Felicidades!!!

We were invited to our friend Basilia's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Mexican birthday parties are such fun! Basi didn't have a piñata, but she did have a fantastic cake!

Andrew asked if it was a "tres leches cake". Basi said, "No. It's just normal. We wanted quantity, not quality!"

Something funny we've noticed about a Mom's birthday here -- usually all the family and close friends come, there's a huge cake and a great meal...and Mom does all the work. What's up with that??? I was laughing about that with Basilia and she agreed that it didn't seem fair, but since she had to make it all, she got to decide on the menu. We had shrimp salad. Oh, yum!

Esteban kept getting calls from his various bosses, "Esteban! I need you!" "Esteban, help!" "Esteban, when are you coming by?" Esteban is care-taker for more than half the vacation homes in Las Glorias, so he's much in demand during tourist season. He did manage to spend a little time relaxing -- and of course he got a big piece of cake!

We sat around eating and talking all afternoon. Julio and Lupita are Basilia's mom and step-dad. Pedro and Luci and Jesús Israél are her brother and his family.

If those names seem familiar, they should!!! These are the couples from our Bible study. This is our extended family here in Mexico. It's great to be part of a big family!

The young man almost hidden by Andrew is Luis. Luis began working as Esteban's right-hand man a couple of years ago -- when he was 12. His dad died when he was very young and his mom has worked hard at whatever she could find to support herself and her two children. Esteban and Basilia have sort of adopted him as a son, or at least as a younger brother. The village is lacking male role-models and Vergin, Luis's mom, saw something worthy in Esteban. It's the Lord. Esteban gave his life to the Lord a little over 2 years ago and is trying to lead his family to Him.

Keep these families in your prayers!!!!

Last photo! Basilia has the most beautiful yard in all of Las Glorias. Yes, I'm biased. This girl has a major green thumb! The "blooming season" is just past and another will come in a few months, but all that green is so beautiful!

Gold

A Poem Written by Doug in Memory of his Grandma Eva (Coult) McDonald

Gold

The time has come to say goodbye.

I'll hold my tears, try not to cry.

Grandma won't be with us now.

She has left this world -- she's looking down.

Her face is shining bright as snow,

But we can't see, nor can we know

The joy that she will know today

When she beholds the Savior's face.

He'll smile when He sees her come.

He'll say, "Come in and rest! Well done!

You fought the fight. You stood your ground.

You kept the love. Your faith was sound.

When I asked you to pray, you prayed.

When I told you to go, you obeyed.

When they asked you if you knew me,

You were not ashamed."

Jesus will draw close and He'll whisper her name.

She'll stand up straight and spin around

With strength and health newly found.

No pain, no sorrow, no suffering.

Pure joy and peace to see the King

Face to face with Him who bore;

Who stretched His arms from shore to shore.

He died for her; she knew that well.

To give her heaven, He went through hell.

Today what feels a loss to me is, to Grandma, victory!

No more death. The night is over.

No more weight upon her shoulders.

Now, I know that for a while

I'll have to wait to see her smile.

The tears are close, it must be told,

But what's sad to me, to her is gold.

Goodbye, Grandma!

Silent Sunday -- Life's a Beach

I don't know if you had to "be there" to really feel this picture. Let me know what emotions you have when you see this photo, and I'll post on Monday the photo's background.

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Alright, here's what I thought as I watched this little guy play in the waves...

The little boy is about 6 or 7 years old. Like most of us who live only a few blocks from the beach, he seldom plays in the ocean. He has no beach toys, no pail, no shovel. I don't know his home situation, but if he is like most small boys of the village, home is not a very happy place. Perhaps Dad is a drunk. Perhaps mom yells a lot. But right now, at this moment, he is flying above the waves. Soaring! Free! Can't you hear him squealing with delight as the waves rush past him? He's Superman!

Let the Turtles Loose!!!

The university in Guasave harvested over 100 sea turtle eggs from the beach of Boca del Rio a few months ago. They hatched at the last full moon! Practically the whole town turned out to see these little miracles! In Spanish, their name is Tortuga Delfin. Anyone know what variety that is in English?

The teacher explained that in the wild, these baby turtles have about a 15% survival rate. Predators, including dogs who eat the eggs and seagulls who snatch the hatchlings as they are making their way to the water's edge, make the odds of baby sea turtles even reaching the sea very uneven! The students' goal was to even the odds a bit by assuring that as many turtles as hatched made it to the sea.




Children, both young and old, were in awe at these little creatures! One grandma was speechless as she held the little tortuga in her hand, "Mama! You need to put it back. It's for the kids to let go!" She just shook her head. It was so sweet. I knew how she felt! I wanted to hold one forever and just marvel that something so small could grow so big, but at the same time I wanted each and every one of these little babies to reach the open sea and live their lives...I'm such a hopeless romantic!

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Esteban waded out into the waves to take some photos. "They're everywhere!" he shouted back to shore. The little guys kept bumping into his legs; he was afraid to take a step for fear of squashing one! Can you see them? I drew circles around a couple.

I like to think that most of them made it out into the open ocean. I just love living on the beach! This was one experience we never could have had living in the mountains of Oregon!!!