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!

"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...

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}

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.

mexico car wash---

{FULL} dependence

hola amigos. as most of you know i am now ending my fourth full day in Ensenada, Mexico. it has been a very good first four days.saturday we had a work day cleaning up the [ranch], getting it prepared for spring camp to start in about two weeks. several students from the bible college here, accompanied some of the staff of [genesis] pull weeds, paint tables, clean and paint the latrines, and do some other odd jobs. saturday night some friends and i went to a carnival that was taking place in downtown ensenada. there i got to consume my first mango with chili and lime of the year. YUM! sunday i went to the english church and was happy to see old friends i had made from last summer. Alex, another staff of [genesis] and his girlfriend Laura, went grocery shopping with me. i stocked my shelf full of good things to eat. monday we headed back to the ranch to do some more cleaning and prep work. we also handed out some food in a community that is really poor. houses as big as my bedroom, no heat in the houses, (the nights get really cold here in mexico) one bed for a family of 5-6, moms washing their clothes by hand, kids with old clothes, a man with a leg brace that was being held together by shoe laces, purple sores from the plastic rubbing into the back of his leg. the highlight of my day was getting to play a random pick-up game of soccer in the streets with the kids. i made all the goals for my team. (to bad they were all 3-4th graders.) ;)

today was spent in the office preparing camp supplies. i printed and cut 1000+ name tags. very mind dulling but IMPORTANT job. ;) i also helped sort through more donations and get care bags put together for the families in derango according to thier needs. THAT was a job. alex had fun playing dress-up.

lately this thing of TOTAL or FULL dependence on Jesus has been on the for front of my mind. maybe because im in another country, maybe becasue im out of my groove, out of my comfort zone, maybe because i find myself on a daily basis at the end of myself.

what does FULL dependence mean to you? how does/has God taught this to you? for me, it means not relying on my own ideas or agendas. God usually teaches this to me by allowing all the props to fall out from under me so He can show Himself strong in my life. He does this becasue He loves me. is it scary? YES. sometimes more then others.

right before i left the US, i was trying really hard to sell my car. i really wanted to sell it so that i would have that money to live on as im down here serving in mexico. i guess you could call it my back-up plan, just in case God couldnt sell enough cows to support me. "for all the animals of the forest are mine, and i own the cattle on a thousand hills." psalms 50:10

about a week before i left for mexico, it at all fell through. my car ended up having some major issues ontop of what i already knew and the potential buyer ended up not buying it. it was like God saying- "Tiffany. why cant you trust me? why cant you have full dependence on me? you know i love you. you know all my promises. you read them and understand but dont walk in light of them. trust me. i will take care of you." it was absolutley incredible the true peace and joy that came as soon as i gave it all over to HIM.

that same day someone came up to me and gave me a hundred dollar check. i was once again humbled by the amazing-ness of my Father. he always rewards us for our obediance. His timing is always different, but perfect, according to his purpose. Jim Elliot (one of my heros) words it so well...

"...israel doubtless wondered where God was taking them as they were led from the wilderness to wilderness- three months of wandering and no sight of the flowing land. here Jahweh tells them that His real purpose is not in the establishment of a commonwealth in the land, but in the bringing out of a perculiar people which was for Himself. The eagle is the lonely bird, dwelling in inaccessible crags, and its fledglings must learn that when borne on the parents wings, they are helpless and had best not struggle or endeavor to go on their own power. the best place for a young one is in a place where he must learn DEPENDENCE and OBEDIENCE- the success of his life depending on the latter of these."

depend on HIM people!