The Last Week Before Break

I can hardly believe that I'll be on a plane home in less than a week! I am definitely itching to see family and friends, but I am enjoying my last moments here as well.

My dear friend Diana came to visit last week bringing resources, wisdom, insight, and her wonderful personality :)! We had the chance to do a little sightseeing in the city of Guadalajara as well as integrate her skills into the classroom and general needs of the shelter. She was an immense blessing to all of us!

Another exciting piece of news is that the accreditation process is moving forward! We are going to be doing some paperwork after we return from break and are hoping to resolve it quickly.

We are still recovering from a week ravaged by sickness! We had just about everything you could imagine circling around: flu, strep throat, colds, coughs, tonsillitis, etc. Both Jenny and I were flat on our backs for a couple days trying to recover from the flu. Thankfully, we're on the upward swing, but most of us are still recovering in energy.

This week, we've been having lots of celebrations. The kids earned a compliment party for their school behavior, so we rewarded the boys with a pizza party and the girls with a sleepover! The kids also have a piano recital and a Christmas program coming up on Saturday. Our instruction has been filled with Christmas themes and activities.

I had the opportunity to meet with a dear friend who was visiting the city of Guadalajara this week, Pastor Antonio Gomez. I lived for a short time with his family in Torreón years ago. He has been very instrumental in my love for Mexico and the Spanish language, so it was a blessing to catch up with him!

In case I forgot to mention in previous blog posts, one of the owl eggs finally hatched about two weeks ago, so we've been having fun watching it grow! I've attached a picture of it below. If you look close, you'll see the heap of dead rats lying nearby :).

While I'm home, I'm going to be giving presentations at two different schools on the culture of Mexico, as well as giving multiple updates in other venues. I would appreciate prayer for the transition home and for good quality time with my family.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Hanging with Diana in Guadalajara

                                                                                              Diana sharing her mad guitar skills

Our little baby owl

Boys' pizza party

Girls' sleepover!

My visit with Pastor Antonio Gomez

Thanksgiving on the Beach...what?

A description of this week? The sounds of waves on the seashore, the beautiful breeze, sun, unlimited food and snack bars, sand squishing through toes, sunscreen, paradise....oh yeah, and 17 kids that can't swim! : ) I'm not sure "restful" would be completely accurate, but "beautiful" and "fun" certainly are! As an early Christmas present, the Acosta family treated their kids to three days at a beach resort on the Pacific Ocean and we got to tag along. I truly enjoyed our time. It was a blessing to be able to see the stunning beauty of the Pacific Ocean surrounded by mountains. I can truly say that this is the first (and probably the last) time I've ever spent Thanksgiving at the beach! I've attached pictures below.

Favorite quotes from the beach:
"My bathing suit isn't wet! It just has a lot of water in it!"-4 year old
"There's too much water in here!"-an 11 year old talking about the ocean
"I'm not even going to bug you tonight! "-4 year old talking about bedtime

On top of all that, Friday was spent preparing an elaborate Thanksgiving feast. The kids had been practicing Psalm 136 and recited it before the meal was served. I felt absolutely spoiled! Even though Thanksgiving is not a typical Mexican holiday, we have enough representatives from the U.S. to make it a tradition for the shelter!

We are eager to begin our last month of school before Christmas break. We still have no news on accreditation, but would appreciate continued prayer in that area.

One other fun piece of news is that my friend Diana is coming to visit for a week, arriving this Thursday! I would love prayers for her safe arrival! Happy Thanksgiving!

Jenny and I with some of the clan on our way to the super cool pirate swimming pool pictured below!

Our lodgings

Zipline!!!!!! This was at the resort as well, along with a mini-zipline for the kids. Super fun!

Teachers and interns! 

Stunning sunsets at the beach

The resort put on little shows every night. This was the kids' show that offered pictures with different Disney characters. :) 

The whole group at the beach-29 people in all!

 

Our massive Thanksgiving table                                         Desserts anyone? 

Just playing around in the yard! I loved this picture! 

A New Arrival

Last week, we received a new little two-year old girl at the shelter. She initially came with some stomach problems, but those seem to be getting better after a trip to the doctor. Overall, she is adjusting fairly well and is an absolute cutie! I've posted a picture of her below.

We've been feeling spoiled lately with special events! A group of women from the church comes monthly to do something special with the children. This week, they brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner...I mean EVERYTHING! We enjoyed all the typical U.S. treats-stuffing, turkey, ham, cranberry, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes (with gravy), pumpkin pie, apple pie, etc. I apologize if I'm making your mouth water :). The kids made a big poster with all the things they were thankful for and their words warmed my heart! I've attached a picture below of all these happenings.

We also were treated to a field trip by another friend of the shelter today. We went to "Trompo Mágico [Magic Top]", an absolutely amazing children's museum. The kids not only had a chance to explore the hands-on museum, but took classes at the museum as well (in music, movie-making, and drums). The outside of the museum had some more "extreme" activities like a zipline and bungie-on-trampoline activity. The kids LOVED it and had a chance to overcome some of their fears.

As a prayer request, our little one who gets seizures had another one at the museum today. We have to watch him closely for a while, but we were thankful for a number of things. First of all, we recognized some early symptoms so I was holding him when it occurred. This kept him from falling and injuring himself. Secondly, there was a first aid station right at the museum that employed a doctor. The doctor was able to help him right away and his fever was down within about half an hour. If this would have happened when we were still at the shelter, we would have had driving time to include before reaching a doctor. God is good and provides what is needed!

Our new precious 2-year old!

 

Left: The "mommy and daddy" referred to on this Thanksgiving note are the parents at the shelter. Right: The group of women from our church that come out once a month! 

Typical Camichines beauty...

Some of the kids with Dixie, Jenny's donkey, after her bath :)

Above: Our group at the children's museum

Below: The bungie/trampoline activity that the kids loved!

Mixed Emotions

On Monday this week, we were told that two of our kids had been adopted and would be leaving by the end of the week. The sudden transition was very emotional for all of us, as we had to say "goodbye" to two of our precious little ones. They have both transformed since their arrival and I praise God for bringing them here. We would greatly appreciate prayer in the weeks to come as they are adjusting to a new situation and we are adjusting to life without them. Our hearts are truly grieving their loss, but we are working hard to place them in God's hands and are hopeful that their new situation will provide them with stability and close family. We also pray that they would remember the truth about Christ and his sacrifice for them. We were able to send them off with their bilingual Bibles and a book of Bible stories to remind them of all they learned while they were here. I've posted a picture of them below. 

In regards to the accreditation possibility (mentioned in my previous post), we drove into the city with the kids last week to meet the government representative who is working on our case. He assured us that he was pursuing accreditation for us, but we still do not know if it is within reach. Continued prayer in this area would be greatly appreciated! 

Thank you for your prayers for health for all the kids! For the first time in over a month, none of the kids are sick!  I've posted some pictures below of general happenings in the house. Enjoy! :)  

It's corn time! The kids love taking the grain off the corn-in fact, they voluntarily spend much of their recess and playtime working on this job. They are preparing it to be ground, turned into "masa" and made into delicious corn tortillas!

Our weekly Bible study with the teenagers and older girls. We are currently studying Philippians. 

Piano lessons in session!

One of our kindergarteners learning to read

Above: Two of my buddies at a rodeo

Below: The cowboys bringing the bull down

Our Ladies Bible Study meets once a week. We're going through the new Beth Moore study on James and are absolutely loving this time to connect and learn together!

All 29 of us-staff and kids!

Accreditation Possible?

This week brought some exciting news for the shelter. First, we were able to obtain health insurance for every single one of our kids, even for those without birth certificates! This was evidence of God's hand at work and of his goodness!

Secondly, we found out that there is a possibility of becoming an accredited school, which would allow the kids that have birth certificates to take national tests in order to advance further in school. The church we attend in Guadalajara runs an English immersion Christian school, and the accreditation would be available if we partnered with them as a branch of their school. I would appreciate prayer for the whole process. Jenny and I sent in our resumes this week, and it is quite possible that we will be receiving a visit from a government representative who will observe us teach. This would truly be a blessing for the kids!

As for day-to-day living, I'm loving the adventure of teaching and learning right along with the kids. I taught both Bible classes in Spanish this week, which stretched me and encouraged me in my Spanish acquisition. My students and I had a good laugh when I accidentally said "the potato told his sons to come" instead of "the father told his sons to come." Yeah...let's just say my Spanish is a work in progress!

A quick prayer request: We've had Chicken Pox passing from child to child for about 3 weeks now. We think we're almost done with it, but currently the two babies have it. Please pray for healing! Thank you so much!

The kids earned a "compliment party" from us this week, something they've been working toward for a long time. So, we celebrated "Wacky Day" on Friday! As part of the festivities, we also dissected two owl pellets (don't worry, we sterilized them) that Jenny and I collected ourselves. What an experience! We discovered a bird beak and its bones in one, and a series of mice skulls and jaws in the other. We continue to use the owl as an educational experience, keeping tabs on the eggs-charting when they will hatch, watching what the owl brings to the nest, etc. SO COOL! I've posted pictures of Wacky Day below!

Wacky teachers (Jenny, myself, and Meredith-the intern who is with us until December)

Owl Pellet #1-bird discovered inside

Owl pellet #2-Mice/other small animal bones discovered

Falling into the Routine

Even though I've been here a month, I've just begun to feel as though a routine is emerging. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my role, knowing when to help and when to rest.

My typical weekday looks something like this:
6:45-Have devotions and watch the sunrise
8:15-Grab breakfast and head to the schoolroom
9:00-Kids arrive
1:30-Lunch break!
4:00-School ends/Start supervising piano practices
4:30-8:00-Various activities (exercise, rest, study Spanish, help in the house with childcare or dishes)
8:30-Bible study (2-3 days a week)

Saturdays are a workday for me as well. I teach 3.5 hours of piano in the afternoons and then spend the majority of the day planning for the next week's lessons.

Sundays-the day of rest! Much of this day is taken up with the 1.5 hour drive into Guadalajara both ways and errand running if necessary (since it is the only day we are in the city). But I'm still hoping it will lend itself well to rest.

Overall, I'm busier than I expected, but I've really been enjoying it so far! It is amazing how close I feel to the students already after only one month. But teaching and living with them all at the same time will do that, I suppose! We've been having so much fun together! I've made them all into little bird-lovers (as I mentioned earlier) and I still giggle when I'm in the middle of teaching a lesson and they excitedly point out the window, saying: "Look Maestra Amber! A great egret!" One boy in particular is making his own bird list. When I told him today that I had found a bird book for him to read, he got so excited he sprang up and gave me a hug! :)

Along that note, we discovered that barn owls have made their home in the third story of the house. It is still unfinished, so it provides perfect lodging for them. Talk about a science teacher's dream! Owl pellet dissection, anyone? (Don't worry-we're going to figure out a way to do this in a sanitized manner). Or how about deciding to do a book club on owls, then taking your students on a field trip upstairs to see them? We also noticed that the Acostas' recently born kittens have gone missing in the past week...I'll let you piece that one together!

On a more serious level, one of our littlest boys had two seizures yesterday and had to be rushed to the hospital. He has had them in the past, but not this close together. We would love continued prayer for his health! We also would appreciate prayer for a couple children that currently have hardened hearts toward the Lord. One voiced quite clearly that she was upset with the Lord for letting the past pain in her life occur. We all deeply need wisdom to know how to help them not only process their past, but let life in. I know that God is mighty and he is the one who can touch their hearts. Also, Chuy (the dad in the home) is currently away presenting at a conference for the week. We are praying for his trip to go well. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Corn Harvest Celebration- "La Elotiza"

To celebrate the corn harvest, we invited a large group of people over to the house and grilled corn all day long! The kids look forward to this every year, as they get to eat as much corn as they want and play with kids from church for hours. In true Mexican style, there really wasn't an end time, so people stayed all day, enjoying fellowship and food. It was helpful for me to be able to meet a few more people as well. I've posted pictures below.

This week, I presented the gospel to the older kids in a very explicit way. I pray that God is sowing seeds of understanding in their hearts and giving them the desire to know him.

The keyboard stopped functioning last week, which placed a halt on my piano lessons. But thankfully, we found the fix today so we only lost one week. One student in particular came into the initial piano lessons dragging his feet because he didn't have a lot of confidence in his ability. It's fun to see how his confidence has been built in just a short time. HE was the one asking me when the keyboard could be fixed and when we could continue lessons :). I love it!

We were all very excited to welcome the new intern Meredith on Thursday, who will be here with us until December. She will be helping Jenny and I with the younger kids in the mornings and then will help provide childcare for the babies in the afternoons. She will be a wonderful help to fill in what is needed. God always knows what we need, and I'm learning that firsthand!

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Shucking corn in preparation!

The large homemade grill!

The crowd enjoying the corn and fellowship!

I've just posted some fun bonus pictures below: 

This is the roof, where I bring all my 2nd-5th grade readers every day to read. Talk about beauty! Can you imagine having your silent reading time look like this everyday? :)

One of our littlest! Such a joy :)

A storm brewing over the mountains at sunset....Power and beauty combined!