...Jesus is Awesome...

Happy Easter everyone! I hope it was blessed and full of love and fun!

I've been up since 4:30 this morning for our church's sunrise service, so I'm a'gonna keep this short, but it's been a GREAT weekend - Yesterday one of our older girls, Flor, had her Quincenera, and it was SO much fun! And man was she gorgeous. (I'll post pictures soon...)

Then today, we had the sunrise service, followed by breakfast, and then a couple hours later began an all day BBQ/baptism at some nearby swimming pools. It was good times for all! And sunburns for all the guerros. It was AWESOME to see so many people baptized.

We got home after dinnertime and had some Guitar Hero fun with a couple of the older boys, before Lauren and I headed out to La Fonda for some Snickers/chocolate cake and coffee... what a loooooong and busy weekend, and I loved every minute of it!

Some GH pictures for your viewing pleasure... It is always so much fun! :)

...no puedo dormir...

It's 1:30AM and I can't sleep. Not sure if it's the fact that it's actually warm tonight, and I've been used to freezing at night since I moved here, or the fact that there are birds and crickets still loudly vocalizing their approval of the warmth, OR the fact that I've had a lot on my plate this past week and have been STRESSED OUT - but here I am, wide awake.

But I have comfort in the following, and it has been the theme of my life for a while now... I hope you take comfort in it as well...

Luke 12:22-31 -

"Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Wow. WOW! Be anxious for nothing. Do not worry about ANYTHING. This is one of the most difficult concepts to grasp. God has EVERY teency detail of our lives in His hands and He will take care of us. I am learning everyday what it truly means to seek His Kingdom FIRST, and while it has NOT been easy, it has been beautiful - seeing more and more of who He is each day. I pray the same for all of you.

I had pages and pages in my head when I started typing, but have been sitting here staring at the screen for quite some time now, so I think I will call it a night. But I love you and am praying for you!

...buenos...

Some of the best parts of my week...

#1

#2

#3

:)

...a day in the life...

So I missed keeping track of a few days - It has been a VERY busy week. Not to mention incredibly emotionally draining and relationally exhausting. :)

But I wanted to show you all what yesterday looked like, as it was as close to "typical" as we get when there are groups on site...

- Tuesday March 24 -

*6:30am-8:00am - Got ready for the day and talked with my roomie, Lauren, about what the day would look like for us and our 2 groups on site.
*8:00am - Met with the rest of the staff in the kitchen for morning coffee and staff meeting.
*9:00am - Went up to our Upper Campground to meet with our college age visiting group to go over their projects for the day.
*9:30am-12:00pm - Organized, oversaw and provided supplies for 60+ people from various groups doing various painting, cleaning and construction projects here on site. (This is one of the biggest parts of what we do here)
*12:00pm - Had lunch with the children.
*1:00pm - Lauren and I took 2 of our older girls to Ensenada for a Quinceñera dress fitting, and to buy shoes and jewelry to go with her dress.
*5:00pm - Again stopped at my favorite taco stand, El Trailero, on the way home from Ensenada for a yummy torta dinner. :)
*5:30pm - Stopped at a Military Checkpoint and for 15 minutes sat through the soldiers wanting to flirt and practice their English with us. They're harmless, and sometimes it's actually quite flattering and entertaining, but it is just another part of what we deal with day to day.
*6:00pm-8:30pm - Made it back in time to check on both groups in both campgrounds and join in a loooong campfire discussion with one group.
*9:00pm-10:00pm - Followed up on some scheduling/organizing emails with groups visiting in the next couple of weeks.
*10:30pm-ish - FINALLY got to bed. what a loooong day! :)

...a day in the life...

- 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.

...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!)

... 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!!