Reflections on 2017 - A Time for Everything

As I reflect on 2017, I go through a series of questions posed by Velvet Ashes in an October post called, "A Time for Everything" based on the famous passage in Ecclesiastes.  It is a very interesting way to reflect on the past year and look towards the new one, and I will repost their questions below.  

But before I do that, I'd like to mention that Velvet Ashes is an amazing resource that I'm glad to have found.  If you are looking for a place to make a donation, I'd like to suggest this one.  They're doing great things to encourage women around the world, and could use support.

Ok, here we go...

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A time to be born and a time to die... (What is God birthing in you? What is dying?) 

A time to plant and a time to uproot... (What are you planting? What is being uprooted?)

A time to kill and a time to heal... (What do you need to kill? What needs healing?) 

A time to tear down and a time to build... (Are you in a season of tearing down or building?)

A time to weep and a time to laugh... (How can we weep with you? Where can we laugh with you?) 

A time to mourn and a time to dance... (Are you mourning? Or dancing? Or both?)

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them... (Is this a scattering or gathering season for you?)

A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing... (Is there someone you need to embrace? Or refrain form embracing?) 

A time to search and a time to give up... (Do you need prayers for strength in the searching? or the giving up?) 

A time to keep and a time to throw away... (What are you keeping? Or is this a throwing away time for you?) 

A time to tear and a time to mend... (What do you need to tear? Where does your life need mending?) 

A time to be silent and a time to speak... (Is God asking you to speak more? Or listen more?) 

A time to love and a time to hate... (Where has God been stirring love? What do you have a fresh hate for?) 

A time for war and a time for peace... (Where are you following your convictions? Is there a relationship you need to prioritize over a conviction?)

As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God by Eugene Peterson says this about the wisdom literature: 

“The life of faith has to do with the best that comes our way; the life of faith has to do with the worst that comes our way. Neither cancels out the other; neither takes precedence over the other.

Thanks be to God who values a time for everything.

Reflections from 2017 - November 20, 2017

Today I took time to read through journal entries from the past year.  It was a very interesting, and at times stressful, experience.  I struggled a lot this past year in my new role as administrator of the children's home, and in wondering if God's call of me to this place is still as strong as it was four years ago.  This journal entry from November 20, 2017, after a final meeting for the isthmus trip, stands out to me as an important milestone in this past year:

A realization came to me this evening halfway through the meeting.  As one of the young men described his elaborate plans of different colored teams and rotating games and competitions, I realized this sounded a lot like a group of starry-eyed dreamers going on their first mission trip.  And then I realized that, despite the fact that I have been serving with them for years "on the mission field, " that's exactly what they were.  For the majority of them, this was their first real "mission trip."

 My first mission trip was in 1997, 20 years ago, followed by many, many more.  What am I now?...  Someone who left a job she loved and the people she loved to follow God's clear call.  A call that has been a struggle nearly every step of the way.  A call that has left me feeling broken, isolated, worn down, and desperate to give up more times than I can count.  But a call that has also molded and matured me beyond what I thought possible.

So where does that leave me with this group?  Certainly no longer fresh-faced and eager like many of them.  I wish I had more exuberant joy and contagious passion, but I don't see that within me.  As I look inside right now, I see a steady flowing stream.  I'm not sure what that means, but it somehow brings a peace.

Reflections from 2017 - May 7, 2017

Today I took time to read through journal entries from the past year.  It was a very interesting, and at times stressful, experience.  I struggled a lot this past year in my new role as administrator of the children's home, and in wondering if God's call of me to this place is still as strong as it was four years ago.  This journal entry from May 7, 2017 stands out to me as an important milestone in this past year:

Yesterday I realized that I want to be here for the long-haul - whatever that means.  For so long I have been focused on when my time here might be over.  But yesterday I realized that these kids need people committed to them long-term.  As the years stretch before me, I now know with certainty that I don't want to leave because of difficulty, but only with the clear guidance of God in his perfect timing.  With his help, I will weather what is to come and will not give up.  Scary?  Yes.  But we are not called to live free of risk.  "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10.

 

Reflections from 2017 - January 14, 2017

Today I took time to read through journal entries from the past year.  It was a very interesting, and at times stressful, experience.  I struggled a lot this past year in my new role as administrator of the children's home, and in wondering if God's call of me to this place is still as strong as it was four years ago.  This journal entry from January 14, 2017 stands out to me as an important milestone in this past year:

"The wise Rabbi Bunam once said in old age; when he had already grown blind: 'I should not like to change places with our father Abraham!... Rather than have this happen, I think I shall try to become a little more like myself.'  The same idea was expressed with even greater pregnancy by Rabbi Zusya when he said, a short while before his death, 'in the world to come I shall not be asked: "Why are you not Moses?" I shall be asked: "Why are you not Zusya?"'" - John Garvey

 These quotes put me in mind of a conversation I had with a board member who was here briefly this week.  She came to my office to talk about how it is going and how I'm doing, and to pray for me.  Our conversation revealed to both of us my lack of confidence in myself.

I think I somehow thought it was humility that motivated me to say those things, even an admirable humility, I'm embarrassed to admit.  But I see now that it is coming off as a lack of confidence - one that will not help the people I'm supposed to be leading.

These years are revealing a new me, and I should not bemoan that I am not more like the leaders who were before me, but I should desire to be more like me.  To not realize at the end of my journey that there was a Laura I was meant to be that I never became.

For now I may have to fake it till I make it (confidence), but that has surprisingly worked in the past.  I must find a way to be both confident and humble.  More like Christ.  My confidence need not come from myself, but from my trust in God who has called me to this work.

A Christmas Reflection

I'm finally nearing the end of my 3-year Bible reading plan, and these days leading up to Christmas have me reading the minor prophets - not something I generally do a lot of.  So on December 24th, as I continued my way through Malachi, I was surprised to find myself reading a foretelling of John the Baptist and the day of the Lord's coming:

"I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.  Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.

But who can endure the day of his coming?  Who can stand when he appears?  For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.  Then the Lord will have men bring offerings in righteousness... Malachi 3:1-3 

Very interesting to read this on Christmas Eve.  Puts the 'baby wrapped in a manger' thing into a new and challenging perspective.  "Who can endure the day of his coming?  Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire..."  Makes me think of the challenging teachings of Christ, many of which we as Christians today ignore or are 'blissfully ignorant' of.

Malachi goes on to say:

“On the day when I act," says the LORD Alimighty, "[those who feared the LORD and honored his name] will be my treasured possession.  I will spare them, just as the father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.  And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not." (v. 17-18)

Matthew Henry's commentary on Malachi 4 notes:

If [the wicked] were not stubble, it would not burn them; for the fire will be to every man according as he and his works are found; if they be wood, hay, and stubble, they will be consumed; but if they be gold, silver, and precious stones, they will abide the fire and be purified by it. (1 Cor. 3:13-15)

My hope is to be counted as one of those who fear and honor his name, who serves him, who is his treasured possession; that this refining fire that is the Lord will, instead of consuming me, purify and refine me.  A very interesting and unexpected reflection for this Christmas season...

Sounds of the Season

I've stayed in the office to be around while the psychologist meets in a nearby room with kids who are struggling with various issues.  It's late when I finally lock the office door and turn towards home.  The sun is setting to my left, and I smile as the noises of the evening begin to catch my ear:

The hum of traffic passing by on the highway.
The roar of a lion in the zoo across the street.
The jingle of my office keys hanging from my neck.
The songs of evening birds as they alight in the trees.
The thud of a grasshopper as it hops into my path.
The cracking of my knees after sitting at my desk all afternoon.
The call of crickets beginning in the chilly night air.
The clanging of the dinner bell reminding me how late it's become.
The crunch of the rocks and dirt on the road beneath my shoes.
The swish of the power washer as someone finishes cleaning a van.
The voices of my neighbor talking with her young daughters.
The creak of the kitchen door as someone gets to dinner late.

I climb the stairs to my apartment, close the windows to keep in what I can of the heat from the day, plug in my Christmas lights, and find some leftovers for dinner.  After setting my alarm for early the next morning, I turn on some calming Christmas music and give thanks for the comfort of my warm covers before nodding off to sleep; glad to rest before the start of a new day.

A 19 Hour Mission Trip

It started with a question from a doctor about where our worship team had purchased the wooden pallets for their new stage, and resulted in two of our staff and one university boy driving with a caravan of vehicles to a community five hours away.

They went to an area that was badly damaged by the recent earthquakes, and brought with them dozens of wooden pallets to create a floor so that those living in shelters wouldn't have to sleep on the wet ground.  National and international response to the big communities hardest hit was extremely generous and, when our guys arrived, they found that an abundance of physical help had already arrived.

They did what they went there to do, constructing floors of wooden pallets, but they also witnessed something that bothered one man in particular.  More than the damaged buildings and the people living in temporary shelters, he was struck by the continued fear he saw in the people there.  There have been hundreds upon hundreds of aftershocks in that area, and each movement brings back the memory of that first one that changed their world.

Seeing this need, and motivated also by frustration with the divisiveness of the Christians in the area, he decided he had to go back .  He wanted to share the hope of a God who loves them and cares for them, hope that can cast out fear.  So over the following month he gathered a team of us together and last weekend we went back to that community with that purpose.

Part of the team made plans for fun times with the kids, and others were there to spend time with the women.  I went to be present and supportive as a leader.  Cold weather has arrived in force earlier than usual this year, so we also brought 500 warm blankets with notes of encouragement to hand out to people.

To be honest, I am weary and was not really looking forward to this 19-hour mission trip (10 hours of which would be spent on winding mountain roads), but I felt a call to it and was committed to go.  I was glad I did because I enjoyed the whole experience much more than I expected to.  I think we were all blessed by that day, and we hope that God's purposes were accomplished through what we did.

I spent the majority of my time making Christmas cards with the youngest children, while the older ones joined in on the fun of rally.  The kids' social adeptness surprised me.  One little girl came up to me and said, "I want to play with the kids, but I'm embarrassed."  I said, "Well, should we go together?"  She agreed and I took her by the hand to join the group of kids playing with a ball.  I told the leader why we were there and he asked her, "Would you like to play?"  "Yes," she said with confidence, and she jumped right in :).

We had expected that some of our guys would hand out the blankets in local neighborhoods during that time with the kids, but the scheduling worked out in such a way that we were all able to participate.  It struck me how receptive people were to us, a parade of tired people on a blisteringly hot day, handing out blankets to anyone who wanted one.  They would tell us thank you and we would respond in the customary way of speaking here at the children's home, "Thanks to God."  I hope the encouraging notes that went along with the blankets left a lasting impression on those who received them.

Your continued prayers for people and communities around the world affected by traumatic events are important.  We live in a time when it is easy to become overwhelmed by the abundance of news about natural disasters and evil acts.  Never before this age of information did we get news so quickly of earthquakes here, fires there, corruption in that country and attacks in this. And when something new happens, the cameras turn towards the next big event, leaving the others forgotten.

But as believers in Christ, we are not without hope, nor are we without resources.  We believe that this weary world rejoiced at the coming of the Savior and we can share that message of hope.  There is great power in prayer for people near and far.  There is tangible power in loving those God has placed around us in this life.  And there is the so often untapped power in loving our enemies, and truly praying for those we disagree with or are heartily against.

Below are some of my pictures from our time in the isthmus, snapped on my cell phone as we went through our day.  Thank you for your prayers for our trip, I am especially thankful for the safety and the fellowship we experienced.  I don't know if we'll get a chance to go back, but I trust that God was at work there before we came, and will continue to work there into the future.

Making Christmas cards with the mothers and little children.

Christmas cards are not a tradition here, but they caught on quickly :)  Here the girls paint strings of Christmas lights.  Knowing we wouldn't have great access to water in the camp, I went with Q-tips instead.

One toddler would point to things and begin to cry if we left him alone too long.  This is the result, a piece I like to call, "Fussy Baby Art" ;)

I ran out of simple ideas for cards, so from upside down I quickly drew a tree on one paper and then about three others wanted a tree drawn for them.  Work with what you have ;)

Feliz Navidad!  One thing I hoped to achieve with these cards was a way for them to encourage one another.   One older boy wrote a message inside of his card that said, "Sister, it was a while ago that we fought, but I wanted to say I'm sorry."  Wow!

This was one of the older kids, I was amazed by the beauty of the touch of color he added to his snowflake.  I said, "You are an artist!" and he smiled shyly.  Later he came back to show me another thing he'd drawn and truly surprised by his creativity I said, "You really are an artist!"  "I know," he said with a smile.

Walking through the neighborhoods that were more seriously damaged by the earthquakes.

Our truck and trailer were full of the 500 blankets.

Part of our group consisted of some of the teenagers from the children's home.

We encountered many people working on reconstructing their homes.  It is good to see the resiliency and strength of the people in this place.

Every single blanket came with a note written by staff and kids from the children's home.

At the end of this hot day we had time to visit a lovely waterhole.  Not having planned for this, many just swam in their clothes.  I sat on the edge and moved my feet around in the water (moved them around because if I kept still little fish nibbled on them).

Driving off into the sunset at the end of  a long day.

Major earthquake, minor damage

I was going to post more photos from my cell phone, and realized I had a series of photos from the night of the 8.2 earthquake and the day following that might be interesting to share.  I don't want the title to mislead anyone - there was major damage in other areas of Oaxaca - but here at the home there was surprisingly little visible harm done to the buildings.

This happened to be the last photo on my phone before the earthquake - a serene afternoon just before the midnight quake.

Displaced ceiling tiles are the main things we noticed when we reviewed the children's houses.

The soda machine in the office was a bit chaotic.

This is my living room - about 4 pots fell from the shelves and broke.  (TV didn't fall!)

Some things fell from the shelf in my room. The photo frames on the very top shelf all ended up face down.

My mirror also fell to the floor (didn't break!).

We had a delayed schedule the next day, but breakfast went on as usual - though everyone was quieter and more tired than usual.

Fridays are always prayer days here, but this time the kids were around due to school being cancelled.  Prayer time went long, but the kids were especially attentive.

I had to go downtown with the director of the home, and we found many newspapers were already sold-out by the time we got there.  Here men gather around a newsstand downtown.

As we walked around, all the snippets of conversations I overhead of course revolved around the earthquake.  The boy bagging our groceries got tired halfway through and squatted down with a sigh.  I said, "Animo!  I guess we all had a rough night, eh?"  He stood up with a smile and made a special point of thanking us as we left.

 

We didn't manage to eat lunch until about 4:00pm.  I snapped this shot waiting outside a restaurant in the town near the children's home.  Life seemed to go on around us, despite such a big event.  Damage was more prevalent in more remote and poorer areas.

Fixing our eyes

This is a glass of water I currently have on my counter.  It is there because, after a series of dozens of aftershocks between 4.0 and 6.2 magnitude last weekend, I find it challenging to distinguish between when there is really an earthquake or if my mind and body are playing tricks on me.

When I feel like the world is shifting underneath me, I look at the glass of water to see if it is moving or standing still.  Only then am I able to determine with certainty what is real and what is imagined.  How long I'll feel the need to leave it up there, I don't know.  But for now it stays.

I think that when our world gets shaken up, and it is getting shaken up regularly, we need to look to something that shows us when we really need to take action.  For Christians, the Bible should be that constant.  We should know what it says about life and faith and God's will.

And when I speak of the Bible being our constant, I'm not talking about picking out a verse here and there to defend our position.  When I read the Bible, I find verses that people spout all the time to defend themselves right alongside verses that they would never in their life consider living by.  Reading it all together certainly gives one pause before dispatching our own version of the truth.

And what does the Bible require of us?  How can its entirety possibly be summed up, say, in a simple command?  Jesus gave us two - Love the Lord our God with all our being, and love others.  Love others - even, and especially, our enemies.

It takes me breath away to imagine what this world would look like if Christians really actively loved their enemies.  What transformation would come about?  What actual persecution would be endured for the cause of Christ?  

But for now we are quicker to post memes and insults about those who believe differently than we are to pray for them.  Our culture lately seems fixed on hate, and the church unfortunately looks no different than the world in many cases.

Lord, have mercy on us.

I don't know when I'll be ready to take that glass of the counter.  Today is not that day, nor do I think it'll be happening this week.  I don't trust the earth to keep still and I don't trust myself to know the difference at the moment.

May we always keep God's Word in sight.  May we make decisions based on truth and love.  May we pursue justice, and not partiality.  May we be merciful, and not cruel.  May we walk humbly with our God, not proudly before men.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

May we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is eternal.

A Midnight Earthquake

I wake up from a deep sleep to violent shaking and quickly realize this earthquake is more serious than our usual ones.  As the movement grows more powerful, I get out of bed and move to the hallway where the beams of the building make for a safer refuge.  In my half-asleep state I just stand there holding on to the wall as I hear objects crashing to the floor and the power goes out briefly.

Once the world stops quaking, my groggy mind shifts into action.  We need to make sure people are safe and that they feel secure.  I quickly get dressed in the nearest clothes I can find and go outside where I assume I'll find my neighbors.

The head of maintenance is standing in his shorts with his family in front of their house and I shout across, asking him to help me check the houses.  The university girls who live below have come upstairs because they are frightened.  I tell them my plan is to check the houses and hand them the little flashlight I had beside my bed.

It is a struggle to find the more heavy duty flashlight that has fallen out of my closet.  After knocking on the door next to mine, I conclude that the director and her husband have already headed over to check things out.  When I try to call my parents to let them know I'm ok, I find there is no cell phone or internet signal.  Makes sense.  I notice it isn't even midnight yet as I slide my phone in my back pocket and head out into the rainy night.

We find all of the structures intact, and the staff and kids are milling around having various reactions to the event.  The teenage girls are wandering around their house talking loudly, the little girls are already back in bed with their lights off, the teenage boys seem very reluctant to reenter their house despite our encouragement that it was ok, and one of the little boys will later need some minor first aid because a ceiling tile fell on his head during the earthquake.  Next we grab two of the trucks and drive over to the oldest building on site and check on the staff there.

My phone dings as as a message finally makes it through.  It is the executive director making sure we are alright.  Wow, information sure travels fast!  I give her a call and let her know how we're ok.  She tells me it was an 8.0 magnitude earthquake (reports will later set it as an 8.2).  I knew it was big, but I didn't realize how big.  I also call my parents as I walk through puddles around the school building with my flashlight, not finding any new cracks there either.

Finally we return to staff housing and check on how things are going there.  Some have gone back in, but others sit on their porches, fearing aftershocks.  Drawing on information my dad, who studied seismology as an undergrad, I let them know that aftershocks can happen within minutes or days or even weeks - so waiting outside for an extended period of time is not always practical.

Once everyone is as settled as they can be, I watch the news for a while and sweep my broken pottery into a pile.  Near 2:00am I decide that I really need to try to get some sleep for the day ahead.  While I have sent out messages about school being canceled and us having a delayed meal schedule, I still want to get up early enough so that once the sun is lighting the sky I can be ready to get a better idea of our situation.

It takes a while, but I finally manage to nod off and get a few restful hours of sleep before my alarm wakes me back up at 5:00am.  Last night almost seems like a dream, but the little changes in the world around me tell me it was very real.  I am amazed at the lack of destruction and give thanks to God for our safety.

Image from nbcnews.com

Perspectives

I'm at the tail end of a wonderful visit to the USA.  I am amazed at how eventful yet restful my visit to my sister in Chicago was.  I'm not usually a selfie taker, but we had some fun taking photos with friends and family at various locations around Chicago.

As my 2 1/2 weeks in Colorado now come to a close, I find myself wishing for a bit more time.  Rest is a very elusive thing and I'd enjoy more of it.  Last weekend my parents and I went to the mountains.  We hiked out to an old quartz mine my dad had heard about.  It was a bit of a trek, but it was also so much neater than I was expecting!

We also drove up to timberline to try a hike I found online.  I'm beginning to learn that an easy hike by some people's standards is not so much by my standards...  We were all struggling with the altitude at nearly 12,000 feet.  Even though we cut the hike short halfway through, the beauty of that pocket of God's creation was not lost on us.

We also managed to stop by a rock show in town.  I remember the first time I went to a rock show, I wasn't sure what it would be like.  Would there be rock music or something?  But when we got there I found out that it was just tables and tables of peoples rocks. :)  Being a geologist's daughter, I've grown to appreciate such events and enjoyed stopping by the rock show this weekend.

One thing that stood out to us about that visit though was the following two pictures.  The first is a photo I stopped to take of yellow wild flowers with Mt. Princeton in the background.  They had caught my eye, and the green grass a stormy blue sky made for a very nice shot.

My mom snapped a photo at that same moment.  Hers is a picture of me capturing the image above, and it might leave you with a little different impression of that field I was standing in....

I feel like there are several reflections that could go with these images.  One being that your perspective makes a difference.  Your position, proximity, and focus can affect your view of the world around you.

While I don't feel as rested/restored as I had hoped to at the end of this summer, I do feel like I've gained a new perspective.  I've had time to step back and consider my life as a whole, remembering who I was and thinking about the future.  I'm still not sure what that future holds, but I once again trust God with it and set out to walk alongside Him as He leads me.

A Good Shepherd

When the blind man was thrown out of the temple,
Jesus went and found him.
To imagine, Jesus coming to look for me.
And yet, that's what the parable of the Good Shepherd is about,
is it not?
Could it be true Lord?
Do you come looking for me
when I feel rejected
and alone?

Waiting on the Lord

I am in Chicago for a board meeting, but I am blessed to have a week of rest and relaxation with my sister here, followed by time in Colorado with my parents and friends there.  It has been challenging to blog lately, but while I have some time here I thought I'd look back at some of my past journal entries and maybe share a few....

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January 25, 2017

I'm listening to 1 Samuel on my Bible app because we will be talking about Saul and David in Sunday School.  This morning I heard 1 Samuel in a new way and it surprised and concerned me.

Saul was 30 when he became king of Israel.  One day, in the face of an upcoming battle, Samuel wasn't showing up as expected and the men were beginning to scatter.  Apparently not seeing other options, Saul did the work of making a sacrifice himself.

This is certainly not the first time I have read or heard about this.  But I do identify with Saul in a new way that frightens me.  I don't want to get tired of waiting for God's timing and do something I shouldn't.  But I understand why Saul did.

The enemy was present, the person who was supposed to show up hadn't, and his defense was beginning to fall apart.  Would a "good leader" just let that happen?  Shouldn't one do something?  Seems irresponsible not to.

But now that I think on it, I guess Saul could have rallied his troops to wait on the Lord.  To take courage and trust that... I don't know, that Samuel would show up?

"...the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart..."  David.  I want that to describe me, but this morning I unfortunately seem to understand Saul and his actions better.

Lord, as I lead, make me more like David.  Teach my heart to be like yours.  Keep me from acting from fear or lack of faith.

"My heart is not proud, LORD,

my eyes are not haughty;

I do not concern myself with great matters

or things too wonderful for me.

But I have calmed and quieted myself..."

Psalm 131:1-2a

May it be so in me.

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January 26, 2017

Yesterday the staff devotion was on David and Goliath.  At first I was weary of how the person sharing was describing every detail of the story, but then at the end something clicked.  Yesterday I despaired of identifying with Saul and his impatience and desire for action/fear of failure because people weren't showing up.  The person sharing said that when David saw a problem, he trusted in the Lord.  That was the difference between Saul and David, and that can be the difference in me.

Let Israel wait for the LORD from now on and for ever.

Psalm 131:3

photo courtesy of my sister Mary, view from her balcony in Chicago

27 Pictures

It is time once again when I need to apologize for the lack of posts.  Sometimes these posts come easily, and other times they take hours and hours for me to tweak and edit so they effectively express my true thoughts.  Things are happening, God is working, but I struggle to find the time to put it into words.

However, one thing that won't wait is my phone complaining when I have too many photos on it, so I share with you some photos from the past few months.  Hope you enjoy!

Our beautiful home

I could hardly believe it when someone told me that a Little Caesars had opened in Oaxaca.  We were so excited we waited in a long line in the rain.  Worth it. :)

My poor office plant sometimes doesn't get watered before long weekends.

But it is a champion survivor! Water + sunshine and it perks right back up.

Beautiful morning.

We have a new pastor and the church is coming back to life.  It is very encouraging to be a part of.

We hosted some of our mountain missionaries because Eugenia had a high risk pregnancy.  We celebrate with them their second healthy little baby boy.

Prayer of dedication.

Baby shower.

Our cooks are creative ladies.  I just had to take a picture of this particular squash creation with cheese and meat inside.

Day of the elementary school graduation.  This is taken from the visitors' center.

Back in February my sister put together a collage of the photos we had sent her of our parents' visit to Oaxaca.

I, too, get creative with my cooking at times.  I'm working up to be on Master Chef: Children's Home. ;)

Another amazing meal from the home's kitchen - fried fish, salad, rice and guacamole.  Mmmmm.

We hosted these two precious children one weekend while their mother got her paperwork worked out after someone had reported them abandoned when she didn't show up for several days.  I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the little girls' housemother helping them pick out new clothes in our clothing room.

I did not take this photo but it was on my phone.   Our pastor sent us this image of a bridge in the nearby town after our second tropical depression this year.  This bridge continues to look like this, with that right lane now closed off with caution tape that after all this time is only halfheartedly doing its job.

More cuisine photos.  This time I sent this photo of potato soup to my family.  It was only until I sat down and took a bite that I realized that I'd forgotten the potatoes...  In case you're interested, it is my expert opinion that potato soup tastes just fine if you cook the potatoes separately and add them to the soup afterwards :).

Mail takes a while to get here, but it is just as exciting to receive!

No school = opportunity to help around the home.  I love that the kids here are hard workers and will lend a hand when asked.

Even the youngest get in on the yard work. :)

I was so thankful for a beautiful day for our staff retreat.  When we got home it began to rain - the beginning of our first tropical depression this year.

There's one special day/week here when a bug that looks like a huge ant comes up from the ground.  These are sometimes eaten raw, sometimes cooked, and sometimes ground up into a special salsa.

Rain + Blue Skies :)

Waiting in the cathedral downtown for immigration offices to open across the street.

Finally tried a food truck I always see a line of people at.  It was indeed delicious!

Every month youth groups from this valley meet together.  This month the meeting was held at the children's home.

This week we went on a walk as part of the Sunday School lesson.