We're home!

We arrived back in Canada yesterday afternoon. I am exhausted and am fighting a Mexican cold (I called it that because we get colds everytime we are there...we had several over our last 6 month stay). We had a really good trip though and our group was blessed with good health and safety during our long trip down and our stay in Mexico. Everything about the trip just fell together with no problems . I definately felt Gods hand of protection over even the smallest details. I am so proud of our team . For many it was their first time going into a different culture, but they did amazing. It was a busy fast paced week but they all kept up their stamina and enthusiasm until they were finished....I did notice the van ride to the airport in SanDiego was much quieter than on the way down :) Thankyou so much to those who prayed for this trip.

The above picture is Nathanael and I with our good friends Olga and Trinidad and their kids Isaac and Keila. We haven't seen them since we left the Baja three years ago but have kept in contact via email. Thy met us at the beach on Friday afternoon and brought Quesataco makings for all 15 people in our group, set up a little charcoal burner and went to work! It was AMAZING! The best tacos ever...I ate three of them! They came complete with fresh quacamole, hand made tortillas, fresh salsa, grilled nopales, onions and peppers, and of course lime. They were so generous, we went to the beach with the plans to all go our for dinner and take them with us but quickly revised our plans to include an appetizer of tacos (we had already pre-ordered burgers for everyone). They even brought gifts for our family. We had brought some gifts for them but were surprised that they had done the same thing. Thats Mexican hospitality for you, even though they struggle to find work and frequently go without the basic neccesities we take for granted they spent a few weeks worth of grocery money on their visiting friends. They were so excited and told me they had been counting down the days like kids at Christmas. It was a fun reunion.

Here is me with a few girls living at the orphanage. One girl is a daughter of one of the houseparents, the small one is a little girl named Nieves (icecream in English) who has been at the orphanage for most of her life, and the girl in pink is new to us and her name is Magai.

The tree in the center of the court yard is a favorite place for the kids to play while they wait for the dinner bell...big kids too.

This little guy snuggled with me all through morning chapel (Sala). It was fun to be there without my kids, I had the chance to really be focused on the work each day 100% and to really enjoy the kids who were there. Of course all the kids and staff who remembered us asked where our kids were ....and part of me would have loved to have them there. I know Aili and Roman would have been pretty easy and would have like to work along side us but it was definately a different experience going without them.

It was a long separation though and by they end I was anxious to get back to my kids. Silas and his uncle met us at the airport. Poor guy looked so shocked and confused to see us, he actually started crying. I think he had given up on us ever returning. Nathanaels identical twin brother quickly replaced Nathanael as "dada" (after all they look pretty much the same) and his auntie became "mom" . It took several minutes of him acting really shy and wierd around us before he started acting like himself. It wasn't quite the welcome I had invisioned but totally understandable and almost fascinating in a child psychology kind of way. All the kids are enjoying being home again and were thrilled to see each other. Silas had some issues sleeping last night and was really clingy but hopefully he'll settle in and we can have a better sleep tonight. Next time they'll come with us :) I'll have some more stories and pictures later.