The photo-journal of our week!

Here is our week in pictures.  If you have some time, the best way to view it will be to put it on "slideshow" and then reduce the speed so that you have time to watch the pictures and read about what you're seeing.  Thanks for visiting!

A New Understanding

My friend-teacher from school shared this story with me.  It is not only inspirational, and a confirmation of the work that needs to be done in Mexico, but it's also educational as you hear what it is like to be "abandoned" by your mother.

Future

Each of us who went on this trip is completing a summary of our thoughts, questions, and recommendations for Riverview's and Back2Back's possible future in Mazatlan.  It has been great to look back in hindsight and consider everyone we met and everything we learned.  We met some truly wonderful people, and we got a pretty good first glimpse into the needs of children in Mazatlan.  Please continue to pray as decisions are being considered and made.

As for me, I may blog on here every now and then... especially as something hits me or if there is new news to share.  Otherwise, I will be focusing on my life here, embracing the opportunities God gives me as I continue to pray for what he has in store for our future.

La Ultima Dia

Yesterday we went to a water activity business on the beach (Aqua Sport), which is owned by Carlos Salizar, the pastor of Iglesia Vida Nueva.  Raul, another elder at the church, also works there.  He offered free para-sailing rides to us, but only Ian and Dan went.  I would love to some day, but I felt to cold to go yesterday.  Then we went to the old Mazatlan, downtown.  We had lunch at a place on the square (probably our most un-delicious meal) and went to the huge market for about an hour.  We went to Wednesday night church at 7:00.  Dan played the guitar with the band, and he and I led two songs.  It was fun, and  I think the congregation really appreciated it.  Denny preached, and what he shared was something some of the guys in the church had been wrestling with.  It was really cool to see how God used that.  After church, we went to dinner with Carlos and Alma Salizar.  They recommended we go to "Panama," and it was the most delicious restaurant meal of the trip.  We missed Shelley, she was home not feeling well (but she is better today) and Ann and the kids (it was easier for them to stay home and the kids didn't want to go).

Eric wants to use the computer today, so I'm cutting this short.  Thanks for reading!!

Late Start

We had breakfast at the house and are just getting to Rico's... late start.

I’m posting twice today since I didn’t get to the Internet yesterday.  Hopefully you aren’t too worried, Mom ;-)

We spent yesterday visiting three orphanages around Mazatlan.  The first stop was “Orfanatorio Mazatlan,” which is in a very large building downtown.  They currently have several girls and one boy who live and go to school there.  We had packed a lunch of PB & J, which we ate in a beautiful park in the old part of town.  We then went to “Hogar San Pablo,” which is a home for just boys.  They may come between the ages of 9 and 14, and they may stay until they’re 18.  The people who run the home work hard to help the boys’ parents stay involved in their lives and encourage the parents to visit once a week or so.  Their home is several buildings on one campus with a beautiful view of the ocean, and the boys go to school right there.  It took us quite a while to find the last place, the “Salvation Army Children’s Home.”  It is in colonia Benadillo, which is a neighborhood outside of the city.  This home is on its own campus away from other houses and it is run by a married couple.  They currently have 30 children at the home.  The children are very, very loved, and David and his wife have made several improvements to the property in the five months they’ve been there.  We enjoyed talking to them very much and hope we get the opportunity to work with them in the future.

We came home to a VERY delicious dinner prepared by Franchesca.  She used to be the maid and cook for the people who used to own the home we’re staying in.  Monday we had asked her what was in “vampiros” and if she could give us the recipe.  She offered to shop for the ingredients and then make them for us.  So good!!!  Vampiros are corn tortilla (fried flat); topped with melted shredded cheese and cubed, grilled marinated steak; and then guacamole sauce and salsa, if you like.  None of us could stop eating them.  She also made us a traditional Mexican rice milk drink called “orchata” and homemade cheesecake.  And – she prepped the ingredients for us to make “chilequiles” for breakfast, which she explained to me how to prepare this morning.  It turned out pretty tasty, but she’d put a little too much salt in the sauce.  We also had homemade refried beans.

Today we have a little free time.  We’ll see what the day brings.  I think we're going to go to the old part of town to the market there, and we will probably also go to this place at the beach - a friend of Denny's who has a para-sailing, etc. business.  This may be the last post from Mazatlan since we fly home tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to thinking through all we’ve learned and sharing more thoughts with you later.  Please keep asking questions as you have them - we've seen and learned so much that it's hard to know which details to share on the blog.

Hasta luego!!

Martes

I’m typing this post in Word, and I will post it to the blog next time we’re around Internet.  It’s about 8:45 a.m. here (Tuesday), and I’m sitting on the back “porch.”  There was just a beautiful little bird hopping around the palm tree.  He was the brightest color of yellow I’ve ever seen on a bird.  I will have to try to find out what kind of bird he is.

Eric and I made breakfast for the group this morning.  I cut up a deliciously fresh papaya and squeezed a few fresh limes over the top, and then I sliced and toasted the bread.  Eric made a HUGE batch of scrambled eggs with mushrooms, ham, and cheese.  Even though Rico’s has yummy food, this was my favorite breakfast of the trip so far.

Monday ended up being a beautiful day and warm enough to take my sweater off.  The conversation with Rogelio (I need to figure out how to actually spell his name) was extremely interesting and will, I think, be fruitful for the development of however we get involved in Mazatlan.  He has many, many connections with others in Mazatlan, including government officials… and, it’s very difficult to get anything done without those kinds of connections.  He was able to give us some insight into the needs of the impoverished in Mazatlan and the surrounding areas.  His wife is the director of a children’s home for adolescent girls who have been on the streets and involved with drugs and prostitution – so he also has a really good idea of what’s going on with the children’s homes around here.  He seemed to be very excited about the possibility of Back2Back coming to Mazatlan.  He was especially excited about the potential of the Hope Program and the possibilities that program provides for breaking the cycle of poverty.

We had a few hours to walk around and explore after our meeting with Rogelio.  Then we ate sandwiches here at the house for lunch.  Our next trip was to “Ciudad de los Ninos.”  We found out that the home isn’t run by the Catholic Church.  It is run by a group of nuns, who I’m sure are financially supported by the Catholic Church; however, the children’s home itself receives no funding from the Church.  The sister who showed us around was extremely sweet and welcoming.  Most of the sisters who run the home are quite advanced in age, and they’ve committed to spending the rest of their lives caring for the children in the home.  The home currently has 32 children.  The parents must give up parental rights when they drop the children at the home, but the nuns do not allow any of the children to be adopted.  They keep them until they go off to college, get married, or turn 18.  If they have some type of a mental challenge, they are allowed to stay longer. 

Sunny Again!

It’s another cool morning in Mazatlan.  I know if you’re reading from Michigan, it’s much colder (and probably snowing)… but it’s the coldest it’s been here in Mazatlan in 20 years.  I won’t complain because it’s amazing to see the sun and not have to wear a coat – it’s just not the 80 degrees we were expecting.  I’m glad I brought a couple of sweater.

Yesterday we got to experience a bit of the culture as we visited La Nueva Vida.  This body of Believers is very diverse and very loving.  There was a congregation of about 100 or so people of various ages and economic status, which is rare to find in Mexico, as the affluent don’t usually interact with the working class.  Denny and Ann have made some wonderful relationships with people in the church, and we really enjoyed meeting them and worshiping with them.  The pastor did not preach; rather one of the elders, who is also a prominent dentist in Mazatlan, shared the message with us.  He taught about having “Immovable Faith,” using the stories of Job, Daniel, and Peter.  It was very encouraging and a timely challenge.

We spent about 2 ½ hours at the church, and then some of the congregation brought us back to the place we’re staying.  It was about 2:00 in the afternoon, and we wanted to see some of Mazatlan before the sun set, so we took a bus to the other side of town, where we ate at the “Shrimp Bucket.”  Eric enjoyed coconut shrimp, and I had grilled fish tacos.  Our group then took a little walk down the Malecón, which is the boardwalk – and, I bought some sunglasses :-)

We took a red truck taxi back to our place and spent a couple of hours talking about Riverview’s possible involvement with Mazatlan.  It was an open time of getting on the same page and coming together as a group.

Today, we’re looking forward to a meeting with Regelio.  He is a prominent business owner who has grown up in Mazatlan.  Through God-directed circumstances, Regelio and Denny have become “amigos,” which is a reciprocal connection of trust and commitment, the building block of all things that get done here in Mexico.  Regelio has become a Believer within the last several years, and he is also part of a group of local businessmen who are philanthropists in the area.  We are meeting with him at one of the coffee shops he owns (“Rico’s,” where we’ve been using the internet each morning) in a few minutes to discuss what we’re doing here this week and how he may be involved.  It was very cool how Regelio saw a few of our guys on the back patio yesterday after we got back from church, stopped to ask how we were (because he’s friends with the owners of the house), and then Denny saw him and was able to arrange the meeting for this morning… Regelio didn’t even know we were in town until yesterday afternoon, and he made time in his schedule right away to sit down with us this morning.

Ann and Denny’s Mexican children have been a delight.  Brenda is opening up and wanting to interact with us more and more.  Ramon has been testing the waters with his American parents, which has caused us some delays and a late night for Ann and Denny – but it’s been good to be a part of this new growth.

After our meeting with Regelio this morning, we will be headed to “Ciudad de los Ninos,” which is a larger orphanage in Mazatlan, run by the Catholic Church.  We are very excited to see what new adventures, insights, and possibilities today brings!!

Domingo

Buenos Dias!!

Es una manana muy bonita en Mazatlan!  Yesterday was cloudy, foggy and damp.  This morning, the sun is shining brightly and the sky is crystal blue!!  I am excited to go and worship in La Nueva Vida, the church we'll be visiting this morning.

We are back at Rico's for the delicious coffee, the great service, and the free internet.  Yesterday's food was amazing.  The trip to "Mega," the grocery store, was a success, and we do have food at "home" for breakfast, but I wanted to come and up-date you this morning.  Thank you for checking up on us.
 So, "Mega" is a very modern grocery store.  It had everything we needed and wanted (except sunglasses... I forgot mine at home since I hadn't seen the sun in weeks).  The weirdest thing about it was that you had to ride an escalator to get to the store part, but the escalator didn't have "steps," it was just flat.  We figured out on our ride down why it was like that.  Of course, we needed to take our carts of groceries down to the parking lot - so the carts rode on the escalator, which was magnetic - the cart wheels just stuck to it.  We took a red truck taxi back to the house (the back is outfitted with high sides and benches so that several people (six of us and our groceries) could ride together.

The majority of the day, and the best part of the day, was spent with Rick - a man who retired from teaching special education and being a principal, then came to Mazatlan to start an orphanage for children with special needs.  We learned so much from him about orphanages and abandoned children children in Mazatlan.  For me, personally, it was so interesting to learn about Mexican children with special needs.  As you can imagine, they have no place to go and no one to care for them.  Rick and his wife are doing something that no one else in the country is doing.  They get calls from all over Mexico about children with special needs who have been abandoned and need a home.  I look forward to telling you some of these children's stories.

This morning we are off to worship at La Nueva Vida, and then we will have comida with some of the families from the church.  I am looking forward to it very much!!

Until next time - hasta luego.

We're Here!

We are here in Mazatlan!!  Safe and sound after a 2 hour delay in Phoenix.  The flights were smooth and all worked out well - except that Denny had to stay home because of the stomach flu.  He is flying out this morning and will join us by 2:30 today.  Ann and Denny have been coming here for years.  Ann did a wonderful job leading and guiding us last night, but I know she will be happy when her hubby is here :-)


Last night we ate at Pancho's - a delicious, more up-scale restaurant on the ocean.  We enjoyed grilled shrimp, delicious guacamole, soup, etc.  We were exhausted and in bed by 10:30.

The house we're staying in has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.  There is a big kitchen, dining room, and living space.  All couples get to share a room.  Shelley has her own bedroom, and we moved a bed downstairs into the entry for Dan.

Right now we are sitting in a delicious coffee shop, having a bite to eat and using the wireless.  I'm not sure how often we'll get to a place to use internet, but we'll try to at least every-other day.

After we eat, six of us are going to the grocery store.  It will be a fun adventure, as a couple of the group hasn't grocery shopped in Mexico before :-)  It will also be fun to find a taxi to bring us back to the house!

We are going to Rancho De Los Ninos after we go to the store - it is an orphanage started by retired Americans, which serves children with special needs.  Ann and Denny adopted their children from that home - speaking of which, their children are staying with us this week, along with their 6 month old baby.  They are WONDERFUL children, and we're having so much fun being with them.

I need to let Eric use the computer for a bit.  Our love to you!!