2020

Randy and I arrived at Sonshine Hacienda just in time for the Christmas madness to begin. And we still have a week of it as we prepare for the "Day of the Kings" on January 6. Christmas opens peoples hearts to want to give, and to make sure that others have a wonderful Christmas too. Which is why our phones and emails and doorbells have been buzzing constantly with people who want to help. We've been overwhelmed by people's generosity this year! Every week, sometimes every day, sometimes twice a day, we've had people and groups and churches come by to celebrate with us. We've had firefighters and off-road racers and youth groups. We've had clowns and Noah's Ark and piñatas. We've received new clothes and new shoes, a new kitchen play set and more soccer balls than we can count. And just yesterday a local family stopped by. Three little girls handed me a trash bag full of stuffed animals. They said they got new ones from Santa this year and...

During our devotional time this morning, Rand and I read the book of Ruth. Ruth tells the story of Naomi, who was married to Elimelek. Naomi and Elimelek moved away from home and had two sons, both of whom married women from their new city. But Elimelek died, and within a few years both sons died as well. Naomi was obviously devastated to lose everyone she loved. She decided to move back home, and told her daughters-in-law that they were free to return to their families as well. But one of the daughters-in-law, Ruth, refused to go home, insisting on staying with Naomi.  "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried." -Ruth 1:16-17 Short story made even shorter, Ruth and Naomi returned to Naomi's hometown, where Ruth married Boaz, a relative of her late father-in-law. Ruth and Boaz had a baby named Obed, Naomi was overjoyed at being a grandma, and t...

Ever wonder what Mexico sounds like? We wake up each morning to the sound of dogs barking. We had no idea before moving to Baja that we would be living right next to the humane society. Add to that the fact that EVERYONE in San Felipe has a dog, and there is rarely a moment of quiet. Around 7 or 8 a.m. the tortilla guy comes by. He drives a gator and broadcasts over a loud speaker "tortillas con arena o maiz": flour or corn tortillas. We have corn tortillas with every meal, and go through a stack of 80 every day or two. (Flour is considered "unhealthy" by the Mexican government, so we get free corn tortillas instead.) Our days are filled with the sounds of children: playing, laughing, crying, singing, praying, whining. All the things that kids do. Sometime between 5 and 7 p.m. the bread guy comes around in his car with a loud speaker on the hood. "El panedero con el pan": the baker with the bread. But he doesn't just have bread. He has do...

Thanksgiving is an American holiday, so it's obviously not on the calendar in Mexico. But that doesn't mean we didn't celebrate it this week! Thursday is our cook's day off, so it naturally fell to Randy to put together a menu for our Thanksgiving dinner. He went the traditional route... turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie... and just to spice it up a little -- cornbread muffins laced with jalapeños. A couple from church donated the pies, and the Lion's Club brought us two turkeys. Only the secondary school kids went to class that day, so I asked if we should do activities with the younger ones. Ask and you shall be put in charge! I raided the supply closet and found construction paper, which I cut into strips that the kids could write what they are thankful for on. Of course the word for thankful is completely unpronounceable: "agradecido." I explained to the kids what I wanted them to do, but 1...

What an interesting and busy weekend! On Friday, we took the younger kids down to the Malecon ("seafront") for a festival put on by the cultural center for Americans who either visit or live here during the winter (the flier sent home from school called them "snow birds"). The festival was entirely in English, had free food and beer and door prizes, and featured several different types of music and dance. They kept trying to get Randy and me to sign up for things, and we were grateful to not be tourists. Four of our girls danced in the ballet and one of our boys played guitar. All of our dorm moms came to support the kids and cheer them on. We celebrated their accomplishments with cotton candy. In the evening, Randy and I went to the condo of some friends who are in town visiting. It was a nice little getaway and we were grateful to have a dinner without tortillas. I think it will be very important for us in the future to have this time with friends from ou...

The directors of Sonshine Hacienda, Gary and Karen, told Randy and I to take the week to unpack and get settled. A week sounded like a long time to us, but we’ve been extremely grateful for it! On Saturday, the kids helped us unload our trailer and carry everything up to our second-floor apartment. Jesús worked harder than anyone else, so Randy thanked him with a short motorcycle ride up into the trailer. Randy and I went out for brunch and were surprised when the waitress brought Randy two hot dogs when he ordered sausage! We went to the local market run by Wal-Mart, but ended up at the next door grocery store when they didn’t have much by way of fresh produce. In the afternoon we made use of the communal laundry room and started to organize our apartment. We had a delicious soup with the kids and are going to love the fresh tortillas daily! On Sunday, Randy and I went to the English service at church, where Gary is the pastor. The congregation is f...

We woke up Friday morning, feeling confident that our second day at the Border Crossing would meet with instant success. They might wave us straight through, or ask for a small fee, but either way we anticipated having lunch in San Felipe with our kids! Jovi and I walked around the city of El Centro in the morning, and when we returned to the hotel saw Randy shake hands with a man in the parking lot. What could that possibly be about? The night before, while searching for a hotel on my phone, I found several advertised at $17, “for adults only,” so I wasn’t exactly excited about Randy doing any dealings in the parking lot. But when I approached, Randy introduced me as his wife and the older gentleman shook my hand with glee and called me “sister.” He drove off, and Randy told me that the man had grown up in a wonderful children’s home after his dad died and his mom couldn’t afford to take care of him. We have stickers on the side of our car that say “Sonshine Hacienda” so he had...

On Thursday morning, Randy and I had a short two-hour drive to El Centro, where we would return the U-Haul and transfer its contents into a trailer pulled by Gary and Karen, the directors of Sonshine Hacienda. We were so excited to see them! Even though we hadn’t yet crossed the border into Mexico, it felt like we’d arrived. During the morning drive, a semi-truck kicked up a rock and cracked my windshield in two places. So, while Gary and Karen ran errands, Randy and I found a local glass repair shop. They were so nice, quick, and did great work. We took their business card and promised that if we couldn’t get all our needs met in San Felipe we would return to them. We met up with Gary and Karen again and went out to lunch at Sizzler. I was craving something healthy, seeing as we’d been grabbing fast food for the last three days. The Sizzler salad bar was just the ticket. We had an opportunity to talk and reconnect and share all of our excitement over our arrival. Kare...

Before we officially set out on the road on Tuesday, some friends asked if they could pray for us. Five of us circled up and the couple led us in prayer. They prayed for our ministry, that God would encourage us and that we would be an encouragement to the children. And they prayed for our safety in travel. Little did they know that we would see God answer that prayer in just a few short hours. Randy and I are driving separately down to the border of California and Mexico. He is driving a U-Haul full of donations, and pulling our trailer full of belongings. I'm driving our Hummer, which we bought after selling both of our vehicles, since we needed something that can stand up to the roads in Mexico. We set out on the road, me following close behind him, and stopped along the way to have an early dinner with my in-laws, after which I told Rand to go on ahead with the U-Haul. I was going to fill up with gas, and surely I would catch up. I was delayed at the gas station beca...

In 2003 I left my job in Yosemite National Park (Wawona, California) to live with my grandmother in Bella Vista, Arkansas, and become a full-time writer. But instead of heading east, straight to her place, I started out going west. I put my feet in the Pacific Ocean and got sunburned on the beach. I listened to Paul Theroux talk about his latest book, Dark Star Safari , at the Capitola Book Cafe. I bought local honey and oranges at the Santa Cruz farmer's market. I spent an afternoon in Shakespeare's Garden at Golden Gate Park . I saw protests and arrests in Berkeley -- President Bush having just declared war on Iraq. I slept at a fire station in Napa and ate Olallieberry Pie in Pescadero . I didn't have a cell phone at the time, so I called my grandmother from a pay phone along the way. I told her about my latest adventures. "Are you lost?" she asked, thinking I should be halfway to Arkansas by now. Some had the same reaction when Randy and I moved out ...