i spent friday and saturday at the ranch, helping set up and getting ready for the american teams to come on saturday afternoon. it was so fun to see the teams come...this is the 3rd year in a row i've been here for the spring trip and so it's like seeing old friends again! i recognized so many faces. it was such a great time.

i came back to gabriel house early this (sunday) morning to help the group from mexican medical bring the girls (chely, ely, sonja, thelma, and betzy) to church. i left the ranch at 6ish and as i was driving into maneadero, listening to a cd lourdes made me, the sun was rising over the mountains. the song is called beautiful, and it's about how life is beautiful with God...you can listen to it here.
it just one of those moments, you know?

and then bringing the girls to church was incredible. they hardly ever get out, so just the fact that they were outside of gabriel house was sweet, and then to be in church with everyone plus lourdes, andrew, michael, rocio, and even more people was awesome. i asked eliseo to play nina de tus ojos, a worship song the girls love. he did and they all sang along...it was precious! here's ely dancing to a different song. she did that the whole time!

after church we went downtown and got smoothies for the girls and hung out in the shade in a famous park by the flag. it was so great to be out with them, and we had so many people helping that it wasn't hard at all. i think every girl fell asleep on the ride home, and when we got back they all wanted to be in their beds. we wore them out! but in a good way :)

great news...the boys have moved! the mexmed group that came this weekend finished those last annoying details and they are sleeping in their new house! they're very excited. so are we!

this afternoon, as i was getting ready to start classes, we teddy goes, 'a worm!' it was a caterpillar, and it turned out to be a great science lesson! we made a little home for it, learned that it will turn into a butterfly, that even though it looks like a porcupine it doesn't hurt...it was a lot of fun.

look how good the boys looked for church!

at church tonight, the pastor told everyone to greet the people around them. alex and jose took this literally and whizzed around the entire church, shaking the hands of every person in the congregation. it was funny but also really sweet...

headed to the ranch until sunday.

i LOVE spring break! we had two more groups here today, and they were awesome. one of the guys is a professional videographer who co-owns a film company, and he's making a video for us! kind of like a who we are what we do type of thing. i got interviewed and had to talk into his massive camera while it blinked at me. it was weird. he'll put it on youtube when it's ready. woo hoo!

this afternoon, i went down below to pick up the kids for preschool. josue was still in his bed resting, and he jumped up and ran to the door when he saw me. he wears a helmet all the time except for when he's sleeping and showering, and so i said, 'oh josue, what do you need to put on before you get out of bed?' and he just looked at me and smiled, and then i hear this tiny little voice from across the room say 'casco' (helmet). it was nene, and she said it in the cutest way!

i went to pastor cande's house for dinner tonight and hung out with them for awhile...lots of fun! people are always coming and going, there's always food being made, something is always happening, and it certainly is never boring.

a couple of eye doctors were supposed to come today to check all of our kids. the boys and i spent the morning racing around to clean up, get the room ready for the doctors and everything, and they didn't end up coming! we didn't find out until about 11, when they were supposed to come at 10. oh well. hopefully they'll be able to reschedule.

spring break season is awesome! we had another group here today...a lot of newbies. it was lots of fun to show them around and tell them about gabriel house and all the incredible things God has been and is doing. they're coming back tomorrow...hopefully the weather will be nice and we can play outside.

COUNTDOWN TO WONDERFUL PEOPLE BEING HERE: 4 and 7 days!

alex and tonio got their glasses! they were dropped off on friday morning. alex has terrible eyesight and accidentally broke his last pair of glasses when he got mad a couple months ago. it was so sad; he takes care of them so well but something made him super upset and he lost it. just for a second, but that's all it took to break them. anyways, the ones he has now (as amy says, quite possibly made by lego) are not going to break anytime soon. he put them on and his eyes got huge...i was like what can you see? and he spreads his arm out to say 'everything!' then he said he would be able to read his bible now.

today was SO INCREDIBLY SUPER AWESOME AND FUN. the boys upstairs - alex, teddy, tonio, jose, sergio - marcos, victor, joshua (angelica's son), marlin (lerma's daughter), lerma and i went downtown. i knew that i wasn't going to take anyone to church with me this sunday (time for a break!) but i wanted to do something today. it turns out today was lerma's birthday, so it was great! we headed down by the huge flag and watched the boats in the harbor for a little bit, and then headed down the path along the water to see the seals that lay out in the harbor. we walked by this guy who gives boat tours and i automatically said no, because i say no to everything that costs money except food (haha) but then i asked him how much and it was 15 pesos ($1) per kid. lerma was like, come hilary, let's do it. i did some quick math and was like oh snap! absolutely! so these guys loaded everyone - even 200 something pound victor - onto the boat and off we went. it was a legit boat tour! they took us around the harbor and faaaar out into the ocean. we saw more seals, pelicans, lots and lots of boats, a construction yard, and seals sleeping on buoys. the kids LOVED it. alex was the only one that was scared and made me sit next to him the whole time. luckily no one got sick :) teddy kept saying 'i'm having so much fun!' and victor would just burst into hysterical laughter every so often.
after the boat tour we spent a little more time walking along the path by the water, and then went to las brisas for tacos. between all of us, we ate 35 tacos. gahh! the ride home was super fun, too. we were making up these stories about the cars around us and everyone was just laughing so hard. it was an awesome day. i can't believe that this is how i get to spend my time!

here are all the pictures and videos i've taken this month, including lots more from today. or just go here and look at the 'marzo' album.

angelica knocked on my door at 7 this morning...the woman who works with the boys didn't come to work, and she asked if i could cover for her. well sure! i quick got dressed and everything headed up to the big house where everyone was eating breakfast...there's really not that much of a difference if i cover a shift or am just doing school, except i have to clean, do laundry, and hang around until 7. anyways, we had a lot of fun.



ventana came for the last time today...here's some of the group. i can't believe i forgot to write this yesterday, but jose got his bike back! angel had been repairing it and has had it since december. it didn't really matter because it was rainy season and there was mud everywhere, but still. every day, without fail, when he goes inside to shower, he asks me to keep an eye out for angel. every day for months he did this! so it's nice to be off duty hahaha

i told the boys that i couldn't go for a walk with them because i needed to sweep and mop their house, put away the clean clothes, and wash the dishes from snack time. tonio told me he would sweep and mop, alex wanted to fold and put away the clothes, and jose did the dishes. i was like, wow, guys...we still won't be able to go for a walk; are you sure you want to help me? they insisted. it was awesome. they have such beautiful hearts.



all of the boys - jose, tonio, sergio, alex, and teddy - plus marcos came to church tonight. it was great. we're going early next week so we can see some baby pigs that were just born!

it's official...i have a tshirt tan. i know that's superficial but this could turn ugly when i stand up in rachele's wedding in june...yikes.

anyways, ventana came again today. 8 drawers and 3 bunk bed ladders and the boys will be ready to move! they've been awesome. full of energy and always willing to play with the kids, even if they want to go for walk #5 of the morning. it's been great to have them.

i took sergio with me to the farmer's market this afternoon...every wednesday half of the city of maneadero turns into this huge market. tons of food including fresh fruit and veggies, toys, kitchen stuff, clothes, electronics...if it exists, there's a very good chance you'll find it here. he is in desperate need of shoes that fit his feet. he has super wide feet, which i think is characteristic of kids with down's syndrome. i bought him a pair a couple weeks ago that were labeled as wide, but they still didn't fit him. well. we walk into the market, and the first stand we went to had shoes that fit and were 2 bucks! it was awesome. they're not in great shape, but they were cheap and will do for now.

one week until lourdes, my brother, and michael are here, and a week and a half until my mom comes. WOO HOO!

ventana came again and the kids had a lot of fun playing with them. they worked on the house some more...we are so close to moving the boys in. it's just those last random and slightly annoying finishing touches. some drawers need to be installed, a little bit of sanding and staining left...any day now. really.

marcos said the funniest thing today. he ran inside to go 'popo' and a couple minutes later came running back out. he marches up to me, taps my arm, and goes guess what. my bottom was closed and didn't want to open and the popo couldn't get out, so it's still in there.
i didn't even know what to say. i'm sorry? better luck next time? i turned to teddy for some moral support and he was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. it was so funny.

the time change has been awesome. it doesn't get dark until 7 now! the kids have a solid hour of play time outside after dinner, instead of heading straight inside because it's dark by 5:30. woo hoo!

three different groups came today...it was great!
ventana, an outreach similar to mexico outreach, brought a spring break team to play with the kids and work on the boys' new house. they were a lot of fun and the kids were outside playing all morning. i think rainy season is finally over...it was legitimately hot today!
some old friends of the boys stopped by - a family with cute little kids. they stayed and hung out with the boys all afternoon. the boys really enjoyed talking with them.
some friends of ron (the grandpa who comes at least once a week, usually twice, to spend time with the kids in the big house) brought an amazing blessing by today. tons of food and diapers (we had NO smalls...), a fridge (praise God!), and in addition to food staples like rice and beans, they brought fruit. FRUIT! we get a lot of veggies donated, but i haven't seen a big fruit donation come through yet. bananas, apples, oranges...beautiful! the kids were so excited. who wouldn't be excited? fresh fruit!

i got to talk to john orozco this afternoon, the lead singer of emissary band (www.emissaryband.com). their music is on the radio in sacramento and he has a radio interview this week, so we talked a bit about what's going on here and how people can help. it was great to catch up with him and awesome that even more people will be hearing about gabriel house!

what a weekend!
yesterday (saturday) was awesome. a group of more than 20 people from roca de salvacion got here at 8:30ish and got right to work. i handed them a list of things they could do, and 30 minutes later they were done with half the things on the list. they ended up filling in our rain water run off ditch, trimming the trees, washing every single window (inside and outside), building 3 sets of bunk beds, building the frames and installing the mirrors in the new house, staining and sanding the new closet, installing drawers in the closet, and playing with the kids. it was a beautiful day, so all the kids got to be outside for most of the day! oh and this was all before lunch...it was great.

the cake group that comes once a month and brings birthday cake was also with us on saturday. i haven't seen them in ages because i'm not usually here on saturdays, but they brought a girl with them, sydney, who will be here for a couple months this summer. it was great to meet her. there are going to be FIVE interns here at the same time for a couple weeks this summer...it's going to incredible!
saturday there was also a fundraiser in macroplaza (a big shopping center in between maneadero and ensenada) for us - gabriel house. it was this kind of like a huge anime convention which was...different...but awesome that they did it all to raise money and support gabriel house. there were several hundred people there, with constant performances of dancers, karaoke, and bands. we brought teddy, marcos, sergio, jose, alex, and tonio. it was insane but, like i said, really cool.

today i brought pilar, nene, marcos, josue, and ruben to roca de salvacion. it was not easy...very different from bringing the other boys. but it was still fun, and good for them to be out and about. we were able to thank the group for coming to work, and they prayed for me. that church is so awesome. they are so genuine in what they do, and are so wonderful in supporting me and being available for anything i need. they've already got all their own members, but they welcomed me with open arms and haven't let go. it's an incredible place to be, and an awesome congregation to be a part of. afterward, we went to las brisas for tacos. silly me...i figured the place would be close to empty, but there were so many gringos there they set up tables and chairs outside. luckily we found a place to sit...but it turns out the group was from canada and staying at rancho el refugio, kind of doing their own camp because their spring break didn't fall during one of the mexico outreach camps. anyways, i talked to them for a couple of minutes, introduced myself, nothing more. i was going to pay and their leader goes, 'no hilary, we've got it.' i was like, 'what? are you serious?!' and they were! it was awesome...such a blessing! it was a great way to end a busy and challenging day.

teddy and martin reading to the kiddies!


sergio working hard




angelica brought alex and teddy to church with her tonight, and i came along. it's a rehab center that has a church, too, and the guys from the rehab come work at gabriel house a couple times a week. it was great because alex and teddy already knew a lot of the guys there. when we pulled up i realized this wasn't the first time i'd been there...i visited the site when i was on barnabas a few years ago. the pastor's hilarious and gave a great welcome to the boys. we'd like to start bringing a couple kids every week. you can never have too much church!

marcos and nene surivived, although marcos believed the doctors were trying to kill him slowly and painfully and reacted as such. yikes. even through a closed door his shrieks were ear piercing. i just have to remember that some people have irrational, unexplainable fears of needles and i need to understand that. he was fine though; they just took a little blood and then he was on his way. nene did great...a little whimper but nothing too bad. afterwords we went to mcdonalds as a treat (thanks becky!). they were very excited and it made up for whatever they thought we were trying to do to them in the doctor's office.

pastor cande and his wife angelica came by gabriel house today to get a better idea of what they'll be doing on saturday when the group comes. it was fun for them to see everyone and talk to some of the people here. it turns out cande went to middle school with martin (a worker here)! they spent some time talking about old classmates...it was hilarious.

victor was HILARIOUS today. oh my goodness. some days he's super talkative and others he just sits and stares out the window, but today he just wouldn't stop talking! he was sitting so that he was right next to chely's head. he would look at chely, say something or make a face, and when she started cracking up he would laugh so hard. then they would calm down, breathe, and do the whole thing over again. then someone told victor to 'show me how hilary dances!' and he flapped his arms in front of his face (thank you, i'm flattered) and laughed hysterically. then they asked him how chely dances, and he nodded his head up and down as chely's tiny little arms shook up and down as she laughed so hard. he was meowing and barking when we asked him what cats and dogs did and would just burst into laughter when all of us were laughing so hard we couldn't rbreathe. it was awesome.

marcos and nene have doctor's appointments tomorrow morning...they're getting blood drawn and they weren't allowed to eat after lunch today until their appointment is over tomorrow. yikes. were going to mcdonalds after the doctor!

well let's see what has been happening here lately.
sunday i went to roca de salvacion...eliseo usually picks me up halfway between gabriel house and church. i texted him like an hour before the service, asking if he could pick me up. he never wrote back but i went to the place anyways and was waiting and waiting and finally was like okay they're not coming. i went to catch a bus to begin the adventure of figuring out how to get to roca de salvacion, and the first one that went by didn't stop! i was waving my arm like a crazy and everything. slightly annoyed but determined to get to church somehow, i kept waiting for a bus. 2 minutes later, caleb (eliseo's brother) pulls up. i was like, God you are just so funny sometimes.

i saw an ad for mcdonald's happy meals, but here it's called una cajita feliz - a happy little box. i think that is just the most hilarious thing.

sunday was day of the family (no one could believe that doesn't exist in the states - or does it? i've never heard of it...) and after church i went out to eat with pastor cande and his family. i was like guys, are you sure you want me here? it's day of the family! you should be with family! and caleb goes i thought you were my sister. what's going on here? cande and angelica were like please, don't even start. that whole family is just awesome.

sunday night i drove some of the ladies home - when it rains the buses stop running. i got to know las flores, their little town, very well...too well. whole roads covered in water that covered the wheels of the car as i was driving through it...trenches so deep we got motion sickness from being jostled around (and i was going SO slowly)...you get the idea. craziness. then i got up at 5:30 this morning to pick them up and do it all over again. it was rough, but then i think about the women who work here and do that every single time they come to work, whether they have a ride, or money for the bus, or not.

no classes today...it poured all weekend and everything's soaked and it's cold. i keep reminding myself that i would much rather have all this rain than snow. really.
i got to work with marcos for a long time which was great. he does so well when he works one on one - it's affirming for him and for me!

awhile ago, martin told me about a standing invitation we have at the gymnasium in maneadero. every monday and friday, there's a group of senior citizens who meet at the gym for a couple hours. i'm not exactly sure what they do, but we thought that would be cool to bring the kids to hang out with them and also play in the huge gym. i wanted to bring all the boys and all the kids down below, but after the red van became too dangerous to drive (and there's no money to fix it, so it looks like all trips are on hold for at least the next couple weeks...) and the fact that they boys had been to my house yesterday for lunch, we decided it would be best to take the kids down below in the white van. nene, pilar, josue, ruben, and the two women who work with them, luz and marisol, and i loaded up into the white van and headed to the gym! the kids were so excited and kept saying everything they saw when they were in the car (store! truck! gas station! sun! tacos! people!) and they didn't even understand the best was yet to come hahaha

the senior citizens weren't at the gym but that turned out to be okay...we had free rein of the entire place. it was awesome.



we brought some exercise balls to kick around...it worked way better than regular size soccer balls because these kids don't have the best hand-eye coordination.


josue, ruben, luz, pilar, irene, marisol


then we went to a park nearby! the same one i've taken the boys to. josue and ruben were on this spinny thing the entire hour and a half we were at the park. eek.


nene loves swings...we have some where they live down below, but they don't go very high because there's a fence behind them. now if we could just teach her how to do it on her own...

here's a video... if you look on the right hand side where it says more from: hilary holbrook you'll see a bunch more.

so chuy cancelled classes on thursday because it had rained the night before and supposedly it was supposed to keep raining all day long. i have been wanting to have the boys over for lunch for awhile, ever since renie suggested it.
josue (with the helmet) and i went to the store to get some sandwich stuff, and then we sat outside the bistecito and watched the cars go by. every truck that went by was like the first one he'd ever seen - MIRA! un camion! ooooooooh! (look! a truck!) it was so fun to watch him get so excited.
then the boys and marcos came over. we had ham and cheese sandwiches or pb and j...these kids eat their sandwiches piece by piece. it's so strange! first the bread, then the cheese, then the lettuce, then the ham, then the bread. yuck.
they spent some time cleaning up, which was awesome...tonio asked me if he could wash the dishes, and then alex and jose wanted to clean stuff too. it was great!



alex and jose were absolutely fascinated by the microwave.


everyone minus sergio...he was sitting at the table with woody.


i didn't put him up to this...i promise.


really...

went to roca de salvacion for the thursday night service....just got back! it's late, i'm tired, and i'll catch up tomorrow. i had the boys over for lunch today and have some great pictures that i'll post :)

as i'm writing this, i hear the occasional thud and clomping around of someone that could only be alex. he's upstairs, spending the night at angelica's (the supervisor) house. she has an 11 year old son, joshua, who is awesome. he loves hanging out with the boys, and they think he's just the coolest kid ever. he also has a psp, which takes it to the next level. alex has been talking about this all day, and he even gelled his hair. gelled hair = special event. church, the library, and joshua's house are some of the only things worthy of gelled hair. i'm so happy that they can do stuff like this.

we added all the march events to our calendar - lots of things are happening this month! the big brother group is coming, a group from roca de salvacion is coming to work, we're going to visit alex, jose, and tonio's sister in tecate, a group from azusa pacific is coming, jan from mex med, some of her friends, and my mom are coming, and lourdes and my brother are coming. whew! so exciting.

we had ceviche for dinner tonight. they hardly ever make it with just fish, instead, it's made with soy, tuna, veggies, lime juice, cilantro, and chile. you eat it on top of a tostada with a little mayonnaise and chile. YUM.

jose, out of all the boys, is the one who loves to make up stories. and he NEVER forgets them. a while ago, a dog that lives around here ran down the steps toward my house. i was joking around and said how it was going to go in my apartment because i accidentally left my door open (not really) and alex and jose just thought that was the funniest thing ever...so i kept going. i said he was going to sleep in my bed, use my toothbrush, eat all my food, use my computer...and so on. so whenever we see that dog run by, jose just loses it, laughing so hard, and then we have to retell the story to anyone nearby, and anyone who may walk by in the next couple hours. today jose went inside to shower but left his backpack outside. he told me to keep an eye on it, in case the dog came by, and i was like, look jose, i'll do my best, but you never know. this dog is crazy. while he was inside, alex and i hid his backpack and knocked over my water, to make it look like the dog came by.

this is video is when he came back outside, and me telling him what happened.

look jose - the dog drank my water. he knocked it over. and he left with your backpack. i was too scared! i couldn't do anything. his huge teeth...he was going to bite me. he has your backpack. i'm really sorry, but i couldn't do anything. my water got knocked over, it was the dog's fault!

his laugh is priceless.