- Tuesday 3/17 -
* 6:30am-8:00am - Woke up, ate breakfast, saw the kids off to school.
* 8:00am - Met the rest of the DOFO staff at the kitchen for coffee/daily staff meeting.
* 9:00am - 12:00pm - Worked clearing/tilling land for our garden and orchard and watered my garden!
* 12:30pm - Ate lunch with the Ninos!
* 1:15pm - Took my daily online Spanish lesson.
* 2:00pm - Left for Ensenada to take one of our older girls, Flor, for a fitting for her Quincenera dress! (Her big day is in April!)
* 5:00pm - After finishing with Flor's fitting, stopped by "El Trailero", the most amazing taco stand in Baja, for tacos and tortas.
* 6:00pm-8:30pm - Helped some of our oldest kids with finishing and printing their homework.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
...a day in the life...
Hi! So people ask quite often what a typical day looks like for me here at Door of Faith. And seeing as how there really are no "typical" days here, and how no 2 days here are ever the same, I thought I'd start keeping track of a few so you get the idea. :)
- MONDAY 3/16 -
* 6:30am - Woke up.
* 7:30am - Went down to the school room to pray with the kids before they left for school (we do this every Monday morning) only to realize that today was a National holiday and there was no school.
* 8:00am - Met the rest of the DOFO staff for coffee down at the kitchen.
* 8:30am - Left for the US with another volunteer, Kristy, to run some errands in San Diego.
* 11:00am-4:00pm - Finally made it across the border after a 1.5 hour line and between our states-side storage unit, multiple stores, banking and money exchanging, ran a BUNCH of errands.
* 5:15pm - Made it back to the orphanage in time to meet & greet a newly arrived group who is building a house for a family in our town.
* 5:30pm - had dinner with the kids (i miss them after not seeing them all day!)
* 6:30pm-8:00pm - Had some of the older boys over to play Guitar Hero at my house! (Which is AWESOME to watch!)
- MONDAY 3/16 -
* 6:30am - Woke up.
* 7:30am - Went down to the school room to pray with the kids before they left for school (we do this every Monday morning) only to realize that today was a National holiday and there was no school.
* 8:00am - Met the rest of the DOFO staff for coffee down at the kitchen.
* 8:30am - Left for the US with another volunteer, Kristy, to run some errands in San Diego.
* 11:00am-4:00pm - Finally made it across the border after a 1.5 hour line and between our states-side storage unit, multiple stores, banking and money exchanging, ran a BUNCH of errands.
* 5:15pm - Made it back to the orphanage in time to meet & greet a newly arrived group who is building a house for a family in our town.
* 5:30pm - had dinner with the kids (i miss them after not seeing them all day!)
* 6:30pm-8:00pm - Had some of the older boys over to play Guitar Hero at my house! (Which is AWESOME to watch!)
Friday, February 27, 2009
... hard times...
As the economy fails and the violence in Mexico gains more US news coverage, our visiting groups and donations decrease.
We've been making cuts where we can, but some things - such as weekly food dispenses to the poor in our community - we feel are too important to cut unless we absolutely need to.
we have been very blessed. our children are never without food, clothing, education, etc. but we are afraid for the seemingly imminent and near future.
That said, it's been kinda cool to see the way people here are pulling together to make the dollars go as far as they can. from upping the amount of water we mix in our pine-sol and clorox, to our cooks coming up with ridiculously creative recipe ideas in order to use what food we already have (like the mashed potato/hot-dog tacos we had for dinner tonight). :)
Pray for us to be the best stewards we can be with what we are provided and to be able to provide for our 100+ children even as the world around us collapses.
Pray also for my own heart - and the increase in anxiety and fatigue that have been plaguing me for some time now. I am feeling particularly down this week, and would appreciate your prayers. Love you all!!
We've been making cuts where we can, but some things - such as weekly food dispenses to the poor in our community - we feel are too important to cut unless we absolutely need to.
we have been very blessed. our children are never without food, clothing, education, etc. but we are afraid for the seemingly imminent and near future.
That said, it's been kinda cool to see the way people here are pulling together to make the dollars go as far as they can. from upping the amount of water we mix in our pine-sol and clorox, to our cooks coming up with ridiculously creative recipe ideas in order to use what food we already have (like the mashed potato/hot-dog tacos we had for dinner tonight). :)
Pray for us to be the best stewards we can be with what we are provided and to be able to provide for our 100+ children even as the world around us collapses.
Pray also for my own heart - and the increase in anxiety and fatigue that have been plaguing me for some time now. I am feeling particularly down this week, and would appreciate your prayers. Love you all!!
Monday, January 26, 2009
...amo mi vida....
There has been much to do around DOFO these last few weeks. January is almost gone and I can't believe it has gone so quickly! A few highlights...
** Ana's Quinceñera - All of our girls get a party for their 15th birthday, as is the Mexican tradition. The dress, the cake, the church service, the whole nine yards. I got to take her to a few of the dress fittings, so it was cool to be able to watch her enjoy the entire process! Que Bonita!
Ana:
Ana with her escort, Gerardo:
Ana and I:
** I was able to sneak away for a few days and take a quick vacay in the OC, which was nice. It was great to see my besties.
Bonfire (of course):
At the movies with licorice straws:
Lunch with Andie (yay! she's back!):
Alta!!:
** Andrew was finally able to come down for a visit and completely funded and planted the start of our new orchard(Thank you!) (I have been praying for an orchard since i got here!) It is my new favorite place, and I am in the process of planting vegetables there as well!!
The 8 baby trees (Oranges, limes, lemons and mangoes):
Besides that, it's just been LOTS of visiting groups, multiple projects, lots to coordinate. It's hard work, but it's a lot of fun. And with the Spring Break coming up, we're just getting started. :)
Oh - And my fave part - just hanging out with the niños!
Two of my faves, Marcos & Samy:
Lalo:
Abraham & I:
Edgar:
** Ana's Quinceñera - All of our girls get a party for their 15th birthday, as is the Mexican tradition. The dress, the cake, the church service, the whole nine yards. I got to take her to a few of the dress fittings, so it was cool to be able to watch her enjoy the entire process! Que Bonita!
Ana:
Ana with her escort, Gerardo:
Ana and I:
** I was able to sneak away for a few days and take a quick vacay in the OC, which was nice. It was great to see my besties.
Bonfire (of course):
At the movies with licorice straws:
Lunch with Andie (yay! she's back!):
Alta!!:
** Andrew was finally able to come down for a visit and completely funded and planted the start of our new orchard(Thank you!) (I have been praying for an orchard since i got here!) It is my new favorite place, and I am in the process of planting vegetables there as well!!
The 8 baby trees (Oranges, limes, lemons and mangoes):
Besides that, it's just been LOTS of visiting groups, multiple projects, lots to coordinate. It's hard work, but it's a lot of fun. And with the Spring Break coming up, we're just getting started. :)
Oh - And my fave part - just hanging out with the niños!
Two of my faves, Marcos & Samy:
Lalo:
Abraham & I:
Edgar:
Sunday, December 28, 2008
...Highlights from the last few weeks...
So Christmas at an orphanage is INSANE, let me tell you. Weeks of non stop preparation and decorating and organizing groups and events and numerous Santa Claus visits. (I think we had 4 Santas come down this year).
Various groups will buy gifts for all of our kids and come to down to distribute them. So it's pretty cool that on top of the gifts that come rolling in for Christmas day, our kids get to open presents for weeks before too.
And then there are various church services, school events and what-not. But it was all worth it, and consensus says that our kids had a GREAT Christmas.
On the night before Christmas Eve, everyone at the orphanage gathers for a Christmas service (ie: Talent Competition) here on site. It was so cute! All of the kids dressed up and sang and danced and performed dramas.
This was my favorite. All the littlest boys danced around with antlers and red noses to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - amazing.
After the services, we had a feast of tamales and buñuelos and more amazing things. We had decorated the kitchen beforehand and it was such a fun environment with everyone still dressed up from the service!
Making tamales:
Then for New Years Eve, we took our oldest kids to a service at our church in town, where we all gathered together and prayed in the New Year as a church. After that, we ate food, drank champurrado and had piñatas til 2AM! It was a fun way to celebrate the coming of the New Year! I LOVE celebrating with our kids!
Various groups will buy gifts for all of our kids and come to down to distribute them. So it's pretty cool that on top of the gifts that come rolling in for Christmas day, our kids get to open presents for weeks before too.
And then there are various church services, school events and what-not. But it was all worth it, and consensus says that our kids had a GREAT Christmas.
On the night before Christmas Eve, everyone at the orphanage gathers for a Christmas service (ie: Talent Competition) here on site. It was so cute! All of the kids dressed up and sang and danced and performed dramas.
This was my favorite. All the littlest boys danced around with antlers and red noses to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - amazing.
After the services, we had a feast of tamales and buñuelos and more amazing things. We had decorated the kitchen beforehand and it was such a fun environment with everyone still dressed up from the service!
Making tamales:
Then for New Years Eve, we took our oldest kids to a service at our church in town, where we all gathered together and prayed in the New Year as a church. After that, we ate food, drank champurrado and had piñatas til 2AM! It was a fun way to celebrate the coming of the New Year! I LOVE celebrating with our kids!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
12/17: Tenemos Un Rio Grande
There is a riverbed that runs through the orphanage property and out through the La Mision valley. It is usually full of rocks and trash, but little else, especially not water. Some of the staff here refer to it as "El Rio Grande", which I would laugh at as it seemed impossible for it to ever contain any water, let alone enough to actually flow. I was definitely proved wrong last week as we had three straight days of rain. The rain created problems and became quite annoying, but I must say that a river across the road from my house is pretty nice to have.
What's really cool is that if the river is flowing, it is coming from an awesome waterfall in the back of our valley. Of course, a few of us couldn't resist hiking up to see it, even in the rain. It was BEAUTIFUL up there!
(that little white dot to the left of the waterfall is one of our older boys who hiked all the way up there!!)
Meanwhile, the rain was doing a number on some of the buildings on our property, including the house that Lauren and I live in. We first noticed that one of our walls contained big pockets full of water underneath the paint, which was odd enough. But then we realized that the water was coming from INSIDE of our electrical wall box. Water was leaking and dripping through all of the electric wiring for our house. fortunately someone was able to lay a tarp across our entire roof to stop the leak temporarily before our house caught on fire.
We also have a LARGE sheer cliff rising up about a foot away from the back of our house. Rain + cliffs = no bueno. Lauren and I would not be defeated - we busted out a bottle of sparkling cider and toasted the adventure of living in Mexico, over the uneven rhythm of rocks and mud and dirt falling down against our house.
Supposedly the "biggest storm of the year" is still headed our way. Pray for God's protection over this place, as I'm not sure that we can handle much more water. :)
What's really cool is that if the river is flowing, it is coming from an awesome waterfall in the back of our valley. Of course, a few of us couldn't resist hiking up to see it, even in the rain. It was BEAUTIFUL up there!
(that little white dot to the left of the waterfall is one of our older boys who hiked all the way up there!!)
Meanwhile, the rain was doing a number on some of the buildings on our property, including the house that Lauren and I live in. We first noticed that one of our walls contained big pockets full of water underneath the paint, which was odd enough. But then we realized that the water was coming from INSIDE of our electrical wall box. Water was leaking and dripping through all of the electric wiring for our house. fortunately someone was able to lay a tarp across our entire roof to stop the leak temporarily before our house caught on fire.
We also have a LARGE sheer cliff rising up about a foot away from the back of our house. Rain + cliffs = no bueno. Lauren and I would not be defeated - we busted out a bottle of sparkling cider and toasted the adventure of living in Mexico, over the uneven rhythm of rocks and mud and dirt falling down against our house.
Supposedly the "biggest storm of the year" is still headed our way. Pray for God's protection over this place, as I'm not sure that we can handle much more water. :)
Monday, December 15, 2008
11/25 - 12/1: P-TOWN!!!
So the trip to Portland was AMAZINGly awesome. (Thanks V&R for everything!)
It was coooooold as always, but while it poured here in Mexico, we had clear blue skies in P-town almost the entire time! It was absolutely beautiful up there!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Val's fam, complete with some of the BEST food ever! (Thanks Ken & Karen!!)
We even got to meet up with Lay & Chen for a day and trek around the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen! And you could walk on top, around and in BACK of them! It was such a fun day! (Especially meeting Lay's family - who are perfect and better than I could've ever imagined :))
It was great to see, and just get to hang out with, VAL! I love and miss her MUCHO!
It was a great trip - complete with Powell's, Haunted Pizza, East Portland, Mt. Hood in the distance, Chloe & Mia - and I can't wait for the next one! :)
It was coooooold as always, but while it poured here in Mexico, we had clear blue skies in P-town almost the entire time! It was absolutely beautiful up there!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Val's fam, complete with some of the BEST food ever! (Thanks Ken & Karen!!)
We even got to meet up with Lay & Chen for a day and trek around the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen! And you could walk on top, around and in BACK of them! It was such a fun day! (Especially meeting Lay's family - who are perfect and better than I could've ever imagined :))
It was great to see, and just get to hang out with, VAL! I love and miss her MUCHO!
It was a great trip - complete with Powell's, Haunted Pizza, East Portland, Mt. Hood in the distance, Chloe & Mia - and I can't wait for the next one! :)
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