Thankful

In just week, it will be time to celebrate Thanksgiving again.   I wanted to share with you one of the things that I am thankful for this year.  Time with my family.  Yes, I moved to Mexico, but I actually moved closer to my mom and sister.  Heather is living in San Diego and my mom is just 2.5 hours away in Yuma, AZ.   I have been able to see my dad twice already, and soon will have one more visit over the Thanksgiving week.  I am thankful for each of them.  They have been very kind and encouraging to me as I transition to this new season of life at Baja Bible School.  Here are a few photos from our recent adventures together.  

A few weeks ago, Dad, Gwen, and I spent a day together in Tijuana.  

It was a cool fall day, so we were all bundled up.

Dad and I at the beach in Tijuana

Mom came over for a day with Heather and I this past weekend. 

 It was a beautiful fall day.  We had a great time.  

Mom and Heather

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR TODAY?

El Refugio

This is El Refugio, La Casa Para Ancianos.  This is one of the nursing homes found in Tijuana.  Ancianos is the spanish word for elderly.  I like that this one is named "the refuge".  I have been spending Wednesday mornings over there this fall.   Part of my job this year  (as we prepare to open in September), is to become familiar with the city and to establish relationships with local ministries.  Next year the students will be working with local ministries and serving the people of Tijuana.  I hope some will have the opportunity to serve at El Refugio.  

At this point, over 100 ancianos live here.  It is a Christian facility, so I have enjoyed seeing the the presence of Christ's love in a place that can be lonely and often lacking kindness.  The facility was started as there were many older people on the streets with no place to go.  Now they are given shelter, warm meals, and a family.  

Last week I enjoyed watching the ancianos be spoiled.  Lots of groups come through to serve, doing things like shaving, bathing, cutting fingernails and toenails, or simply cleaning the facility.  One of my favorite groups thus far is a group of ladies that are from a local gym.  They are probably just a bit older than me and they come to visit once or twice a month.  This last visit was great as they brought Birria (a shredded beef), warm tortillas, and papaya.  Oh... people were very happy!  In addition to the good food, they brought live music.  So at one point, one of my favorite ancianas, was wheeled up to the singer and just started dancing in her wheelchair.  It was such a sweet sight.  She had a huge grin on her face.

My favorite couple at the Refugio happens to be from China.  They do not speak much Spanish, or English, but frequently talk to the staff, and to me in Chinese.  They are very sweet, and the Senor is such a hard worker.  He was helping the staff with chores this past week.  

A word of wisdom from one of the women at the nursing home.  God is love and nothing will we need.   Just a good reminder that we have a great Father in Heaven who loves us a lot, and He takes care of His kids.  Gracias a Dios!

Meet the Staff

Here we are, in our first official staff photo. I would like to introduce the Baja Bible Family to you.  Starting from the left side:  Dan and Lyndsay Silver, Ryan and Stephanie Sorensen, Kelly Hinz, Addie Horn, Me, Paul Baughn, Andrew Bjorkland, and Oscar.  

One of our staff meeting times.  This happens to be the beginning of Spanish class.  

Sunrise from the Castillo.  Stephanie took a great photo that captures well one of my favorite times of the day.  We have been getting up early to exercise in the morning and it certainly has it perks.  I have missed the beauty of the Oregon Coast, but God has graciously provided beauty of another kind to enjoy in Tijuana.

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.  

My Family in San Cristobal

Here are a few photos of the people that helped to make my time in San Cristobal very, very special.  

This was my last day in the city, so we had a special lunch.  In this photo, Jorge (my teacher), me, my good friend Merideth who moved in my last week, and Reynaldo... the dad of the house.  In the back row is Coco, my Mexican mom :-)  She was a wonderful hostess.

This is a photo of Merideth, Ricardo, and myself enjoying a good lunch in the backyard.  Ricardo was visiting for two of the weeks that I lived with the family.  

Merideth and I visited La iglesia de San Cristobal.  This was one of the two churches that sits at the top of many, many stairs.  We climbed to the top one day to visit the church during the festival of San Cristobal.  

And finally, this is Yoli.  She works with Coco, and was one of my favorite people to speak with.  I miss her!