So Much To Tell!

It has been awhile since I have blogged, so I am trying to figure out how to cram so much stuff into one little post

Wednesday I taught school and then took one of our older girls, Sonia Edith, to the doctor in Juarez. The Aerostar had been driving fine, so I had no expectations of problems. I was, therefore, surprised to look at the dashboard and find it was overheating. We were half-way to our destination in Juarez. We did what we thought would be best and went and bought some water and filled it back up. I started driving again and it appeared to be fine, but then huge clouds of smoke started coming out of the tailpipe and surrounding us. I decided to stop at a gas station and the guy there told us that probably the motor had overheated too much and that if we kept driving the transito (traffic cops) would stop us. I then had to call Erick who then had to come get us. He decided to drive the aerostar back to the Ranch and we took the big white van and went on the hospital. Dean told me today that it looks like the aerostar is shot, and so now I am down to no vehicles agian!

Thursday was Jair's operation (the little boy who has cancer). As soon as school was over, Leydi and I took the big white van and headed to Juarez. There we discovered the happy news that the doctors could not find any sign of a tumor. God had healed him! Although he will continue chemotherapy, there appears to be nothing there and we are all so grateful. After leaving the hospital, we had a bazillion errands to run. We picked up Leydi's brother, Armando, from work, went to pick up Sonia's results at the hospital, picked up uniform shirts, etc.... It was a very long day.

Friday, I got up early to take Sonia back to the doctor and ended up with 2 more of the older girls going and Tita and Norma. It turned out to be a big girl party! We spent the whole day in Juarez running errands and browsing the market looking for special school supplies for Joseylin. This is where the fun starts! There is a big cathedral in Juarez that is very ornate and I wanted to look inside, so Sonia and I walked over to the big doors and proceeded up the steps. There was a guard inside and you had to pay money, so we decided not to tour it. As I was turning around to leave, my boot caught on the edge of the step and I fell right at the feet of the security guard. Needless to say I was extremely embarressed and vacated the premises even before the guard could say anything to me. The girls laughed and laughed and laughed and even complemented me telling me that it looked "just like a fall in the movies" and that I fell to my knees "so gracefully". They even tried to make me walk past the guard again, but I refused! We ended up getting back to the Ranch at 6:00Pm after a fun day of bonding!

Today is my day of rest and I am trying to stay out of the kid's way, so they won't knock on my door. It isn't working, so I have escaped to Guadalupe after Jason kindly lent me his car.

Anyway that's enough for now,
La Gringa

La Vida Loca

Ok, so as my bro Caleb puts it I am having blog block as well. How to put into words all the things that have been happening in the last two days!

Well yesterday, I made breakfast and sorta burned the potatoes, but the kids still ate them and some even said they were good. After that I worked in my room for most of the day, because Dean was gone to New Mexico.

On Saturday, I had gone with Leydi to pick up her cousin and daughter who had just come in from Veracruz. The little girl, Yeraldi, is six and promptly stole my heart by giving me a big hug the moment she saw me, although, she had no idea who I was. She then proceeded to wrap me around her finger by calling me "mi guerrita" (literal translation is "my white one")! The mom is going to have go to work in the factories and there won't be anyone to care for Yeraldi in the day, so the mom decided to place her in the Ranch. They came yesterday to talk to Dean, and she was accepted.

I have never seen more tears shed as when mom and daugher were parted. It was the hardest thing the mom had ever had to do she told me. As I held Yeraldi while she sobbed, I couldn't imagine having to part from any child of mine. Yeraldi has managed to adjust though, and is now fitting in just fine with all the girls. She still has a special place in my heart and has taken to calling me "Tia" (aunt).

Anyway so today we have a group here who are fixing all the plumbing in the bathrooms of both the boy's and girl's dorms which is something that desperately needed to be done. I am out and about in Fabens running errands.

That's all for now,
La Gringa

Today is one of those days where you go completely out of you mind with boredom. Ok, I know I live with 40 children so it should never be boring, but for some reason everybody else has plans and I have nothing to do. I decided to come into Guadalupe to the internet cafe and play around on the internet. So now I will proceed to bore you with this post!

Yesterday I completed all my errands in Juarez and was very pleased to be able to tell Dean that we finally found the elusive uniform (for David one of the older boys) that we had looking for. I also (actually Leydi and I) got all the school supplies we needed and picked up Matt´s uniform shirts.

While waiting for Matt´s shirst to be embroidered, we played on one of those soccer arcade games where you manuever all the little players around (they are on sticks) and try to get the ball in the hole! I won once and then proceeded to lose 7 consecutive games in a row. I think that one win was pretty good for my first time! I got back at a relatively decent hour and went to bed. Don´t you just love all these wonderful details!

Anyway I really need to find something constructive to do, and quit whining about being bored cause most of the time I am way too busy to be bored. I guess I better enjoy the feeling while it lasts!!!!

La Gringa

The Dilema and The Drama!

Last night was my night to have the guard with the girls. Typically we play or watch a movie, but last night was a little different.

First off, the same puppy that I rescued the day before has developed some sort of infection and Erick has been threating to kill it. Biri 2 was completely heartbroken, and cried for several hours before deciding to take action. She secretly took the puppy and hid it in one of her dresser drawers along with a little bag of beans from supper. Erick had been asking me if I had seen the puppy, but it seemed to have disapeared! When I went to put the girls in their pajamas, I discovered Biri 2 with the puppy. She immeadiately dissolved into tears and pleaded with me not to take it away from her. Remembering my own days of puppy love, I tried to be sympathetic as I explained that the puppy could not stay in the dorm. Leydi did the best of all though with her explanation that the puppy would be happier outside. Finally Matt came and helped me find a comfortable place for the puppy to be outside. That was the dilema of the night!

Second was the drama. Sometimes the girls like to put on plays typically with Christian themes for my entertainment. Last night was a big production. We had lights, music, a sheet painted to look like Heaven, and elaborate costumes complete with face paint. The general theme was about 3 young ladies (Cecy, Andrea, Areli) who lived with their grandmother (Flor). The Devil (Angelica) and his demons (Bere y Carla) tried to tempt them away from the things of the Lord with various worldly pleasures. In the end, Andrea shouted out "In the name of Jesus, leave" and the lights come on and the devil and his demons fall to the floor in various fetal positions. It was quite interesting and enjoyed by all.

Anyway I am here in Juarez again at an Internet cafe. Leydi and I came in again to buy uniforms and various other things. Leydi, her brother, and I have been wandering around Juarez all day.

Enough for now,
La Gringa

Erin Saves The Day

Today was a very good day. I taught English today and my kids were relatively well behaved, and actually got a good bit of studying done today! I was quite pleased with everything.

After school I headed to the office to work on our end-of-year statements. I was still in my school uniform which consists of black dress pants, navy blue shirt (don't ask about the color scheme!) and black dress boots. The boys (Dean's boys) came rushing to tell me that there was a puppy on the roof. I knew which one it was, since the girls had dressed it up in a big frilly dress, poor thing! I don't know how the puppy got on the roof of the garage, but it was very high and the poor thing looked so scared as it attempted to get down. I couldn't let it stay up there, so being the superwoman I am, I started trying to get it down. First I stood in a wheelbarrow, but that was too low. I did succeed, however, in getting mud all over my pants and boots. Then I tried the option of a piece of scaffolding, but that didn't work either. The boys by this time were cheering "Ms Erin" on. Denise finally helped me get a ladder out of the garage and we propped it against the wall and courageous Erin climbed up only to discover the puppy was to scared to come down. I kept climbing higher and it kept backing farther away, until finally I made a desperate grab and secured one paw. I then backed down the ladder to a hero's welcome... for the puppy! Such is life!

Also today I bought a stove. It is a very happy occasion! I will finally be able to cook whenever I want. Leydi and I are both excited about polishing up our woefully unused cooking skills!!! :)

I am about to go home and have a pizza party with three of the little girls who helped me reorganize my room the other day. I wanted to do something special with them, and since they never get pizza I went and bought one to share.

That's enough for now,
La Gringa

Sleepwalkers

Several of our girls are sleepwalkers and they have given me some frights this past year. One night I woke up to the sound of footsteps in the hall. I am not good with scary night noises, but being the responsible person that I am, I got up to check it out. I opened the door and peered out, but didn't see anyone. I quickly shut the door and returned to bed. As I was getting back into my bed, my door handle started to turn. In my head, I could hear the scary horror movie music. Still being the responsible dorm mother, I quickly rushed to the door and opened it to find Flor staring at me totally asleep. I quickly returned her to her bed and the next morning she remembered nothing.

Last night I heard the footsteps again. I listened to them until I thought I was going to go crazy and then I went to check it out again. I couldn't find anybody! Yeah, so then I tried to go back to sleep! :)

Anyway I am here in the office this morning, but I am not feeling that great. I think Alejandra gave me her stomach bug. I am hoping to do as much as I can before I ask Dean if I can take a nap.

La Gringa

The Wind up of a day

How can so much be crammed into one day! This morning I woke the girls up amidst sleepy groans and protests because of the cold. Poor babies, we were all shivering!! I settled several fights, got them off to school, checked on our sick girls, and headed for the office. I spent the day at the office trying to get our end-of-the year statements in order. I will probably go crazy before that is done!! Then I headed to our small American town across the border to go to the bank and run some errands. Finally got home, and I am now seated at the internet cafe in Guadalupe.

This morning as I was rushing the girls out the door, my little Flor (flower) handed me a note. This is what it said, "Erin, I love you. Never change. From your Flor." Those are the precious moments I cherish in the middle of the hectic days.

Anyway gotta get home to exercise and plan for English.

La Gringa, Erin

Excitement in the Dorm

There is always some little exciting thing happening in the girl's dorm. We have experienced our fair share of floods, hail, and food fights, but this morning was pretty exciting. I was dragged out of the shower by Alejandra banging on my door yelling something about water and the ceiling. Turns out she had turned on the sink and the handle had come off and an instant fountain spouted up towards the ceiling and continued spewing water all over the bathroom. From there it proceeded to flood some of the dorm. I called Dean who called Erick who then came running over still half asleep to storm through a crowd of screaming girls and turn off the water! Yes, there is never a dull moment here at Rancho 3M!

Well, back to work for me.

Erin <><

My Crazy Life

This blog happened by complete surprise! My brother started a blog and to post a comment on his blog I had to make my own. Well I decided to keep it and actually do something with it!

As I type this, I am sitting in an internet cafe in a mall in Juarez, Mexico. I came into town today to buy uniforms for some of our kids. It ended up being quite a day. Leydi, my good friend, and I got lost in the middle of Juarez for about an hour, but being the wonderful navigators we are we manged to find our way out!

This week has been completely chaotic. I can´t seem to catch up on anything, whether it be my room or the office and school work. Tomorrow I will finally get some time to catch my breath and rest!

Anyway I think that is enough for now.

Buenas Tardes,
La Gringa Erin