feel selfish, to can't wait to see you and hold you and yet, I know the fabulous and awesome work and need for you there. You both seem to really have the hang of it all there....But my heart soar with JOY to see you again...I wish you could stay and yet be in your bed here with the fam... Precious and loverly you both are...Tell mama Rosa thank you for everything and hope to see her soon..Maybe not all the children will go Michigan, but some here in the bluegrass state!!!!I want soooo many too here with us, Mary Ellen. How many could we put in a queen size bed???......Love ya bunches, Momma
I am sooo thankful for that Mama video. I have been so jealous this whole time that I don't know her...but now, thanks to this LOVELY video...I can see the appeal! ;) Love it. Tell her thank you for such a wonderfully informational & professional interview!!!!!!!! :)
Love you girls!
-Merideth
p.s...I'm gonna just go ahead and say (also learned by watching the video) that the one thing you are gonna miss the most is the noise. I'm sure it has become uncontiously comforting. So I bet you go home and run the vacumn just for the continuous noise.
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