tiffany joy

Saturday play date love

2012-02-19T23:15:00.000-08:00

sometimes i feel like i live in {durango}.

sometimes that feeling comes with a lot of exhaustion.

emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

mostly because of all the pain, hurt, and need we see.

more then ever, i felt that this week.

but despite all this,

i still love the fact that i have the privilege to have relationships with these people.

as you all know...

we tutor the niños four days a week,

and then on Saturday...

it's play time!

here's a look at what we did Saturday.

enjoy!

:: :: ::

lots and lots of artistic ability in {durango}

my silly frog with balloons,

turned into the most sought after painting.

next female, vincent van gogh.

she painted about eight paintings.

every time i turned around,

she was asking for another piece of paper.

love.

at another table we had some serious engineers.

the niños built tall towers.

the niñas, castles.

there's nothing like chubby little hands and faces.

just want to squeeze and kiss, every last inch of their chubbiness.

street hockey got pretty intense with the older chicas.

we play hard here in mexico.

i was literally sitting in a cloud of dust to get the pictures.

but totally worth it.

the best part has to be all the lovin'.

and those suffocating-ly, good hugs.

if you've never spent a day in a community like this...

i highly recommend it.

but beware...

it's highly addicting... and you may never want to leave.

just sayin.

Dear...

2012-02-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

dear little family in {Durango}

thank you for the sweet,

out pouring of love,

and thankfulness,

you showed us,

by baking us a cake last week.

the thought still brings me warm fuzzy feelings.

dear amanda,

(aka: mama chicken foot)

thank you for being my bestie, here in mexico.

thank you for your heart of compassion,

and teaching me what it means,

to truly pour yourself out,

to a needy community.

oh and for the tea, advil, and pepto, last night!

you pretty much rock!

dear ninos of Lupita,

know that there are many people praying for you.

your mama is going to heaven.

but that doesn't mean you will be alone.

amanda and i, and so many others will never forget you.

you are now, a permanent part of our lives.

we hope you feel our love,

but most of all, we hope to show you the love Jesus has for you.

and that you will come to know Him,

and see your mama again!

dear diana,

thank you for being mis gemela, mexicana.

the way you struggle through conversations with me,

in your broken english,

and my broken spanish,

is beautiful, just like you.

podemos ser amigas para siempre?

dear spanish church family,

thank you for giving me an opportunity,

to be apart of a community.

thank you for allowing me to play my violin in spanish worship.

thank you for showing me how to really "hangout".

todos ustedes son SHIDOS!

dear Jesus,

you are so awesome!

thank you for showing yourself strong to me in the last week.

i'm sorry for when i fail you.

thank you for not ever failing me.

Jesus, i need you.

"you are so good"--- doesn't even cut it!

xoxo

"what is heaven like?"

2012-02-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

this is what i heard from a young lady with terminal cancer say, as i knelt beside her bedside yesterday afternoon. i couldn't help but allow the tears, spill over the edges of my eyelids, onto her little baby that i was cuddling.

you may remember me writing about a few months ago. {click HERE to read her story.}

recently, we found Lupita to be suffering a lot from the pain, and not getting the proper treatment and care, from her very dysfunctional family. the last few weeks has found her in and out of the hospital and clinics, but now with a recommendation from the doctor, is home for her last days. she had told us months ago that she wasn't afraid to die, only worried for her children. yet, every day that goes by, with the reality of death so real, fear seemed to set in, not allowing her to rest.

yesterday, Amanda and i stopped by for our daily visit and prayer for Lupita. we brought her a cd player with four worship disks to listen to. we talked to her about her pain. we cried and prayed. we talked about her niños, and the funny things they do and say. we laughed. we read psalms and prayed over her. we cried.

and then the most beautiful thing happened. she started crying and asked, "where will i go?" she told us she was afraid to die. Amanda was able to pray with her and ask Jesus to live in her heart and be her Savior.

when we were done praying, she opened her eyes and asked, "what is heaven like?" Amanda started describing things like;

peace. no more pain. love. no more suffering. new bodies. complete happiness. that there will be niños there, lots of niños. and it will be complete light. and forever with Jesus.

i whispered,

"tell her there will be streets of gold!"

she got a big smile on her face and said,

"will i be able to walk?"

"not only walk, but run, jump, and dance Lupita."

pray for this dear sweet lady, as she suffers. pray for peace, hope, and love, to reign supreme in her home. pray for the pain. pray for her six babies that are going to be left behind. pray for her dysfunctional family. pray that Jesus name would be ultimately glorified!

that's the power of Jesus, lovies! it's never to late.

Feliz Dia del Amor y Amistad

2012-02-14T08:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning found Amanda and i, busily decorating every square inch of the kitchen at the ranch.

it went from drab colors or brown and white, to splashes of red and pink, everywhere.

you see we were having a Valentines day party, and nothing was going to be untouched.

from the pink tissue paper poofs

the strawberries in the fruit salad

the table cloth

to the chocolates that got delivered from the states,

everything was a touch of a little bit of love.

four beautiful older muchachas from {durango} graced us with their presence.

and then...

we let the festivities begin.

we ate lots of good food,

created our very own valentines for friends

made head bands

decorated cupcakes

and of course we licked our fingers

at the end of our afternoon together, we sat down and played a few games, and then talked a little about friendship and love and all the work that it takes to cultivate good relationships.

but most importantly we talked about the greatest love.

{agape}

necessities

2012-02-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

she is a sweet lady i met in durango.

she can't work because of her two injured hands.

she knows what it means to lack.

yet she gives out of her lack.

just 6 bags of groceries.

the bare necessities.

the most exciting item is {instant coffee}.

but it's the simple joys in life... no?

right now i am calmly typing but--- i'm doing a high jump, a few twirls, and back flips, on the inside. cause Jesus love's me and--- we're having a {valentines party} in 03hrs.18mins.22 sec.

so i just realized that the last three post, (ok make that four) have either mentioned, or been all about the up and coming {valentines day party}, and i kinda feel like a broken record. but as my sister says--- "can we still be friends???" ok GOOD, cause there's more comin'!

xoxo

today---

2012-02-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

i got to love on this niña hermosa, along with sixteen others,

and pass out six valentines, to some very special muchachas

i am so blessed.

red and pink, ruffles and hearts

2012-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

my kitchen has turned into... {cupids little workshop}

as i mentioned {here} i am preparing a valentines day, tea, for some of the older muchachas of {durango}, next saturday.

yesterday, i worked up everything, red and pink, ruffles and hearts. it was perfect.

i'm having this much fun already, i can't imagine what saturday will feel like.

{eek}

i grew up having tea parties with my mom and sisters. and when i say {grew up} i mean, from the days when i used my very own, pink plastic set, with water and graham crackers, all the way up to putting on weekly teas, making real earl grey leaf tea, with scones and biscotti just a few years ago.

i couldn't help but wonder, as i stapled dozens of little hearts together, into strings of garland,

have these girls ever had the opportunity...

to have a tea party?

to set a table filled with elegant beautiful things?

make homemade cookies with their mom?

learn how to be a hostess?

hold a tea cup with their pinky finger out, for perfect balance?

to sip on tea and nibble cookies, laughing and talking, late into the afternoon?

so this is my goal...

to gives these ladies an opportunity to enjoy simple beautiful things, by showing them that it doesn't take much to make things beautiful!

here's an extra lil' something,

just because i love you so much,

AND,

my {seester} said i should.

props to my hypegirl.

how to:
pom pom tissue flowers

:: gather together ten pieces of tissue or crepe paper and fold it accordion-style, making sure to press firmly, creasing with each fold.

:: wrap small gauge wire, tightly around the center of the folded paper.

:: cut ends of tissue paper, pointy or rounded, depending on the look you want.

:: pull gently, each piece of the tissue towards the center of the flower. fluff and fiddle until you have found your desired look.

:: and poof, there you have it loveys ::

my inner niña

2012-02-03T07:08:00.000-08:00

good morning my lovelies!

spring is coming... can you feel it?

it's been the strangest winter for me, this year. i am from the mid western state of iowa, where the summers are unbearably hot, and the winters are unattractive-ly cold. living in mexico, makes me quite confused on what season we are actually in at the moment. according to the calender, they tell me Valentines day is near and spring break is to follow. and that means lots of good things are right around the corner.

i am absolutely thrilled to my ends of my finger tips, on all the planning i've been doing for these up and coming holidays. the Saturday before Valentines day will find me sitting in a white tent, decorated to the hilt with red and pink paper hearts and tissue paper roses, sipping tea with around seven older niñas, from {durango}. yes my beautiful friends, we are hosting a Valentines tea.

three weeks in March, over spring break, an orphanage and a few niños from two communities, will join us at the ranch for spring camp. we will be learning about the power of God through funny skits and bible stories, putting on our own rendition of a STOMP performance, playing all sorts of crazy camp games, the making some adorable crafts, and stuffing ourselves with marshmallows around campfire.

finger puppets are just perfect for hours of playtime fun. i seriously want to pick each one up and find someone to put on a theatrical performance.

aren't the little chicos just gonna love those??? i know i do! this is the time where my inner niña comes out. and i'm NOT afraid to show it!

not just faces, lives.

2012-02-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

i've been thinking a lot about all the beautiful faces of orphans i've come in contact with,

over the last two summers i've been in Mexico. all the lives they represent and the stories they tell.

i wanted to share just a few.

:: :: ::

i craves kisses.

i need someone to chase me around the playground.

i need medical attention for spina bifida.

am i beautiful?

i need physical, emotional, and spiritual, safety.

we need a family to take photos of all the crazy things we do.

we need good role models.

i need a mom.

i need love.

{I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.}

John14:18

saying goodbye

2012-01-31T08:48:00.000-08:00

it's never easy loves.

never easy saying goodbye,

to someone you love.

maybe you'll see them again,

maybe you won't.

never easy saying goodbye,

to ideals in your head.

maybe they're realistic,

maybe there're not.

these two thoughts have been tumbling around in my head all week,

but especially after dropping my sister off at the bus station this morning.

this whole thing of saying goodbye and letting go.

i strongly dislike.

(with an emphasis on strongly and dislike!)

there's a song by Hillsong called Forever reign.

one line in that song was playing over and over in my head this morning.

You are God, You are God of all else i'm letting go.

:: :: ::

my new name for her is my--- hype girl.

Hype:

a fad. A clever marketing strategy which a product is advertized as the thing everyone must have, to the point where people begin to feel they need to consume it.

when someone gets excited about something.

fun, rowdy, or wild.

to create interest in by flamboyant or dramatic methods; promote or publicize showily .

:: :: ::

yep... sums up my hype girl comPLETELY!

love you seester.

ps.

if you haven't already,

you NEED to check out {myhypegirls} blooog!

Dios es bueno

2012-01-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

top of the afternoon to you, my beautiful friends.

the{seester} and i, just got back from a marathon trip through downtown ensenada.

after our fourth meal of tacos in three days, we headed towards main street, checked out a few lil' shops,

walked along the bay where all the fishing boats port, walked through the fish market,

and then, after walking about five miles, we walked our skinny butts over to my favorite Mexican bakery,

and walked home some donuts.

it's been so so so good to have nic with me these last few days. she's such a source of encouragement.

i thank Jesus for her.

:: :: ::

we met a man last Friday, who found out he had lung cancer last November and spread so quickly through his body. he has little time to live. as i heard his story, saw the physical tumors on his head, and watched him labor over each breath, i couldn't help but want to scream out, asking God why. why these families? they have nothing but each other.

lately i have not only felt the weight of pain, hurt, and brokenness, in my own heart and life, but in the lives of so many people around me. God has brought so many people with cancer across our path here at Genesis. it's an incredible opportunity to show love. i'm so excited to be apart of these precious lives, even if its for a short time.

the thing that i heard over and over, the part that really left a huge impression on my mind and heart, was three words the family of this man kept saying...

{Dios es bueno} {Dios es bueno} {Dios es bueno}

{yes Jesus... you are so good. thank you for showing me that everyday}

:: :: ::

two of my favorite things to do here at Genesis is buying and distributing food baskets to the families. nic and i got the chance to do a little shopping for this man and his family on Saturday.

me, trying to blend in with the bananas

oranges. (no duh , tiff)

super cutie sister, workin it

delish bake goods

:: :: ::

xoxo

clean

2012-01-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

washing cars is one of my favorite things to do.

maybe because i get to roll up my jeans and let my toes out of my shoes.

maybe its because it reminds me of when i was little and i'd help my dad wash his car.

or maybe, just maybe, i like watching the transformation from, dirty to clean.

{create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.}

:: :: ::

ps.

my seester is here.

that means superawesomestuff ahead!

little chewy

2012-01-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

this semester we have a whole bunch of new little faces under our tutoring tree.

i love meeting all the new niños and smothering them with love and kisses.

his name is chewy.

he's quite, but you can tell he hangs on to every last word during tutoring sessions.

he's eager to learn and probably the most serious about his work, out of all the niños.

he was given a sheet of spelling words and immediately started looking over them intently.

as i was busying myself, helping all the other little cries, i noticed chewy wasn't copying the words like he was told.

his sister was bent over him trying to help.

she whispered... "he can't write."

he looked up at me with his big, milk chocolate chip eyes, that seemed to say, "help me."

*melt

how do you resist such a face?!

i wrote out his list of words in traceable form.

you know lots of lil' dots.

and gave him a little {youcandoit} squeeze.

*puddle

he was so happy and proud when he finished.

i put a big smiley face at the top of his paper

and wrote,

muy bien

dear sister,

2012-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

thanks for jumping on a plane and

leaving your captain awesome,

and coming to mexico to be with me

through this crisis in my life.

for being my {seester} and

my besty.

i love you!

dear bro in love,

thanks for being cool and

giving me your wifey for three days.

you're the best and

my favorite in law.

love you too.

dear Jesus,

thank you for making this

all possible!

i love you the most!

you are awesome!

in real life

2012-01-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

alrighty my beautiful bloggy friends,

it's time for a confession of

where i'm at right now in real life.

ready.go.

emotionally frail,

spiritually weak,

and physically sick.

BAM

so there you have it.

:: :: ::

i'm going through one of those stormy,

night time experiences when

you're [dogonsure] you're lost,

you know where you're going, but

its raining cats and dogs, you're going in circles

and you're not sure when it all will stop.

sums it up.

:: :: ::

when i woke up this morning

i din't want to wake up.

i didn't want to face the day.

i wanted to fall back asleep

and wake up when the storm stopped

and the sun was shinning.

:: :: ::

but yo...

reality check baby.

there was a whole bunch of little people

eager to learn under our tutoring tree this morning

a hot shower to be had, and

lots of grace and mercy from Jesus that was just waiting

to be taken advantage of.

:: :: ::

as i asked Jesus [why]?

i felt like He was saying;

{just make it through this day tiff}

{and look for simple beauty}

{it may mean looking at everything from a new perspectives}

{don't maintain regrets of yesterday}

{don't worry about tomorrow}

:: :: ::

so this is for you Jesus.

this is what i saw so beautiful today.

and this is from that new perspective.

xoxo

:: :: ::

ps.

here's a snap shot of the camp showers with cold water

next to my warm shower at my house.

some people eat when they are sad.

i take showers.

best place to make life decisions,

brain storm, and

cry.

¡el fin!

a father to the fatherless

2012-01-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

this is just a simple story. because i only

know what i saw. but this is a story that

rings true in so many little lives around the

world.

his name is Mario, and he came to

our summer camps last year with his siblings

and the orphanage they live in.

his eyes showed pain and fear. the

beginning of the week was ok. he

appeared to be having a good time. there

was so much love he experienced. but

the middle of the week he broke. he didn't

want to participate in activities and many times

i found him alone crying.

one of our male staff members had several

opportunities to talk with him and just listen.

Mario told him how alone he felt. he has no one.

i made sure to take the scenic route one evening

when feeding the pigs. we all gathered around

and tried to fight for this young man by encouraging

words, smiles, love, hope. but that was just one

week out of the hundreds that he will live alone. i often

struggle with questions of {how are we making a difference?}

out of the twenty orphanages that came

to our camp last summer, i felt the most

burdened for this one. the pain and hurt,

the healing and care, that they needed was

great. it was heavy. all the staff felt it.

but what happened during that week was

incredible. it caused us to pray more,

see how small and in signification we are

without Jesus, and at the end of the week

we knew that Jesus love had been poured

out on those little ones. not because

of us but Him working through us.

after the niños pulled away on the bus,

i headed in to clean the dorms and i found

Mario's name tag. i stuck it in my bible as

a way to remember him and the millions of

other hurting babies around the world.

{for the needy shall not always be forgotten}

please don't forget

a peak

2012-01-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

this week we started up our tutoring program again with the ninos of {durango}

i wish so bad each one of you could experience a day in {durango}.

the niños would love you.

it would probably change your life.

but since that is not possible,

i wanted to give you a peak into what you would see if you stopped by.

you may see a whole bunch of niños sitting, hanging, climbing, on an old tree.

they're waiting for us to set up and do roll call.

one by one you will see the niños file in with their pencils and homework.

you will always be get big smiles, hugs, and a kiss on the cheek.

big boys who are always the spit fires.

intent listeners at story time

determination during math quizzes

dirty lil' faces that melt your heart

puckered up lips that show complete concentration

thanks for stopping by and taking a peak.

cabbage love

2012-01-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

i discovered cabbage about 3 years ago

and {fell in love}.

weird no???

my dad never liked cabbage so we never had any in the house.

the other day i got a hanker-in for it and made up a lil'.

here's what i threw in the frying pan.

two tablespoons of butter

half a head of chopped cabbage

chopped half a red bell pepper

two tablespoons rice seasoning

~~{i stole from my bao bei}~~

i stir fried that until the cabbage and pepper were soft,

added a little salt,

and laid it on a bed of rice.

if i would have had more time,

chicken would have been great to throw in the mix.

my mom always called me her {spice girl}

because out of all the cooks in our house

i really spiced things up!

{that always made me proud}

i love experimenting with different combinations of ingredients and spices.

i'd love to hear some of your crazy combinations.

extra- extra- read all about it

2012-01-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

with the help of my bao bei and my {seester} dearest,

my about page has been created!

so direct your attention to the right side of the page,

place your little mousy over the blue button that says {about},

and click away!

:: keep looking for more changes ::

a day in the life

2012-01-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

crazy :: beautiful :: mess

2012-01-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

i am currently back in mexico after spending Christmas with my family in iowa. i balled like a baby as i left home. i remember asking my sister {nicole} through sobs "if it is this hard to leave, am i doing what i'm suppose to be doing in mexico?" she reassured me that i was. i have come to the realization of what i have. i have a family that i hate saying goodbye to. some people can not say as much. my time spent with all the lovelies back home blew my expectations.

new years eve was spent with my man at a good friends house in northern california. we blew in the new year on our noise makers, till we were blue in the face. i am so thankful that i get to start 2012 with my bao bei!

yesterday i was thinking about my life. a teeny tiny part of me wished i would have settled for the average american life. but most of me is so thankful i didn't. this crazy, beautiful, mess i find myself in is exactly what i'm suppose to be living.

if the saying is true, [home is where your heart is]

then my heart is all torn apart

iowa norcal mexico

:: crazy ::

living out of a suitcase

sleeping in strange beds

kind friends

:: beautiful ::

locking my bao bei's keys

to his house and car

inside his house

:: mess ::

jumping the fence

popping out the screen of the open bathroom window

and squeezing my bod through this tiny bathroom window

like a ninja

:: crazy ::

eating a whole piece of stinky tofu

and keeping it down

:: crazy ::

my bao bei's cheers

proud looks

and a gigantic jamba juice

after the heroic feat was complete

:: beautiful ::

a girl from iowa

living in mexico

dating an amazing man from taiwan

blending three cultures

:: crazybeautifulmess ::

to be brave

2011-12-29T07:23:00.001-08:00

::it takes bravery to say goodbye to all this::

gigantic sleepovers every night with these three lovelies

family Christmas and all its good cheer

catching up with friends

photo shoots

parents who are madly in love and show it

brothers

yes it takes lots of bravery.

:: all i want for christmas is you ::

2011-12-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

"MERRY CHRISTMAS" a day late my beautiful friends.

just wanted to give a lil' shout out

since i've been hiding out for a few days.

i've been spending every waking minute with my family and friends

since i've been home

and loving it.

hope you all have a "HAPPY NEW YEAR"!

if you give a kid a camera

2011-12-16T13:34:00.001-08:00

yes… photo shoots were defiantly on the lists of {to do’s}
today was sunny and here’s what we shot.
the best part is this little sister took them all.

then and now

2011-12-15T13:16:00.001-08:00

I can-not believe this was me, 3 days ago…

and this is me now...

{home}

and enjoying every meaning of the word.

as the old saying goes…

{time flies when you’re having fun}

that’s my life yo!

my flight didn’t arrive in Des Moines till 10:55 pm.

usually my dear friends Rachel and Abbi Short would come scoop me up from the airport

and we’d have a sleepover

until the next day.

then my family would come get me when the hour was more reasonable.

much debating happened the week before I got home,

and a few home peoples decided {the next day pickup} was completely unnecessary.

so they came and picked me up the night I got home.

grace, nic, adam, and kristen made the long 2 hour treck to the airport bless their hearts.

after a few hugs {ok a lot}

I learned that the babe mobile

{thenameformycar}

had an air-flow-sensory-valve-issue goin’ on

and that we would in fact, have to stay the night with our dear friends

to wait till the part shop opened to fix my car.

gotta love unexpected sleepovers.

{thank you Short family}

after a few hours of sleep,

an awesome bro in law {who woke up early to play mechanic},

and a half dozen of Casey’s donuts,

we were on our way home!

somehow the lack of sleep

showers,

hairbrushes,

toothbrushes,

and makeup,

didn’t bother any of us.

[maybe just a teeny tiny bit]

as we got closer to the little white home on the hill,

I saw a little black dot running towards the car.

I guess bethy couldn’t wait any longer.

{eek}

how precious is she???

so here I am,

loving on these people

and having a marvelous time.

:: :: :: ::

CONGRATULATIONS

after taking out my own comment

and other [extra] comments.

I entered number 11 into the random number generator

and came up with this fortunate winner of my first ever {giveaway}

congratulations to {themama23}

you are the happy owner of one {bolsa mexicana}

please email me your address

misstiffjoy@gmail.com

be sure to be watching for more giveaways in the future!

fa-la-la-la-la christmas party

2011-12-11T09:19:00.001-08:00

last look at {durango}

we were headed to Christmas paradise

next stop {bajamar}

the bus was buzzing with excitement.

the kids were literally on the edge of their seats.

these kids hardly ever get to leave their community.

so to drive an hour plus to go to a party, was pretty amazing for them.

the oo’s and aa’s as we drove along the bay.

vast waters on one side and tall rocky hills on the other.

meet {tony} our trusty driver

as soon as we arrived the ninos practiced their golf swings

once again reunited with my little man

and his lovely sister, Naomi

after an hour of fun in the sun we headed inside for a lunch of hamburgers and fries.

this is where my battery gave up the ghost. (when will I ever learn?)

after stuffing ourselves to the rafters, Santa Claus came bursting in with presents for each nino.

then came another round of oo’s and aa’s.

soccer balls, battery operated trucks, and art sets for the boys.

scarfs, necklaces, and baby dolls for the girls.

it was a perfect day.

everyone felt loved and special.

:: :: :: ::

on the way home the kids couldn’t stop waving at cars and yelling {feliz navidad} out the windows

every stop sign {feliz navidad}

every taco stand {feliz navidad}

every homeless man on the side of the street {feliz navidad}

every car we passed {feliz navidad}

I loved watching the reactions from people.

the smiles.

its amazing how a little Christmas cheer can go a long ways.

on another note I’m headed up so {san diego} this afternoon.

staying with laura till I fly home tomorrow.

I kinda got sick yesterday so…

im trying to muster up all my strength to make the long trek back home.

I’m really excited *cough* I am.

:: :: :: ::

keep entering in the giveaway {here}

love all your lovely comments

:: :: :: ::

pss

never fear the {about} page is coming and more on how me and my (bao bei} met.

hazzah

2011-12-09T22:49:00.001-08:00

today is our last hazzah for two thousand eleven.

no more tutoring.

no more visiting families in {durango}.

no more days in the office planning activities.

no more play dates at the ranch with the niños.

we are ending two thousand eleven with a Christmas party.

and i am {S O E X C I T E D}.

we invited niños from my first orphanage I ever worked with

and

the kids we tutor in {durango}.

we will all loading up in vans and buses

to go to a golf course

for golf lessons

lunch

and

Christmas presents.

I’m kinda really excited

and thought you would want to know what to look forward to.

:: :: :: ::

this is my baby Luis.

and I get to see him today.

eek.

he is a big part of why I am living in mexico today.

he was an instrument, {God} used, to show me how much I am loved by my {Father} .

ps!
don’t forget to check out my {giveaway} that’s happening now!
click {here} to enter!

53 followers {giveaway}

2011-12-08T19:40:00.001-08:00

{eeek}

I hardly can contain myself I’m so excited that my little bloggy is growing and that I get to write my very first giveaway post.

I never saw myself as a writer. I started my blog 4 years ago because my super epically amazing {seester} had a blog and I wanted to be just like her. over the next 3 years I wrote 53 posts.

{sporadic yo}

when I decided to move to mexico for a year, I knew that it would be a great outlet to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves.

{orphans, disabled children, and migrant community children of mexico}

I wanted to share their stories. I wanted them to be heard.

that is why I write.

{and I like it}

:: :: :: :: ::

letsgetONwithit

{drum roll please}

mujeres y hombres <---- (I say hombres because my guy co-worker told me he’s going to enter to win.)

this is whatchya gotta do to win this {mexicana bolsita}

you must be a {follower} of my bloggy

if you want extra entries you can follow me on {twitter}

but wait there’s more…

{blog} or {tweet} about this giveaway and you get even more chances to win.

then… comment once for each entry.

in 6 shakes of a lambs tail, I will reveal the winner.

{giveaway ends december 14th at midnight}

doctor. suess.

2011-12-08T01:17:00.001-08:00

you should have seen the show I put on when I saw my bloggity followers hit fifty-two tonight. happy dances all around baby. you all are seriously {fanterrific} <---- haha like it? just made it up!

I know you are like [enoughwiththeblubbering] [letsgetONwithit] and we will, I promise. but I have one teeny tiny confession. the awesome mexico goodness, that I want to giveaway has yet to be photographed. tomorrow. and when I say tomorrow. I said it with flared nostrils and that means [bid-ness].

today was a bit of a roller coaster for me. haha. I guess just tonight. this is turning into a confessions post. ya buddy.

I started it off reading in psalms about praise and went into the morning very focused on that as I headed out to the ranch. we prepare activities for the group that is coming to the ranch the week I get back to mexico. {oh have I mentioned that im going home in eighty-four hours??? cause I am!!!} we will be putting on a little performance with the {durango} niños for kings day (three wise men) that week.

in the afternoon I went shopping for all the fabric to make the costumes. fabric store is my favorite store in all of mexico. I walk in and my creative juices start a flowin. the part I love the most is the huge bins of scrap fabric that gets discarded from the end rolls. they are sold for [super duper] cheap and they are nice big 2-3 yard pieces. I was in heaven picking out all the different colors and who was going to wear what color. my favorite combo of the day would have to be Harrods costume. he got orange and black leopard skin robe with a bright orange tunic/belt. mmm…

I had promised the worship leader at spanish church that I would play my violin for worship tonight but after all that preparation and shopping, I didn’t feel like going at all. I guess I wore myself out. and honestly I didn’t feel in a worshipful mood. now it would have been fine NOT to go, and just stay home but… I made myself. and boy am I glad I did. one song in particular I was really feeling a lot of emotion for. it was talking about how {sweet Jesus is} and that’s all I can remember or understand.

the second reason is the awesome jam session that we had after service. I started playing {swallow tail jig} and the whole building started rocking. (I always have played with bluegrass instruments. never with drums, electric guitar, and bass.) {love} after we were hard at it for a few minutes… I looked down over the stage and saw a homeless man who had walked of the streets, just a dancin away. {doublelove}

I got home and jumped on skype to chatt with my {bao bei}. we started talking about a simple subject on opinions and how girls and guys think differently. I’m sorry to say that my feathers got a lil ruffled and I got all pouty mouthed. but I am so thankful for a man that always seeks to work through our issues, look at things from my perspective, and is learning that with girls there could be option abc through xyz. I am also thankful for [imsorrys], [iforgiveyous], and [secondthirdfourthhundredthchances]

haha. I don’t know how our conversation lead to this but… we ended the night watching {green eggs and ham} on youtube and laughing our heads off. he’d never heard of {doctor suess}. we are going on a date to a book store as soon as we can get our hands on each other. then I can read him all the english books that I grew up on. seriously love this boy.

feast your peepers on this

2011-12-07T07:36:00.001-08:00

this will be me in just {five} days.

except it will be much colder, and my poor body will be trying to adjust to the sub degree weather in the frozen land of iowa.

but I don’t care.

im going home.

ps. just one more follower, my dears, till I reveal the first evAr{giveawaypost}

pss. a thought from my readings in psalms this morning. {praise Him according to His righteousness}

thats a LOT of praise folks.

tree huggers and other weekend wonders

2011-12-06T07:37:00.001-08:00

top of the morning to ya.
this weekend was full of so much goodness… I hardly know where to begin.
how about at the very beginning.

Saturday was our very last activity day with the community niños for two thousand eleven. we made masks to go along with our skit about not succumbing to peer pressure by wearing different “masks” for different groups of friends.

I’m gonna miss these babies

we found lots of time to play

in the evening, we invited all the parents and the rest of the family members, to join us for supper, hot chocolate, and a campfire. it was so much fun to see all the babies that will soon be joining us in our activities at the ranch.

this little guy literally [hammed it up] for me when I told him I was going to take his picture.

{precioso}

on sunday I stayed cozy under my blankets to listen to a message from my home church. the temperatures have been hittign low thirties at nights.

[WRONG]

in the afternoon I went out shopping in the street for my {giveaway gift} that I’m happy to say is only {one} follower away from being {given}.

I looked in all the little shops, scanned all the carts with the super pushy sales men, and found the most perfect gift that is seriously gonna [rockyourworld].

after a quick bite to eat at my favorite taco stand, I headed over to my happy spot to warm up my abuelos y abuelas with some christmas music.

I love watching people come alive when they hear music. it brings me so much joy.

this guy has to be one of my favorites… okokok… they’re ALL my favorites.

he is always apologizing for not being able to clap for me because of his one bad hand.

{aww} can’t help but squeeze him.

monday got off to a slow start. I talked to my {seester nicole} on skype for a lot of the morning. it felt so good to just talk sister talk. I knitted away at this puppy while I talked.

super pumped at how my computer case turned out.

{success}

(and of course im wearing my lounge arounds. whhhy nnnot??? did you expect anything less???)

finally around the late hour of noon or… one, I made it out from under my cozy piles of blankets to check some stuff off my [to do] list. and boy did I kick.hinny.

clean bathroom [check]
do dishes [check]
two loads of laundry [check]
vacuumed my room [check]
go out on a fat persons run [check]

6. do 3 minutes of resistance bands my {love} bought me [check]

I also got to see this man trying to shimmy his way down this palm tree across the street.

or is he a real live tree hugger???

hmmm…

one should venture out more often.

he had this makeshift rope thingy-mu-bob-jigger tied around his waste. I was scared for his life.

he wasn’t young either.

he made it I can happily report.

so… that was my weekend. very exciting for someone who rides solo on her weekends.

a bloggy friend made a wonderful suggestion this weekend, that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but keep putting it off.

she suggested an {about} page.

it is a splendid idea especially if you are a new reader and read all this lingo in spanish, see all the beautiful niños, and wonder where the heck I am, and what on earth am I doing.

stay tuned for a few bloggity changes.

have a great week my dears!

favorite things {friday}

2011-12-02T19:48:00.001-08:00

hola mis amigos hermosos.

this morning, I woke up thinking of all my favorite things and wanted to share a few with you.

::green grass with sheeps::

::veggie donations:: ::well loved moccasin slippers con pajama pants::

::old shoe box that I turned into a treasure chest for me and loveys special treasures::

drawings
love letters
bus tickets
smashed penny from {monterey, california aquarium}
hand drawn maps
etcetera…

::white ruffles:: ::piles of warm blankets::

::these two hermosas::

::asian treats from yours truly {and chocolate}:: ::my night stand reads::

it is truly the best time of the year.

niños with wrinkles

2011-11-30T23:12:00.001-08:00

have I ever shared with you

my love for little old

grandmas, and grandpas???

its more then a love.

it’s a passion.

have you ever done something and you know its your calling in life? that was me when I got my certified.nurses.aid.certification in two.thousand.eight. I worked in two different nursing homes all the way up until I moved across the fence. I loved every blessed second of it. yes it came with its challenges but it is totally worth it.

yesterday morning my favorite {durango} grandma came to visit our little school house, under the tree. I immediately said hello and invited her to sit down. I asked her if she wanted me to put her to work with some math problems. she laughed and said that she would if she could see.

that started a ten minute conversation about i'm not sure what. my spanish isn't all the way up to par, specially my grandma spanish {there's a difference}, but the conversation was something about, God's mercy's that she walks without falling, her dad, a ranch, her fifteen plus siblings... yes!

{adorable}

i found a little {casa del abuelos} and visit it twice a month with my fiddle. other then the ranch with the niños... it's my happy spot!

what are your passions in life? and what do you do to nurture those passions?

{three} days {two} countries {one} love

2011-11-29T22:22:00.001-08:00

yup… that’s right… best weekend ever. I seriously was in lala land the whole time.

bao bei came to mexico with his church, over thanksgiving, to the orphanage that they support. after spending thanksgiving day with the ninos, he headed down a lil further south to spend the weekend with me. and did we ever have a good time!

i think our favorite part was our sunday afternoon walk on the beach. we made up a game where one person makes a shape of any sort in the sand. the other persons job is to create that into a picture. the beach was peppered with elaborate drawings. it looked a little like... a man riding a bicycle, me running with a bunch of balloons, to a giant shark jumping out of the sky down to eat my balloons, bao bei with a bow and arrow shooting the shark, both of us in a pumpkin carriage, and i believe the last one was me blowing bubbles. YA! my boy's an artist.

monday morning around eleven we headed across the border to San Diego. lovey's flight out was at eleven, forty tuesday morning and lately the border line has been up to three hours long. we decided not to risk him getting stuck and missing his flight tuesday, by making the trip together monday. i always enjoyed take the bus to the border. the drive is so pretty, the bus is super comfy, and they play movies in spanish for you the wholedogonway! only thing better is traveling with my bao bei.

we made it across in great time... actually i can't exactly remember how long in real minutes because they fly when im with my man. we jumped on a trolley and arrived to the old town depot in no time at all. it was so beautiful there, my bao bei used the opportunity to brush up on his photography skills... and i didn't mind at all.

trolley station

photo compliments of my {bao bei}

seriously… the mans hardly touched a camera in his life and now… he’s rockin it.

he’s a freakin genius.

he makes for a hot model too.

after our mini {photoshoot} we headed to a coffee shop to drop our luggage, rest our tired legs and and sip on some snapples.

my mom's real name is Millicent... i texted her and told her how happy i was that she shares a name with Barbie. if any of you have seen my mom she looks pretty dang good for having eight babies. ;)

we waited here until our friends came to pick us up for the night

as i look back over my weekend it was full of {lovehates}

Love:

arrival and pickup at the bus station

reuniting after three months with my love

presents

introducing my bao bei to my Durango ninos

walks on the beach

picture art in the sand

long talks

seeing the movie [in time]

lots of snuggles

cooking chicken and dumplings

border lines with my {bao bei}

walking into my country

holding hands with my bao bei

traveling around on trolley’s and bus’s carrying our luggage and lookin like gypsies

buying a sandwich for a homeless man

my {bao bei’s} mad photography skills

finding out that my mom shares her name with Barbie's middle name (millicent)

good friends, good food, good conversation, and good games

Hate:

locking my keys in my house during my mad dash to the bus station

wasting ten pesos on parking

confusing once y media with una y media

missing our movie…twice :)

rushing out of the house and leaving {bao bei’s} phone in mexico. oops

seeing so many homeless people

borders

fences

goodbyes

long teary walks back into mexico

as i look back over my list i realize {lovehates} are life, it's not so bad when you are with people you love and you have eternal hope that's only found in Jesus.

what are your love hates?

currently...

2011-11-28T16:28:00.001-08:00

next to this handsome guy.

in the united.states.of.america. people.

i know its been foreeever since you heard from me.

but

never fear

i will be back tomorrow with some pure awesome-ness

that you are not gonna wanna miss.

things i love about my country:

the water pressure in the toilets

(it flushes toilet paper people. get excited!)

the nicely manicured sidewalks

(i told my bao bei... i could eat off of them.)

english!

(nuff said.)

things i miss about mexico:

the people

(their smiles, family oriented living... yo)

taco stands at every corner

(okokok... i'm sick of tacos but hey... they're CHEAP!)

a big gracias to everyone who have been pressing the follow button.

six more followers til the giveaway!

awkward and awesome thursday

2011-11-24T23:31:00.001-08:00

happy THANKSgiving my beautiful friends.

even though I didn’t celebrate thanksgiving the same as I have all twenty-one other times in my life.

I celebrated it in a different way. it happened all inside mi corazon.

it caused me to be more intentional and reflective on what I am truly thankful for.

plus I got to hang out with my {durango} family.

tutoring these babies has been a true joy this fall.

my hair that’s in the littlt niñas face. {awkward}

my morning started off skype-ing my crazy-awesome-sibs. {awesome}

not celebrating thanksgiving in the way I know how. {awkward}

all staff devotional on thankfulness. {awesome}

getting a lazy wheeled cart at the grocery store tonight and exchanging it for another. {awkward}

hugs and kisses from the niños. {awesome}

leaving my big gate open all night. {awkward}

cozy pink slipper socks. {awesome}

the temperature in Mexico. {awkward and WRONG}

ending my night skyp-ing the whole family. {awesome}

stares from people in the street. {awkward}

less then eighteen hours I’ll be picking my bao bei up from the bus station. {AWESOME}

what were your awesome and awkward moments today???

stay tuned for more awesome-ness coming your way…

only eight more followers till my first giveaways…

and you’re NOT gonna wanna miss that…

can I hear it for some mexico goodness???

thankfulness {day 7}

2011-11-23T20:00:00.001-08:00

I’m thankful for Jesus…

happy thanksgiving

thankfulness {day 6}

2011-11-22T19:42:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for the heavens and the earth…

{Thus says the LORD,

Heaven is my throne

and the earth is my footstool.}

Isaiah sixty-six

one

my God is so insanely creative

and I am so in love with Him.

to think that he made the world for his footstool-

I wonder what his couch looks like.

{giggles}

from the huge gigantic ocean

{that reminds me of the vastness of His love}

and mountains.

to the intricate details of insects

and sand dollars.

all the way down to the micro life

that we can’t even see.

the whole lot of it on His footstool?

yaaa… I love His creativity.

thankfulness {day 5}

2011-11-21T18:14:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for all my supporters… couldn’t love on these babies without them.

when I made the decision to move to Mexico

I remember the feelings of vulnerability.

leaving my job to move to another country

for a year or more

and depending solely on support from my family and friends

was scary to say the least.

as I sent out my first support letter

I remember thinking

who should I send this to?

what are people going to think?

will they respond?

I have now been living in Mexico for nine months.

the support and outflow of

prayers, encouraging words, and financial support

have been overwhelming.

{that includes all my bloggy followers}

I love all your comments

they inspire me to keep writing

and speaking up for those who can’t speak for themselves.

ps.

you know what???

there are some awesome shopping

in the streets of Ensenada

and I’ve been eyeing some gifts

that I would love to purchase

for my first ever giveaway!

can I hear a shout out for that???

{smiles}

but first…

I’m waiting for my number of followers to hit fifty.

that’s only twelve people, people.

so if you are a lurker… and not a follower…

you should really just press the blue button

and join the ranks.

you know you want to.

{smiles}

thankfulness {day 4}

2011-11-20T16:28:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for besos…

thankfulness {day 3}

2011-11-18T23:27:00.001-08:00

remember when I told you I would reveal mystery man?

well today is that day.

I am thankful for my *{bao bei}… and his love.

somehow two lives

a girl from {Iowa}

and a boy from {Taiwan}

collided in {Mexico} summer of 2010

they fell in love playing with niños during a summer camp for orphans

she gave him a nickname of **{china}

and he gave her a nickname of ***{slovy}

they couldn’t stop chatting after summer camp

so he called her almost everyday

and she was glad

after a lot of talking

a big trip to iowa to meet the family

and two {I love yous} later

we have been dating for

two hundred and seventy days

or in other words nine months

that’s the short and sweet version

of course there’s the long and sometimes ugly version

like our relationship is long distance

and the times I get all pouty because I can’t see him

and the many discussions over difficult issues.

but I am learning that anything worth keeping

takes effort to build and to grow.

and he is defiantly worth every bit of it.

be looking for more posts about my man.

and the oodles of reasons i love him.

*mandarin for baby

**I made the mistake of thinking he was from china because [silly americanos think all Asians are from china.]

***my great grandpa came from Czechoslovakia. some how he turned it into slovy. {love that boy}

misprint

2011-11-18T19:11:00.001-08:00

as I was talking to my slightly, epically, fantastic, seester grace on the phone tonight… she pointed out a gigantic error in my last post. I made my flight ten looong days later then it is suppose to be. haha… oops… I did it just to keep people guessing. NOT.

December twelfth, my friends. the twelfth of December is when this Midwestern girl is goin HOME.

we talked of the things we are going to do when I get back and I can’t help but get a lil more excited with each conversation.

here’s a list of our plans thus far:

go Christmas caroling
cookie exchange
sleepovers every night
cuddling
SHOPPING
sledding
help check trap line. (they caught 2 bobcat this year already.)
non stop talking

I would love to hear where you will be spending your holidays… and the the thrilling adventures you want to go on.

thankfulness {day 2}

2011-11-17T23:04:00.001-08:00

good morning my beautiful friends.

I’m continuing on… in my 7 days of gratitude.

I’m getting really anxious for December 21st to pop up on the calendar…

so I can go home for Christmas.

I have been super homesick so…

today just had to be on {home}.

I am thankful for {home}… and everything that means.

the big, white, house, on the hill…

all the crazies inside.

and the epically good times.

thankfulness {day 1}

2011-11-17T19:57:00.001-08:00

its officially the countdown for thanksgiving folks.

and boy do I have a lot to be thankful for.

over the next seven days I want to give you seven things I am thankful for.

thankful for mexico and what it has taught me.

to see the world from a different perspective.

find every excuse to throw a party with lots of friends, dress up, and eat food. good food.

listen to music... loud.

simple things bring the most joy.

greet everyone with a kiss.

use my horn.

smile. always. even through freakishly horrible situations.

make do without.

hold things with an open hand.

and appreciate the tiniest things.

you can’t stop storms

2011-11-14T15:45:00.001-08:00

this weekend was one of the best.

it came with its challenges but I wouldn’t trade one for 1000 perfect days.

we woke up saturday morning with NO rain and we planned to played hard, outside, doing everything you can’t do inside, until the drops of rain grew too large to dodge. then move into the empty tent and play indoor games until supper. we invited the parents of the children for supper and planned on picking them up at 4:30pm. a campfire would follow supper with lots of singing, marshmallows, and sharing.

lets just say that the first part of the day went off as planned.

three legged soccer

uvas {mexican version of sharks and minnows}

freeze dance

some of you may remember the story about the family with the little boy with leukemia I shared a few weeks back. if not read about it {here}. I was so excited to welcome the three little sisters for the first time to {rancho Genesis}. I peppered them with kisses the whole day.

after lunch we started feeling little drops of water and decided to head into the tent to play table games.

it was so much fun to see the excitement in the kids faces as they waited outside the tent as we prepared all the games. you would have thought we just gave them tickets to {Disney Land}. and then… for a solid hour they played.

I played about one hundred games of uno [not]. I loved every minute of it. it was very peaceful sitting indian style on the floor, hearing raindrops on the tarp roof over head, jamming out to spanish tunes, and looking around watching the happiness, the love, the relationships forming between two cultures.

during our veggie tales, the rain let loose and the water started leaking {pouring} in at every nook and cranny. the kitchen had a literal river flowing through it. the carpets in the tents started to become soaked. the rain was so loud and hard you had to scream over the noise.

after some quick thinking and a roll of black garbage bags we packed all the niños, volunteers, and food baskets up in two 15 passenger vans and made the long wet trip back to the community.

this is where the pictures ended due to pure crazy-ness.

I was reflecting on two thoughts as I sloshed through 6-12 inches of water this weekend…

one---

rain once again took on a new meaning… it doesn’t just mean a picnic ruined. it means cold babies, sickness, standing water, dirt floors turned into mud floors, and so much more. the longer I live in Mexico I realize to a deeper extent the other world, outside of mine.

two---

we were prepared for the rain. we had all our bases covered. but all the preparation in the world couldn’t stop the storm. just like the storms of life it’s our job to be ready for them so that the water doesn’t carry us away. from there it is up to us how we respond to each situation and our choice in our reactions and attitudes. but the devastating damage that hurts and leaves you exhausted is real.

we dropped all the niños off at their homes, gave away all the food baskets, and prayed for each family. it was dark by then and the rain still hadn’t let up. our toes were wet and aching from the cold but no one complained. as we headed back to the ranch we were all thinking the same thing. {how can we complain about one disastrous saturday, when for these families this is a reality every time it rains?}

after supper we found half of a dry tent, put on some coffee and hot chocolate, wrapped up in blankets, worshipped Jesus in song and sharing where we saw Him that day. ending the day in I can’t remember how many games of mafia.

ahhh… good times!

I love fresh new mornings with no storms.

I’d love to hear how this story resonates with you.

Tweet tweet!

2011-11-11T07:34:00.001-08:00

I’m doin’ it… YUP im on twitter. never thought I’d see the day but… it’s here folks.

http://twitter.com/#!/TiffanyJoyChmel

have a beautiful day…

{preparing for rain}

2011-11-10T21:53:00.001-08:00

yes my beautiful friends it’s the rainy season here in Mexico {and when it rains it pours}. plus with the horrible drainage systems, {or the lack thereof} it makes things ten times worse!

last weekend we had activities at the ranch with these beautiful people.

these niños are some of the original families that Genesis worked with. they use to live in close proximity to the ranch but now many have moved to neighboring towns. we get the great opportunity of bringing them back to the ranch once a month to play.

despite the fact that it rain up until the wee hours of that morning… it turned out to be a gorgeous day and we were able to carry on with all our plans. {thank goodness because we had no backup plan.}

it was a little muddy driving into the ranch on the{mud} road but I’m always looking for a good ‘ol iowa {mudding} experience. {please someone tell me they know what that is}

this week we have invited 18 niños from {durango} to play at the ranch on Saturday. it sounds as if a rain storm wants to join in the fun too. but this time we have out rain or shine plans in place. we are ultra prepared.

yesterday afternoon Alex and I moved all of the mattresses and bunks from one of the tent/dorms into another, in order to have a shelter to play all the indoor games we can possibly wrap our little minds around. {I think we might be crazy. thinking we can keep that many littles entertained and us sane for 7 hours in one 20x20 tent… whee}

we pulled all the table games we could possibly get our fingers on. {candy land, mancala, twister, and uno were defiantly in the mix.}

we bought a 24 pack of microwave popcorn for a movie in the afternoon. {I smell veggie tales in spanish brewing. my favorite!}

I was happily, thrilled, {yup} to find a TON of play dough. {check}

we made sure to go to all measures to make sure that this weekend is a success, rain or shine. all this preparation made me think about what kinds of lengths I should go to, in order to prepare myself for storms in my life.

now not every storm gives us this much warning. it’s not like signs drop down from heaven telling you when you’re car is going to break down, that you are going to loose your job, or that a family member is going to be sick. sometimes those things hit us blindside. right up side the head and BOOM. there you are totally unprepared. what are you going to do…? what am I going to do…?

I think the key {not that I got this all figured out or together… NOPE} is to obviously get ready before hand by using all the defenses {Jesus} has given us.

{Ephesians}

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.

¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹² For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

¹³ Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶ withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

¹⁸ with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints,

I like how it says “…and, having done all to stand. Stand…” that simply means all we need to do is prepare, prepare, prepare, and then wait for the rain or the shine. {simple right? not!} but we get the concept and we keep trying to prepare more, standing through rain storms, and always rejoicing in hope.

in my own heart I feel it’s in a constant state of preparation.

and for this weekend we are ready… but stay tuned for lots of stories {I’m sure} of our adventures.

xoxo

chapter 27 volume III

2011-11-08T22:17:00.001-08:00

this is a story that has made my heart hurt from the very beginning.

join me as I share with you only a chapter of the many in a story of one family who is hurting like so many others.

grab a Kleenex box… you’ll need it. I know I do.

: : : : : :

this little pink house lives Lupita, a single mom with six kids, her mom, and two uncles. one day Amanda (my missionary friend} went to visit their family and found her flat on her back in bed pale, weak and obviously very sick. she had been hemorrhaging for six days and explained that she didn’t bleed as much if she was lying down. the doctor had told her nothing was wrong and believed it would go away in a few days.

we were able to help financially with the bus fares, medical exams, and test that she needed and found out that the bleeding was being caused by a cancerous tumor eight centimeters in size. it was so amazing how God allowed us to become aware and were able to help with chemotherapy, radiation, and other needed doctors appointments.

in the following weeks and months it was so encouraging to visit and see her propped up reading her bible or finding her tucked into bed with one of her ninos. she always had a huge smile on her face and greeted us with a kiss on the cheek you could see her strength and hope of life.

last week Amanda went alone to the house and found her in bed like usual but something was different. she didn’t lift her head, her eyes were puffy and red, she didn’t smile, the house was dirtier then usual, and flies were the main occupants. as they began to talk Lupita shared that she had just returned from the hospital and had received the news that the cancer had spread to different parts of her body. there was a mass on her leg the size of a softball. the hospital was not going to treat her any more and sent her home with pain medicine to die.

today I had the chance to visit Lupita and she shared with us how she shared with her kids the news of her disease that was eating her body. as she spoke I saw so much fear and pain in her eyes. pain that surpassed the pain of the growing cancer that filled her body. she wasn’t afraid to die but afraid to leaving six babies under the age of twelve behind.

tears filled her eyes as she shared the response of her second to youngest little boy, the news that she was going to heaven very soon. he told her that he didn’t want her to go to heaven. as she got up to go to the bathroom he said {mama… where are you going? are you going to heaven now?}

please pray for this family as they struggle through so many fears and pain. pray for Amanda and I as we try to come up with the words to comfort.

::photo dump::

2011-11-04T23:22:00.001-07:00

flooded streets after a little rain… what the what??? bad drainage system people.

sports poses… oh ya! thank you photos for sports equipment donations.

my little store that’s around the corner from my house. {MY store. act like I own it or somethin.} sells the BEST corn tortillas. mm-mm- good

never can quite have enough photos of my niños chiquitos.

DorisMar received her birth certificate this week. she now is able to go to school.

cake in the nose is always nice.

{is that a cow in the bed of his truck?} just another *{movie}

who seriously gets tired of balloons??? loooove.

it’s been a good week my beautiful friends. tell me about yours. I’d love to hear.

have a super happy weekend. talk to you monday!

xoxo

*{movies} are what we call interesting things that we may see while we are [out-n-ab-out]. always lookin for a good movie folks. and we see ‘em here. we do.

heart

thursday quicky

2011-11-03T22:29:00.001-07:00

hola mis amores. hope your thursday was full of laughter.

meet Susanna and her sister. sweet little girls who’s brother is battling {leukemia}. they live with their dad in {durango} along with an older brother and a younger sister. their faces are always smudged with dirt which gave them the official title of {the dirty lil’ girls}. their hair is mattered because mom is in {Tijuana} and dad works and has no time to care for them. they’re alone most of the time. thankfully they have a sweet neighbor mom who showers them as often as she can. she too has a family and limited resources. the hospital stay will only last until may. non of them have birth certificates and it is illegal to stay in the hospital without one. praise Jesus he got permission to stay that long.

as I found out more information I realized that this situation is more devastating then what lay at the surface. I learned that this family migrated north from {wahaca} and the parents speak the {wahaca} dialect and hardly any spanish. non of them have any official documents or papers. the parents can’t remember what city the kids were born in or what their parents names are. they have no education and struggle to answer simple questions like {what is your name}. they are poor. they have no money. they lack recourses.

all this makes it quite impossible to get a birth certificate for this sick boy.

I can’t even fathom not knowing my where I’m from, let alone not knowing my parents names? this all feels so big. how do you begin to fight this giant?

as a ministry, we have took on this long tedious task of getting this little boy help, which starts with legal documents. please pray for all of us.

[these are their faces]

::culture::

2011-11-02T21:42:00.001-07:00

good evening my beautiful friends…

don’t these balloons just make you smile??? they do me… ahh--- {I love balloons}

last night I Amanda and I put on a birthday bash for a little five year old niño but… that’s getting ahead of myself.

performances---

first of all… bright and early in the morning… we went to the little country school in {durango}, to watch our kids put on a dance performance,

we found out AFTER we got to the school that the dancing was in honor of the Mexican holiday [día de los muertos] wich is [day of the dead]. WONderful. haha. love this holiday. despite that morbid fact, I found it to be a very cultural experience and still thoroughly enjoyed myself.

[día de los muertos] is basically equivalent to our [memorial day] but not. it has more cultural and religious aspects involved. some people really only look at it as a time to remember loved ones. while others sacrifice the little they have in order to awaken the souls of the dead and hopefully make them happy and satisfy them. they go to family members graves and decorate little alters of flowers, food, toys, candies, jewelry, anything that the souls of their loved ones might enjoy. the goal is to encourage visits from the souls, so that the souls might be able to hear the prayers and comments of the living directed to them. celebrations last up to three days.

as I was driving today I saw bunches of flowers being sold, people kneeling at alters, and offerings of food. I thought once again of the awesome privilege I have to show these beautiful people Christ's love through having a relationship with them and just getting into their lives even if it means going to a [day of the dead dance].

I love the fact that I just get to love on them by telling them about Jesus. right now, twice a month, we are doing a saturday activities with the kids in {durango}. each week along with a bunch of organized games, coloring books, and crafts, we are teaching on one of the major stories of the bible in chronological order. {it’s only gonna take us one hundred years to finish.}

won’t it be awesome to get to heaven someday and see all the lives that are being impacted by just simple acts of love???

the niñas were dressed to perfection. complete with big grown-up earrings, colorful ribbons, and lots of make-up. I couldn’t help but drool over them, nor stop my {snap-ity snap finger}. they were quite obliging.

my favorite dance was the pineapple dance.

I’m not exactly sure what this dance was but… there was about fifteen kids bent over, hobbling with canes like old people, wearing hats with rainbow streamers, dancing little jigs here and there. quite hilarious. I think it might have been the dead dance… morbid I know. haha.

I’m not for sure, but sometimes, I think I know what it must feel like to be a mom. clapping like a crazy woman, beaming from ear to ear with pride after I see them succeed in something, being able to give them the {evil-mom-eye} and they know exactly what your talking about. seriously some days… I feel these niños are mine.

and of course… no fiesta is complete without comida.

tamales are where its AT! yum…

parties---

there are three guys who live at our ranch to watch over it during the winter months when we are only there on occasional weekends. Enrique, [one of the head guys] has two kids, who now live with him after he came clean from drugs and alcohol.

Amanda {my bestie that I get to work with} tutors Rita twice a week and both of us take the kids out every once in awhile since they lack on good quality {girl time}. when we found out it was Angels birthday we quickly transformed the house into a {birthday wonder} complete with helium balloons. {YA}

note the awesome house built around an RV. {su-wee-t}

one BIG happy family

sorry about the awkward lighting. horrible lighting in that little house. {flash or no flash that was the question}

in mexican culture its tradition after the birthday song is sung to chant {mordida, mordida, mordida} which is basically like a bribe to take a bite. when they go in for the bite someone pushes their head into the cake. my favorite part of last night was after we sang, or course we started chanting {mordida} and before we could push angels face into the cake he had done it himself. PRICELESS!

did you know that 1 minute of laughter boosts your immune system for 24 hours??? so laugh a lot!!!

night

monday

2011-10-31T19:29:00.001-07:00

hola mijas… hope your weekend was absolutely beautiful. mine was. I got to experience for the first time a clothing giveaway in our {durango}. over the past few months groups that have been visiting our ranch have brought loads and loads of beautiful clothes for the migrant families that we work with. on friday night we loooooooo-aded up bags and bags of {la ropa} into our beautiful blue scooby-doo van in preparation for saturaday morning. we arrived in {durango} around 8:50am and already there were about 50 mama’s and their niños already waiting for us. in about 30 minutes our store was open for bid-ness.

I wish I had pictures to show you of my saturday but… the droves of people kept me quite busy and there was no time to snap photos. sad day.

and I had the awesome privilege to do it all with these {amigos bonitos}.

it was quite a treat to have my dear friend {laura from san diego} with me again this weekend. {big girl sleepover} normally she’s with me almost every weekend due to the awesome fact that her {novio} lives here in mexico and works with me. it had been a few weeks {100 to be exact} NOT. but it felt like it.

{laura}: she’s the kinda friend that is great at listening. one that I don’t only feel comfortable crying to but--- she cries with me. she’s the kinda friend that pays close attention to my wants and needs. always bringing me little surprises. and she’s never afraid to go on crazy adventures with me. she’s grrrrrreat.

by the way… happy halloween! this year I’m not dressing up in anything extravagant, not going on no candy walks, nor shouting [trick or treat], or any thing of that sort. now before you feel too sorry for me I must tell you that I have never celebrated halloween due to my family having convictions against it. so I don’t really feel left out. I don’t necessarily like all the scary stuff that goes along with this holiday but I do think it would be fun to go to a party where I could get all dressed up in a super awesome couple costume like this couple…

compliments of: http://steveandjessmarcum.blogspot.com/

but I’d wanna do it with this super awesome hunk of a guy…

{stay tuned for mystery man to be revealed soon}

I celebrated in my own way. by shampooing {yes you heard me right} the halloween scary, roight outta me hairs. and boy did it feel gooood. folks… I do believe I’m on to something here. I still believe normal shampoo is bad for your hair but… the soda was also making my hair SUPER-duper dry and almost started building up in my hair. I also didn’t have any good conditioner so my hair literally felt like good ‘ol iowa straw. I’m still contemplating different ideas but for now I’m going to try only shampooing once a week. I am in the process of searching for good organic shampoos on the internet. {I’m totally open for suggestions}

bu-bye. bu-bye now bicarbonato de sodio puro.

I did my most favorite activity today. {grocery shopping} NOT. I really never liked doing it in the states, only to come here and dislike it even more. I don’t really know why but things are just so different and hard to switch over to buying mexican brands. BUT… I pulled myself up by my boot straps and headed over the mountain/hill to do the dreadful thing.

as I came driving down the other side… I was instantly glad that I had decided to shop today. the ocean had a thick fog over it and the view was absolutely breath taking.

plus I once again had my little pantry stocked. TOTES amazing.

I also got my laundry done.

snaps

tonight a slipped into my favorite {payless} slippers, grabbed my colorful bag that {laura} brought down as a surprise for me, and headed to a little coffee shop 2 minutes from mi casa.

it’s much darker now and the mexico night air is cool. defiantly not iowa fall cool but nonetheless I think I’ll be headed home.

get excited for tomorrows post. it all has to do with performances and parties. weee---

Spunky-ness is what I love

2011-10-26T23:12:00.001-07:00

Hello beautifuls--- tonight is just a few pictures of a little boy that showed up to tutoring today because his older sister was babysitting because, no one was home to care for him. His name is Brian and I ‘m in love with all his five year old adorable-ness.

I remember when I met him in the spring he caught my attention right from the start. He had that face of complete [I’m-up-to-no-good-but-I’m-cute] look. Yet carried himself like a thirty year old man.

We sat under a little bush and made silly faces at each other.

And ever since then we’ve been best buds. Today when I gave him his math exam he really cheesed it up for the camera. {love}

My {glory}

2011-10-25T22:15:00.001-07:00

{But if a woman has long hair, it is her glory to her.} 1 Corinthians 11:15 I’ve found this verse to be true for me. My hair is my baby [glory]. As woman there seems to always be that [one] thing that is super duper important to us and our appearance. Like for my seester, that would be her [hollywood] smile. Maybe for another chica its her makeup. But for me… for me its my hair. Hands down.

I started reading some blogs about two weeks ago that talked about the harm of shampoo and the benefits of using alternatives, and I was totally intrigued. I’m always looking for a way to improve the look and longevity of my [glory] and plus I was freaked out by the reality of what I was putting in my hair. So two weeks ago… I set out on my experiment. I cant’t believe I’m doing all this. [Nasty]

Señoras y señores… this is me… showing off my two week nasty-ness.

This is what I learned.

{one} Shampoo was introduced in the 20th century because regular good old soap wasn’t cutting it. The water started becoming more mineral heavy and soap made peoples hair stick up weird and have funky cowlicks and scaly scalps [or something like that]. So they started marketing shampoo as a product that would work in hard and soft water without the lovely cowlick look. Of course leaving out the part about it striping your hair of all the naturel oils that your body produces in order for your hair to be healthy, soft, shiny, and strong.

sum it up: It’s harsh.

{two} Most shampoos contain mineral oil in them which is basically like gasoline… or so I read that it is a by product when gasoline is distilled from crude oil… so ya. This along with other harmful chemicals are added to shampoo to coat the strands with a thick coat of artificial shine. [yummy]

sum it up: It’s harsh.

HAha--- this face tells all. Not sure what to think.

The question that’s on everybody's mind is… what DO I use to clean the Mexico grime out of my hair. Two words [baking soda and vinegar]. I wash with 1 tablespoon of soda to 1 cup of warm water and rinse with 1 tablespoon of vinegar to 1 cup of warm water.

In my studies I learned that there could be a possible 2 to six week “detox” period where my hair could be greasy, grimy, and gross {pure excitement} The reason is… your hair is so use to you stripping it of all the necessary oils and then going into the over producing mode. When you stop using shampoo your hair takes some time to settle down into normal oil production. Google told me to wear my hair in braids during this time. {thank you google}

THE UGLY: sudden urges for a good soapy lather and a little extra oil towards the end of the day.

THE GOOD: curls are nicer and I wake up to real shine.

I’m giving this a good three weeks and if I don’t get more results then this… I’m going back. [not sold yet]

(now I know why I couldn’t find many pictures of before and afters… its hard to photograph hair.)

It never ceases to amaze me how I can make one stop and get; 2 tacos, one bag of mango gummies and a car wash. Tonight was one of those nights. I stopped by a taco stand after tutoring in {durango} and got all that for around 60 pesos. I love Mexico!

Wish I would have been brave enough to shoot some more pictures tonight. But after you’ve lived in Mexico for awhile… and the muchachos at the taco stand know you… you start feeling kinda weird acting like a tourist and all. (hate when I get shy like that.)

Buenos noches amigos

The faces in my day

2011-10-18T20:22:00.001-07:00

I have to be the most blessed girl in the world. To have all these wide eyed, brown skinned, toothy grinned, ninos, love on me four days out of the week. Really people I realize more and more everyday how blessed I really am.

I don’t always act as if I’m loved by a God that wants to know the deepest, most intimate, parts about me. Who wants an everyday, moment by moment relationship with me.

I choose to walk around defeated and discouraged when in reality I serve THE God who already overcame death and the grave.

A year ago, October thirteenth, I wrote a short entry in my journal that read…

[casting all my cares upon HIM for HE cares for Tiffany Joy Chmelar.]

Proceeding that sentence I listed out all my cares that I wished to throw at HIS feet. Some things were small like having no winter clothes or eating healthier. While other things felt big; paying off my two speeding tickets {ya. same cop. same week. same speed. as my brotherinlaw would say in his sing songy voice… AWk-ward}, relational conflict in my family, or wrestling with the thought of moving to mexico.

As I look over the list I see little check marks and dates scribbled next to each item symbolizing those cares being cared for by not me but the ultimate problem solver. and each one is like Jesus pleading {your cared for. your loved. look. I did it a year ago. I want to do it again and again everyday for the rest of your life. so start casting your new list at me an watch me do what you can’t do.}

This journey, the last two years, has shown me more about the Fathers heart and His extravagant compassion, then I could have ever imagined. A journey that requires me to give more of myself every single day. A journey that took me from living in Iowa, to living in Baja Mexico. A journey of trying to find the funds for a week long mission trip, to a year commitment of serving and loving on orphans, widows and the {least of these}. The journey isn’t over yet. And so I keep learning and loving and hoping that each lesson will go a lil’ deeper.

So that is what I will do and what I encourage each of you to do. Make a list. BIG things all the way down to the teeny-est most tiny-est thing you can think of. [maybe like… your going or you WENT shampoo-less a week ago. and you really really really want to just jump in the shower right now, and suds up your hair so much so, that the whole bathroom would turn into a bathtub of bubbles. but your too stubborn because you made a pact with yourself to stick with it for at least three weeks. so you feel sad.] <--- ya. I’ll be writing that one down on my list because well… that would be me. {blog post coming SOON}. Start throwing off those burdens.

Thanks to all of you who show Jesus’ love by caring for me by helping with my fund raising, praying for me on a daily basis, sending me care packages, encouraging me through your words, and walking beside me {to all you who live on this side of the fence with me.} I <3 you!

Just two more photos of abuelita and perrito. They like to show up to class every once in awhile. I actually love it. Grandma has a bad case of the {forgetfuls} and repeats herself a lot. but I love it. makes my day every time.

I’m off to pull some butternut squash out of the oven. Hello fall. {even though I’m having a hard time believing it with the incredibly warm temperatures.} going through withdrawals.

my lounge around day

2011-10-17T17:27:00.001-07:00

this is the epitome of lounging clothes. half pajamas half not. <3

when you grow up in a family of nine+ crazies running around… there’s never a complete, perfect, solitude, moment of silence. let alone a whole entire day. in order to {get away}, you would have to hide. closets, tree fort, walk on the gravel road, cars, grandpas house, sheep shed, were all great spots for a moment of {personal getaway}. not that you wanted it to be forever. that would be downright boring. it was kinda like a game. like {see how long it takes for a sibling to find you} sorta play. as soon as the escapee was found the {aha’s, caught ya’s} and laughing would ensue.

mondays are my days off here in mexico. I use to really hate them because it meant a whole day of {personal getaway} and that was a hard adjustment for me. I was seriously lost, didn’t know what to do or think, couldn’t stay focused, felt lazy, and an entourage of other problems.

today I reflected a lot on the quietness and how its ok to have days like this. it’s a good time on reflection, nap taking, show watching, making little projects, nothingness, catching up on home church teachings, staying in your lounging clothes {all day}, and most of all {not feeling bad about it}. because this is a season in my life that may only happen once. its all about personal growth and choices on how I look at this adventure called life. plus im probably the only one in the world who gets a day off that looks like this.

so here’s to mondays! CHEERS!

testing {windows live writer}

2011-10-16T23:04:00.001-07:00

my stab at being artsy the other day with one of the girls in durango.

I was reading on a blog today… 5 tips on how to have an awesome blog. one of her suggestions was to download {windows live writer}. so with a lil’ help from the most amazing, wonderful, smartest, computer geek in the worldwideweb and wholewideworld, bao bei… I was in bid-ness.

this allows me to upload pictures and videos faster, also make my picture size however big or small I want, and a butt load of other stuff I have yet to discover.

here’s a little test to see how I like it… let the adventures begin!

my day in a photo dump

2011-10-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

woke up like this...

...and it kinda stuck with me the rest of the day. kinda.

got to tutor these adorable ninos.

this baby showed up with his older brother.

i got to amuse him with crayons and paper.

this is the stare he would give me when i would color an object and say it in my broken spanish.

arbol.

nube.

sol.

poor kid. totally freaked. like who is this lady? isn't he a doll though?

this is the beautiful community called {durango}.

i love this place.

i love driving through, seeing and hearing shouts and waves.

sitting in the homes building and bonding, drinking

weak coffee, and munching on cookies bought specially for me.

watching the learning progress increase with every math quiz.

ahh...

gives me chills.

this is exactly where i'm suppose to be.

after a good lunch of three quesadillas (con todo)- i headed to the ranch to pick up supplies for tomorrows work day.

i couldn't get over the clouds and the super blue sky today. hung out the window the whole drive home.

next saturday we are having a dental clinic and a carnival for some of the community families. a church group from the {estados unidos} is coming down for the weekend. it should be a high ol' time but that calls for some prep work {manana}.

thus... the many random scenic photos.

i got really- really homesick tonight.

thinkin about my favorite forever family in the whole-wide-world.

last years hunt for a christmas tree.

super thankful for my mexico family.

alex and amanda

wanting something fierce to see flat, green, nothingness. (not that iowa's green right now but it's a bunch of other awesome color shades.)

missing this little white house on the hill, with the grandpa house behind the garage, and the two lovlies on the porch.

its official ladies and gents. tonight i bought my ticket home thanks to my amazing bao bei... {thank you love!} in a short 62 days i'll be home. that feels sooo good to say. im gonna say it again.

"tiffany chmelar... you'll be HOME!"

good night loves!

big.blue.beaut. and pintrest.play.

2011-10-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

this beautiful piece of machinery {as i like to call it} is my lovey kick around car. she's a bus, a tutoring supply van, and you name it... she probably is that too. i wanted to be sure everyBODY meets her because she plays a vital role in our lives here in mexico.

she's very special; don't take her up hills [you might not make it], she only unlocks from the passenger side [talk about weird stares], her windshield wipers are on the blink [i mean the b.b.blink], at times she wont start [secure], and a number of other delightful, no extra charge, problemOs.

i want to be sure you have all the angles you need to really get the full effect of the beaut.

you might not know... [probably not because i never told you] but i have an addiction to {pintrest}. its really bad. its almost become my new {google} (gasps) because of my {pintrest} love... myself and i have come up with a deal. as long as i allow {pintrest} to inspire me to make a change, sew a craft, organize, etc. a few times a month... i can keep my habit. so far i've been quite successful.

tonight's inspiration sewn/fabric thank you cards for my supporters!

because {pintrest} has been such an inspiration... i already have a christmas present made. i used scraps from the leftover fabrics to make my cards tonight. (haha... freakin thrifty too. thats 2 for 1. BOW-chica-WOWwow.)

one of these cards might be coming to a box near you!

rain and other {nonsense}

2011-10-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

hello my dear amigos. sorry about the long drawn out time away from this lil corner of the world.wide.web. but i have a problem. big {probs bobs}. when my seester (check her smashinglyamazing blog out) took the trek back across the fence into the [landofthefreeandhomeofthebrave] she took more then her share of things to take. she took my camera charger and left hers. so the story goes like this... over time your camera battery dies. without a live battery your camera worketh not. without a charger there's no way to breath the breath of life {chi as SOMEONE says} back into it. with all that mess i just wrote about... you have-eth not any inspiration. i really believe photography is what inspires me to write so without it im lost!

*here's a photo from earlier days. {yonki} i think thats what they call junkyards.

::::

it looked like it could rain all day. i got so excited my whole out look on what could have been a very long day changed. a bunch of us staff were working at the ranch preparing for our weekend group that's coming. there was lots of work. dirty work. the kinda work that makes you really feel like blah and bleh and meh. today i was perfectly happy being preoccupied with the weather... thinking about all the things i love about rain and why. i have been wanting it to rain for about a week now. here in mexico it only rains in the winter and in the spring. but sometimes the weather teases a lot. making you believe it's going to pelt you with little happy whimsical drops that say {play in me. dance in me. think of all your childhood rain memories.} but then it gets sunny and perfectly beautiful and i get sad. but today was different. i knew {mr. storm} wouldn't let me down.

::::

i always remember from a wee child on... mom letting us {seven} go out and play in the rain. but only in the warm rains, without any [lightening], and only the slightest hint of [thunder]. it was always the "big thing to do" on perfect rain stormy days. if it was a cold rain we would down over sized carhartt coats or dads big flannel jacket and roller blade in the garage or hang out in our tree fort or head to the sheep shed and play with kittens. {all depending on where ever we happened to be living at the time.} rain was always welcomed on hot, muggy, afternoons weeding the garden. it meant you could straighten our your crooked back, dump the last bucket of weeds, and put away your hoes. the next day the weeds would pull like butter. rain also meant the next day the creek would be high and the high ol' times that could be had.

::::

as i thought about all the fond memories that i have when it comes to rain... i started thinking about the families we work with here at {genesis}. what does rain mean to them? rain means dirt floors turn into mud, soggy outdoor fires, leaky rotten or tarped roofs, wet, cold, sickness. far from my fond memories of lazy rainy days. living in mexico brings a different prospective on what i know.

::::

you will be happy to know that mr. storm did in fact follow through with his plans for today. because at the end of the day as i drove home in the big blue missionary van the skies started leaking and i had mixed emotions as i thought and prayed for all the little boys and girls in the world who are in the rain tonight.

{Durango}

2011-09-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

happy monday! it is very sunny and windy in mexico today. i was talking to my family and they told me that the weather in iowa is rainy and cold. i realized today, how much i actually miss rainy weather. the last time we actually had rain here in mexico was in march or april, right after i moved here. crazy how time flies.

since we do activities every saturday with the ninos in different communities our weekends are sunday and monday. sooo... today is my day off and im filling my time with getting some things done that i keep putting off until LATER. {u huh} cleaning my fridge, practicing worship songs on the guitar, learning {spanish folk songs} on my violin (haven't told you all about my new adventures at the nursing home i've been visiting. but that will come soon), going out for a run, cleaning and vacuuming my room, and watching {50 first dates} in between all that. my awesome and amazing seester found me this website that i can watch movies here in mexico for frEEEEE. but the only down side to this is that it takes all day to watch a movie. i wait for it to load a 15 minutes while i do my work and come back to watch 10 minutes of movie. sigh... the things i will do.

since i spend most of my week in this little community of {durango}, i wanted to give you a bigger glimpse into what it looks like.

i love this place. its an odd mixture of tiny brick houses and quick shelters that consist of garage door walls and blue tarps for roofs. we work with about one hundred and fifty families. all with real needs. some more then others but all with one common need. {Jesus}

depending on the time of day you may see no one around or lots of kids in the streets kicking a soccer ball, moms sweeping dirt,or boys pushing strollers with water jugs. its fun to drive in and wave and here the kids call out our names.

on tuesdays through fridays we tutor around thirty plus kids ranging from six to twelve. unless of course mom and dad are both working in the fields and baby brother has to tag along. usually we always have a baby and a few dogs accompanying us during our classes.

i usually work on addition with the kids. we give them a simple {addition by one} math quiz with eight problems on it. if they finish it within ten seconds they get to move on to {addition by two's}. if not we do the same quiz again next week.

i also help the little kids with simple number or letter recognition activities. it's so cute how {into it} they get.

we tutor for about two hours. the first hour we work on creative writing by asking the kids a question like; "if you had a magic wand, what would you do with it?" or we read a short story to them and have them write down the three main parts. a lot of these kids struggle with writing just one sentence. the schools here push kids along before they even get the very basics. the first hour we also try to teach the kids a new math concept. the second hour we help the kids with any home work that they've brought along.

i think one of my favorite parts is keeping the little ones entertained while their older siblings are wroking on homework.

coloring always works!

every other saturday we have play days with the kids here in durango. all of them are invited so anywhere from thirty to sixty kids show up. we bring sports equipment and coloring books and just play. we put on a skit which teaches a bible concept. crafts are always the kids highlight.

here are a few smiles from last saturday.

that's a day in the life of {durango} folks.

as a side note: my bestie {laura miracle greer} came again this weekend. love when she does that. can i just say... i love her heart for mexico and the ninos! and plus she rocks my world with all the little things she brings for me on a regular basis. this weekends toy was {miniature table ping pong} how adorable!

sometimes...

2011-09-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

... you have to just take a walk on the beach and write love notes to {him}.

i saw the ocean for the first time last april of 2010 and the {love of God} took on a whole new meaning for me. as i ran into the ocean, i was overwhelmed at the thought of how much {he} loves me. let alone the whole universe.

during summer camp, we always have a beach day with the ninos. it's so neat to see the excitement in their eyes as they stare at the waves, run up and down the shore gathering as many shells as their little hands can hold, or writing their names in the sand.

i started a little tradition after my many trips to the beach. i call them [love notes to Jesus]. when i go to the ocean i try to write messages to Jesus. telling {him} how much i love {him}. its one of the ways i love to love on {him}

instead of learning to worship {him} because {he} is good or sitting quietly to wait on {him}--- i find myself lately demanding answers from {him}. do you ever get in that frantic mode of wanting it NOW? what do you do to just love onto {Jesus}?

what do you get...

2011-09-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

...when you give a red {head} some pasos?

well she'll come to mexico and grab her {MofH}...

...and run all over {ensenada} to find some brown and powdered sugar...

...sing lots of songs...

...cry a few tears...

...fry up some {wicked} {awesome} pancakes...

...talk a lot...

...serve and love on a few ninos who have less then your less...

...watch lots and lots of [shows]...

...and above all...try to explain to people why you stand {locked} in each others arms or hug each other for no reason at all or laugh over {nothing} or simply why all the love.

cause...JUST cause.

i lub her!

ps. please please please go check out her blog here. you need this blog in your life. {not gonna lie} you will laugh and cry and ultimately want to stop writing the junk you write for good. {haha} just kidding. but seriously its good stuff. ok im done. night

she's heeereee ---->

2011-09-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

i thought this day would never come--- but it's finally here. stay tuned for pure awesome-ness to come. {let the good times roll}

::sunday adventures::

2011-09-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

yesterday me and my adventure team {alex and laura} took a little road trip to visit two orphanages that came to {rancho genesis} the last few years. it was such a treat to go see where these precious little babies live and connect with them on a more intimate level.

{lily of the valley} is right in the middle of a city so there's lots of cement walls. it was neat to see how creative the kids are at making up games. i was helping catch flies at one point. <3

always an on going soccer game happening.

this little guy wanted my undivided attention the whole time. if i didn't give it to him he would hit me. he probably had some form of attachment disorder and needs prayer.

i melt whenever i see big brown eyes.

{la promesa} is an orphanage that use to be located in the city of {tijuana}. about three years ago the owner of the building that they were living in decided to sell without telling the orphanage. one day the new owners showed up with the police and literally kicked them out on the streets. through a series of miracles, God provided a old hotel for the orphanage to move into. so beautiful and a very happy place.

the boys enjoyed showing off their back flips into the indoor pool.

the family room was very cozy and inviting.

after a day full of lovely children, lots of laughter, and endless hugs and kisses, we asked ourselves why we don't do this every weekend.

"what did you learn from this?"

2011-09-09T20:45:00.001-07:00

this is a simple little statement that my {dad} use to always says after one of the {seven} of us would make a mistake or mess up. he was always would help us out of our messes but he wanted to be sure we always learned something.

i remember one distinct time my sister {grace} spilled a whole glass of milk. maybe it was a whole gallon. but anyways who's counting. [and {grace-ee girl} looooooves milk]. as she looked up from the ground {dad} asked his famous question. and i don't exactly know why but the seven of us started laughing so hard im pretty sure we all split a gut.

today as i was making me some breakfast, [bagel under a layer of creamy, soft, rich, cream cheese] i spilled a whole bag of sugar out of my cupboard. and tonight i spilled m-n-m's. i couldnt help but laugh thinking about what my dad would have said. ahh... good times!

i am getting more and more excited about tutoring in {durango}. four times a week we will be helping two different groups of twenty-five plus ninos with homework, teaching new skills, and playing educational games. today we went into that {community} to scout out a few places we can turn into a school room for the day. we found one temporary spot. the ceiling is made of green leaves and brown branches. the floor is red dirt/dust. and there's no end to how many ninos we can fit into this creative space. {love} livin life here. so simple.

this sweet little girl and her three beautiful sisters kill me with those {BiG bRoWn} eyes... every dog-on time i see them. love the relationships that are growing.

that's all for today folks. sweet dreams!

{morning thoughts}

2011-09-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

¹ God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

² Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.

^3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?

^5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden's dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.

⁹ God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.

often times as i fall asleep at night, i have a tendency to always think of problems and worry. when i wake up in the morning i usually feel discouraged. last night after i read this psalms there was no way i could lay awake worrying. so instead, i decided to fall asleep telling [Jesus] how awesome [He] is. i woke up thinking about [Him] and [His] greatness. i was so delighted.

as i looked at my room this morning i started laughing at the lovey mixture of decorations that i have accumulated from my lovely friends and family. it made me giggle and i wanted to share with you...

tutoring and crows

2011-09-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

today felt somewhat lazy. we spent the day in the office brainstorming ideas for our upcoming tutoring sessions that we will hold in the little community of {durango}, organizing the tutoring boxes, looking at the month and year ahead of us, our own little {to do} lists, went to {kiss it} for lunch, (very interesting name for an italian restaurant i know) starting the process of building our very own {library on wheels} to take with us to the {durango}, and taking a quiz on what our animal personalities are. i happened to be a {crow}. a CROW?!? really people? me? a CROW? i was literally having a cow. but those tests always make me nervous. where in {tarnashin} do they come up with questions like "when are you most active?" well obviously not when im sleeping so... when im awake??? but then i realize that answers not on the test and i have to go with some lame answer like... [im active whenever a new situation comes around] ...eh that doesnt describe me AT all. *sigh* those quizzes are dumb anyway.

i am now headed out for my nightly run. <3

{awkward} and [awesome] tuesday

2011-09-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

[awesome] talking to my brother two nights in a row. {awkward} the heat today that made me glow. ok. drrrrrrenched, in prespiration. [awesome] finding out that there's a street a few blocks up from my house called 'hamburguesa calle'.

[awesome] reaching the half way point on my baby blanket project. {awkward} feeling emotional over lots of {awkward} things. [awesome] watching a random basketball game in the little basketball court next to my house. {awkward} the best part of my day was listening to a free kids cd. out of a wendy's happy meal. [awesome] that Jesus is my sustenance.

[awesome] finding someone left the sprinkler on in the backyard after my run and jumping around crying and laughing praises to Him. {awkward} feeling the need to photograph this for my fan base.

eduardo

2011-07-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

hola mi amigos. <---- that felt good. i have been quite overwhelmed [i must confess] by a combination of feeling bad that i have left you all so [high and dry] wondering if i died in the desert and my dear sweet lovey MoH [sister] telling me she is craving a good blog post from me. i am happy to inform you, have finally decided to bring all my lovely readers up to speed on my life here in mexico. {if any still exist} but the naked truth is i don't know where to start. so i'll start one story at a time.

here at {rancho genesis} we just finished up our {two} months of summer camp. so many stories, so many lovey children, are rummaging through my head. but the first little boy i want to tell you about is named [eduardo]

he was an energetic little boy full spunk, laughter, and naughtiness. but more then that he craved hugs, kisses, a simple act of just someone to play with, proper attention, or to sum it up... {love}

usually on a normal week of summer camp, we have a group of american volunteers [called amigos] come down to play with the orphans. this particular week we were amigo-less so that meant the staff of genesis got to be amigos [absolutely love]. it was now our job to not only run the programming but also be the playmates for our ninos.

i kinda really fell in love with this sweet, little, nino. [and i think im pretty safe to say he fell in love with me] some of the highlights of our week together were; eating meals and laughing at seemingly [nothing], recording videos of him singing songs and then letting him watch himself sing [one hundred times over], chasing each other around the playground, playing tag, sitting around campfires, [ahhhh] and i could go on heaps more.

the memory that stuck with me the most was friday night. we made cards the night before specifically for each nino. sharing words of affirmation, encouragement, and love. we handed them out and watched in delight as the ninos clung to each word that was written.

the next morning as i walked toward the dinning hall, the first thing i saw was my little [eduardo] running towards me, waving his card in the air, shouting "leer esto a mi" [read this to me]. of course i read it to him and at the end of the card i signed... "te quiero mucho... tiffany"

and what ensued the rest of the morning surprised me. he carried that card around saying, "te quiero mucho tippany" over and over and over. it showed me how simple life here in mexico is. it showed me how simple it is to show love. it showed me that our words are as simple as "i love you" can make all the difference in the world.

{life} as i know it...

2011-04-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

hola mi amigos! i have been super quite the last month and decided it was high time i show and tell what i've been up to in my absence. life has been a hubbub of excitement. getting ready for dozens of little ninos to come experience {rancho genesis 2011}.

here we are showing off our amazing skills called [how 3 girls and 1 guy can strategically fit 20+ benches on 1 truck and drive 10+ miles with 0 falling off] mad skills.

last year i met this little girl who lives a few miles further down the road past [rancho genesis]. i got the great opportunity to re-connect with her and experience love, joy, and peace in a way only a girl with a life threatening disease called {scleroderma} can offer.

her family has a beautiful ranch and each evening i got to take a ride on their horse. {love}

at [rancho genesis] you truly learn how to stop... and enjoy the tiniest of pleasures. {blowing bubbles} has to be up there on the list of tiny pleasures.

one of the first full weeks of spring camp the desert nights got as low as 38 degrees fahrenheit. a few mornings i woke up and asked amanda (another staff girl) what the HECK we were doing here. she quickly reminded me that it was all for [Jesus]. i agreed.

we quickly came up with a better sleeping arrangement that involved moving our bunks right up next to each other and makeing a sleeping bag tent to keep the body heat trapped inside. {it worked}

our team gets to visit families in communities that we work in on a weekly basis and we always get the royal treatment. here is a lady making homemade tortillas and gave us unlimited amounts to eat. {YUM}

on friday, after a team spends a week loving on these kids, they get to go into their homes, meet the other parts of their families, have a time to get to know them, share a special memory or affirm their child, give a food package, and pray for them. its so neat to see the response you get from the parents. they are so hungry to hear good reports about their children. the moms break down in tears. its amazing.

endless amounts of laughter with our lovely cooks and the other staff.

each week is a new adventure, learning opportunity, and gift. im so thankful that i get to serve {Jesus}. i do believe i will do it for the rest of my life!

2011-03-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

"speak up for those who cant speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice." -proverbs 31:8-9

amigas...

2011-03-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

i am so blessed to work very closely with these two lovely ladies. these two see my good side, my ugly side, they see me when im super clean and when im dirty (mexico dirty), they tell me when i stink and when i smell good, they work alongside of me and pray for me when we are apart, they hurt when i hurt, and laugh uncontrollably for NO reason at all. its so true when the bible says...

"...though one be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." -Proverbs 17:12

{bienvenidos a mi casa}

2011-03-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

here is a quick tour through and around my new little home.

::front yard::

::my street::

::living room, dinning room, office::

::view from my desk::

::kitchen::

::bedroom::

so now you all need to come to {ensenada} and recieve the REAL tour. im waiting for you.

encouraging verses of the day:

psamls 13:

5~but i have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

6~i will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me.

psalms 14:

2~the Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see it there were any that did understand, and seek God.

psalms15:

1~Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2~He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.