Natalia

           Three weeks ago, we got our first baby in the baby home. Her name is Natalia. She came to us with the chicken pox and some respiratory problems. Even though she was sick, we all loved her. My mom and I took her to the Red Cross and the doctor gave us some medicine. After a few days she looked ten times better.

            We got a crib donated and I put it together in my room. The next couple of nights Natalia slept with me. I got up in the middle of the night and gave her a bottle and then put her back to sleep. It was a ton of fun! Then she got a bad cold. My mom wanted to hear her in the night, so she went back to sleeping in my parents’ room.

            She was just getting over her cold and feeling better, when my dad got a phone call today. He told me that Natalia was leaving. She had gotten adopted and they were coming to pick her up in 30 minutes. I was heartbroken. I really didn't want to see her go. I went and told my brothers and we all went downstairs and said our goodbyes. By that time I was in tears.

            Thinking about her now still makes me cry. But Donna, a missionary who recently moved here from Jamaica and is helping at GBH, told me something. She said, "When Moses' mother couldn't take care of him anymore and had to put him in a basket and send him off, she trusted that God was still with him and that He had a purpose for his life." That makes me feel a lot better. Knowing that God will never leave Natalia and that He will always love her. He even loves her more than I do, and He will always take care of her.

            Even though I miss Natalia so much, I know that God is always watching over her. My mom told me that every time I think of her, I should pray for her. I love you Natalia!

Bible Study - For Such a Time as This

          At the beginning of the summer my mom asked me if I wanted to do a summer bible study. We decided to do a Beth Moore study on the book of Esther. My mom suggested inviting my friend, Brittany Struska, and her mom to study it with us. We try to meet every Monday at 7:30pm, but both our families were really busy this summer so we are just now a little more than halfway through it. They come over to my house and we go over our answers to the study. Then we watch the video and talk about it. During all of this we eat popcorn and treats and laugh a lot.

            Since I can remember, my mom always sits in bed at night and does her bible study homework. I have always thought, “Why would anyone want to do extra homework that is not required by somebody?” I don’t know, but it didn’t seem worth it to me. So when my mom suggested doing a bible study, I was a little hesitant. I wasn’t sure if I could fit all the homework in with swimming and home school, or if I even wanted to do it. But I decided to try it out since it would just be the four of us and I could be honest about whether I understood it or not. After these weeks, I would say that bible study does take a little bit of extra work, but it is totally worth it! The Esther bible study has been amazing to me. I especially love the way Beth Moore explains things. She makes it easy to understand and keeps it so interesting. After we finish this one, I really want to keep doing bible study.

            Brittany Struska and her family are missionaries with YUGO as well. They live on the YUGO Ranch and run the house-building ministry in Tijuana. Brittany and I are in the same youth group together so we see each other on Sundays at church. We also hang out with their family a lot. Brittany and I get along really well. She likes the same music I do, and we make up dances to it all the time. I have enjoyed studying Esther with Brittany because I am so comfortable around her. 

My Vacation in the Sierras

        The past three weeks I have been staying at a home that my grandparents own in the Sierra Mountains. I get to stay for weeks because I brought all of my schoolwork with me. Anyways, here are some things I've done. 
        One of the first fun things that I did was go hiking. The first hike we did was a hike up Rock Creek. My Auntie Lynn came on that hike with us. We saw three lakes in total. One of the lakes had golden trout in it. From way up high they looked really pretty. Another one of the lakes had a little waterfall that was flowing into it; that was really cool to see. The last lake we saw had a little bridge. It crossed over the creek that was running into the lake. Auntie Lynn, Mamaw and I took our picture on it. It was a super fun hike. We also took Darby my aunt’s dog. She had a lot of fun too. 
        The other hike that we did was just Mamaw and me. This time we hiked up to a lake called Grass Lake. It was a little bit harder than the hike up Rock Creek. It was up a big hill. I counted 25 switchbacks. When we got to the top the lake looked beautiful! I walked down to the waterfront and caught a frog! It was such a small little frog. We also saw a tiny little water snake! I think I liked that hike better. 
        When Mamaw and I weren’t doing anything, we would watch T.V. That is one of the cool things that we get to do when we go visit her since we don’t have cable in Mexico. Two of our favorite shows are House Hunters and America’s Got Talent. The night Papa (my grandpa) came up with some friends, we stayed up watching T.V. until midnight waiting for them. The next morning I slept in till 10:30! 
        Another thing we did was go down town. Down town we would go shopping and eat. One time we went and got shaved ice! I also got my hair cut and a pedicure. I would say going down town is one of the best parts of staying with my grandma. 
        One of the best things I did these past weeks was go to the Bishop Fair. Cardinal Village is a little store and café right down the street from my grandma’s cabin. Anyways the family that owns it has three boys and they took me down to the fair. We got these wristbands so that we could go on all the rides. My favorite ride was the Zipper. It’s like a bicycle chain but connected to the chain are theses cage like chairs. You sit in the chair and the chain rotates and so does your seat. You can do so many flips! The cool thing was that I got to meet and get to know a lot of kids. 
        Next time I come up to the Sierras I know that I will have a lot of fun with all of those kids. I am so glad that I got to come up here all by myself to spend some alone time with my grandma. I had a great time!

Auntie Lynn and me after our haircuts. 

Auntie Lynn, Mamaw and Me hiking Rock Creek.

Mamaw and Me on our hike to Grass Lake.

Out to eat.

Pedicures!

VBS

          For as long as I can remember, every summer I have gone to Vacation Bible School at Horizon, my home church. It is a camp that kids from preschool to 6th grade can attend in the mornings to learn more about God. There are activities that you go to such as games, snack, and crafts. I personally loved the games.
          Sadly, I was too old this year to participate as a camper. Well, I was too old last year too, but I still got considered a 6th grader so I could participate. Anyways this year I absolutely was too old so my friend, Elise, and I decided to be game volunteers.
          Every day we got up at 6:50am and started to get ready. We had to be there at 8:00. We did different games every day but they all had water involved. Every afternoon we got home soaking wet, muddy and grassy; I really didn’t mind that part. It was super fun.
          Running around getting chased by little kids was fun, but I also thought it was cool just to hang out with American kids my age. I liked getting to know all of them. I am definitely going to sign up next year to be a game helper again!

My Daddy

           Do you have a person who you trust and know that with them you are safe no matter what? Well, for me that person is my dad. I don’t know why, but for some reason I don’t feel safe when he isn’t here. I remember when I was a littler, when I had a nightmare he would come in and lay down next to me. I would instantly fall asleep knowing that he was there to protect me. Now in our new house he is right across from my room and I sleep very well knowing that he is there.

            My dad and I have a lot in common. Everybody says I look just like him, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I am talking about the way we think, or act, or the way we comment on things. I was at a restaurant with our good friends, the Raymonds, and there was a secular song playing that I recognized. When I started to sing and rock out to the song, Mrs. Raymond turned to me. I thought she was disappointed in me for singing a secular song but she said, “Lucy when you do stuff like that you remind me of your dad.”

            If you know my dad then you know he can be quite funny. He was installing Rosetta Stone French today and the set comes with headphones with a microphone attached. He immediately put it on and started mimicking air traffic control commands. I started cracking up! To me it seems like he makes everything more fun. One of the funniest things that he does is when he quotes movie lines in situations. Suddenly, the situation is funny. That really makes me laugh! I don’t know any person who doesn’t ever want to be around my dad.

            One of the reasons I look up to my dad is that he loves the Lord so much. For home school we do devotions in the morning and he leads them. I love the way he explains things and expresses his thoughts on the Bible or the story we are reading. To me he is the best example I have on this earth of how to love Jesus.

            I love my dad and I wouldn’t trade him for anything or anybody in the world. Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I love you.

Vecinos

     When I came to this house about three years ago, I met my neighbors Jamili, Miguel and Jorge. At first I only played with Jamili because she was the only girl. All we played was school and house, school and house. I really had no idea, at the time, what she was trying to say to me, so I just went along with what she showed me to do. After a while I started to understand her and she started to understand what I was trying tell her. That’s when I started to play with the other kids. We built clubhouses, made mud cakes, planted pretend gardens, and played soccer. One time we found an old Christmas tree in the vacant lot down the street and we spent a whole day making ornaments and decorating the tree for our clubhouse. Every spare minute that we had, we spent together playing. Jamili and Miguel come to church with our family almost every Sunday.
     Jamili’s family is not the richest family in Mexico, but they aren’t poorest either. Both her parents work so they can live in their very small house. They can’t afford to play sports or go to private school. Jamili’s mom works as a housekeeper at the Rosarito Beach Hotel; that’s why their hair always smells like hotel shampoo. When I play with them, I don’t worry about how I look, talk or act. Most of the time we are all barefoot and I feel like I can just be myself, act silly, and be goofy. Sometimes though I feel like I have to be careful when bringing her in our house with the things I show her, because I don’t want to make her feel like her house and her life is not as nice as mine. It is so easy to have fun with them, we just play and have fun.
     Today we had a good-bye party for our family since us kids are heading across the border tomorrow while my parents move our stuff to the Baby Home. We did what we usually do: play games, have fun, eat, and spend lots of time together. Jamili’s mom made tacos and my mom made a cake. We made posters and hung them all over the house. Everybody made cards for everybody else. We played this game where we tie a balloon to our ankles and we have to run around and try to pop the other people’s balloons. I was the first one to lose of course. That was super fun. The whole time I had Spanish worship music playing just trying to make a last impression on them. We also had a water balloon toss and everybody lost at the same time.
     I’m really going to miss this house, this neighborhood, and especially our neighbors. Mom says that we will still come by on Sundays to pick-up Jamili and Miguel for church, but it will never be the same. In Mexico when you move 15 minutes away it’s like you are moving to another world. We won’t see them everyday and I won’t wake-up to the sound of them banging on my gate to come out and play. We could come get them and bring them over to our new house, but it will never feel right because everything is so nice and new looking. This house was really perfect for us. I’m going to miss it because I’m going to miss my life that came with it.
     PS - If you are viewing this post by email, you will have to go to the blog to see the photos.

Swim Meet at the YMCA

           A couple weeks ago I had a swim meet at the YMCA in Tijuana. I had to get up at 6:00 am to get ready. Everybody on my team was going to meet at our pool in Rosarito and ride a bus to get there. The bus left at seven but the meet wasn’t till 9:00.

            On the bus, my friend and I were taking pictures of everything we saw. There was probably like one thousand pictures on her camera! Then we got bored and almost fell asleep. It took about an hour and a half to get there.

            When we got to the meet we got in the pool to warm up. The pool was a 25 meter pool and I couldn’t imagine having to swim in an Olympic pool! After we warmed up, we went into the bathrooms to dry off and stuff. The bathrooms were awesome! They had lockers and a ton of showers. I think the best part of the whole event were the bathrooms!

            The events I swam were 50m free, 50m back, 50m breast, and 25m butterfly. I came in second place in three of the races and in third in the other. My favorite was butterfly and that is the one I posted. In the video I am all the way to the right. I came in second place.

            Well, you are all in my prayers. The Baby Home is looking great! Make sure to check out the blog! Hopefully soon I will get to post pictures of me and Lily's bedroom. A friend gave us a gift card to buy new bedding from Walmart. I can't wait to show you what we picked!

Swimming

          My brothers and sister all do Taekwondo. My mom had asked me if I wanted to do it too, but I said no. She even said that she would do it with me, but I have never really liked Taekwondo or Karate. So we started looking for something I could do and enjoy.

            We tried out soccer, but I didn’t want to do it because there were only 14-year-old boys on the team and I felt weird being the only girl. Then my mom suggested swimming. At first I didn’t really like the idea, but as I thought about it I decided to give it a try.

            In about the middle of the first class I signaled to my mom that I didn’t like it. She said that I had to finish. At the end of the class we played a game and I had a great time! It took a few practices to make friends and learn all the strokes, but since then I have enjoyed swimming a lot.

            I have been to four meets. The second one my parents didn’t go and I went on a bus with all my friends. I was a little scared to go alone, but it was fun. I think the good thing about swimming is that you can do it your whole life. Even when I am old I will still keep swimming.

            The first photo is of me swimming freestyle. The second photo is of my two friends, Itzel and Evelin, and me. There is a funny story that goes with this photo. We were getting ready for our race and my mom came up to take our picture. She said, “OK niñas, buscan aquí!” Well, buscan is the word for “to look for”, but miran is the word for “look”. My mom was really saying, “Ok girls, search over here!” My friends still laugh about it and when my mom comes to pick me up they whisper to me, “buscan aquí!”

My Friend and Example: 13-Year-Old Elise

          A few weeks ago I spent the weekend with my friend Elise. She and her family had come down to Mexico on a Saturday. They stayed the night and went to church with us on Sunday. After church we took them to see the Baby Home since it had been a while since they had seen it. Then they took me back across the border to stay with them for a few days.
          On Monday we went to the pool and got our nails done. On Tuesday we went to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. I had a really great time doing all these special things, but my favorite part was just being with my friend Elise.
          Elise is one of the most unique friends I have. Elise is not the kind of person who sees the worst in someone and points it out. Instead, she sees the positive in everything and the best in everyone. Even though she is almost a whole year older than me, she has never made me feel unimportant or lower. Whether we are playing together or chatting long-distance on the computer, she always makes me feel special.
          Elise is probably the most kind and compassionate person I know. Though I have a tendency to only play what I want and sometimes exclude those who I don’t want to play with, Elise never does. She always makes sure that my little sister, Lily, is included in whatever we are playing. She is careful that nobody’s feelings get hurt and tries to play something that everybody wants to play.
          In our family we talk about two kinds of people: those who walk into a room and say, “here I am” and those who walk into a room and say, “there you are.” Elise is a “there you are” person. She is pretty and smart and really good at so many things, but she never brings attention to herself. She is always interested in how and what I am doing.
          I think that Elise is a great example of what all 13 year olds should be like. If any of you know Elise, then you know exactly what I am talking about. I try so hard to be like her when I come home from being at her house, but a lot of times my patience wears off in the first hour that I see my family. When I turn 13, I pray that God will give me the same patience and kindness that Elise has.

Elise and Me Swimming

Getting Our Nails Done

Balboa Park

YUGO Retreat and Dentistry

           This past Monday and Tuesday we went to a YUGO Ministries retreat. My parents had meetings all day and so my friend and I helped in childcare. The property was amazing! It had a beautiful view of the islands that are off the coast, and the sunsets were incredible. Even though all I did all day was pretty much take care of little kids, I had a good time seeing people I had only seen in pictures in the YUGO office. It was amazing to see so many people who have left their lives in the States or Canada or wherever they lived, to come down to Mexico to serve. I wonder how God worked in that many people’s hearts to get them to come down here. I’m sure they all have their own story just like we do.

            On Wednesday I went to the orthodontist. I thought I might get my braces off, but they said I am going to get them off on March 16! My grandpa is a dentist, so whenever I go to see him I brush my teeth extra. He comes down to Mexico to do kids teeth sometimes. When he comes down I am his translator. As I watch him I think, “I could never be a dentist.” This past time that he came down, he had to take some teeth out of some kids. I thought I was going to throw up from all the blood I saw! Luckily all I did was start translating for someone else and forgot all about the blood.    

            I know you all have things to do, but thank you for taking the time to check out what’s going on in my life. You are all in my prayers.

Leidy

           Now that I am not in school anymore, I don’t really have as many friends. I have one really special friend who lives at GCH because her mom works there. Her name is Leidy. Leidy is the same age as me and she is a great friend. I don’t really get to see her that often, but I do see her at church on Sundays and on weekends when she spends the night at our house. That is when we catch up on things.

            Leidy’s mom is working on getting their passports so they can cross the border. I pray that this happens someday. Every time I experience something in the States, like being at my grandparent’s cabin in the snow, I think of how I wish Leidy could be there. One day I want to share that part of my life with her. I would love to just see the look on her face.

            I think Leidy is a great example for everybody of how Christians should be. I love spending time with her. I would write more about her, but she is not the kind of person who would want people reading about her, that’s just how she is (not that she can read my English).

My Christmas

        I had a wonderful Christmas this year. The Sunday before Christmas we celebrated with my dad’s dad, Grandpa Manny, and his family. It was raining so we mostly stayed inside and played. We decorated gingerbread houses and made friendship bracelets. We also played a really fun dice game with wrapped gifts as prizes.

       Three days before Christmas we headed out to my Grandma Bonnie’s (my dad’s mom) house to celebrate with her family. We stayed two nights and saw the new Narnia movie there. I especially loved playing with my newest cousin, Jackie. She is so cute!

       On Christmas Eve we left and went to Mamaw and Papa’s (my mom’s parents) house in the desert. I woke up that night like five times thinking it was morning. The bad thing though was that I was not feeling good at all Christmas morning. My stomach and my head hurt. We started the morning off with my dad reading the story of when Jesus was born. We sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus and ate birthday cake for breakfast. Then we opened presents. My parents gave me clothes. From my grandparents I got a pair of flip-flops and two beads for my bracelet that they got me last year.

       Two days after Christmas we headed up to my grandparent’s cabin in the mountains. There was so much snow and the icicles were huge! We had a great time, but I missed my dad. I am glad to be home now. I hope your Christmas and New Year celebrations were as fun as mine!