This is why I do what I do

Ran across this while going through pictures. It makes it all worth while don't you think?

The best thing ever

omehow, I got a small cut on my hand yesterday, and today in the office, I showed it to Viviana, and she asked if her Nina did it. For some reason, Erin gets blamed when Vivi falls down and says that her nina gave her a bump on her head or a scrape on her knee, so when Vivi asked me if nina did it, I said yes. She then left the first office and went to our office and scolded Erin for hitting me. Later on, after we came back from lunch, I showed Vivi again and said Nina hit me, she marched right up to Erin and told her multiple times to not hit her nino. She even wagged her finger at her once. It was hysterical. Later on, we tried to do it again and take a video of it. Vivi scolded Erin again, but the sound isn't great, so you might have to put headphones in or crank up your speakers. Have a great night.

A nice break...

...away from phones, internet, television, even running water (almost). Last week, Erin, Jeff, and I hitched a ride with Jim to Sicachique. We went to visit YLM's most remote mission site, Nueva Esperanza in Sicachique. Google maps does not even know where Sicachique is, but I am guessing it is southeast of Chihuahua city, a total drive of 10 to 11 hours from the mission's campus.

We left Sunday afternoon and stayed overnight in Chihuahua City, with Pastor Tovar, where we ate Carne Asada, and loaded up more supplies to take to the village. We left Monday morning for Sicachique, spent the rest of Monday and all day Tuesday there. The plan was to bring supplies, assess needs, and fix a couple things. Pastor Tovar wanted a door fixed, and a generator looked at (total time to fix both: 31 minutes). Thus we just relaxed and learned what we could about the town.

It was weird not having the luxuries we are used to, but at the same time, it was nice to have literally nothing to do except read and watch the animals.

For more information on Sicachique, check out the YLM website by clicking here. Enjoy the pics and make sure to watch the video at the end.

There were several forest fires on the way to the village

Our quarters, Erin and Jeff slept on the balcony, and I slept inside

The old fish hatchery which I hope to bring back

The school, which is the main focal point of the village

Corn is relied upon by the people for not only food, but also income. It is definitely not knee high by the fourth of July. Please pray for rain.

Moving a support beam to help strengthen a roof

The Palomino figured out how to get at the food, and the other animals came

Enjoying lunch

The brown one couldn't quite figure out how to get the food, so we sent Erin in to save the day.

Jim, Jeff, and Erin with a local lady, she had some cool woven stuff for sale, so we bought some.

Pastor Tovar said the kids don't get a lot of natural or processed sugar, so we brought some. Somehow this guy scored, notice he is pulling out more from his pockets.

Some local girls that played basketball with us. They were good.

Basketball games, not really any rules, and this one guy needed a passport because he traveled so much.

Make sure to watch the video of the game below.

Passing out flip flops....

...vitamins and medicine...

and hygiene kits.

Sheep

Kids

Kind of looks like a head

We took a 88 kilometer, 90 minute detour to go see Copper Canyon. It was kind of cool, but it seemed odd to drive that far for 10 minutes.

Super "Two"sday

So the adorable goddaughter's birthday was May 28th, she turned two. The Friday before, Erin and I brought her presents to the office so she could open them. The funny thing was that I had been telling Vivi often what her presents were, and Erin kept yelling at me to stop telling her. I didn't think it mattered, because she had no idea what I was saying, all she kept saying was birthday.

At first, she wasn't really sure how to open the gifts, but after a little help from one of her sister's, she got the hang of it. The first present she opened was from Erin, it was a little puzzle of animals that you put back into their spots on this board. Viviana saw the pig first and started making oink oink noises, it was funny. I thought she would see the dog or cat first and yell BOW WOW, or MEOW, which she does whenever she sees pictures of Ninja, Bear, or Freddy.

Erin came up with a great idea that she was going to get Viviana a Christmas ornament for her baptismal birthday each year. I thought that was a good idea, but I couldn't steal it, so I kind of copied it when I was in Chicago. I saw a snow globe, and thought that would be a good thing to give Viviana on her baptismal birthday from her Nino, so I got one, and will give it to her this November. To start off her collection, I ordered two snow globes for her birthday presents this year, one from Venice, and the other from Barcelona to represent some of the places we went on the cruise. After her puzzle, she opened these, and didn't really get it, but liked the snow when she shook them.

Her last present was from both Erin and I, and it was a big set of blocks with letters, numbers, pictures and other learning tools on them. Vivi was super excited and kept saying ABC when she saw them. I was wearing a shirt with writing on it the other day, and she kept pointing at it and saying ABC. I have seen her practicing and playing with them in the office. She seemed to really enjoy her presents, and I hope she continues to benefit from the learning some will provide, and the connection she will have with the ornaments from Erin and the snow globes from me.

Opening her puzzle

Now she has the hang of it

Working on the wrapping around her block set

Looking at the camera instead of the snow globe

With her sister Mariana and her Barcelona globe

Loving her blocks

Showing off her block set

Pool Party

Last Sunday, Erin, Jeff (he was here last fall for a couple months, and is now back) and myself went to the service at Santisima Trinidad. Pastor Hernandez mentioned that some of the guitarists were going to the pool today, and asked if we wanted to come. Hmmm, lets see, 98 degrees and sunny, Saturday afternoon with nothing much going on, should we go to the pool? UM, ok. So, we invited some of our friends, Ruby and Joana to go with us.

We thought we were just going to a regular pool, because Pastor said the price was good, and you got a buffet lunch, so I thought I could sponsor Ruby and Joana a few dollars to have a good time, guess what? We ended up at the super water park that you may have seen right across the bridge from the mission. Oh well, we were here, and the girls were going to love it, so in we went. Now, in C0lorado, it costs $36.00 to go to Water World, $31.00 if you are under 4 feet tall, and at Wet n Wild here in El Paso, it is $45.00 for ages 4 and up. Guess what it cost for the one in Juarez? 80 pesos. Less than 8 dollars. SWEET!!!!

So in we went, and the girls had a blast. for 8 hours they swam, slid, and ran all over this huge park. I can't believe how much fun they had. It was an awesome day, and I am stoked they had so much fun.

Jeff and I got to talking, and we thought it would be great to give this experience to as many kids from the mission sites in Juarez that we can, so we are developing a plan to try and get around 50 to go in August. If you would like to help by sponsoring a child or two, please contact me for details. Some pics are below. Have a great weekend.

Safest City in America

Stolen from Erin, but my thoughts exactly

I was pretty irked when I thought up the idea about writing this blog, but it's not meant to be angry, just informative. El Paso, TX, is the safest city in the United States (with a population between 500,000 and 1 million). It was formerly the 2nd safest after Honolulu, HI, and has been either #2 or #3 since 1997, but it claimed the title for the first time in late fall of 2010.

The list is compiled each year by CQ press, and you can take a look at it for yourself here.

Yes, I know it's ironic that the safest city in the United States happens to be situated very near the murder capital of the world (outside of war zones), but it's the truth. The two cities are really and truly one giant metroplex with a heavily guarded international border running through them, but although hundreds of thousands of individuals cross that border everyday, Juarez's cartel violence hasn't, isn't, and won't! El Paso is at the center of a giant misconception, and it's hurting the mission in direct and indirect ways. Every news report you hear or article you read about violence in Juarez describes the "where" as being across the Rio Grande from El Paso, TX, creating an inaccurate link that transcends just geography in people's minds.

I have been working in Juarez regularly for 3 years now, and haven't once felt threatened. That being said, I realize that I am the exception to the rule; I can understand church councils and parents not knowing the reality of the situation and thus being concerned. However, I am still struggling to understand groups slated to work stateside cancelling for safety reasons! Adding insult to injury is that many of them instead go to New Orleans to help with ongoing Katrina relief efforts, despite New Orleans being the 7th most dangerous city in its respective population category.

My purpose in writing this is to vent, yes, but primarily to educate. I know there are many other dynamics involved that I haven't even thought about, and probably wouldn't until I was in charge of a group of other people's children. But if even one person reads this and comes away with a new and probably surprising tidbit about the place that has become my home away from home, I have done my part to combat Satan's manipulative command of the media.

If you want to catch up....

I know that I am not very good at putting blogs up lately, but lucky for my 4 readers, you are also readers of Erin's blog, and she is very good at posting blogs. Maybe that is one of the reasons I do not post as often, because she is so quick to get them posted, and we basically both do the same thing. So, I will try to get better, but in the meantime, to catch up on everything that has happened in the past month, see Erin's blog.

Fairy Godparents

Every year on Easter Sunday, Pastor Hernandez holds a service that includes baptisms and confirmations for all of his mission sites at Santisima Trinidad. This year, like last year, Erin and I went to enjoy the service and meet the new members. This year had a bit of a twist though. One young girl who was going to receive her first communion was in tears at the beginning of the service because either her padrinos (godparents, or sponsors), were not there, or she did not have any, so her mother came up to Erin and I and asked us if we would stand up for her. I don't really know this girl, but like Jesus said in Mark 9, "whoever welcomes one of these children in my name, welcomes me", so we stood up for her at her first communion. The tears turned into to smiles as she realized that there were some people who would stand for her, and the service and events turned out beautiful. Off to Wisconsin/Chicago tomorrow.

It took Erin a long time to get her to look at the camera.

After she was baptized

Those baptized ranged in age from infant to adults

I baptize you...

Some were even baptized and confirmed in the same day.

Ruby getting ready for her first communion. She must have been unprepared, because she seemed to choke a little, but made it through.

More first communicants

Monica

Erin and I with Julia.

Erin, Pepe, Monica and I, not really looking at the right camera.