Loving Orphans...

Even after school...some had their hats on for supper!




Jackie loves Nohema!




Adriana...the half-pint pouring drinks




Andrea loves her bear!




Johana catching some Zzzz's. Probably dreaming about seeing her sister, Belem, tomorrow!




Ana, Silvia and Alondra hanging out after school.




Javier and his puppet




Briza is doing so much better with her glasses!




"I see you!"




Ana doing her homework.



Dorothy...we found a thankful boy to wear that coat!




Angel and Tio Gary




Lorena




Oscar enjoying Sammy's letter!




A warm Ramon




The birthday girl!




A very happy Alondra with her gift bag! She is still smiling!!!!!






Tia Christie's son




A happy Angel before school




Briza and Cielo




Briza's blue tongue, teeth and lips.




The 3 footed puppy and Olver




A warm Jazmine is showing she is wearing 6 layers of clothing to keep warm!




Snow on the mountains!




A Birthday custom in Mexico...or at least Lily. Smashing your face in the cake. Me no like!




A COLD morning was the perfect time to hand out hats!















This morning we woke up to sleet beating against the windows with high winds. My first thought was of the children shivering. Sure enough, we went to devotions and saw many children shaking and shivering. Luckily, I brought down about 40+ hats, some scarves and mittens that Gary's mom and some friends from the Rothbury church made. This was perfect timing to hand them out. Talk about big smiles! If nothing else, the children felt loved on! Thanks for caring enough to do this for them!

Today Gary and I were Santa...delivering gifts and cards to various children. Talk about fun. The only difficult thing was doing this in secret so the other children wouldn't feel left out...but we were successful! There were many surprises and happy faces! I think Alondra was the most fun...because she NEVER gets any types of gifts or cards. Thanks to the special couple who loved on her!

The big bus was repaired and brought back late last night. That was GREAT news!!!! Gary and I loaded up the bus and made the usual school bus runs. This is probably one of my favorite things to do. The kids are so excited about the privilege of school...and they are scrubbed up and look sharp. I am so proud of them!

Mama and Papa are on their 'day-off' and will be back tomorrow night. They sure need the rest. I have never seen them look so beaten down. Between the car accident, vehicle problems, Ed's 5th eye surgery in 8 months, being short of staff and regular issues from having 120+ kids...they are just holding on. We need to lift them up to the Lord and pray for their strength. Apparently Ed's eye is suffering from an eye injury over 15 years ago that he never sought medical attention for. The lens is detaching from the cornea and if this surgery is not successful, he will need a cornea transplant. Sounds pretty major to me. This is his right eye. He needs a healing.

At supper tonight a very sweet 15 year old girl asked me if the family that promised to adopt her 3 years ago was going to come and get her soon. The part that broke my heart is that there is no adoption in the works for this girl. She was told by a couple visiting here that they wanted to adopt her...and they have never been back. The sad thing is that she has been quietly waiting. Tears started to stream down my face and I had to leave. I couldn't tell her there was no adoption...no family. She is one of the very sweetest girls here and I had no idea that she was promised this. Now, in the next few days, I have to explain to her that this is not going to happen. This is the part of my job that I can hardly take. IF her parental rights were even terminated...it is almost too late even if there was a family in the states with a completed home study. Father, please interceed! I am going to DIF at the beginning of next week to see if I can find a miracle for her. I've got to try. Please help pray about this situation.

We have many new children from the mountains...which is GREAT! These kids are shunned by society down here...but we LOVE them! Thank you, Jesus, for entrusting them to us. If Lily wouldn't take them...no one else would.

There is a puppy down here that has been hobbling around on three legs...just discovered today that one of it's feet has been missing for a long time. Poor thing. Mama's dogs are now about as wide as they are long. They are very fun to look at. The other dog...Scooby doesn't seem to be around.

Ana Karen led singing tonight for devotions. She did a great job and took it very seriously. She is now 20 years old (hard to believe)! There seems to be some maturity taking place and it is fun to witness.

After the sleet, it cleared up and the sun was shining. Probably got to the mid 50's I'm thinking. Sounds like it should be warming up some. That will be welcome.

The children are very excited about the Americano's who will be arriving on Saturday. In fact, that is the 'talk of the house'! They sure love having company!

I'm learning to love this cooler weather. No snakes, no tarantulas, no cockroaches and no scorpions. Not a bad trade off!

This old man and woman are about ready to drop. Another busy day filled with various adventures beginning at 4:30 a.m.. It's Brenda's birthay today so Gary and I are trying to stay awake so we can take her out to eat once the children are in bed. She is really hungry for a hamburger...so we are going to go to Sombrero's hamburger joint and icecream afterwards. I know...it's freezing cold...but it's her birthday ane she is a special girl. That is life at Lily. We soak in every celebration and live life to the fullest down here. After all...we survived another day with 120+ children. =) That is something to be thankful for. Buenos noches!!!