3 days later

here is the other bridge from our property to the main road

check out the huge deep hole

The days after...

The road to our property

The bridge

Needless to say...my little Jetta won't be going out in this...

So, it was an interesting night....it's rainy season and we have hurricanes coming through...It was raining all day yesterday and there are only 2 bridges to get from the main road to our property..well we went to the orphanage nearby -Casa Hogar Douglas - at about 5:00 to make dinner because it was one of the girls birthdays and that's what she wanted to do..the guys grilled the meat on our property because our grill has a roof..we drove the staff van since the waters were high...well the rain kept coming - hard...and when the meat was done at 7:00 the bridges were impassable...they couldn't bring the meat and so we had already cooked tortillas and guacamole but we didn't know what to feed 70+ kids...well that morning there had been a donation of 2 pans of shish-k-bobs and cake..the shish-k-bobs were little and didn't seem like much, but God is a God of miracles and all the kids ate and had seconds...well we couldn't get back and the rains kept coming...part of the problem is the ground is still soaked from the July hurricane...but we were all gonna have to sleep there, which is fine...we walked to the 7-11 down the road to get bottled water and the roads were covered..cars were parked all along stopped and I only had flip flops on and was in deep water. It was scary...We ended up walking to a staff members house that doesn't live on campus cause we needed dry clothes..I was soaked through...Why haven't I bought a rain coat and rain boots after living here for 3 years?? Anyway the rains finally stopped during the night and this morning the 1 bridge was passable but very fragile so the guys came to get us...when I mean fragile, I mean that the edges had fallen in the water and there was debris everywhere...Also, some of our staff was out on errands last night and some of our teens were coming back from school and they couldn't get back..some slept in their cars...it was crazy...thanks for your prayers all the time!!

Sunday morning at Casa Hogar Douglas

Today I went over to Douglas to help out. The girls caregivers had the day off so I helped Caroline get the girls ready and up the hill to church and sat with them during church.

The girls were just chilling in their dorm waiting for church time.

Wendy is a 2- year old who's new to the orphanage, and of course, needs a lot of love!

SMCA School Pictures 2010

Well school is in session and it was a great first week. We have a large group of kids this year and grades K through 11...!! Grades 7 -11 are taking classes through an on-line program this year and it seems to be going well so far. This was a way we could give them a more extensive education. Please pray for our school year as Jessica and I guide these children academically, spiritually, and more...


Brayden - Grade 3, Layton - Kindergarten, Sofia and Aidan - Grade 2

So what have I been doing since I've been back in Mexico? I've been setting up my classroom for a new year. Each summer the classroom is put away and it becomes dorms for groups. So it's a big job to put it all together again. Here it is in the process of being done:

Summer in Indiana 2010 Highlights - Chicago with Friends

Summer in Indiana 2010 Highlights - Mia

I got to go to Mia's school and see her 4th grade classroom. She is growing up so much.

Summer in Indiana 2010 Highlights - Time with friends!!

Sus and I

Brooke, Jada, Amber, and I

Tuff, Sarah, Nichole, and I

Kara and I


and many more that I didn't get photos with...

Summer in Indiana 2010 Highlights - A picnic fundraiser

I am so blessed to have friends who love me and want to support what God is doing:

Summer in Indiana 2010 Highlights - my niece wins first place at Elkhart County Fair with her pig

Mia and Wilbur


Showing the pig

Winning Reserve on Day 1

Grand Champion on Day 2

Outreach for the OLA caregivers

The women wanted to bless all the caregivers at the OLA orphanage so they arranged for a pampering day and hired some women to do pedicures. We brought babysitters, Sarah, Sami, and 2 other girls, so that the caregivers would not have to work. The day before we prepped lunches and got gift bags together.


Thursday we got to the site early and set up tables.

There was no hot water for the pedicures so some of the workers had to chop wood and start a fire to boil water.

When we finally go going, we had about 7 caregivers who attended. Corrie spoke to them about how God sees them and how important their job is. In the end they got their nails done, had great fellowship, had a warm lunch, and hopefully felt loved!

What is life like for a missionary in Nigeria?...

Water needs to be purified before you can drink it and it's a tedious process. Here you see Juliana mixing the flok out of the water.



When washing dishes there is no hot water. You wash in the tap water and then always rinse in a bowl of bleach water.

When brushing your teeth, you need to use bottled water not tap water.

The shower has only a limited amount of hot water, because of lack of power, so the showers need to be quick.

You are constantly thinking in your mind when the power was last on and when to run the generator to keep the refrigerator cold and yet not run it too much.

When the power comes on, be ready to throw in a load of laundry and then it might go out in the middle or before you can dry. Then you can't hang the clothes outside because of mango worms so you hang them all over the house.

Because of the weak power there are no microwaves, toasters, hair dryers, etc...

Food is very expensive and limited as to what you can buy. You do without the extras like good candy, snacks, peanut butter, brownie mixes, etc.. Everything is made from scratch.

Everything needs to be stored in big tupperware closed tubs because of the rats.

The internet is slow and not always available.

If the power is out, you don't have fans, so you deal with the heat. Windows are open and neighbors are close so you hear everything.

The wall around your house has a gate that is locked and so needs to be opened every time you go in or out.

Women need to wear long skirts outside the house so as not to offend the muslims.

***Lets not take for granted our way of life!!!!

Bath Time

Mary, has stolen my heart! The other day we went over to OLA and it was time to bathe the children. When we walked in the babies (4) were laying in their cribs, without diapers, and soaking wet.

Corrie's mom, Eileen, is the bather and washed them all...



...and then handed them over to us to dry, lather with Vaseline...

and finally they have something on, which may not fit them and is an awful lot of clothing for a July day.

This would be a hard job on days we are not there and 1 caregiver has to do it all!

Top 10 most interesting scenes from Jos, Nigeria...

10- Where we changed our money (reminded me of a scene from a movie - 'just come behind the curtain')

9- Love the pool table outside - at night they take the top part off

8-Muslim prayer time

7-a termite mound

6-making material using a print block and ink

5-the intersection (was actually used to give directions to Corrie - turn left at the intersection)

4-scaffolding (would you feel safe?)

3-their dryers

2-(found on the wall of a village schoolroom)

1-Car Wash! (notice all the car seats taken out)