so apparently it's strawberry season in mexico...i got a big bag of them for like 2 bucks. score!
we got some beautiful standing frames donated. they're literally a frame for standing - the kids are strapped into it while laying down, and then we push the frame into an upright position and they're 'standing.' they have desk like surfaces, too, so the kids can have a book or a toy with them. they're really cool and the ones we just got are brand new and soooo nice. we're really anxious for the new house to be done so the boys can move there and we can move school inside as well as have a room for physical therapy. it seems like it's taking forever, but really it's going pretty fast. hopefully before christmas!

oh gosh...where to even begin.



friday was GREAT. the kids were so good in school and we had a lot of fun. marcos has a tough time paying attention, and it's hard to keep him on task when there's two of us, let alone when i'm alone. anyways, he was angry that i asked him to sit in the circle with us and pouting in a corner when we started reading where the wild things are (in spanish - thanks hanna!). by the 3nd page, he was down on the floor, as close as he could get to the book, reading along with us. it was great.
adele was here all weekend and that was super fun. it's so cool - she hardly speaks any spanish. but her heart is so invested in this place and these kids and they know that. they LOVE her. love her! it's really cool to watch her interact and love on the kids.

i went to church friday night but came back saturday morning because adele was here and also the concert was saturday night. i got back in time for lunch and had one of the best days i've had yet. i don't really know why...it was just so fun with the kids. the boys stayed in the big house after lunch and played with the kids who weren't taking naps in the big house. it rained HARD all day so everyone was in a rainy day kind of mood...we made cookies together, watched camp rock (the jonas brothers movie hahaha) and sang and danced to all the songs, and just had a great but relaxing day.

since it was raining and really cold we didn't take any kids to the concert with us, but it was awesome. right when we walked in there was a wall with letters from each kid at gabriel house to santa, with a picture and info about his or her disability and a christmas wish. a funeral home downtown adopted us and put on this whole concert, with all the proceeds going to gabriel house. the concert was unbelievable. the guitar players were soooo talented...never missed a note, never were off key. really cool.



church today...this friday the young adults in church are going to help serve at a dinner that al and rosa do every year to thank the pastors they work with. it's a big deal, super formal, and they're expecting about 80 couples. i'm excited! except i have to find black pants. eek.

church!

the benefit concert for gabriel house is tomorrow night...teddy and sergio are coming with us to represent the kiddies. can't wait!

keep reading to figure out why i don't actually know this woman's real name...

today was such a blessing.
it started out pretty rough. yesterday wasn't that good of a day at school, and i was trying very hard to be joyful and digging deep into my reserves of patience. i was also bummed that i wasn't with family on thanksgiving - that no one here was even celebrating thanksgiving (not their fault - it's not a mexican holiday hahaha)
we were 15 minutes into the school day when angelica told me to call renie right away...i knew that either really good or really bad. i call her up and she goes, 'no classes, hilary, it's thanksgiving. come over and you're going to learn how to make corn tortillas and flor de calabaza quesadillas, and then we're going out for thanksgiving dinner.' i started CRYING. it was so wonderful!
i went over to her house and watched her neighbor make corn tortillas and then made a few myself, after dropping the first one on the floor as i was trying to slap it around as the mexicans do so effortlessly. oops. calabaza is a squash, and it was this lettuce looking vegetable, cheese, peppers, and onions in the homemade tortillas. deeeelicious.

i got back to the big house and was playing with the kids when a ywam group showed up, and no one was really around so i showed them around and talked to them. it was SO FUN. i love welcoming the groups...even just having conversations in english is awesome! they were such a blessing. i was low on energy and a teeny bit homesick, and they were just full of life and love.

then ted, irene, their two daughters ali and ani, kim, and her daughter chloe and i went to baja mama's for dinner. it's this funky restaurant that's really an extension of baja mama's house (yes, there actually is a baja mama). it's right on the beach on the way to la boufadora in the middle of nowhere, but a super fun, overwhelming, and colorful dining room. it was an interesting place to be - full of super rich americans having thanksgiving where their second (or third) homes are, and then the motley crue from gabriel house! it was great, though. baja mama has given us leftover turkeys the past couple years for the kids. she is quite the character...we walked in and she had this huge yellow curtainy dress on, no more than 4 teeth, and was smoking under a sign that said please no smoking. ha!
dinner was exactly what it should be...turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, yams, corn, and pumpkin pie. unbelievable. such a great surprise, and a great day!

please help!

we are in desperate need of hand braces for a lot of the kids in the big house. since they don't use their hands, all of their fingers are very stiff, and their thumbs especially are tight against their palms. if they don't have braces, their thumbs will atrophy like teddy's, rendering them almost completely useless. even small rollerblade wrist braces would work.

if you happen to find some, please send them to:
hilary holbrook - mexican medical ministries
7850 lester ave
lemon grove, ca 91945

thank you! the kids will thank you too, when they are able to move their fingers for the rest of their lives!

we had to leave for the hospital at 6:30am this morning, so i was up in the big house way earlier than usual. ruben, one of the kids with down's syndrome, was sleeping when i walked in. he woke up as i was talking to the ladies, stands up, and reaches his arms out for a hug! it was so precious because it just was, but also because yesterday he and i had a tough day together. he was having a hard time following directions and i was working very hard to be patient with him...it was a nice way to start the day :)

there was a group here from washington state for the afternoon! they came to tijuana to build houses, but had visited a church in eastern wa earlier this year, the same sunday that the high school team that happened to do a mission to gabriel house happened to be reporting back to the congregation. when the group that came today found out how far ensenada was from tijuana, they scheduled a visit! it was actually a family - 3 kids, a spouse, and the parents. such a cool idea, and they were so great. really interested in the place and what we're doing. i got to talk to them for awhile, which was really good. conversations in english don't happen that much with me here! the daughter in law was crying as she was holding eymi, and i was like yes! i love when they cry! it means something is happening...

marisol lost a tooth today and was SO excited...apparently the tooth fairy doesn't exist in mexico. instead, a mouse comes in the night and takes the tooth, leaving candy or money in its place.
off to the hospital with martin tomorrow...some sick kids and some who need meds. it's scary when the weather gets colder here because a lot of the kids have nasty coughs that make me worry about their ability to breathe. then i realize that i worry too much.
talked to the fam AND meghan for a long time...woo hoo! i love skype.

friday was awesome. we dressed the kids up and paraded around for awhile. it was the most dysfunctional parade i've ever been a part of, but it was beautiful. our sign kept falling apart, everyone wanted a turn pushing the wheelchairs, no one understood that the person with the flag was supposed to lead the parade, marisol's baby doll kept falling out of its blanket, josue wanted to take the parade in a different direction, and naynay's skirt would NOT stay up. i was laughing the whole time. i wish you could have been here with me...

we were done with the festivities by 10ish and chuy said no school after that, so finally got to play with the kids at the big house! i haven't been able to spend the day with them in soooo long. we took all the kids outside and i took a bunch of them out of their chairs and we played on the carpeted area outside. it was so fun. it's such a different dynamic with the kids in the big house but still so much fun.

a group from california was at church this weekend, working on the new room. no one in that group speaks spanish - for most of them, english is their second language and mandarin is their first. they have mandarin-english bibles...it's so cool. i got to translate a lot for them and that was fun.
al and rosa were back in church - they've both been gone for awhile. rosa was in el salvador for the past couple weeks, helping her 94 year old aunt find a nursing home. her aunt refused to go to a nursing home even though they found one that was perfect, but the day before rosa left to come home she found a live in caretaker for her aunt. perfect!
martha taught me how to make ceviche de soya yesterday. she's intent on teaching me how to cook like a mexican. it's been her goal since i got here....it started with learning how to correctly chop cilantro and now we're working on actual meals. i consider this an accomplishment. ceviche is something i never thought i'd like but it's really not that bad. it's made with dry soy, or soy something...like soy crumbles. i don't know. and then cucumbers, tomato, onions, tuna, cilantro, tomato juice, lime juice, and salt. you eat it with chile on tostados. simple. yummy.

we sang a great song in church today...it's called te vengo a bendecir a ti.
these are the words:
it's more than a song, it's more than words
it's my heart surrendered to you
it's the best of me that i give you
a song isn't enough

what you ask me, i want to give you
i don't come to ask, i don't come looking for something
i just come to give you my offering of love
today i want to touch your faithful heart
and give you thanks my Lord
today i come to bless you

it's prettier in spanish, but still...you get the idea.

church for the weekend. adios!

so i was wheeling jose to the kitchen today for lunch, and i had my hands full of stuff from school. we were at the door where there's a little step, and i turned around for a second to talk to someone, figuring he would get himself up like he usually does. the next thing i know, i hear a thump and see him on the ground...he tipped right over backwards! i looked down in horror, expecting to see him crying or at least in pain, but he was LAUGHING. laughing! and then he points at me and shakes his finger, which means - it was your fault! laughing hysterically the whole time...hahahaha. love that kid.

tons of mail came today! hanna's friends for life group made us pilgrim hats and indian headbands and some sweet cards, and becky sent us postcards and letters. we talked about thanksgiving but i'm not quite sure we all understand what that is yet...anyhow, the kids loved all of their mail :)




i went to church tonight with alex, jose, and tonio! it was so fun! to see the world outside of gabriel house through their eyes...something they don't see very often...was so interesting. the micros just blew their minds because they're so big. they had a great time at church. they all got really into the service, and every time the pastor started yelling alex would throw his hands up in the air, shaking his fists in agreement. he had his bible that he kept open the whole time and read along with us. so cool to be able to share that with them.

we had a baby shower for marisol today! it's always fun to hang out with the ladies who work here in a low stress situation...the party was during naptime so most of the kids were sleeping. they played this game where you guess how big her belly is in squares of toilet paper and then measure her...so funny. she's due in less than a month!
i'm considering starting a collection of baby clothes for my future children...i went to the segundas the other day to look for a gift for marisol and you would not believe the adorable, way inexpensive, and super fun baby clothes that are everywhere. it's almost too hard to resist. wierd? quite possibly. resourceful? definitely.

pretty good day today...the day of the revolution is on friday, and we're having a big parade with both of our classes. we started making our costumes and explaining what we're celebrating today. so tired; off to bed!

here's the picture of marisol and teddy writing their story on friday...love them!


saturday we spent the whole day - literally, almost sun up to sun down - working on the roof at the grandma's old house that some of her kids now live in. this woman is the definition of a matriarch...she has at least 11 kids (that i've met) and who knows how many more. she's the one who asked paco and i to replant a tree last week because she didn't like where it was. anyways, the roof was in horrible shape. adriana fell through up to her thigh because the wood was rotted but no one could tell because it was covered by like 3 layers of roofing paper. she was fine but has a nasty cut. with about 13 people we managed to get it done in a day and a half - we finished up the edging on sunday afternoon.
saturday night we watched the big fight in las vegas. everyone at church is super in to boxing...paco and david grew up watching fights together with their uncles. it's actually kind of interesting when i realized there's technique and purpose behind the punches hahaha. the guy we were rooting for lost and looked horrible by the end...his face was so swollen he looked like some monster. eek.
kerly, adriana and david's daughter, is SO FUN to be around...she's at that stage where she talks and talks and talks but so far only says a few intelligble words. she's good at repeating, though, so we make her say all kinds of funny things. she can shake her finger at you and say, 'no nina no!'
i stayed at church on sunday night, too, because today there were no classes since it was a festival day. today was adriana's birthday! she's 17 and married with a 1 year old daughter. that girl grew up fast. she's doing pretty well though. we all made breakfast together and then went to visit an uncle - kid #11 of the grandma - at his church.
paco, cyndy (his sister) and i went to the segundas - second hand stores - and oh my goodness. i don't know how these places work, but clothes from everywhere for prices i have never heard of. i found a shirt from wicked, the play, for 25 pesos. that's like $2. they go for THIRTY at the show. gah! anything and everything you can think of, household wise, can be found at a segunda in ensenada. no joke. it's pretty overwhelming.

i feel like i've hit a wall with my spanish. i've been warned about and heard of this wall, and i think i'm there. i feel like the more i can understand, the less i can say because of how much more i understand, and therefore i realize how dumb i sound. it's fine here with the kids and workers because they're forgiving and have listened to me for 3 months...but when i'm out with friends i feel like i have the vocabulary of a toddler. it's annoying and i'm not sure what i can do to get better...i think i just have to keep listening and making a fool out of myself...but really. i'm not sure how much more patience i have. lourdes? come down and be my private tutor?

the kids totally impressed me today. last night chuy and i were planning for today and he said that the kids were going to look at a sequence of drawings and write a story to go along with the drawings. i was skeptical...i really didn't think they were going to be able to do it because they would get frustrated, bored, or just give up. our best writer is still sounding out words, individual sound by individual sound, and it takes a long time to get a sentence down. well, i was wrong! thank goodness! the kids did great! teddy and marisol worked together and did so wonderfully. alex, tonio, jose and i worked together and i wrote what they wanted to say in their story. omar and marcos worked with chuy and worked really hard to get a good start to their story. i have some adorable pictures i'll post on sunday night. it was a really good day...
headed to church for the weekend - tomorrow we're working on the new room adjacent to the sanctuary. it's ready for concrete....although last week it was too. we'll see what happens. have a great weekend! stay warm! it was a beautiful tshirt and capris type of day here...with a light breeze throughout the day and a gorgeous sunset... :)

today was better. i was very intentional with my actions and my choice to make it a good day...praising the students for good work and heading off problems and fights before they got out of control. i was hoping that chuy would see the way i've been problem solving with the kids for the past 3 months and absorb some of those skills to do the same thing himself...but he's not quite there yet. these kids still need to learn life skills. marcos, omar, and marisol have been here since they were babies, and they've grown up with 4 other kids and 'moms' that are always coming and going. they haven't had consistency like children do with their parent(s). i think that this is one of the main reasons they are lacking in problem solving skills. when omar gets angry, he bursts into tears. when marcos gets angry, he yells 'no' at the top of his lungs over and over. when marisol gets angry, she shuts down and is unapproachable. it's such a crazy and quick change. i'm trying to avoid getting to this point and instead we have been talking through their anger and involving the other person. some times it seems like all they want to do is tattle or get angry! i understand that they're 6 and will still have fits from time to time...but still. they can learn how to work through a problem, and that's what we have been and will continue to be doing.
i found out tonight that we don't have school on monday. apparently every month there's a 'suspension of labor' day. works for me!

whew. today was just...one of those days. one of those days when you find yourself wondering what you have gotten yourself into and why. i suppose i should be glad thats it's the middle of november and this is the first why-do-i-love-teaching-again? days.
the kids were off, my patience was low, and it was just a hard day. i know tomorrow will be better. even with the hardest days, i'm thankful for them because they make the good days that much better.

after preschool i went to the big house to hang out with the kids who i know love me :) whenever anyone takes blanca out of her wheelchair, she gets to excited. she just loves to be held. not even held, just with someone. she was perfectly happy sitting in my lap while i played with the ball with thelma. i sent jaime flying through the air on my feet...pretty sure he's never done that before. he wasn't quite sure what was going on at first but started laughing and didn't stop until i put him down. he has the best laugh. i was holding thelma - she's a lot like blanca and loves loves loves to be held and cuddled - and i kissed her a couple times on the cheek. i was watching jaime play and felt something on my cheek...thelma kissed me! i made her do it again to make sure she wasn't trying to bite me or eat my cheek hahaha. it was SO PRECIOUS! those kids, man, have so much love. whether it's in their laugh, smile, or kiss, i just can't get enough of it.

so this morning we were doing an experiment where we put a carrot, a plant, and a glass of water, all wrapped or covered in plastic wrap, in the sun for half an hour. we talked about what each thing looked like before it was in the sun, what we thought would happen, and what actually happened. chuy asked marisol what happened with the plant, and marisol said it 'was sad.' so cute, but so true! it wilted and just really didn't look happy anymore. oh, kids.
preschool was a little crazy - we spent more time cleaning up than playing. their favorite way to play is take the huge box of legos and throw them, one by one, into the neighbor's yard. they never get very far because chuy or i stop them, but seriously, i'm convinced they would do that for days if we let them.
off to practice paper mache for arts and crafts tomorrow...

conafe came again today. it was really good to have them here...they are really holding chuy accountable for what he has (or hasn't) been doing. everytime they come i figure out more things that we were supposed to be doing that we haven't...i feel like i'm back in the states again and can't keep up with the curriculum hahaha
1st grade is now going to be from 8:30 to 2 with a break for lunch, and preschool from 2 to 4. it was supposed to be like this from day 1.
it's frustrating to figure out all these things that we were supposed to be happening 3 months ago. at the same time, i'm finding comfort in knowing that these kids have been getting an education in some way, shape, or form, since school started. 10 of our 13 students have never and will probably never go to school, so even the fact that they're in a classroom environment, learning something, is great.
i'm learning so much personally and growing a ton. a couple months ago, this would have destroyed me. knowing that there were expectations and standards that i wasn't fulfilling, that i was unknowingly letting people down, would have been too much to handle. but now, instead of dwelling on what we haven't been doing, i'm taking a deep breath, thanking God for the good things that have happened so far, and asking for strength in the days to come. as they say here - siguimos adelante. continue ahead!

a group from san diego came on friday to work on the boy's new house. they bought all the rest of the stuff we need - praise God! - and spent friday and saturday busting through that place. we are so close to being done...and then the school can move inside to the boy's old house, chuy will have his own room, and the boys will move to their new house!

right as i was leaving with paco on friday afternoon, al (castro, from rancho el refugio) called me to let me know that rue, a guy who works for mexico outreach, and his family were in ensenada for the weekend! he preached friday night at espigas nuevas, a men's rehab right down the street from fuente de vida (marta's church). i stopped by to see him and it was so great! juan jose came up to me right away with this year's mexico outreach sweatshirt and goes, you were here last april weren't you? with your group from new york? he and arturo (who 'graduated' from the rehab and is now working in chapultapec) helped with camp ops last april. it was so great to see him! he knows a lot more english now, but it was funny because he was speaking english and i was speaking spanish. javier, the director of the rehab, remembered our group from this summer as well and asked how everyone was doing. so fun to see everyone. rue's kids are ADORABLE.

saturday we spent the whole day working on the roof at church. we nailed down chicken wire, or something like that, so that the cement could be poured on top. paco told me it's a mexican trick to make it look like it's made out of something nicer than it actually is. clever...
before we got to work, the grandma had us replanting her garden...it was so funny. all of a sudden she decided she didn't like where one plant (rather, small tree) was so we had to dig it up, roots and all, carry it to the place she wanted it, and then replant it.
then she realized that someone had locked the keys to the main gate, the house, and her room in her room. of course, there was no spare that existed, so we spent awhile trying to pick the lock. when that didn't work, we moved the party outside and set up the most rickety, unsafe, 20 feet high contraption that i have ever seen to get to the window. mimi cut the screen with a knife and jumped in. i got my camera because it was just too funny to miss. they were all laughing at me as i was taking pictures but i was like i cannot forget this! they think i'm so wierd.

quite exciting...and this all happened before lunch.

later that night paco and i picked rocio up and headed to porvenir for the youth group thing. it wasn't a missions conference, really, just like a gigantic youth group. tons of teenagers were there, from all over baja. there was a worship band, they played some games on stage, and then chris richards spoke about love and marriage. he has a book out called dang it! i married a loser. funny guy - good with high school age. the emcee of the night was marcos, the pastor of the church we were at. he's american but has been here for years and years and is awesome. really dynamic, loud, and full of energy. the kids loooved him, and he was nonstop with jokes that had everyone laughing. i was really glad rocio went. it was totally geared toward her and she had a lot of fun. so crazy - we were walking to our seats and i walked right by palau and his brother - the worship leaders from kids camp! i was like what the heck man, this is crazy! didn't get a chance to talk to him but it was so fun to see him. i also saw the kid who was in the kids camp drama a few years ago - i have seen him in the most random places...first in the kids camp drama, then a year later at a site we were visiting with barnabas, the next year skateboarding at a park in ensenada, and now here. and he speaks english so he really can't get away from me. i'm positive he's creeped out, because every time i see him i get so excited. oh well. i can't tell you how fun it is to see familiar faces when i'm 3,000+ miles away from home.




today was super exciting...christian and lis announced their engagement in church! well, their intent to get married. after the service, everyone went to lis's house, and they got engaged! like in front of everyone! it was a little strange for me but that's how they do it here. it was super formal - marta introduced the parents to one another, even though they'd met before, and they each stated the intent of the visit and what they expected to happen. then christian got down on one knee, busted out the ring, and did the whole romantic will you marry me thing! she said yes, of course, and then we all had a party to celebrate with them. they don't have a date yet, but woo hoo!

church for the weekend, and hopefully that missions conference tomorrow if the rides work out. have a great weekend!

i found a dvd of a fox news segment about gabriel house from 8 years ago right before dinner...it was so fun to watch! 3 times, in fact hahaha the kids loved it. it was so cute to see all of the kids - ely, chely, sonja, chuy, raul, sergio...8 years younger. they went back to raul's house and showed the place he was kept locked in every day for 7 years...it really was a wooden outhouse and nothing more. unbelievable.
it was crazy though; there was a part with ely and ted where she was pulling herself along the floor, feeding herself, giving kisses, and making sounds. she can't do any of that anymore. it's pretty sad to know it's still the same ely as 8 years ago, just a lot less capable of physical tasks. i wondered how she felt to see herself like that.

becky sent a ton of supplies for the boys and i just got them today...they will be so excited to see their new stuff tomorrow!

good day at school. chuy has complete control and things are feeling less forced. all morning teddy seemed just a little off, and after recess his face was an alarming shade of green. he kept saying he felt okay, but then he got really quiet like he does when he did something wrong. i had asked him a couple of times if he wanted to go to the bathroom or felt like he had to throw up...and all of a sudden he goes, 'i want to throw up.' i wheeled him in to the bathroom, and of course before we got there he started puking all over himself. poor kiddo :( he was totally fine and back to normal after, though. and he also found out his birthday is sunday so that cheered him up!

i worked with alex in the afternoon on school stuff and also some sign language. they have this great book of spanish sign language that martin had been using when he was doing the school. alex has a ton of potential and already knows a lot of signs, but it would be awesome if he could learn even more. my dream, and i told him this, is to be able to sign or write exactly what he wants to say. that's why we're working on sounding words out and then writing them down, but signing each letter (or the word if he knows it) first. fun stuff!

today was...full. someone from conafe came to observe chuy and the school. it was also the first day we had both classes together, and the preschool kids (that are used to a 1 hour class) were supposed to be there for the full 3 and a half hours. needless to say, that didn't work out so well. the good thing was that conafe was able to see why it's very hard to have the two classes at the same time, so we got the okay to separate again (thank you Lord!). renie, angelica, chuy, the woman from conafe, and i sat down to talk for a loooooong time. it was a good conversation - we got a lot of stuff out on the table, frustrations were expressed, grace and mercy were shown, and i helped translate when angelica had to leave :)

centro de salud stopped by right before lunch to give everyone flu shots...it was pretty funny to see the varying degrees of hysteria. it was just like any other shot, a pinch and then nothing, but you would have thought some of those kids were mortally wounded. none of the kids in the big house, either. ely smiled through the whole thing. it was teddy, alex, and jose who were freaking out. it was cute though - they were making a big deal out of being so brave and ready for the shot, but the look on their faces when they felt that pinch was priceless. i couldn't help but laugh, and they were laughing too, when they saw the pictures. just another day at gabriel house...

i was grocery shopping in calimax when i realized what music they were playing...frosty the snowman. in spanish. and then, right after that, have a holly jolly christmas, followed by oasis's wonderwall. OH. MY. GOODNESS. really now.

today was so great. we didn't have school, because it's a national holiday (day of the dead). it was so awesome to just hang out with the kids. i went on walks with the boys, the kids down below and i went to a bakery together (they make this special bread for the holiday...it's called dead bread and it is DELICIOUS), and i spent a lot of time talking to renie about how school is going.

a group came today from a base in porvenir, about an hour away from here. ventana was started by a couple from the states and they live here now, and host kind of a gap year thing for kids who just graduated highschool. they'll be coming every other week to hang out with us, which will be really cool. they're hosting a huge conference on saturday night for mexican teenagers from san quintin all the way to tijuana. i'm planning on going, and hopefully rocio will come with me. we shall see.

good talks, good times, and a beautiful day :)

friday was good - the end of a long week! chuy came back from his conafe thing on friday afternoon and told me that from now on, we need to have our morning class (4 kids in wheelchairs and 3 six year olds) and our preschool class (3 kids with downs, 2 with hiv, and one who wears a helmet because he's that unsteady) together in the morning. WOW. not quite sure how that's going to happen, but spent a lot of time this weekend asking God to calm me down. it's a little frustrating because we are, as far as i know, the only conafe program that has kids with disabilities, but we have to have classes together just like everyone else (but we're not everyone else!). eek.
i like to be in charge and i don't like change, and i'm not in charge and there are lots of changes. i know that i have a lot to learn from this as well as the kids. everything will be okay...somehow...

saturday we worked on the new room at the church - they put the roof on, installed skylights, and covered it with roof paper or something. paco and i went to a softball game that his friend invited him to...it was so funny. most of the men were well into their 40s, and they were having a lot of fun. no one was exceptionally good, and the catcher spent more time chucking his helmet and mask to the side as he ran after the ball than actually catching, the outfielders stuck their arms out to try to catch the ball but usually didn't make contact, and there were several collisions between the runner and the person trying to catch a pop fly. seriously, though, everyone was having a great time, and it was fun to be a part of.

halloween is not celebrated here by people in the church, but there were some trick or treaters running around in their costumes. we were at a bakery picking up stuff for the people who had worked on the roof and kids came in, trick or treating. i've never trick or treated at a bakery before! they didn't even get baked goods...just candy. i would have asked for a cookie or something hahaha

a guy from california who has done a lot of work with rancho el refugio and fuente de vida (marta's church) came to church today with his family - 6 kids!
i translated the sermon for them and then later when we were eating with everyone i helped translate, too! it was awesome.

we were driving back from rocio's house when i asked paco what the difference between pelo and cabello is. i always say pelo for a person's hair, but a lot of times i hear people say cabello. he goes, ' oh yeah, pelo is for animals.' WHAT? i was like paco...i've been here for 3 months and told who knows how many people how beautiful their animal hair looked. why didn't you tell me? he goes oh i didn't want you to feel embarrassed. well that makes a whole lot of sense. grr.