A new group arrives

So today was a great day.(Sunday) We greeted the group from Calgary Grace Baptist Church. We met a few of them 2 years ago when we were here so it was great to see some familiar faces. It is also great to see that there are others who keep wanting to return here as we do. This group is 42 people who took the bus from Calgary. They are all family units with parents and kids so a great mix of ages. We spent the day cleaning in anticipation of their arrival. It was a busy day of making beds, sweeping and mopping and laundry. Much fun. We had Jumbo pizzas and salads for dinner which the group enjoyed. We met the 3 families for whom we are building. The family where we will be spending our time is Mom Celerina, Dad Vellario, 2 daughters Beatrice age 7 and Elizabeth I think maybe 1 year. Very shy family but you can see their excitement. We will be learning from Charles in terms of building and leading a house. We did it before but it was a long time ago and we will take better notes this time!! We can assist and then Charles can go to the other 2 sites to assist. We will be there to fill in as workers whenever needed. We sat around the fire and the group sang some hymns and shared some first impressions. A very beautiful day.

On Monday we were set to work! Both Tyler and Jessica put their work clothes and and Jessica within minutes was assisting with the painting. She painted the better part of the day which takes great focus. Tyler hammered a bit, took some pictures and wandered between sites visiting. Shane and I worked with Charles to learn which we did and was much fun. The morning was a bit cloudy and cooler which was nice but the afternoon became very warm. We worked till about 4:30 and returned home for Julia's delicious burritos.....WOW can she cook. We enjoy her cooking so much!! Again a nice evening, chores done, people visiting, and a nice debriefing,. We left part way through the debriefing as we were one tired group!!

Tuesday.....bright and early to assist with making breakfast of pancakes and sausages. A good start to the day. Today we put the house up...all 4 walls and the remainder of the day was spent painting, and painting and painting. We had a young helper today named Charlie who was a neighbor to our family. he lives in a wheelchair and came over to help. He was a huge help and painted for most of the day. He also has a developmental disability and enjoyed spending time working very hard. Hero Holiday built a homme for his family last year so it was nice t see him wanting to continue to help even after his house was built. There is another young man on site again a neighbor. he is 14 and named Manuel and works very very hard and has a bit of English. He is enjoying learning more English as we work together. There was a huge soccer game going on in the community for a while in the afternoon and the kids loved it. We are showering and relaxing a bit and then off to Smokies taco stand for tacos....then maybe a trip to the candy store for more chocolate....I ran out after our last stop at the candy store.

Friday and Saturday!! Not work days!!!

What a great couple of days. We did a tiny bit of work, for example laundry, making up some beds for the next group but the remainder of the time was more relaxing and resting and visiting. With Becky and Mandy and Rose and Pearl here we have had some great times just hanging out. Friday after some making of beds and a quick lunch we headed off to the Costo Bravo beach again so the kids could so some more wave jumping!! So much fun for them as the waves today were fairly gentle so they can go out a bit further without us being too worried. The wind is still blowing a fair bit so it is quite cool on the beach but I still love the beach.....the sun and sand and water!!! After the beach the kids played in the sand....we went to the beach with Trish and the kids, so they all have other kids to play with. Oh ya.....went grocery shopping in the am so we will have some food and snacks for the next couple of days until the group arrives. I should not have gone hungry as I came home with more than we needed. Upon arrival home we were delighted to see Becky in full cooking mode. She was making dinner for the whole group of us. We had to call Santi and Julia to come as they had fallen asleep and we were wondering where they were for dinner!!! We were treated to a delicious supper of shark on the BBQ with a pineapple salsa that the pineapple also was cooked on the BBQ. As well as a wonderful shrimp rice dish, a tossed salad with fresh cheese...(there is no better cheese) and a great walnut coleslaw. What a treat. The kids were not really interested in shark so we made them cheeseburgers and turkey dogs. What a fun night!! Thanks Becky for the great meal. She is going to Culinary school soon and will make a wonderful chef!

Up about 9 am on Saturday.....wanted to enjoy it as when the group arrives on Sunday it is 6 am wake ups for the whole week. We threw in more laundry and I made french toast for breakfast....yes it really was me who made it. I even made enough for tomorrow. We set off at 10 am....all 14 of us in the grey van named Gus and Trisha's Yukon which by the way drives much better than the grey van or the truck or any of the buses!! We drove to San Quinten to the market which is kind of like a flea market with some new and some used stuff. We bought school shoes for Tyler and a couple of jerseys for Shane. Not a huge selection at this market. Kids bought some fresh fruit to eat....delicious and I bought some fresh coconut to eat and a tomale. We then went to California Hot dogs for lunch for the kids but it was closed so we settles on Nachos and cheese from the Pemex gas station. We then drove to the sand dollar beach where we were met with Rose's boyfriend Pedro and his 2 daughters, his dad and a couple other young gals. We had met Pedro and his daughters last night for Becky's dinner. We arrived at the beach which has gorgeous sand, gentle waves, almost no seaweed and sand dollars everywhere and sand dunes for the kids to play in. For the next few hours the kids alternated between the sand dunes and the waves having a great time. Pedro spent over an hour in the water clamming.....or should I say catching our dinner. He caught 8 dozen clams in just over an hour....what a talent. Rose and Pearl joined him for a bit and caught 2 but both were too small. We arrived home about 6 and Pedro arrived shortly after with clams and various other grocery items.....he cooked us an Iron Chef dinner of clams.....clams 3 different ways......clam soup, clam cerviche and clam creme.....all very delicious. he was in the kitchen for about 2 hours slaving away so we could enjoy the dinner which we all did. What a treat again....we could not have gone to the store and bought clams and made anything close to what we ate tonight. How wonderful. Off to bed as tomorrow is clean, clean, and more clean for the group that will arrive. And we need to move out of the big house to make room for the group. Good night all!!

2 work days!!

So Wednesday morning we reviewed the to do list, menu and grocery list with Charles in preperation for a huge day of shopping in SD. Visited, hung out, made HH booklets, and had lunch. Then off to the beach for a bit this afternoon. It was a beautiful day....a bit breezy by the ocean but that did not stop the kids and some adults from jumping the waves!! Beautiful water, sun and sand. the beach is called Costa Bravos and it is just 15 minutes from the house. The whole gang of us went to the beach so it was a lot of fun....the roads are bumpy and winding to arrive but worth the trip. The kids were skipping rope on shore with a very strong piece of seaweed which was hilarious!! They made sandcastles and then the HIGHLIGHT of the day!! A sea lion arrived for a visit just a feet from us. He was swimming right at the shore and wanted to come onto the beach to sunbathe. We watched him and chased him for a while and then when we finally left him along he climbed onto the beach to sunbathe. At one point Tyler was about 3 or 4 feet away from the sea lion and could have touched it...not that he would!! It was beautiful and what a gift to be able to see. After the beach we took off with Charles to SD as he has to catch a flight in the am for Calgary and we are staying in SD for the day to do a ton of shopping. We went through the Tecate border as the Tijuana border has been 3 or 4 hours of waiting. The Tecate border is only an extra 1 hour of time but you save all the border time as we were in line for 10 minutes. We arrived to the Vagabond Inn around 10:30 pm and off to sleep for the night!

Up early on Thursday as Shane needed to drive Charles to the airport to catch his flight to Calgary. They stopped at Napa Auto parts to try to find a piece for the bus but were told it was elsewhere. After Shane dropped Charles off he picked us up at the hotel and off we went. We went to Fuller Ford and ordered the bus piece, McDonald's for a quick breakfast, Costco for a huge shop, Walmart for a big shop, Smart and Final for a small shop, Best Buy for a look for a new camera....the GPS sent us to 2 places where there was supposed to be a Best Buy and there was not. We ended up buying a new camera at Target after some "phone a friend" to Uncle Kevin for advice. All day Jessica has not been feeling well with some fun diarhea....not fun but she is a trooper. We left SD about 3:30 pm and on the road home. Border no issue although we were stopped because we had a truck full of items. We explained what we were doing and off we were sent. We stopped in Ensenada for a late lunch, early supper and arrived home at 7:30 pm. Angelina and kids were all here so all the kids played a rousing game of Hide and Seek which was much fun. Had a great Skype with Mom and Auntie Sue and then later with Dad and Uncle Ted. Overall a very good day!

Reconnecting with an angel

For those of you that followed our blog 2 years ago you may remember our friend Angel whom we spent time with helping him with his mission called Mobility Angels. Angel is a man who lives in a wheelchair who has devoted his entire life to assisting people with disabilities. The Mexican government does not have a lot of support for people with disabilities and Angel has taken them under his wing to help along with a small Board of 2 who live in California. Angel receives supplies from California and reconfigures wheelchairs to fit people and to survive on this tough Mexican terrain. He also makes prosthetic limbs for people who are amputees giving many the opportunity to walk again. He does this with skill and talent and love and we were fortunate to reconnect with him during our trip. Shane, Tyler and Jessica and I along with our new friend Jenna ventured out at 7:20 am to the work space of Angel which is one hour north of us in a town called San Vicente. Angel was waiting for us and was very happy to see us as he said that many who say they are coming to help don't actually show up. I told Angel this was not our style. Angel was as patient as ever as he walked the 3 kids through the making of limbs. They mixed cement, poured the molds, and helped shape the legs that we eventually made into 3 legs for 3 different people. Angel is behind in his work because he is the only one who can truly shape the actual leg so that it will not be painful when the person begins walking on it. It is shaped especially for each person. No 2 are the same. He can teach us to make the leg but shaping it is a craft. He has people who have been waiting since January for a limb and yet Angel works many days for 12 and 16 hours at a time. He also fits wheelchairs too and visits all the people he is trying to help so that takes time too. Angel sings while he works and he has a wonderful sense of humor and he is so great with the kids. He has a great sense about him and the kids love to work with him. After 4 hours or so of making the limbs we cleaned up the shop where we were working and headed off to lunch. A beautiful spot in San Vicente where we all had delicious Club Sandwiches. We had a wonderful visit as we caught up on what was happening in Angel's life since we saw him last. After lunch we went to Ensenada to investigate the story of a young man who apparently needed Angel's help. Angel had received a call from a women named Sharon who heard that Angel helped the disabled and she wanted to know if Angel could help. Ensenada is another hour north of San Vicente we kept getting farther and farther from home. When we arrived we met a young 27 year old man named Fransisco but Angel kept calling him Fernando which was very funny. Fransisco is a man in a wheelchair paralyzed from the waist down and his wheelchair he has is broken. He is very depressed as he is sqatting in a home that the bank owns and the neighbors are feeding him. He has no family as he was adopted by white Americans as a kid and as a young adult left them as he felt he was not treated well. He has been completely alone and wandering on his own for 3 years and Sandra who is one of the neighbors is trying to help. Angel will bring him a new wheelchair on Friday and we will try to send Sandra some money each month to help with food costs for Fransisco. Sandra has a good heart but not a lot of money. We left Fransisco after some much needed support and hope in his heart. We went and met Becky and her friend Mandy and Charles at the harbor in Ensenada. Becky and Angel knew each other well when Becky lived in Mexico and she is here visiting for a week. Charles just picked her up in SD today and we happened to be in Ensenada at the same time. After a short visit Angel took us to an orphanage that has 38 young kids who all have intellectual disabilities and many with a physical disability. Angel used to be a part of this mission but they had a parting of ways as they philosophically did not support people the same way. This orphanage was small and the kids were eating when we arrived. They were happy to have some visitors even for the short while we were there. A very huge eye opener to the difference in how we support people in different countries and especially in a mission with clearly very little money. Onward we went and arrived home for dinner of left over Chinese food and Shane got to enjoy some today as he was feeling a lot better. Rose and her sister arrived late evening also flying into SD today. Rose is in charge of the SOL students for Absolute and is from Winnipeg. We had a nice visit and the kids ran around playing after all the long drives today.

Once the Scouts left Mexico

So the day the Scouts left Vicente which was Sunday we were up at 4 am to see them off hoping that the few who were still ill would not be too sick for traveling as they had a long day in store.
We went back to bed about 5 am and slept till 10 which was glorious as it was a long week with early mornings and late nights and busy days. Wonderfully busy days but tiring. Sunday and Monday were spent lazing around, relaxing, helping with laundry for the house, tidying up, kids watched movies, played outside, swam in the tiny pool, napping, Shane feeling ill and in bed most of the 2 days, visiting, walks to the local store, reading, and Monday night out for Chinese dinner with Charles, Trish and the kids. A very nice, relaxing, fun 2 days. Weather is fabulous....warm during the day but breezy and cooler and still breezy at night.

The volcano

Today was a day off but we were still up early and off to the volcano and the beach. It is a half hour drive up the highway and then only a 10 mile ride to the beach but the roads are so bumpy that 10 miles took a whole hour! We arrived and did the walk from hell. We walked a half hour in to the area on the sand uphill, then a half hour up the steep volcano and then a half hour down the crazy steep volcano and then a half hour walk back in the sand, My ass was killing me. In all the times we had been to the volcano this was the first time I walked it and I was proud of myself. Tyler and Shane did the walk no issue and Jessie stayed behind at the beach with Issac and his Papi and they swam. We had leftovers on the beach for lunch from the whole week and it was great. We then sat and relaxed, listening to the ocean, feeling the warm wind on our cheeks and the warm sun. My absolute favorite way to spend time. The kids jumped in the waves while we watched. So much fun for them. On our way back to the house we stopped by Alberta and Augustine's house and Carolina and Rafael....our first family build from 3 years ago. They remembered us of course and Alberta had Carolina run out for drinks as soon as we arrived. Santi came with us to help translate and their life is wonderful. Augustine is in good health and working and Rafael is working but not loving school, they have electricity, more furniture and the house looks wonderful. Carolina was full of hugs and apparently she loves school. It was great to see them. We went to Don Diegos for dinner and de briefing which was a fun way to spend the last night with the group.

Dedication day

When we were here last time for the summer we participated in many builds but because we came and went from the sites we did not get a chance to bond really tightly with each family. We had the bonding experience when we met our family the first time we came to Mexico and this time we were part of a building group so we are fortunate to have bonded. What a wonderful experience. Mom Catalina, Dad Vallerio and 6 daughters ranging in age from 3 to 13. In 5 short days we felt very close to them and them to us.
This morning started with shopping for groceries, chicken feed and stoves for the families. We waited for the furniture to arrive and then like Santa Claus under the Christmas tree we hid in the house and prepared the home for the family. Beds, quilts made from church friends, prayer shawls made with love from the church, gifts for each girl and a kitchen table and chairs and at least 100.00 worth of grocery staples. How beautiful. As well the Scouts had prepared a wonderful photo of our group in a frame to leave behind with the family as a reminder of our new found friendship. We of course had our cameras but the family had no photos....just the reminder every day of this new home. We went as an entire group to each family where the group that did the build did the dedication with the family and the remainder of us watched. Our family was third and it was incredibly humbling to be a part of this. The group of us got to speak about what this meant to us and to wish the family health and happiness in the future. Then the family spoke and they spoke with tears in their eyes and love in their hearts as they tried to describe what this gift of a home meant to them. Then the 12 year old daughter spoke which is highly unusual. The kids are quiet and in the background but she spoke boldly about what this meant to her family and with tears streaming down her face she said gracious, gracious, gracious. We then went to the 4th house which was the house Tyler built for and it was also a beautiful dedication. The family all week had been so shy with the group but today they could not stop talking and saying what this meant to them and how thankful they were. They could not believe people from Canada would come and build a home for poor people (grandpa's words). Our group made it clear that we did not view them as poor people but that we were here to assist good people in getting a hand up in the world and that we valued them as equals. What a beautiful message. We had a potluck lunch with all 4 families contribting the food and the food was awesome and so much of it. Such generosity from the families.
After some very tearful goodbyes we took a ride to the beach and relaxed there by walking on the beach and breathing in some good ocean air. Oh ya,,,,my favorite memory of today is when each family was presented with the receipts of the money paid to land titles. The look of disbelief was so touching and they appreciated the gesture so much. We arrived home for a debrief, some amazing floutas.....I think all we did today was eat!! Overall a beautiful but emotional day.