Baja Bible Staff Retreat

Last week we headed south from Tijuana for our Baja Bible Staff retreat. We visited an area called Laguna Hanson. What a cool place to visit.  In just four hours, we found ourselves in a whole new world from the city that we live in.  We were surrounded by trees, cows grazing in the fields, and the calming silence that comes along with the camping life.  At night, you could see thousands of stars which in itself was an extraordinary site.  During our stay there we spent time as a group getting to know one another better, preparing for the year ahead, and we also did some exploring.  I took a multitude of rock pictures as I have not seen so many interesting rocks in one place before.  Enjoy the sites of Laguna Hanson and another part of Baja California Norte.

This one I am going to call Little Rock 

Steph and I out exploring

Our home at the campground

Other visitors at the lake

I like to call this one Whale Rock

Early morning by the lake

Adventure in the forest

Los banos

Steph, Lyndsay and I out enjoying some rock climbing or as we called it scrambling

For the first time

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the chance to do some new things in Tijuana.  So I thought I would share my list with you.

For the first time I...

*went to a quinceanera.  Stephanie and I joined our friend Ruth Gollings and we celebrated Sarai's 15th birthday.  It was a beautiful celebration, much like a wedding in the states.  There was a ceremony in the church to start and this was followed by a reception.  Throughout the ceremony she was presented with gifts from her family and friends including her first pair of high heels!  I think this had to be my favorite part.  It was a sweet moment as her mom and dad took of her sandals and placed the high heels on her feet.  The pastor had her take a turn around the chairs to prove that she was ready to walk in them :-)  In addition to the sentimental value of the moment, I am just impressed with Mexican women and their ability to wear high heels.  Whether the terrain is good or bad, they look lovely and walk well.

*celebrated Independence Day in Mexico.  September 16th is Independence Day in Mexico, and the eve before is the time to celebrate.  The Baja Staff went over to our church for dinner and games and we ended the night at the Palacio Municipal.  Here we found thousands of people out celebrating with music, food stands, carnival rides, and probably the biggest pieces of cotton candy I have ever seen.  It is traditional to yell !Viva Mexico! at midnight, but we missed the offical grita (yell).  I have heard that the best place to celebrate this event is in Mexico City.

*ate a hot dog in Tijuana.   A friend of ours has been claiming to know the "Best hot dog stand in Tijuana" and so we headed out as a group one night to give it a try.  I admit it was good.  Beans, salsa, onions... and much more than that all on a hot dog.  Pretty tasty.

*have my own functioning bathroom.  That is right, this past week I had the first flush and first shower in my new bathroom.  The water was officially turned on.

Stephanie, Ruth and I joining Sarai at her quinceanera.

The site of one of the best hot dogs in Tijuana!

Staff laundry day at the Castillo

Duane and I working having fun sanding the walls

Another view of my little room and the functioning bathroom in the background

Welcome to Tijuana

Hi from Tijuana!  I made it home from language school and have been settling in at the Castillo.  I returned from Chiapas to find my new room waiting for me.  I have really enjoyed making it my new home for this next year.  As you can see in the photo, I have a view outside of my front door, and then a ladder to take me up to my loft.  It is currently a storage loft, but a loft none the less.  

The current projects at the Castillo have involved working on dorm rooms and finishing housing for the incoming staff members.  This year at Baja Bible there will be 8 staff members living on site and preparing for the upcoming school year.  It is our hope to open the school to students in the fall of 2009.

I have been learning some new construction skills, so here I am learning how to tile sinks.  The other highlight that day was learning how to use power tools... a tile cutter.  That was a new one for me!

Here is a photo of the current staff living at the Castillo.  We took day to visit the beach after church last Sunday.

It has also been a neat time to have guests visit the Castillo.  We had the Baja Bible board meeting this past weekend, which meant friends from Oregon were here to visit. I enjoyed catching up with Becky and yes true to our days at Ecola, we had some coffee together.  Michael is also on the board and was able to stay for our beach/Starbucks outing.  It was refreshing to see good friends from home.