A Change In My Heart

     Hey it's me again! Here's a bit of a summary about what's been going on in my life and in my heart. 
     This summer has been a busy yet very memorable one. In June our partners and dear friends, the Hansons, left Grace Children's Home to follow God's call to Calvary Chapel Rosarito. My family moved back to the house above the nursery (where we were a year ago). The founder of Grace Children's Home, Martin Castro, moved his family into the house we were in. After getting situated into our new/old home, we jumped straight into a fun-filled summer with the kids. Our days were spent at the beach, pool, park, amusement park, laser tag and rollerskating rink. Every evening involved loud music, dancing, soccer, and bonfires. So many wonderful memories were made. Spending so much time with the kids was definitely a huge blessing and it knit us together more and more as a family in Christ. 
     As my relationships with these kids grow, I have started to feel a tug on my heart. Why is it fair that I get to go sleep in my own house, in my own room, in my own bed at night? Why is it fair that I get to watch TV in my own house? Why is it fair that I get to have parents and call them, "Mom", and, "Dad"? The answer is, it's NOT! As I grow closer and closer to the kids, I begin to realize that their life situation isn't fair! They don't deserve to be in a group home. They deserve a mom and a dad who will someday be Grandma and Grandpa to their kids. Over time God has been working on my heart and molding it to His own. The more I spend time with and grow closer to the kids, the more I want to stand up for them and make sure they get everything they deserve. Granted, because of their past they can be difficult or hard to get along with sometimes, but it only makes my love towards them grow stronger. 
     One of my best friends in the whole world lives at Grace Children's Home. It breaks my heart to remember the fact that she isn't with her parents. It breaks my heart when I invite her over to my house that she can't return the kindness and invite me over to her house. It breaks my heart that her parents aren't going to be at her high school graduation. It isn't fair! Up until recently, I had never felt the love, compassion, and devotion my parents had for the work God called us to do. Really, it wasn't until this summer that I truly felt God's heart for the fatherless.

     Heading into my senior year of high school, people keep asking me what I want to do after I graduate. Up to this point, the question has kind of stressed me out because I have had no idea what I want to be/do in my future. But after this summer, the Lord has given me some clarity that my future will most certainly involve working with and serving the fatherless. It gives me comfort to know that God is planning out how my future will look and where it will be. Please pray for me as I continue to seek guidance from our Father in Heaven. 

Valeria and Me

Rollerskating over summer break 

What does God really want from me?

     This fall I am a junior in High School. A lot has happened in my life since the last time I posted a blog. First of all, I turned 16! I had a nice party with family and friends. I managed to pass my driving test, and am now officially a licensed driver. For the past month, I have been living at my grandparents’ lovely cabin in Aspendell, California with my brother, Sam. I have really been enjoying my vacation time with friends and family.
    While Sam and I have been up here with my grandparents, some pretty big changes have been happening at home. My dad has been appointed, Director of Orphan Care, for YUGO Ministries. This means that now he is not only director of the nursery, but of the girls’ and boys’ homes as well. With this new role, my family has moved into the third floor home on the other side of the street. Lily, Joe, Mom, and Dad have moved all of our stuff without Sam and me being there. It all seemed to happen so fast, and all while I have been away.
      I started thinking about how these changes will affect my life when I return. I am going to come home to a different house and lifestyle. No longer will I have to tiptoe around the house for fear of waking up sleeping babies. No longer will I hear crying babies through the monitors in our kitchen. Everything God has done, using my family, to make the nursery what it is today, will now be handed over to someone else. All of the sleepless nights my mom put in, all of the Sundays we sacrificed to take care of the babies, these things started racing through my mind. Honestly, my first thoughts were, “It’s not fair!” The more I thought about it, the more angry and upset I became.
     But then God reminded me of the message my dad has been giving all summer to teams that come down to work in Mexico. I have listened to it several times, so I think I can quickly summarize: When we feel a tug on our hearts to do more for God, what does that mean? Does more mean quantity? Does he want us to give 100$ instead of 50$? Does he want us to spend a month in Mexico serving instead of 1 week? It could mean that, but as my dad has been teaching, and I agree, that when God says he wants more from us, he means hard. I think that God calls us all to do more by doing hard - doing things that are physically hard, emotionally hard, and spiritually hard.
     I have come to a conclusion. In my life right now, doing hard means letting go and trusting God. Moving away from what I have been doing for the past three years, and trusting that God will take care of things. Yes, coming home to a different house will be hard. Yes, starting a different lifestyle will be hard. Yes, seeing somebody else do the job that I love and worked so hard at for 3 years will be hard. It’s what God has called me to do… hard. It’s what He calls all Christians to do. It’s what Jesus himself did for us on the cross.
     My heart aches for the fatherless. Several of them are some of my very best friends. I am thankful that God has allowed my family and me to continue working with them, even if it looks different. I trust that God is in control of this situation, and I trust that he is doing what’s best. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who preservers under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” Please keep my family in your prayers as we shift into a new stage in our lives. God Bless.

Birthdays & Blowholes

     On Monday, July 8th, I turned 15. I didn't ask for very much, but the one thing I really wanted to do was go to Ensenada with my dad and visit La Bufadora. La Bufadora means "The Blowhole" in English. It's basically a cave, and when the ocean water gets pushed into it, it explodes through a hole in the top. The past three times I visited La Bufadora, we only watched it blow for a short while. Our group either wanted to get back or to go to the market to go shopping.

     My dad and I have a lot on common. Along with a shared love for God, loud hard music, technology, surfing, physics, and sleeping in, we are really the only ones who could enjoy just sitting there watching La Bufadora blow over and over again - all day long with no other agenda. So, a while ago I asked my dad if he would take me to Ensenada for my birthday so that we could just sit there and watch La Bufafora for as long as we wanted without being in a hurry to move on.

Enjoying the day at La Bufadora

     I packed a lunch for the two of us and we left our house early Tuesday morning for Ensenada. We sat for hours just watching La Bufadora blow. We timed it so that we would be there during high tide, and luckily for us there was a little bit of a south swell left over from a hurricane so it exploded pretty high. As we sat there and watched the Bufadora blow, we also did one of our other favorite things - people watch. Throughout the day several conversations were repeated by different sets of visitors. It was fun to just listen, make eye contact with my dad and smile, knowing he was thinking what I was thinking. Once we figured out the period time between sets, we left during the lull to buy some churros and potato chips, but hurried back to watch some more.

Driving around the EOC

     When we left the Bufadora we headed to the Ensenada Outreach Center (EOC) which was about 30 minutes from where we were. My dad fixed some computer problems, and then let me drive around the neighborhood for a little bit since all of the roads are dirt. After our short stop at the EOC, we started the 2 hour long drive home. It was a super fun day. On this birthday I am so thankful for God's awesome creations and a Dad who enjoys them like I do.

Freshman in High School - Check!

Yearbook Headshot

          Today I finished my freshman year of high school! If you didn’t know, I attend Calvary Chapel Online High School. My teacher is Mrs. Russell, and there are several others in my grade. When I look back on the whole year, I still can’t believe that I made it through. ​

Yearbook Hobby

          During the school year, I was the secretary of the Leadership Team. I guess you could say that the Leadership Team is kind of like Student Council. We had different committees such as teacher appreciation, welcoming committee, treasurers, and yearbook. The team started out great. We had people in all different committees, we had a president and vice president, a chaplain, and also a sergeant at arms. However, all of this only lasted until Christmas break. After break, there were only about 4 or 5 of us that came back. I was still the secretary, and we still had a president, but that was about it. Since there weren't very many of us, we had to drop all of the committees, and decide on one project to work on. 

Yearbook - My Classroom

          We decided to do the yearbook, since it would be a benefit to all of the students. I took the job of setting up an email account for students to send in their photos and organized them by category. Some of the categories we came up with were headshots, hobbies, classroom (a photo of students working at their computer), landmarks (since we have students all around the world, we though it would be cool to have pictures of where the students live), and leadership. I loved looking at everybody’s pictures and then being the one to organize them (I love organization). 

          The last couple weeks of school were kind of stressful, as we worked to put the book together. I had many ideas about how to organize our small group to work efficiently, such as assigning pages for people to work on, but our president had different ideas. Her ideas weren’t bad, they just took more time. Though it really bugged me to not have control, I learned many personal lessons through the process. 

        

Yearbook - Landmark (Mexico Sunset)

           In my experience with the leadership team, I learned to have patience when people weren’t doing things the way I wanted them to. I also learned to respect other people’s ideas and opinions, because sometimes they are better than my own. I learned self control when I closed my mouth and listened to others. I know that my experience wasn’t that big of a deal, but if I hadn’t gone through it, I wouldn’t have grown in respect, patience or self-control. These Fruits of the Spirit bring me closer to God. So if I hadn’t gone through it, I wouldn’t be as close to God as I am now. 

          Anyways, the yearbook was finished and it turned out great. I am so glad that we all stuck with it and finished it out. I do think I might run for president next year though;) 

          God has shown me so many different things over the school year. I am so glad that I had a Christian teacher and Christian classmates to talk to. Patience, respect, and self-control are only a few of the lessons I learned. Please pray for me as God shows me even more things over the next school year, and I will be praying for all of you as well. Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

Maria & Daniela

     On September 14, two babies arrived at Grace Babies’ Home. Their names are Maria and Daniela, and they are both 8 months old.
     Daniela has a huge personality. She always wants to be the center of attention. If you stop looking at her, she screams and cries. I wonder if maybe she was just starved for attention, and now that she gets it she loves it. When she first came to us, she could not sit up by herself or stand on her legs and bounce. After the first two weeks she was here, she was doing both of these. She is also in a stage of copying our facial expressions and sounds that we make. You can see these in the pictures below. We are pretty close to getting her to say “uh-oh”.
     Maria was a little more behind than Daniela when she came to us. She was also sick. She had a very bad cold for the first week and a half. Her cold is gone and she now can sit up by herself for the most part, and entertains herself with the toys she grabs. Maria has more of a “there you are” verses a “here I am” personality. She doesn’t scream or cry like Daniela does when you put her down on the ground or stop looking at her. She is always content. She likes it when you lift and hold her up in the air. My dad is really good at doing this.
      Grace Babies’ Home is a two-story building with our house on the second floor and the home for babies is on the first floor. My mom and I have been sleeping downstairs with the babies since they arrived. We get up with them in the night (or hopefully the morning), change them, feed them, and then play with them until their morning nap. Even though I have to do school, I try to help out with them as often as I can during the day.
     Before these two babies arrived at GBH, I was feeling kind of depressed. I kept thinking about the fact that I didn’t really have any friends to hang out with and that I was not really doing anything besides school and swimming. My life seemed really uneventful. When Daniela and Maria arrived, I felt I had a job to do and that I was needed. It really feels good to be needed. Whenever I start to think about the friend situation, I realize that I don’t really have time to hang out right now. I have a job to do that God gave me. I think he brought Maria and Daniela at the perfect time.

First Week in High School

Last week was my first week doing online High School. I took the orientation class on the first day and then started my real schoolwork the next day. The classes I am taking are: Bible, Physical Science, English, Math, Health, and French. My teacher’s name is Mrs. Russell.

Every morning I have to log on and read a devotional. After I read the devotion I have to post a comment or respond to another student’s comment about the devotion. This is how they take attendance every day.

In all of my subjects I have a Discussion Forum. This is where all of the kids in my class post comments about a question. For example, in Physical Science one of the questions was, “When doing an investigation, if you made a mistake, what would you do?” All of the students post what they would do and can also respond to other student's posts. The format for discussion is much like the devotional.

We were recently asked to define Christianity in our Bible Discussion Forum. After reading everyone's lengthy definitions I was hesitant to answer, but this is what I wrote: “John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.’ That only son is Jesus Christ. Christianity is believing in Jesus Christ and having a personal relationship with Him.”

My favorite part of this program is that I can work at my own pace. I am the kind of person who would rather finish it fast and get it over with, instead of waiting until that last minute to do it. Once a week I have a meeting with my teacher in an online classroom that works like a chat room. In the classroom we can hear each other talk, and even see each other if we choose to turn on the video. I can work fast and finish my school work whenever, as long as I finish before the meeting.

I am very thankful that I can do this online High School. I think it is going to be a good school year.

Funny Thoughts & Feelings

        I am always thinking of funny things. The other day I was wondering what would happen if our dirty, old, green minivan - Sally, met a bright, red Ferrari? What would they talk about? Would they discuss the different things they see while driving? Would they compare how different the conversations are that they hear from their passengers? Would they talk about the different roads they drive and things they see while on those roads? 
        Sally would probably tell the Ferrari that she lives in Mexico, but in her lifetime she has seen just about everything - the beach, the mountains, the desert, and the snow. Now the Ferrari would probably tell our minivan that the only places it’s ever been are expensive cities and neighborhoods. Then Sally would talk about all the music it plays, such as Jana Alyra or Rob Biagi. She has heard our family talks and arguments, and little kids screaming and crying. Sally would explain how she has basically raised our family, getting us from place to place. 
        The Ferrari would tell the minivan that it has listened to every type of music except the music the minivan has heard. The conversations the Ferrari has heard have always been business conversations or boring adult conversations. The Ferrari has no idea about families and the things that happen in them. He has no idea what life looks like from Mexican roads. He maybe starts to feel like he’s missing out. 
        Then I started to think what our shiny, new Honda Odyssey – Jazz, and our old, green minivan – Sally, talk about now (they are parked next to each other). Does Sally say, “You are going to love the Struttons!” Does she say, “Mexico is the best place to be!” I wonder if Jazz will even like it here, or will she miss her old family, the old roads, and her old life? Does Sally feel rejected by our family? Or does she understand she still has an important job – serving babies at Grace Babies’ Home. 
        When I think about all these silly car conversations, I remember my feelings when we visited an outdoor market while on vacation last weekend. I walked around all the little shops, but as I kept looking around at all the girls my age I felt like our old, green minivan on a highway of Ferraris. I knew that on the outside I didn’t look much different, but I could feel something different on the inside. We had a meeting spot where my dad was hanging out in case someone got lost. So after walking for a little bit, I went back to the meeting spot and hung out with my dad. I didn’t really have the nerve to tell him then the reason why I didn’t want to keep shopping. So when he asked, “Couldn’t find anything you can’t live without?” I shook my head and said, “Nope, not really”. 
        The Bible says that our home is in heaven and until we get there we are not going to feel like we belong. I don’t know about you guys, but I know that I really need to remember that. God put me here in Mexico for a reason, and I sure am glad He did!

Major Award!

           I started swimming in August of 2010 and ever since then I have loved everything about it. Practice starts at 5:00pm and goes until 7:00pm, 5 days a week. We run for 40 minutes before we get into the pool. I swim all four strokes, but my favorites are breast and fly.

            This past week I didn’t go to practice because my friend from Encinitas was staying with me. My coach found out that the Rosarito Chamber of Commerce wanted to give me an award. After trying all week, he finally got a hold of me yesterday to tell me about it. When he first told me I thought he was joking because he said that I was the only one on the whole team who was going, then I realized he was serious! I told my dad about it and he said he would go with me.

            We met my coach at the pool and followed him to where the ceremony took place; it was called Plaza Festival. From the front, it had a huge joker. It looked like a place I would NOT want to go into. When we got to the top of the stairs, we entered a room with fancy tables and chairs. We sat down at a table towards the front of the room. At the very front was a long table for the important people (this is how most events are organized here in Mexico). From the time we sat down to the time the event started, an hour passed (this is also normal for where I live). Finally all the important people showed up and sat down at their table.

            They started off by saying a few words, and then gave out the awards. This is when I learned that I was receiving an award for being the athlete of the month for all sports for all of Rosarito. When they called my name I went up and shook hands with all the important people, got my picture taken with some important guy and then walked back to our table.

            As I was walking back and examining my plaque, I realized how lucky I am to have parents that will pay and drive me every day to the pool and to my meets. Swimming is definitely my sport and I love it. That ceremony encouraged me to try harder and train harder. Thanks God for this sport.

            PS – Those of you who love the movie “A Christmas Story” will understand my title;)

Important Guy & Me

My Awesome Coaches & Me

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!