Yo estoy viviendo todavia.

I am alive and well in Guadalajara once again. My Spring Break was a blessing amongst our brothers and sisters in Ixtlan and Magdalena. Returning home to Gdl I was meet with a non-functioning computer. Yes, very frustrating, but praise God for friends that compliment each other. Where one is completely clueless (hand raised) another excells. To actually get my computer up and running properly again took my friend, the guys in the computer lab at school, three days, and many many hours. It was quite intense, but I'm back in my apartment once again with my own computer. My friend had let me borrow one of his computers while mine was thinking whether it actually wanted to work again or not.

Spring Break : April 4-19 : Casa Vida y Esperanza, Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico

These three little monkeys are (L to R) Poncho, Jose, and Diego.

Took a quick picture with Michel and Daniel. You'll notice that it's cloudy in this picture, and I am wearing long sleeves. Issa, Lupita, and I found Sonora to be quite chilly. In Gdl and Ixtlan we are in the hottest months now (April & May). The daily temperature swings used to be cool to hot and are now warm to really hot. Needless to say both Lupita and I had caught the sniffles before we left.

He is Risen!

Easter Morning sunrise!

In town one evening: (L to R) Issa, Lupita, Karla, me, Michelle, Magda

Upon looking at this picture Fede grabbed the camera for a second and closer look. With a sigh of relief he said, 'oh it's just your hair, I wondered why I looked so pale!' Then of course he went on to explain how all three of us are different colors in the picture. I am red, he is pale, and Lupita is brown. Aiaiai!

Federico (Fede) and his sister Jaquiline (Jaqui). These two really made me smile! This picture was taken in a river... that had no water in it. :) Diego on the right and Nereida (Nere) on the left. I ended up taking quite a few pictures of Nere due to the fact that she reminded me so much of my cousin Patience. For example, her smile and the way she kicks her feet up and out when she runs and there's much much more similarities.

I found this kid, Ramses, to be pretty amazing. When asked who he wanted to put his face in his birthday cake he responded with "todos" (everyone). He got caked really good, and then came up laughing and asking for a fork.

Our friend Laura joined us in Magdalena for the last few days. Looking at this group photo I moaned about how much of a gringa I look standing next to all of them. Later we took another photo in the kitchen with one of the cooks and to make me feel better Laura, Lupita, and Issa all got on stools to be taller than me. But what really made me feel better happened at supper that day. I was putting on a sweatshirt I hadn't previously worn and one of the boys, Aaron, started questioning me about it since he hadn't seen it before. After many questions he finally came to the conclusion that " ooo, lo compraste cuando eras gringa!" (ooo, you bought it when you were gringa.) In other words.... I'm Mexican now!!! hehe! Kids are amazing!

On the drive home, just North of Mazatlan the road got so close to the ocean we could see it while driving. We could not resist. How can we be this close and not stop. So I have found out that yes, my little green car can indeed off-road. We didn't stay long at the beach since by the time we got there the sun had already disappeared and only a little bit of light was left. The best thing was that since we had gone where we weren't supposed to go we were the only ones on the biggest beach I've ever seen.

(L to R) Issa, Lupita, Laura, me

Taken back in Guadalajara once again. I ended up taking over 300 pictures on this trip. Making it incredibly difficult to pick just a few to post. Next time you see me ask to see the rest. I'd love to share.

My traveling companions and I called this trip a trip of miracles, and it truely was, for more than one reason. It was a true blessing to be amongst and worship our Father with my brothers and sisters for a time.

This was also the first time I've ever gone to Magdalena without getting sunburned in the process! Very exciting for me.

Love you all,

Hasta!

Prayer request: Patience, endurence, and wisdom