Reina

A tradition in Mexico is to have a party for girls when they turn 15. Because we want our girls to feel valued and not to feel like they are missing out by living here, we try to celebrate them big. This last weekend we had a party for two of our girls, Reina and Margarita. They are both from the same area - Amoltepec - and have seen a lot of pain and rejection in their short lives. I had the privilege of blessing Reina during the party and here is what I shared:

Reina – You are such a blessing to us here in the home. I’m grateful for the day Edgar went to Oaxaca to pick you up. I remember telling both Jill and Edgar that you had to stay here. I knew right away that there was something special about you. You have amazed me with your strength and perseverance. You have experienced things in your life that no one should have to experience. But you have gone through them with grace and with a joyful spirit. You have grown because of these experiences and you are even more beautiful because of them. And now we are here celebrating your life and an age where you become a woman. I love that we have an opportunity to have a party for you because there are so many things to celebrate about you. I love your honesty, your sweetness, your kindness and your joy. I love watching you with your daughter and I love laughing with you in our house. I appreciate that you have taken the laundry job and put your efforts into doing it well. I know Jill appreciates that when she talks to you about something to change you are willing to hear it and make an effort to do those changes. My hope for you as you enter this next stage of life is that you understand how loved you are – by God and by your family here. I pray you are surrounded by people who make you feel special and see all the beauty in you. I pray God gives you a hope for your future and that you can trust He has good things planned for you.

2 Year Annivesary

It has now officially been 2 years since we moved to Mexico. This time has flown by. It has been challenging and rewarding and life changing. This has been the richest experience of my life but also the most difficult. One of the most difficult parts of being in Mexico is being away from my friends and family. There have been major life changes in the lives of some of my closest friends - one got married, one is engaged, one is pregnant, one had a baby, one lost her husband to cancer, one passed away from cancer, one was diagnosed with cancer - and I haven't been there for these significant markers in their lives. But my life here in Mexico has been rich and I have fallen in love with children, made new friends and created a new community, learned so much and created so many memories. So I thought I'd share a few of the highlights from the last year as a way of celebrating:

* Moving here with Jill was a huge blessing. I can't even imagine doing this by myself.
* I started off working in sponsorship - which was a job I loved - and ended up working as the administrator - a job I know I'm called to but that brings along a whole set of challenges. Some days I think that I just can't do this anymore and I just want to go back to sponsorship but other days I feel like I'm being used and that I'm being stretched in my leadership in invaluable ways.
* My Spanish has come a long way. I can now understand almost anything in Spanish, I can read books in Spanish and my speaking ability continues to improve. I have a long way to go until I would proclaim myself fluent but there's definitely been progress.
* The children are an absolute highlight. I feel so much affection for the kids and have never received so many hugs in my life. Of course everyone knows that Alfredo is my favorite - he's now 12 and in the junior high. It makes me sad that he's so old. Monse and Celina have also been highlights - the little girls that Jill has been responsible for. I love being Aunt Janelle to them.
* I love when friends and family come to visit - and have been blessed by many of them coming. The rest of you are always welcome! And of course my trips to the states have been great as well - everyone always spoils me.
* Spiritually I have been stretched and pushed outside of what I am comfortable with - and will never be the same because of it. I feel closer to God now than I ever have in my life. I think part of this is because I feel such a need for Him in my life while doing this job and this ministry.

There are so many things I could share and very specific memories I could put down that you all wouldn't understand. So to summarize I'll just say that I'm thankful. One of the most popular questions I receive is - "How much longer do you think you'll be in Oaxaca?" And I really don't know the answer. Sometimes I think I'll be here for years - or as my friend Paul predicted before moving here - for 5 years. Other times I'm overwhelmed by homesickness that I just want to move back in that moment. I felt that today when I saw a picture of my friend Judy on-line. I just wanted to sit down and have coffee with her. The bottom line is - I'm in trouble either way. There will always be a place I'm longing for - either the US or Oaxaca. And I really don't know how long I'll live in Oaxaca.

Nayeli

A couple weeks ago we received a new treasure here in the home named Nayeli. She is 13, has never known her father and her mother abandoned her when she was 5. Since then she has lived with her very old grandfather. And let me tell you that she is a BRAT. For the sake of the other children and the staff who are responsible for her - we are about to kick her out. So in the midst of many of the conversations we've had with her, Edgar, our pastor, told her the only way she could stay is if she confesses everything she's done and asks for forgiveness. That night this letter was sitting on his desk:

The truth is that I am not someone who asks for forgiveness but this will be an exception because I want to stay.
I sincerely ask for forgiveness and I confess that I have done:

* I have lied to Jill about many things.
* I have been thrown out of my classroom several times.
* I stole 2 pesos from the little girls' house that was sitting on a table.
* I hit someone in my class.
* I've talked back to Jill, Sister Chave, Reyna and Janelle.
* I have talked badly about all of you.
* I have gone to the hammocks really late at night.
* I have hit on Eduardo and Jose (without their permission).
* I did not take the $50 pesos from Yolanda.
* I have not completed my chores and if I did I didn't do them well.
* I haven't completed various homework assignments.
* I have talked back to my teachers.
* I am not always sincere.
* I have told many lies.
* I really don't like Janelle.

* I ask for forgiveness and I am sorry.
* I ask you from my heart for another opportunity.

Thank you.

The last line of her confession killed me. I've thought about it all weekend. The truth is that I really don't like her either. But she's 13 and had a horrible life and I feel bad about that. And I have this thing about being liked. I know that not all the kids like me - that goes hand in hand with authority. But to really not like me - harsh. I need to get over it and recognize that it's mutual - I know this. But in a way it's ruined my weekend.

September 11th

Today is September 11th - my brother Robby's birthday but also a day of remembrance for our country. It's difficult to believe that 8 years ago these attacks happened. Time flies. I'll never forget that morning - I was working at Park and didn't realize anything was happening until I got to work. On the walk there I noticed that things were eerily quiet but I had no idea that our world had changed. I remember feeling so much fear - for my own safety living in Chicago, for the economy, for all those who had been affected, for how we were going to retaliate as a nation. I remember watching George Bush's speech that night and feeling so much compassion for him. Why do these men want to be the president? I remember wanting to know where all of my friends and family were and being reminded of how fragile life is and how quickly it can change. I remember Osama bin Laden becoming a household name.

Weekend With Celina

Jill left this morning to spend a long weekend in Houston with some college friends. This means that I am here with Celina and our cat and 2 kittens. The cats wouldn't be a factor except - one of them needs to be bottle fed every couple of hours. Celina is an absolute delight. I'm not just saying that because it sounds like the right thing to say. She's really cute and fun and fairly easy. Just ask my sister who took care of her for a weekend while I was in the Mixe mountains. Right now Celina is sleeping - she went down pretty easy. And I think we have a pretty good weekend planned together. Tomorrow I have a planning meeting with the leadership team in the afternoon so she's going to hang out with Carmen and all the little boys. Saturday I'm going to take Celina and Alfredo into Oaxaca, I'm going to get a hair cut and then we're going to eat dinner at Sam's Club. And then Sunday we'll go to church and then I want to go to a place called Hierve El Agua - it is about an hour from here in the mountains with all these natural pools. It's really beautiful but if we go or not will depend on the weather.

Baptism

I keep thinking about how I need to write something about this but haven't gotten around to it yet - a week ago we had a baptism here. A girl came down from the mountains before making her way to the Baja to study at the Bible Institute there. She had never been baptized and that is a requirement to enter this Bible Institute. So we decided to do it here. About 20 of us crowded into the nursery and she was baptized in the bathtub there (it's one of two bathtubs at the mission). It was totally informal, strange - and beautiful. I think that's how baptisms were done in the Bible. I think people found water, gathered together with their communities and took this step of faith. It has always bothered me how complicated baptism has become - you have to attend classes and write out your testimony and memorize the apostle's creed and jump through hoops to do something that was intended to be a simple, beautiful, symbolic act of obedience.

Monse

Last night Monse (our cat) came into our apartment covered in these terrible things we called "jumping cactus." They are called jumping cactus because they easily attach themselves to skin and it can seem like they jumped right onto you. And they hurt terribly to touch. If you come into contact with one it takes about 24 hours for your skin to touch stinging. Monse had them embedded in her back, on her mouth, in her paws. It was cat nightmare. And Jill was just using her hands to pull them out. I asked her if it hurt and her reply was - "Yes, but this is my kitty." That's true love. Overall it was a crazy Mexican night.