::sunday adventures::

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?"

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}

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

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

[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

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...

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!