Joint Heirs With Jesus

It has been a busy few days.  Since we have arrived in Mexico, it has rained almost every night.  We did have a span of about 2 weeks that it didn`t.  I think I have shared before how the least amount of rain just turns the dirt road to the orphanage into a gummy, clay like mud. The drive in is more like that of the mud rallies.  A slip, slide and constant turn of the steering wheel.

This past Friday night, it poured all night long.  Your first thought is that you are thankful to have a dry place to sleep and then you are glad you are home and not attempting to drive on the road.  The next morning we noticed a lot of mud in the parking lot and courtyard areas.  We knew it had rained a lot by the amount of dirt in those areas because it had been cleaned up and it usually takes several rains for it to accumulate.

Later in the morning, one of the interns needed to use the computer.  Upon entering the room, she discovered the flooding that occurred.  At first glance, we thought it was of the one room because it was the closest to the parking lot, only to then realize it was of all the classroom.  Immediately we started letting others know and everyone came together to help in the clean up.  It is very inspiring to see everyone drop what they are doing to come and help.

Some of the rooms still had standing water in them and in the others the water had already receded leaving just the dirt behind.  The clean up involved taking EVERYTHING out of the rooms, throwing water onto the floors and washing with brooms and then rinsing, drying them and returning the contents.  There were a total of 7 rooms and 2 bathrooms to do.  In the meantime, a local mission team had showed up to do work around the orphanage. They come for a day about every 3 months.  It is amazing how God provides just when you need it.

The team was able to do some of the digging in the drainage ditches and some landfill into the mud pits along the road.  They also chopped down the weeds around the play area, painted and shifted some debris.  In their plans, they had rented a huge jumping balloon for the children and provided lunch.  All of this together made great teamwork.  It took a day that could have been discouraging to face and turned into one of fellowship.  As we cleaned some of the girls sang worship songs in Spanish.

We were able to get the clean up to a point that Sunday School could be held in the classes.  We still need to clean the bodega(storage room) of the school.  It will be a task within itself because of the many boxes, papers, books and other items.  Also while the team was here, it gave us the help needed to get to the root of the drainage problem but now the work begins to resolve the issue to prevent future problems.

Yesterday and today, Aron is organizing dig outs along the entrance which seems to be where the water is entering.  There used to be a hump at the entrance made of concrete to defer the water.  It would be the same as a large speed bump.  However, it caused some vehicles to bottom out on it due to the size.  Later there was some dirt added to level it off but it now allows the water to flow over it.  They dug some of the dirt out to expose the bump again but will eventually need to add some concrete to make it wider to avoid the problem with cars driving over.  It is all a process and will take some time and also some money.  So we will do what we can, as we can.

The interns are wrapping up their last week here at Pan de Vida.  They had arrived a week before we did for a 6 week volunteer internship.  We have all been growing together in learning the structure and routines of the kids.  While the interns were here, they have taught basic English classes to the older children in addition to building loving relationships.

It has been exciting for us to practice our Spanish with the kids while they practice their English with us. Sometimes we find ourselves communicating very well and then we reach points that we just raise our eyebrows and say "no se" which is "I don't know".

Today the girls are in the kitchen preparing their final class and it is so exciting to hear them be so enthusiastic about what they are doing and the responses that they are starting to get from the kids. I find that we English speakers are willing to attempt our Spanish despite how foolish we may sound and the mistakes we make.  However, the kids here are timid about the attempts thinking they will be wrong.  This has caused them to be quiet and sometimes the girls have wondered how much the kids are actually understanding, and whether they are interested or not.  I am so proud of them for persevering through it.  As the final test time approaches the results are encouraging and humbling.  The kids have been learning and they are grateful.

Tomorrow is the last day of class so it will be a time of celebration but also a sad time because the kids know the time is drawing near for Lindsey and Mary to leave. I have watched  them interact with the kids for over a month and I know that friendships have been established.  They have definitely planted seeds in these kids.  Kids who are being raised to be disciples for Christ.

Ginger is a sister to one of the volunteers here and is herself volunteering for a couple of months.  Lindsey and Mary are both interns through Orphanos, which is the US based partner to Children of Hope. If you are interested in making a difference in your life and the life of the children here, please go to the web-site to find information how www.childrenofhope.info or www.orphanos.org

Some of the kids here come with little or no education.  We have 14 year olds in Kindergarten.  You can read our mission on the web-site.  Thank you for praying for Pan de Vida and the work that happens here.

It has been a month since we have been at Pan de Vida.  In the time here, God has been showing us many interesting things.  Aron has been very busy with repairs and his tasks include plumbing, electrical, woodworking and even a hand at auto mechanics.  There is always something that needs to be done.  When I first got here, I was told I would be looking after the visitor's dorm. We have spent the last month settling in and learning how things work and what tasks need to be done and when.

Just this past weekend, I told Aron that I wasn't sure what God wanted me to do.  Some days are busy and there aren't enough hours and some days are pretty routine. I guess I felt like I needed to be doing something all the time.  It was then that Aron looked at me and said "the kids love you and they are so glad you are here.  That is why you are here."  It made me cry.  I was having a pity party when it isn't about me at all.

Then after church we went to lunch and one of the girls just came and hugged me because she was just glad to see me.  Yeah, God is a God of relationships.  These kids need people who they know are here for them and to love them and spend time with them.  Then one of the girls invited me to their dorm for a surprise birthday party for Lucy.  She is 18 today. *note: there are around 100 kids here.  The boys have a building and the girls have a building.  There are several rooms in each building with anywhere from 10-16 kids per room.  The one I was invited to is one of the older girls dorm room.

With permission, they were allowed to go into the kitchen and fix some snacks and take them to their room.  I was very  humbled to arrive and find the birthday girl in her bed crying.  I don't know why.  Maybe she misses her family on this special day, maybe she wishes things were different in her life.  I do not know her background.  The other girls rallied around and lit matches for candles and started to sing to her.  She slowly came out from under the covers and accepted the love they were showing.  Before I know it, we are laughing and they are singing, I tried to dance....ok...I am also aware of gifts that God has not given me, dancing and singing are 2 of them.  Then we lit matches and roasted marshmallows by the flame and played a card game called spoons.  I also learned that if you do not have an eye lash curler, you can use a spoon and get great results.  Like taking scissors to ribbon.  The Spanish people are beautiful and know their stuff when it comes to make-up.

We are new here and it will take some time to find where we fit in but what a wonderful way to start!

The teams have gone and already the house feels lonely.  It was so nice to have the interaction of fellowship.  The team hired a back hoe to come in and dig some trenches around the property to help improve the drainage problems we have.  Also during the rainy season the road was literally washed away and they had that repaired.  Here in Mexico the repairs are a bit different than those back home.  Once the road was "graded" some of the team went with hammers to take the "boulders" that were left behind and break them into smaller pieces so they could then be gathered to line the newly dug trenches for drainage.  God blessed us with the team as well to provide tires for the wheelbarrows, a water pump, motion detectable lights, brooms, garbage cans, mats, and other household items.  I know there are other items I am not mentioning but all of it will be very helpful toward the maintenance here at Pan de Vida.  We are so thankful!

While the team was here, 3 of the older girls of Pan de Vida, Betty, Nancy and Sylvia came to the visitor's dorm house to cook for them.  I was blessed to be able to spend time with them and start the process of building relationship.  To see how God is growing these children into disciples through the love of the long and short term volunteers is a blessing in itself.

We have had many visitors over the past several days. One family is here from California.  They used to live in Queretaro where Lane was the Pastor at a local church and held evangelical schools.  We also have 2 families here from Abbotsford British Columbia. They are here doing miscellaneous work projects around the orphanage.  They are scheduled to leave here this Thursday for Aguascalientes and then Kim will return and stay for a few months and serve here at Pan de Vida.  This will be her second year to spend her summer here.  

We have been taking Spanish classes from an older girl here at Pan de Vida, Diana.  We then eat with the children and spend time in the evenings with them and practice the language.  We are understanding more of what we hear before being able to speak what we want to say, however we are both excited about the progress.  

I have been working on getting the visitor's dorm housing ready for all that will be coming here while Aron is doing a variety of jobs.  There is a lot of plumbing that needs to be repaired.  He is even doing some auto mechanics....a skill I didn't know he even had.  Definitely a jack of all trades...master of any...yet to be determined.  I want to post some pictures and will give brief descriptions.

This past Saturday on June 30th, Pan de Vida held its graduation.  All of the Children attend a school that is here at the Orphanage.  The teachers are  Christian and volunteer to teach the children in education and discipleship.  There were 4 that graduated from high school and others that were given their certificates of promotion into primary and secondary grades.

As part of the ceremonies, each age group did a performance.  It was a tremendous blessing to see.  One of the girls, Cece, has recently left to attend Bible School in India.  The group she led did an Indian dance.  We were entertained with Mexican anthem and flag ceremony along with other cultural song and dance.

I have to tell you that in the middle of it all, my battery died on my camera. How crummy is that?   Jeremy has been gracious in e-mailing some pictures for me to post.  Also we are without a personal computer and I cannot download what I do have but will post them as soon as we get that worked out.  For now I will share the pictures I have through e-mail.  You are going to love them because who can help it when you see these precious kids!!