Weddings and Picnics

This past weekend, I was able to attend a wedding with my friends Shawna and Miguel.  In traditional church weddings in Mexico, the couple have padrinos (godparents) that present symbolic gifts to them throughout the service.  In can vary depending on the wedding, but at this wedding the couple had padrinos that presented them with cojines (small pillows they kneeled on up front), Libro (a Bible), and their rings.  They also had Padrinos de lazo and Padrinos de arras.  The lazo is a decorated cord that is in the shape of a figure eight.  It is placed on the shoulders of the bride and groom for most of the ceremony and then is removed at the end.  It is a symbol of their unity and commitment to one another as a couple.  The arras are 13 gold coins that are passed from the groom to the bride.  This is symbol of his wealth becoming her wealth, and his commitment to provide for her.  

The bride arrived in this vintage car... it was a surprise from the groom.

The bridal party preparing to enter the church

There were three little girls wearing these beautiful dresses.  They passed out rice and bubbles to all of the guests toward the end of the ceremony.

And then the next day...

Sunday morning I arrived at church with Ryan and Stephanie, and we discovered it was the El Dia de los Niños.  Kid's Day is actually April 30th, but we celebrated early.  The kids had seats reserved for them in a special seating area and we began the service with songs that were familiar to them.  We were dancing, singing, clapping, hugging... it was a lot of fun.  We also got to sing praises bluegrass style which I particularly enjoyed.  The kids were all assigned a certain color to wear (and the parents matched the kids) depending on the age group that they are a part of.  The church was filled with lots of color:  red, green, yellow, white, and orange.  The funny thing was that everyone was dressed extremely casual for a Sunday.  When I say casual, I mean the ladies were wearing jeans and that is not a normal occurrence.    Stephanie and I were laughing because we were intentional to dress up for church and it turned out to be "casual Sunday".  

After church the celebration continued and the church had a picnic out by the beach.  A few of us headed out there to join in the festivities.  There was a lot of food, games, music, and again celebrating kids and how much God loves them.  Pretty cool.

One of the first games they played was tug of war.  They started out with kids and parents on both sides.  

Here is the Red Team

And here is the White Team

It turned out though that the brute strength of the parents proved to be too much, and after breaking two ropes they moved to a kids only competition.  It was very entertaining to watch people fall down like a row of dominoes (not just once, but twice).

Red Team in the kids only version

And the White Team Kids... they were the champions!

The next game was one of my favorites.  The little ones got to compete as pinguinos.  They tied their feet together and they waddled like penguins (no jumping allowed) to a tree and back.  

Language Blunders

Ana Maria and I

Language Learning.  As you learn to make a new culture your home, picking up the language can be both humbling and comical.  In many ways, you are at the level of a young child learning to speak all over again.  I had one of those comical moments on Saturday morning.  Our neighbor Ana Maria stopped by and we were having a cup of coffee.  I was making some oatmeal at the same time and offered her some raisins as she wasn't in the mood for oatmeal.  This is where I ran into some trouble.  The word some is unas, so I said unas pasas.  That was okay, but then I continued on and said uñas secas.  I was trying to say dried grapes, but instead I offered our neighbor dried fingernails.  As I am learning Spanish, there are times that my brain wants to try using new words and then forgets the meaning of the words that I had previously known.  So here are the three words that I got mixed up, unas (some), uñas (fingernails), and uvas (grapes).  She just looked at me weird, Lyndsay started laughing at me, and then I realized my error.  So, there is my comical language blunder of the week, and a reminder that it takes time, patience, and  humility to be a language learner.  And a good sense of humor :-)

Tijuana Life

Here is the first episode of a exciting new series called Tijuana Life.  

In Episode 1, Dan and Andrew (my fellow Baja Bible Staff members) take you to the local market.  Every Tuesday this market sets up just down the hill from the Castillo.  They are called sobreruedas.  These markets set up in different neighborhoods all over the city on a specific day of the week.  As you will see, people can head to the market to buy food, clothing, household products, really just about everything you would need for daily life.  More episodes of Tijuana Life to come!  Stay tuned.  

Spring Hills and the coming Summer

So here are a few shots from Tijauna and the surrounding areas this spring.  It is a beautiful time of year here as the hills are green, and the days are filled with sunshine (most of the time).  

I continue to enjoy the new sights that come with life in a new culture. 

 So, down here at the beach you can listen to a live band, buy a sombrero, and enjoy fresh churros or elotes from the local vendors.  I love that!  We have also discovered a new coffee shop over at the playas too.  Lat 32!  Ocean breeze, good coffee, and a great view.  

As summer comes for Baja Bible School it means several things for us.  One, school is roughly five months from starting! We are getting applications and ask that you continue to pray with us that God will send students to be part of the first year here.  We continue working on the dorms and are getting ready for our summer staff to join us.  We were talking this morning at our meeting about Proverbs 16:3, Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.  We continue to commit this work to the Lord, and are enjoying watching Him establish it.  

Good Friends and a Chocolate Fountain

We will soon have a new family member at Baja Bible School, BABY SORENSEN!  She is due to join us in early June.  In the honor of Stephanie and the little one, we had a baby shower to celebrate.  It was a bicultural shower with friends from Tijuana and the United States.  We enjoyed our time together watching Steph open her gifts, and also enjoying the special foods that baby showers inspire.  We had a chocolate fountain and crepes!  In cultural appropriateness, we had a fiesta!  

Here is a photo of the little gift I bought for mom and baby.  I couldn't resist the yellow sundress, it was so sweet.  And the wonderful diaper cake, that is the handy work of my very talented sister.  Heather was able to come down for the shower and stayed a few extra days too.  It was very good to have her with us.  

As you see above, we had a lovely display of treats.  That is the chocolate fountain, sitting in the center of the table.  All of the ladies loved it!  And finally, my good friend Melina came too.  She has been an encouragement to me in many ways.  We met at church down here, and I am very thankful for her.