This sums up why we do what we do. It's because He first Loved Us!! Therefore...
This blog entry is a glimpse into what our lives are like on the weekend. Not every weekend is as busy as this past one was but usually two weekends a month are crammed packed with activities and opportunities!! You all know that we stay busy enough just hosting bible studies, counseling and a church in our home. Our lives also contain lots of other things. Of course our girls are busy in basketball most of the year as well as homeschooling. Plus we work hard to try and have friends over for the girls. This weekend we had a little bit of everything. Now it is Monday and I can sit back and say, "wow, we did a lot this past weekend". I'm feeling a little run down today but I have no time to sluff off as we have two gals coming on Wednesday, Lauren and Myranda Cady. They are from our supporting church in Livonia, Michigan. We plan to incorporate them into our crazy lives while they are here. Not only will they be doing "ministry" while they are here but we will also give them a "taste of Mexico". We plan to visit many of the famous tourist attractions. Below you will find what it's like on a weekend. Remember that somewhere in all of this crazyness I also have to clean the house to get it ready for Sundays as well as cook!
FRIDAY
Friday is usually the day that we save up for sleepovers for our girls. This past weekend Natalie had a friend come over (Karen Pao) for most of the night and Nicole had her cousin Claudia over. The older girls enjoyed running around taking pictures and then downloading them onto Hi5 and Facebook. The younger girls played dress-up while they also played Playstation. That takes talent. They were playing a driving game that allowed them to imagine they were going places. They would stop and play and then get back in the "car" and let their imagination run again!!
One thing we love to do is "phone dates". This is where we set up a time when we talk to our friends and family back in the States. Nicole had a phone date this past Friday with the Worrell girls. It was so neat to hear the voices of our loved ones back in Indiana. We have always worked hard to keep friendships growing with those back in the States. This helps our girls adjust better when we come home on furlough or visits. If you haven't gotten to know the Worrell family then you are really missing out in life. We love all of them to pieces and we miss them so much. But connecting up on the phone sure is fun!!!!!!! Skype has made talking on the phone so much more affordable! In '91 when we first came to the field we were paying a dollar a minute to call back to Indiana. Now with Skype we pay 2 cents a minute!!!
Karen Pao, a friend from when Natalie went to the Mexican school. Karen and Natalie have such a fun time when they are together!
SATURDAY
Saturday morning I got up early and made an apple pie for Sunday and cleaned all the bathrooms so that we could zip over to watch a basketball game of one of the teams that Faith Christian ministered to when they were here. We are working hard to keep building relationships with these families and one great way is to attend games and practices. After the game we then went to the Awards Ceremony for the basketball teams. Natalie's team was second place in the league and third place in the tourney. The sad thing is that only Natalie and her coach Norma showed up for the awards ceremony.
Saturday evening we enjoyed a very relaxing time with one of our church families in their home. It was so nice to just sit and fellowship for a couple of hours. We totally enjoyed their yard and trees. Nicole nicknamed their house "Narnia" for the lamps they have around the courtyard. Nicole was even brave enough to ask for a sleepover at their house sometime. That's feeling pretty comfortable and relaxed!! We also enjoyed delicious enchiladas verdes! We also tasted provolone cheese for the first time!
Here are Natalie and Nicole enjoying the yard at Armando and Suzy's house in Tepozotlán. (just about 25 minutes from our house=)
Here is Suzy's kitchen. It's a picture right out of Better Homes and Gardens.(in spanish of course)
Now these are some special pics of Sam with his kids!!! I used these pics on my Power Point presentation that I made for Father's Day!!
SUNDAY
We celebrated Father's Day a week late here at Nueva Vida. We did this so that our church folk could be with their father's last Sunday. After church we had a meal catered in for our guys. It was yummy flautas, rice, horchata, jamiaca and orange aid drinks. Plus us gals made a buffet of desserts to choose from! It was a lot of fun!! We had a cute program where the children sang a special song to their dads. I made a Power Point presentation where we had pictures of the dads with their kids! You just can't beat the eating meetings we have here in Mexico!!!!!!!
Here is the flower arrangement I made for the tables for Father's Day! We later played a game where we removed the arrangements and the fathers had to make a list of all the tools and things that were in the arrangement. We learned that not all men are as observant as others. Of course we already knew that!!
Sunday evening we went to Maranatha and celebrated the Seminary's 6th Graduation!! What a wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend!!
That about sums up our weekend. We got home from the Graduation around 11pm. Sam and I worked hard to clean up the house from our meal earlier in the day. We hit the hay around 1am!
