What Followed

In an effort to finish this vacation blog, I will sum up the rest of our time in Mexico in one post.

Saturday found us at the beach playing in the water and taking rides on the 4-wheeler. The real excitement came when the minivan got stuck in the sand. Thankfully Joel and Meghan, who had driven the quad back to WHO, were able to bring a truck to pull us out!

Sunday morning we attended church. We received such a warm welcome! It was wonderful to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Mexico. We spent the afternoon at the flea market (I got a really cute dress) and at Sand Dollar Beach. It was really windy, but the girls didn't mind a bit. They had a blast in the water while the adults read books.

Monday we held a carnival for the ninos at WHO. We set up games (big thanks to Sally Ritter for the supplies and ideas!!!) and gave prizes. (The girls held a bake-sale at Daddy's work to purchase the prizes.) They had lots of fun! tho the daycare children didn't really get what was going on. The cupcakes at the cakewalk were a huge hit! Meghan, Jackie and Neri pitched in to help us with the carnival.

Our time in Mexico seemed too short, but thankfully Joel's family was able to drive up to California with us to spend a day at Disneyland. We were happy to share more time with them! But that is for another post.

Day Six: In Which the Roof Is Finished

It is finished.

After a lovely breakfast (with made-to-order eggs, compliments of Cande), Joel and his roofing compatriots, Neri and Calores, set out to finish the roof. They returned victoriously an hour before lunch. If only all roofs went up so quickly! In addition to the roof, they installed windows and a door. We are thankful for all those who supported the project financially; we had hoped for a roof, but with the gifts of many, Ernestina and her family will be secure in their new home. We had the opportunity to pray with Ernestina later in the afternoon, and Neri shared the Gospel with her. It is our hope that the love shown her will draw her to seek the Lord.

So what did the Scott ladies do while the men labored? Many things! First and third, LOTS of dishes. WHO feeds around 50 children breakfast and lunch 5 days a week, as well as around 15 adults (more when groups are visiting). Dishes are in our skill set! It was good to serve. Second, the little ladies went to class and I helped Jackie make lunch. It takes a lot of macaroni and cheese to feed that many people! We were a little baffled as to how such a large pot of boiling pasta was to be drained, and I must say it was a group effort!

After lunch the guys started attacking the roof of the new daycare classroom at WHO. A neighbor who owns strawberry fields invited the womenfolk to pick berries. What fun! I think it took about 20 minutes to fill three big buckets. SO TASTY!!! Now, many of our readers follow Dana's future ambitions on facebook. For those who don't, in the last few months she has wanted to be a chef (probably at Arby's) and a Musketeer (in Boise, not Antarctica). After our berry picking expedition, she informed me that when she grows up she wants to send her children to daycare so she can pick strawberries. Apparently we're raising a migrant worker.

The day was finished off with tacos. I love Mexico.

Day Five: In Which We Begin the Roof

Thursday. The day of the roof. Joel set out to work with Neri and Calores, while the girls and I sorted nails (not glamorous, but necessary) and cleared the house of large rocks and pieces of cement block. There ended our usefulness on the jobsite, so we headed back to help make dinner and do lots of lunch dishes. The guys, however, attacked the project with a vengence! By lunch they had put all the rafters up and were finished with the spacers. By late afternoon they had sheeting, fascia, tar paper, and flashing. It's incredible the amount that they accomplished! It looks like tomorrow should see the finish of the roofing project.

Day Four: In Which We Arrive in Mexico

At last! The day had finally come. We were headed for Mexico! After four hours of uneventful travel, we arrived in Vicente Guerrero, home of Steve and Jackie Scott (and Meghan, and other people). No one got carsick, we were entertained with The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and nothing worse happened than my car getting seriously muddy. It was wonderful to spend the afternoon talking and catching up with the fam, and we also had the opportunity to visit the worksite.
Another perk of being in VG happens to be INTERNET ACCESS. :) So I checked my email and found that the Lord had indeed provided for the rest of our roofing project through Sunday morning's offering. Praise Him! More than half of our support came in during our last two days at home. We knew that we would do as much as we could with how much He provided, and now there is enough for a roof, two windows and a door. We were so excited!!! Thank you to all who assisted us in this way. It means so much to us and the family who will have a weather-proof house.
Then we had dinner at Don Diegos. It was super tasty. :) The end.

Day Three: In Which We Brave Monsoon Season at SeaWorld

Our day started bright and early, so we headed to Denny's. That's what you do on bright, early mornings. After breakfast we made lunches and headed to SeaWorld. Bliss! Wet, windy bliss. We were good and soaked after two and a half hours of wandering around and enjoying the exhibits and shows. The girls fed (and petted) dolphins, which was very, very cool. We took in the sea lion show (so funny, though many jokes were lost on our kids) and learned about sharks, beluga whales, penguins, and polar bears (did you know that they have black skin and their hair is actually clear?!?). Because of the wet, windy weather, the indoor exhibits were experiencing much greater traffic than usual, and the guides were in quite a dither! The children (a few school groups mostly) were wound tighter than ticks and ran amok hollering and squealing with abandon. It was glorious to head back into the rain and (happy sigh) silence.
Because of the downpour (with high winds), we opted to eat our lunches in the car with the heater going full force. After an hour we were (comparatively) dry, so we decided to brave it for a few more hours. We really wanted to see the indoor aquariums, and we still had Shamu and the dolphin show to look forward to. It was with great joy that we saw the clouds part and the bright sunshine burst forth! The afternoon was just glorious.
Before heading out to dinner, we took the girls to Mission Bay to play in the sand. Hannah dug a large hole for people to get water out of, and Dana found pieces of crabs which delighted her immensely.
Joel had found a wonderful brewpub in Coronado (Coronado Brewing Company) when he was in San Diego for work, so thither we went for fantastic food and decadent dessert! I had spicy carnitas flautas, which were pretty much happiness on a plate. Also, it happened to be kids night, so we used the money saved to buy an amazing fudgy-marshmallowy brownie with two enourmous scoops of vanilla ice-cream and heaping tons of whipped cream on top. SOOO good. I give this pub two very enthusiastic thumbs up!
Here ends the tale of our Tuesday. The End.

Day Two: In Which We Drive to San Diego

The title nearly sums it up: ten hours in the car from Sacramento to San Diego. The highlight of the drive was In 'N Out in Oceanside. Mmm. . . Our (gasp!) first of the trip. We found our hotel without much ado and got the girls to bed by 9:00. One day they'll catch up on sleep.
On a brighter note, before we left for San Diego we had a lovely breakfast with Bob and Rosalie. Eggs, toast, muffins, ham, sausage, hashbrowns, juice. . . We enjoyed more conversation with our friends and, to top off the morning, Bob took the girls on their first motorcycle ride! They enjoyed it immensely. I remember when I used to ride on the back of my daddy's Harley. :)

Day One: In Which We Drive to Sacramento and Rinda Drinks a Monster

Here it is! Day one of our adventure. We started our journey after church (and getting groceries and eating lunch). Joel had found a buyer for our Volvo (praise the Lord!), but the guy lives in Sacramento. Therefore, Joel decided that he would drive it down and I would drive the girls in the Subaru. So far so good! Except that I had just finished a three-day practicum in Applegate and had driven a total of 12 hours during those three days. I was wiped out and having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I found myself leaning my head against the cold side-window, turning the AC on, and occasionally shaking my head with vim and vigor to keep myself awake. Finally, just before the last exit for Redding, my eyes closed. They popped open in time to miss the cement barrier along the edge of the highway. Scary business, that! I took the exit, found a gas station, and bought myself a low-carb Monster. That is NASTY stuff! but extremely effective. I drank 1/4 of it and was fine for the last two hours of the drive. Monster saves lives, my friends! After the Volvo was safely in the hands of a very nice couple, Joel took the wheel (and dumped the rest of my Monster because it smelled so bad). We managed to find Bob and Rosalie's house, despite Google's poor directions, and there spent a lovely evening with good food and wonderful company. The end.
Many, many thanks to those who prayed for our safety! Many, many thanks to Bob and Rosalie for their outstanding hospitality! Many, many thanks to those (Buck and my mom in particular) for taking care of our home and animals so that we could leave for two weeks! Many, many thanks to those who gave financially so we can serve here! And many, many thanks to the Lord for His protection and travel blessings.
*Disclaimer: If anything in this post is spelled incorrectly, I am truly sorry. I tried to spell check, and I think that Jackie's computer thinks I speak Spanish, because nearly every word was highlighted. Seriously. Alas!
**Disclaimer dos: I will add pics when we return home. :)
***Disclaimer tres: Yup. It thinks I speak Spanish, because "dos" isn't highlighted. :)

Hello to our dear friends and family! We wanted to apprise you of some work that the Lord has called us to. This spring we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our wedding. To celebrate this remarkable milestone, we had planned to go to Hawaii for ten days of sun, activity, and relaxation. We were so excited, we actually started saving three years in advance! But our plans are not always God's plans, and we are convinced that His plans are the best. Last year our small group Bible study was going through a video series on being a Good Samaritan. During a particular video, I felt my heart being burdened to spend the time and resources allocated for our anniversary trip on a mission trip instead. Just as the movie ended, I looked at Joel and realized that the Lord had given him the same vision. Our plans had changed.

Enter May, 2011. We will be taking our girls and heading to Vicente Guerrero, Baja California, Mexico for a week-long service project with Welcome Home Outreach (http://www.welcomehomeoutreach.org/). Joel's parents, Steve and Jackie Scott, are the directors of WHO, so we will have the privilege of serving beside them! We have been dialoguing for the past seven months or so trying to pin down what exactly we'll be doing. We're excited to get Hannah and Dana involved in the project, so we'll be doing some odd jobs around WHO, as well as throwing a celebration for the children in the Welcome Home daycare and preschool. (The girls are planning a bake-sale to raise funds for the celebration.) Only recently, however, has an appropriate project surfaced for the majority of our visit. We are hoping to raise funds sufficient to put a roof on a house for a family. They have been building it themselves but must get a roof on in the near future as they are being forced to move out of their rented home. The cost of the roof is about $1000, though the house will also need a door and windows soon as well.

We would like to ask if you would consider partnering with us in one (or both) of two ways:

1. Pray! We will be traveling about 3,000 miles with two littles in the backseat. We will also be driving through a few areas where safety is a concern. We will be doing work for the Lord, and Satan will want to battle us in any number of ways. Will you pray with us for strength, safety, sanity (!), and spiritual suppleness? (I thought the list would be easier to remember if everything started with an "s.") Also, pray for those that Steve and Jackie will put us in contact with in Mexico. We speak very little Spanish, but we're prepared to love on people through any other means the Lord puts in our way!

2. Finances. Because we had already saved for a trip, and because we are taking an extra five days to do some fun things with the girls, we have the money needed for travel, food, and lodging. That means that any financial support we raise will go directly to our building project. Any additional funds raised will go into Welcome Home's outreach and emergency fund for needy families. Online donations may be made via PayPal using the Welcome Home website "Make a Donation" link. Choose "Other" on the website and indicate "May Roof Project" as the description. We can also accept cash and checks, and will provide donors with a tax-deductible receipt upon our return. We're leaving May 15th, but PayPal donations should be made by May 13th to allow ample time for processing so the funds are ready when we get there.

Thank you for supporting us as the Lord guides and enables you. We're excited to serve Him in Mexico and to engage our daughters in cross-cultural ministry!