Buenas dias!
We had a really good practice last night for our worship service we'll be doing this afternoon. God has really empowered our youth for this experience! Just an example was when Desi took some quiet time by herself in the dining hall to pray to ask God how He could best use her for the dance she and Catherine will be doing during the service. She wanted the dance to be able to speak to the congregation here whatever the message that God wanted them to see / hear / get. The worship service is at 3pm this afternoon (MDT). Please keep our youth and their congregation in your prayers today. The theme is: "Corazones Solitarious" (Lonely Hearts)...and yes - it's in Spanish and English!!!
Stay tuned later today for more info --
In Christ's Love,
Barb
PS - Please check back to previous daily posts - there are times we add more photos or our youth add more info later in the day (or sometimes I'm unable to get all the photos posted until the next day.)
---------------------------
Hello and blessings from Jackie,
The worship service was a wonderful spiritual experience for everyone. The youth practiced hard and did an outstanding job. Many are fluent in Spanish so it was a bilingual service. They are all very talented and God's love shone through each of them. It is such a blessing for me to be here with them. Thank you all for loaning your kids for this life changing experience.
Hogar de Ninos doesn't look like the same place that I first worked at last summer. Christ Church has transformed the grounds and buildings. Rebuilding the perimeter fence and getting the large security lights working, building a roof over the dish washing area and clotheswasher porch were huge improvements last year. Some painting and smaller projects kept us very busy. This year, the transformation has continued. Adding a large covered patio area outside the cafeteria has been the greatest thing we could have done. Not only does it provide shade and cover from the rain it has become the place for lots of talk and fun. A big surprise is how it has cooled off the cafeteria which was always like an oven. The new paint on the girls and boys dorms covered peeling and faded paint of many colors. Their bathrooms and shower rooms sparkle with special mixed colors created by the youth. Of course it was fun to see Rex on the backhoe literally changing the landscape and making huge improvements that would not have been possible any other way.
The children were thrilled with a new pair of clogs and the new trampoline may be worn out within the month. It has provided endless fun and opportunities for sharing, helping younger kids and creating multiple games and activites for everyone.
Our youth are a blessing to all. God shows through their open hearts and loving spirits. Thank you all for sending them to this place to been such willing servants of God.
Peace and blessings,
Jackie Longmore
--------------------------------
Hi to all from Marit.
One of the fun things several of us have done in the afternoons after our work is done is to walk to the small village of Venadillo to buy Mexican cokes (taste better than the ones in the U.S.), and this really cool local sweet called bolis. These are milk and flavorings (pineapple, coconut, vanilla, chocolate, nut, strawberry, mango, guava, etc.) with some special secret additions that are frozen in a tubular plastic bag. All the local mercados carry them, and they are a real treat in the very hot afternoons. It takes most of the 15 minute walk back to the children's home to eat them.
Today we started for the village with about eight youth, picked up our cokes and bolis, and came back with several ninos in tow. The number of ninos we see at meals and staying for the night is very fluid - Candi just goes with the flow because when the ninos show up at the Hogar, it is often because their parents or grandparents don't have enough food to feed them.
Yesterday's excursion took us through the village of Venadillo, up a hill past papaya and mango trees, past a burro and some youth hanging around their house listening to Mexican hip-hop tunes (don't know if the burro was really listening but it was a real oxymoron), past chickens, dogs, trash, houses made of plastic sheeting and rusty metal sheeting next to houses in colorful adobe with carefully tended gardens, to a rancho on the top of a plateau. There were about five horses, 14 goats, three pigs, and numerous dogs there. The caretaker said they sometimes grew maize but there was not crop in the ground now; seems early summer is their winter. The horses seemed to be raised for sale for transport, the goats were kept to "eat the grass" although I didn't see any grass (remember I am an arid land ecologist, so I am used to barren landscapes) and not for food or fiber. I'm sure the pigs were raised for meat. And dogs are just part of the scenery. The folks who ran the place were so happy to see us, share their lychee fruits and show us all their other fruit trees we looked past the roughness of the operation.
Tonight is a "hang out" evening: youth and ninos jumping on the tramp, playing the blues on the guitar, jabbering away about stuff important to youth. The evening is cool and a light breeze is blowing. The cicadas started chirping at 8:02 as usual, and now the crickets are out as the last red light fades. Almost time for bed. G'night. Marit
-----------------------
Hi it's Desi!
Today was our worship service! It went really well! But the prep for it was really stressful! Last night our dance still wasn't done and I was freaking out! I knew that God wanted me to do the dance to show the people of this community our style of dancing, but I was very nervous to get up in front of people and dance! I sat in the dining hall asking God what I should do and not much was coming to me! Then Catherine came in and saw how upset I was by the whole situation and we sat down and talked for a good half hour! Finally we came up with a dance at about 11:30. The dance was pretty successful, but I sure am glad to have it done with!
So tonight is a really calm night! The air is cool and everyone is in a pretty light mood! David and Bryce are playing guitar, and we're all sitting around talking about nothing in particular! It's really nice! Thank the Lord for night's like this!
My ears have been having issues and everything sounds foggy! I'm very grateful for Dr. David who did a mini operation on my ear! Hope it works!
Mexico has some of the strangest bugs! They have these big beetles that fly around and crash into you! I call them the dumb bugs because not only are they super annoying, they are also really dumb and crash into everything! They're kinda funny though! There are definitely some rather mean mosquitos but not as many as I would've thought! I haven't seen any actual mosquitos but I have seen (and felt) their bite! Thank goodness for afterbite! A few days ago while painting, Becca, Kate and I saw a really awesome bright red little bug! It was similar to a potato bug in the fact that it curled up as a method of defense, but it was unlike anything I've ever seen!
Yesterday and today, we walked into town! I'm not a big fan of Coke, but here it tastes amazing! I think it's the fact that its so refreshing and cold, and that here it's made with real sugar instead of corn syrup! It's delicious! They also have things called Bolis which are like popcicles in a bag, and you bite off the corner and eat it right out of the bag! They're really yummy, but David is always worried about them and says he won't eat them since he doesn't know what's in it! I guess that makes sense but I think I'll still eat them, at least until they make me sick!
It's really fun listening to Tyler, Bryce and David play guitar! They're amazing! Earlier, David and Bryce were playing nice, slow, relaxing music, and now Bryce and Tyler are rocking out! They even take requests! Tyler sometimes plays this song and I do my "bull fighting dance" to it! It's pretty entertaining!
I'm thankful for everything we have down here and that we get to sleep in a little later from now on! I hope that everyone who is flying in and out in this next week gets where they need to be safely! I'm also very grateful for how close are group has become! We share our lives with each other and it's amazing how well we get along!
Hope everyone at home is doing ok!
-Love Desi
We had a really good practice last night for our worship service we'll be doing this afternoon. God has really empowered our youth for this experience! Just an example was when Desi took some quiet time by herself in the dining hall to pray to ask God how He could best use her for the dance she and Catherine will be doing during the service. She wanted the dance to be able to speak to the congregation here whatever the message that God wanted them to see / hear / get. The worship service is at 3pm this afternoon (MDT). Please keep our youth and their congregation in your prayers today. The theme is: "Corazones Solitarious" (Lonely Hearts)...and yes - it's in Spanish and English!!!
Stay tuned later today for more info --
In Christ's Love,
Barb
PS - Please check back to previous daily posts - there are times we add more photos or our youth add more info later in the day (or sometimes I'm unable to get all the photos posted until the next day.)
---------------------------
Hello and blessings from Jackie,
The worship service was a wonderful spiritual experience for everyone. The youth practiced hard and did an outstanding job. Many are fluent in Spanish so it was a bilingual service. They are all very talented and God's love shone through each of them. It is such a blessing for me to be here with them. Thank you all for loaning your kids for this life changing experience.
Hogar de Ninos doesn't look like the same place that I first worked at last summer. Christ Church has transformed the grounds and buildings. Rebuilding the perimeter fence and getting the large security lights working, building a roof over the dish washing area and clotheswasher porch were huge improvements last year. Some painting and smaller projects kept us very busy. This year, the transformation has continued. Adding a large covered patio area outside the cafeteria has been the greatest thing we could have done. Not only does it provide shade and cover from the rain it has become the place for lots of talk and fun. A big surprise is how it has cooled off the cafeteria which was always like an oven. The new paint on the girls and boys dorms covered peeling and faded paint of many colors. Their bathrooms and shower rooms sparkle with special mixed colors created by the youth. Of course it was fun to see Rex on the backhoe literally changing the landscape and making huge improvements that would not have been possible any other way.
The children were thrilled with a new pair of clogs and the new trampoline may be worn out within the month. It has provided endless fun and opportunities for sharing, helping younger kids and creating multiple games and activites for everyone.
Our youth are a blessing to all. God shows through their open hearts and loving spirits. Thank you all for sending them to this place to been such willing servants of God.
Peace and blessings,
Jackie Longmore
--------------------------------
Hi to all from Marit.
One of the fun things several of us have done in the afternoons after our work is done is to walk to the small village of Venadillo to buy Mexican cokes (taste better than the ones in the U.S.), and this really cool local sweet called bolis. These are milk and flavorings (pineapple, coconut, vanilla, chocolate, nut, strawberry, mango, guava, etc.) with some special secret additions that are frozen in a tubular plastic bag. All the local mercados carry them, and they are a real treat in the very hot afternoons. It takes most of the 15 minute walk back to the children's home to eat them.
Today we started for the village with about eight youth, picked up our cokes and bolis, and came back with several ninos in tow. The number of ninos we see at meals and staying for the night is very fluid - Candi just goes with the flow because when the ninos show up at the Hogar, it is often because their parents or grandparents don't have enough food to feed them.
Yesterday's excursion took us through the village of Venadillo, up a hill past papaya and mango trees, past a burro and some youth hanging around their house listening to Mexican hip-hop tunes (don't know if the burro was really listening but it was a real oxymoron), past chickens, dogs, trash, houses made of plastic sheeting and rusty metal sheeting next to houses in colorful adobe with carefully tended gardens, to a rancho on the top of a plateau. There were about five horses, 14 goats, three pigs, and numerous dogs there. The caretaker said they sometimes grew maize but there was not crop in the ground now; seems early summer is their winter. The horses seemed to be raised for sale for transport, the goats were kept to "eat the grass" although I didn't see any grass (remember I am an arid land ecologist, so I am used to barren landscapes) and not for food or fiber. I'm sure the pigs were raised for meat. And dogs are just part of the scenery. The folks who ran the place were so happy to see us, share their lychee fruits and show us all their other fruit trees we looked past the roughness of the operation.
Tonight is a "hang out" evening: youth and ninos jumping on the tramp, playing the blues on the guitar, jabbering away about stuff important to youth. The evening is cool and a light breeze is blowing. The cicadas started chirping at 8:02 as usual, and now the crickets are out as the last red light fades. Almost time for bed. G'night. Marit
-----------------------
Hi it's Desi!
Today was our worship service! It went really well! But the prep for it was really stressful! Last night our dance still wasn't done and I was freaking out! I knew that God wanted me to do the dance to show the people of this community our style of dancing, but I was very nervous to get up in front of people and dance! I sat in the dining hall asking God what I should do and not much was coming to me! Then Catherine came in and saw how upset I was by the whole situation and we sat down and talked for a good half hour! Finally we came up with a dance at about 11:30. The dance was pretty successful, but I sure am glad to have it done with!
So tonight is a really calm night! The air is cool and everyone is in a pretty light mood! David and Bryce are playing guitar, and we're all sitting around talking about nothing in particular! It's really nice! Thank the Lord for night's like this!
My ears have been having issues and everything sounds foggy! I'm very grateful for Dr. David who did a mini operation on my ear! Hope it works!
Mexico has some of the strangest bugs! They have these big beetles that fly around and crash into you! I call them the dumb bugs because not only are they super annoying, they are also really dumb and crash into everything! They're kinda funny though! There are definitely some rather mean mosquitos but not as many as I would've thought! I haven't seen any actual mosquitos but I have seen (and felt) their bite! Thank goodness for afterbite! A few days ago while painting, Becca, Kate and I saw a really awesome bright red little bug! It was similar to a potato bug in the fact that it curled up as a method of defense, but it was unlike anything I've ever seen!
Yesterday and today, we walked into town! I'm not a big fan of Coke, but here it tastes amazing! I think it's the fact that its so refreshing and cold, and that here it's made with real sugar instead of corn syrup! It's delicious! They also have things called Bolis which are like popcicles in a bag, and you bite off the corner and eat it right out of the bag! They're really yummy, but David is always worried about them and says he won't eat them since he doesn't know what's in it! I guess that makes sense but I think I'll still eat them, at least until they make me sick!
It's really fun listening to Tyler, Bryce and David play guitar! They're amazing! Earlier, David and Bryce were playing nice, slow, relaxing music, and now Bryce and Tyler are rocking out! They even take requests! Tyler sometimes plays this song and I do my "bull fighting dance" to it! It's pretty entertaining!
I'm thankful for everything we have down here and that we get to sleep in a little later from now on! I hope that everyone who is flying in and out in this next week gets where they need to be safely! I'm also very grateful for how close are group has become! We share our lives with each other and it's amazing how well we get along!
Hope everyone at home is doing ok!
-Love Desi
thanks for all the posts, I love to read the new ones and re-read the older ones. As I think of the value our CUMC youth bring to this small corner of the world I can't help but smile and shed a few tears. I miss Cari, and I am so glad she is there with a group of great people. Love to all, Jane Lott (aka Wallace)
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