Encargada for a night....

Tonight was the funeral for Fernando from Casa Hogar Douglas. Several staff members and a group of college students from Florida went to the children's home to watch the kids while the encargadas were at the funeral. I went later in the day after school to help out.... Man! The job of an encargada is amazing! There were close to 20 of us watching nearly 80 kids and it was a lot of work. I spent most of my time with the little boys. There are 12 of these boys between the ages of 4 and 8 and they had more energy than a bolt of lightening! I loved it! Most of my life I have been living and working with little boys (thanks Masseys!). It was a joy to jump right into the chaos once again. My new friend Daniel and the book we read together.

During the chaos of the day I saw Daniel sitting my himself reading. I plopped down next to him and asked him if he would read to me. We had some great conversation about reptiles and he told me about his favorite animal... the shark. After our reading time Daniel made sure to say hi to me throughout the day... I'm realizing how important it is to take of these moments to be one on one with a child even in the midst of chaos. I'm excited for this new friendship :)

After a very active dinner, I and several gals from the Florida team took the little guys to there dorm to get ready for bed. By the grace of God we got 11 little boys in and out of the shower (and they used soap!!!), dressed in PJs, and reading their Bibles before bed... we did have a little incident of a bloody eye after a fall, but besides that the night went seamlessly.

Group member reading to cute kids!

Reading in the boys dorm.

My best helper was Tere. She is 18 and has lived at Douglass most of her life. While she assumes the role of encargada, she is so young at heart and desperately wants attention as well...

Tere and me

Tonight has opened my eyes to the life of an encargada. Wow! What a job. I can't imagine doing that every single night by myself... and that is what they do. Praise God for these caretakers and pray for their strength and encouragement!

Francisco

Please be praying for us and specifically for Casa Hogar Douglas these next few days. Just today a man named Francisco who has lived at Douglas all of his life passed away. He was 41 years old and abandoned as a child because he had some mild mental disabilities. He has spent nearly all of his 41 years living and working at the children's home. Today he was out working when we believe he experienced a seizure, fell, and died. He was found this evening. Please pray for the near 100 kids at this children's home who loved him dearly as well as the encargadas who felt like his parents and friends. The kids are pretty much in shock right now, but I am sure grief will soon set in. When you live in a casa hogar with not much to do, it can be hard to pull out of grief and move on. Please pray that these kids are able to grieve in a healthy way and are able to move on in good time. Pray for us as we try to be of help and comfort. I am sure that Francisco is experiencing more life in Heaven right now than he ever experienced on this earth... pray that the children will be able to understand that and will come to know there Father in Heaven even better as a result. To Him be the glory.

Thank you.

The Marco Museum

Two Saturdays ago I got the opportunity to take a new friend to a contemporary art museum in down town Monterrey. Edith just turned 18 and is a apart of the Hope Program on our campus. She and her sister have been living here for about a year. Edith really wants to learn English and I Spanish... we have been trying to get together and talk... she in English and I in Spanish. I feel like Edith is someone that God has placed in my life for a purpose. I am excited as I get to know her more and learn who God has made her to be. I want to encourage her in who she is in the Lord and i His plan for her life. Edith loves art and is super creative. We had some great discussions about art and faith at the museum and during our Chinese dinner afterward. I'm excited to see her become the woman God has designed her to be.

Edith at the Marco


Mountain view from the museum

Erica

Jim Betcher comforting Erica as we work on her burned feet

Last week a team went out to Rio 3 for an outreach. We currently have a doctor working with us for a month, Carter Bobbit, and he went as well to see some patients. While he was there he met a 12 year old girl who had horrible second degree water burns all over her feet. Erica had been walking near a fire where water was boiling when the pot was tipped over. The water spilled directly on both her feet leaving them swollen, painful, and covered with huge blisters. Erica had been to see a Mexican doctor but was then sent back to the Rio to recover. Carter took a look at her burns and immediately found a way for her to come to the B2B property to receive the care that she needs. Erica is currently staying with the Betcher family and being cared for every day by Carter.
I was talking with Carter one day about my fascination with first aid and medical missions. I have recently discovered in myself a huge desire to learn all that I can about medicine for the mission field. I'm not sure why, but I find it absolutely fascinating! Carter saw this desire in me and asked if he could train me how to care for Erica so I could continue what he has been doing when he leaves at the end of next week. I have spent several afternoons this past week working with Carter and Erica and enjoying every minute of it. Erica's feet are healing slowly but well. Most of her blisters have popped and there is new skin growing back, however her feet are still swollen and it is difficult for her to walk. I am learning how to debreed blisters, cleanse the wounds, disinfect, look for signs of infection, and wrap her feet.
Carter was telling me that it is an absolute miracle that she is not in much pain. Burns like these are usually very painful. Erica has been such a sport! As we work on her feet she barely makes signs that she is at all in pain. When asked she says that she feels fine. Honestly I believe that God has his hand of mercy over her. Please continue to lift Erica up in prayer. There is still a chance of infection and she is not yet completely healed. She is also getting pretty homesick being away from her family and everyone she knows. Thanks for continuing to ask God for her healing...

Also pray for me as I continue to sort out these desires for medical missions that have crept into my heart. I am going to start learning more this week while Carter is here. He would like to teach me how to work a glucometer, check blood sugar levels, give injections, and run electronic records on patients to be able to help the many people here who have diabetes. I am very excited about this opportunity to learn, but humbled by the reminder that I already work full time at school. Please pray for God's grace as I pursue what I feel He is leading my heart to do.
Thank you :)

CHD church

Since Christmas, the Lord has laid it on several of our hearts (the B2B staff) to find a way to bring more spirituality into Casa Hogar Douglas. CHD is only about a mile from our campus and has nearly 100 children living there. These kids are so hurting. Many are angry with life and with God. I've been there several times recently and have seen little kids beating on each other. I'm sure it is out of thier own hurt that they feel they need to hurt others. The B2B staff has had a huge desire to bring more of Christ into these kids' lives. We recently found out that these kids are only able to attend church when a Bible school nearby provides a service for them. The Bible school is currently out of session so these kids are not able to go to church.

A few weeks ago, after much prayer about this, one of our staff families, the Betchers, decided that they wanted to go to Douglas and hold church for the kids. We found a guy who could play the piano, got Greg Huffer to speak, invited the Holy Spirit, and presto!...We had church, and it was beautiful! The kids loved to worship and the encargatas seemed refreshed. I helped with kids' church while the service was going on and the kids all listened well to the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den.

Church service at CHD

On the way back up to the church with the kids I passed several women sitting at the bottom of the hill watching us climb to the church. I stopped to talk with them and they told me that they were there to visit with thier children because Sunday is visitation day. I told them that we were finishing up church and invited them to come up with us. Both the women looked at each other and asked if that was okay. I assured them that we would love for them to join us. After the service I invited the moms to come back the next week and go to church with thier kids. They both asked if that was really okay and then happily agreed to see me next week for church. Praise Jesus! Our heart is for the mom's of these kids to have a revelation of Jesus as well. Pray that these mom's ( and more) keep coming!

After the first week we did not have any worship leaders so we started to pray that God would provide. Within days Betty had found a group of young people who were ecstatic about the opportunity to lead the kids in worship. They are skilled with instruments and can lead worship in Spanish. They have been leading worship for us for the past four weeks. It is such a God thing! The worship team at CHD

Last week I was at church and could just sense the sweet presence of the Lord. I had a little girl sitting with me worshipping, and was looking around at all the little faces smiling and hands clapping. It was so beautiful. I felt refreshed and I knew that all this was pleasing Him. Praise Jesus! Please keep praying for our church services at 11:00 on Sunday mornings...

Some of us after church!

My Birthday

Tere and I at our party

Birthday traditions in Mexico can be quite a bit different from what I am used to in the States. I turned 23 about three weeks ago and celebrated with my roommates and friends! Two days before my actual b-day my roommates concocted a wonderful lasagna dinner for me and some friends. I have had lasagna on my birthday for many years as it is my favorite food, and I was so blessed to have it here, even though it is not a typical Mexican dish. The building we use for groups was beautifully decorated, salsa music was playing, and great friends were in attendance! The day before my birthday also happens to be my friend Tere's b-day!!! So the party was for her as well.

Some of my friends here at my birthday party

The guys there sang us the Mexican happy birthday song. It is this really long song all about how the birds sang and the animals were happy, etc on the day that I was born. Honestly that song is about 5 verses long!

I also got to participate in the Mexican birthday tradition of "mordida." Basically this is when they smash cake in your face! Usually the birthday girl has to take the first bite of cake without any hands. While she is doing this her friends push her face into the cake! We had cupcakes so it was a little bit different. However, my friend Cheque managed to get both Tere and I with a swipe of his cupcake.

"Mordida"

Here in Mexico serenading is a big thing, especially on birthdays. Often Mariachi bands will be hired to play and sing for the birthday person and this serenading always take place in the wee hours of the morning on your special day. Around 1:30 am on my birthday I awoke to the sound of my phone going off. There was a message from Ruby saying that I needed to look out my window. Bleary eyed I opened my curtain to see two of my good friends, Jhonathan and Cheque, serenading me! They had a guitar and were singing the Mexican birthday song, "Las Mananitas," to me! I loved it! They proceeded to invent a song on the spot all about me. It was hilarious and the start to a great day!

My serenaders at 1:30 am

Later that I day I had a party at school with my students and was privileged to take the afternoon off to visit the Rio and Imperio de Amor (children's home). It was a fantastic day!!!!

Party at school

Thanks so everyone who sent me cards, letters, gifts, facebook messages, e-mails, etc. I felt very loved and blessed on my birthday!

SMCA Wax Museum

To wrap up our unit on the Revolutionary War my class put on a Wax Museum for everyone living on our campus. Each student researched a famous Revolutionary War hero, wrote a report about him/her and recorded themselves reading it. Each student then came up with a costume and background for their exhibit in the museum. We had "guided tours" through the museum. Parents came in, listened to the recording, and admired the exhibits. My students did so well holding so still!!! I have to say that I was super impressed with how much time and effort the kids put into our museum. The parents were super impressed as well! This was a huge undertaking for me, but well worth it to see the kids having fun learning about history! My hope is that this wax museum will stick in their memories forever!

Benjamin Franklin

Paul Revere

George Washington

General Charles Cornwallis

Molly Pitcher

Patrick Henry


Thomas Jefferson


A look at our museum setup