Can you believe this!

Yesterday Yesenia was all alone with her three boys under 6 at their new home, a 25 acre camp site 2 miles from the famous San Miguel beach in Ensenada, Baja Californai Mexico. Not very far from us.

Yesenia and her family had just moved there to work with the groups and kinda guide this project, the project to build this Oasis.

"This project is currently being used to hold Christian camps for the orphanage
kids in Baja. In the future, a conference center will be built to hold Christian
conferences for youth, married couples, local churches and children. Eventually,
a Bible College will be built to train up students from all over the country of
Mexico to pastor churches and be the future leaders of Mexico."

It's in it's building stage, so there is no phone lines, and their cell phone doesn't get reception there.

So, imagine if you will her feeling when all of a sudden a vehicle with men with guns come crashing through her gate and busted open the door of her house!

They came in shouting at her to "Get down! Get down!" and asking "Where are the guns?"

"We don't have any guns, we are missionaries!"

Meanwhile she's praying for God's protection and trying to convince her 5 year old to STAY DOWN, and all he wants to do is see what is going on!

And she prayed her husband wouldn't come home just at this moment to walk into all this . . .realizing that she was alone with men with guns she then started to pray for protection over their bodies!

She tells me that the only time she wasn't praying for God's protection was when she was singing to her boys "Jesus Loves Me" so that they wouldn't be afraid.

They asked her a whole bunch of questions and searched the place. After a while . . when they found no guns . . .or it seems anything that interested them they told her that they would need to use her car and to hand over the keys . . .but don't worry she would get her car back. Apparently whomever smashed through the gate just dropped these guys off.

She told them that the keys where in her purse on the counter and they did take off in her car. And you know what?! They did bring the car back. Drove it up her driveway, left it open and without her keys.

And they did take anything either . . . . not her wallet, or anything else of value that was laying around . . .

None the less they spent that night at a friends house.

This has all been unnerving to say the least. Surreal was what I kept saying as she told me of the happenings.

Would you stay? Would you pack up and leave? Yesenia is from San Diego, her husband is a chemist . . they don't "need" to be here by any means . . they are just called..

We are going out there to visit them tomorrow. It is a visit we've had planned for over two weeks. I'll tell you more of how they feel about it then, but so far . . . they plan to stay.

Pretty accurate . . kinda scary.

What Your Bathroom Habits Say About You

You are a very considerate person, but that doesn't mean you let people walk all over you. Your idea of fashion is jeans and a t-shirt. Clean, if you're lucky. You are a very outgoing person. You are true to yourself, and you never hold back. In relationships, you tend to take care of your needs first. You can only be with someone who's as independent as you are.

What Do Your Bathroom Habits Say About You?

Wordless Wednesday

Baby Blues

click on strip for more

Baja Compassion Ministries

We have a guest blogger (Carlos Suarez, our deaf pastor) and some good news happening over at our ministry blog.

For those of you who have been praying for this request it will be especially delightful!

My man, the mighty hunter!

HE DID IT!

Yes, he did . . . remember the RAT? Well, grandma was over helping out, folding laundry in the living room, on Friday when she said "I think I just saw the mouse!".

And then I locked myself in the office with my 20 month old, but my husband got all native on me.

What would you use to catch a rat? A bat? A bucket? A big bottle of Raid?

My hubby got his fishing spear . . . and I don't know the details (I stayed in the office, remember?) but all I know is that he SPEARED THE THING!

If we ever were lost on an island, I feel pretty confident that we could survive with my hubby and a spear. Really, I've heard that rat tastes like chicken.

There is something about a successful hunt too, my hubby came in later still trembling with adrenaline and giving me a big hug. It lifted his spirits, it did. He feels like a HERO!

And in my books he is.

What a day!

So remember the dead mouse smell I spoke about here? Turns out it was a dead RAT behind the fridge! Then that night my hubby saw something rat like run into the kids closet.

AAAAAHHHHHHH

Well, needless to say we didn't have them sleep in their room, set some traps and piled everyone into our bed.

Read: mom and dad got no sleep.

So next day I'm sleep deprived and trying to do relay service for the deaf (through instant messaging now, it's kinda cool) and the toilet overflows, then my boy does poop art in the living room . Meanwhile I'm skittish in the kids room since we had no mouse/rat in the traps. By the time Dad got home I was almost in tears.

Bless his heart he took over, even though he was as tired as I was and I got a good nap.

*breath*

And if I could get this baby to stop resting on my lower back I could almost think that we've returned to 'normal'!

But I'm off . . . I'll have to check in with you all later.

Here's a random picture in the meantime.

For a drop of hot water!

Heather, you asked if we got gas yet in reference to this post.

Well, wouldn't you believe that we DID!, but it was late when we got it, so we went to bed all dreaming of hot showers in the morning . . .only to wake up to almost no water pressure as I filled the tub for the kids . . and by the time I had finished draining the tub to turn to take myself a lovely hot shower there was no water at all!

The water company said that it was repairs being done to the street and would be done by the afternoon, but as I write today we still have no water. And something in my kitchen is starting to stink like a dead mouse. It just might be a mouse, but I'm kinda thinking it's the dishes.

You know, life is never boring here.

*Update* I just stepped out of a hot shower! The water came on about 4:30am, and nothing sounded sweeter to me than the sound of the toilet tank filling up. Now, to attack those dishes!

Wordless Wednesday

Why must you play here?

My brother wrote this!

This is a video of my brother Paul and his wife Milca doing their new song that Paul wrote for their kids ministry. I'll put the translation below . . . . but aren't they cute?!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

In Spanish:

\\ Con su A.M.O.R voy a conquistar
M.U.N.D.O con
J.E.S.U.S en mi
V.I.D.A y mi corazón//

Con Jesús Cristo
Soy siempre listo
Para enfrentar las cosas que frente en esta vida
Con su amor
Soy impulsado
Para ser todo lo que puedo ser

(repeat of first verse)

In English:

\\ With his L.O.V.E I’m gonna conquer
the W.O.R.L.D with
J.E.S.U.S in my
L.I.F.E and my heart//

With Jesus Christ
I’m ever ready
To face the things that I’ll confront in this life
With his love
I am compelled
To be everything I can be

(repeat first verse)

Mama said there'd be days like this . . .

"There'd be days like this" my mama said . . .

Blame it on the pregnancy, or on the lack of a full night sleep because of little ones still trying to get into mama's bed in the middle of the night, or what have you . . . but Sarah echoed pretty much what I'm feeling . . P.M.S without the M part.

Still have that peace that passes all understanding, and that's a good thing! Funny how even Joy doesn't depend on how your feeling . . . um, do you get that or am I jumping off the deep end here?

Oh well.

Now for the good, the bad and the ugly in reverse order:

The ugly part: We are at the lean time of our month, and after months of use our gas has finally decided to run out on us. Meaning, no hot water and no gas stove for 3 days now. (I'm naming and claiming that this problem gets resolved tomorrow!) I feel so gross, in sore need of a shower! But praise God for toaster ovens and microwaves!

The bad part: I have been diagnosed for Gestational Diabetes. Although not too surprising since both my pregnancies previously I got GD, but this time it has come quite early . . . so I'm off of sweets and really have been limited in the carbs and starches. Did you know that green peas were considered a STARCH! But peanut butter is a PROTEIN! WOO HOO! (no bursting my bubble and warning me about the sugar in Skippy, y'all!)

The good part: I'm a rule follower for the most part and if the doctor says no sweets, I'm pretty good at sticking to it (except for Skippy) and the end results usually are that I lose weight throughout my pregnancy and come out looking GREAT!

So, if I haven't posted anything of quality, or don't for a bit, forgive me, since I am trying to abide by the "if you don't have anything good to say" rule . . .

Just kidding . . . *giggle* like that would stop me~

Lieutenant Trekkie . . .

It sounds good, but when you look at the comparison summary:

Comparison Summary:
Of the 12832 unique test takers...
For: trekkiness
66% scored higher, and 33% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 101.2, your's was: 92.

OK, friends . . what did you get?

Especially Heather

For those of you that don't know what is happening in Heather's life, it starts here. And is still going on, she's been diagnosed with a brain tumor. I'm praying for her and her family, and invite you to do likewise . . . yet through it all her story has been amazing and inspiring. If you click on her picture it will take you to her blog.

Wordless Wednesday

What do my hands say about me?

What Your Hands Say About You

You are logical, analytical, and rational. You have good verbal skills. Idealistic and dreamy, you tend toward the impractical. You have a knack for getting yourself in sticky situations. Brainy and intelligent, you are intellectual to the point of being incomprehensible. Your emotions tend to be relaxed and uncomplicated. You don't read too much into things.

What Do Your Hands Say About You?

Not too bad. Don't know about the "Idealistic and dreamy" part, but I won't read too much into it.

4 confessions and a link (or two)

I confess:
until a comment made to the posted song below I never had heard the saying "Christian Cheese"

Ever curious I did a search to find the meaning of it. Apparently it is the commercialization of Christianity and it's marketing . . . . I came across one link in particular that I thought was particularly good. (Reminds me of the book "Why Men Hate Going To Church"by Rick Warren)

So confession #2:
I don't like the effeminate Jesus or angels for that matter. Never in the bible is an angel a woman. In fact, I'm pretty convinced that these angels would appear more as warriors, intimidating men than effeminate since every time they showed up somebody was scared!

So, not that I'll snub my nose if someone kindly gives me an lady angel thing-a-ma-bob. . . we appreciate (love) the thought, but we just don't buy these things for ourselves.

This leads me to confession #3:
once I did find out what "Christian Cheese" was I had to laugh that I got pegged for it, since that song posted is about as cheesy as I get in regard to Easter. My hubby and I don't like christian cheese either . . . we even go a crazy step more and don't celebrate Easter, or Christmas . . .
*you read that right *
instead, as I said in my last post-His birth and His Resurrection is something we should celebrate everyday. So we chose not to take all the other religions, myths, marketing and so forth and wrap them up into something called a "Christian" holiday but really isn't.

No worries though, we don't think this is any super-saint type actions to take, it is simply our personal choice (and it makes getting through the holidays a lot less stressful too!) and if we got gifts from someone for Christmas we enjoyed it . . . if we get chocolate bunnies from friends, we eat them with joy!

And if your finding this hard to swallow, imagine what my dear mother-in-law went through! LOL, my own mother for that matter! Both raised us with Christmas trees and Rudolf the red nose reindeer, Peter cottontail and the works . . . OH WHERE DID THEY GO WRONG, they lament!!!!

But just so you know. After church we did have a ham lunch with mom, friends and family, followed by a game of Hand and Foot . . .

and confession #4:
I never bought a WWJD anything, or own a thing like it that I can think of . . . as I told a friend "I don't really follow the fads, but that is just another way to saying I can't afford the fashion." . . .

Yet in all sincerity . . . my life is wrapped in and centered around Jesus Christ, and that will, time and again show through (hopefully more so than not) and if that is pegged "christian cheesy" then I am glad to be one guilty mama.

He has RISEN!

Something to be celebrated everyday, really.

For Sarah

This is for Sarah at Sermon on the Mountof Laundry.

I am finally feeling better myself . . . Thank you very much! Heart burn like crazy . . . I really should buy some stock in Tums.

About the music . . .

Dear Just Me, (AKA Dandelion Dust) formerly My Two Cents:

I can not find you! Your gonna have to give me your new URL. But you asked about who sings in the video I posted below . . . I would LOVE to tell you!

The music is from the CD of my cousin Jason Schultz and his wife Rigel. Their music group is named "Hijos De Asaf" and their first CD is named "Mi Mundo es Muy Pequeno". Meaning "My world is very small"

This CD is VERY mission minded . . . and what can I say . . I love it! I hope to post more videos with their music . . . (and if your interested in purchasing a CD, do do e-mail me!)

In the meantime here is one video I found on youtube of their title track:

enjoy

What's your hobbit name?

This quiz is courtesy of "a wandering heart's musings"

I am Tigerlily Sandydowns!

I like it! When I typed in my family member's names we are the family of Sandydowns! My son is Mungo Sandydown, my husband Dimple Sandydowns!

LOL!

Then you can check your elven name too . . .

Tári Eärfalas for me. And again my son has the coolest name with Valandil Eärfalas.

You know, we haven't picked a name for this third baby yet . . . I kinda like Mungo.
(just kidding, ma!)

So, what is your hobbit name?

PS. Kelly . . . your husband's name is a hoot! Not to mention your family name!!! LOL

Some funnies from yesterday

These pictures were two of the funny ones I came upon durring Wordless Wednesday. One of the reasons to join along if you don't already!

If you click on the picture it will link to the site.

This one is titled "Smart Dog"

Just thought I'd share a chuckle. :-)

Wordless Wednesday

Shhhh . . . don't tell him those pink things are his sisters!

Our ministry blog!

My Hubby has been wanting me to do this for so long!!!!

Well here it is .!!!

. .a blog dedicated specifically to the daily going-on's of the ministry.

A prayer request

Virginia (pictured with her family here) was over yesterday with her kids.

Both she and her husband, Carlos, are deaf. Carlos is the pastor for our small deaf congregation here in Ensenada.

She did ask me to share a prayer request. A need the deaf congregation has.

They are in need of a camcorder.

Their thinking is that they could then record the Sunday sermons that Carlos teaches and the Wednesday bible studies and create a resource for the deaf here. Otherwise there is really nothing out there for them. And since most are barely literate, if at all, to study the bible by reading is almost impossible, and frustrating to say the least.

So that is the prayer request. It seems like such a big thing to ask for here, but we know that God is bigger.

(My little camera lets me take a minute or so video . . . thought you might like to have a look-see of something we'd love to have more of. . .)

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

55 things about Ensenada

The Poulette family did a "101 things about Mexico City" post of things they have learned since their time there. I'm plagiarizing the list, tweaking it to suit Ensenada and *voila!* I present to you . . .

55 things of Ensenada

1. Speed bumps will take out the bottom of your mini-van
   
2. You will get stood up. Bank on it.
   
3. If you don’t know what it is, don’t eat it.
   
4. Brain can be served in a tortilla.
   
5. Stomach can be served in a tortilla.
   
6. There are many different types of mole (a typical salsa). It takes a while to find one that you like.
   
7. There is no Taco Bell.
   
8. Motorcycles don’t have to stay in a lane.
   
9. Car alarms are ignored. Always.
   
10. You might see cows or horses on the freeways.
    
11. Dog poop happens.
    
12. Bus drivers are not afraid to hit you.
    
13. If you get there on time, you’re early.
    
14. The electricity can go out for no apparent reason.
    
15. You can buy almost anything on the side of the road, or in the boarder line wait.
    
16. Dogs are used as a house alarm.
    
17. Dogs bark at all hours.
    
18. There will be someone trying to give you a flyer at a signal light.
    
19. Also at a signal light someone will put some chocolate bar or other goodies on your windshield, if you don't want to buy it then leave it, he'll get it before you drive off.
    
20. Clowns juggle at intersections.
    
21. Stores might be open at the time they say they are open, but probably not.
    
22. Nobody will leave a message on your answering machine.
    
23. Nothing ends on time.
    
24. You can get knock offs of just about everything.
    
25. There’s one gas company…government owned pemex…no competition there.
    
26. They pump your gas for you, may even wash your windshield while they're at it.
    
27. The gas guy for your house may try to rip you off.
    
28. They paint lines on the street by hand.
    
29. Movies are mostly in English with subtitles.
    
30. If someone will be late or not show up to a meeting, they will probably not call you to tell you about it.
    
31. Stopping at a red light most of the time is optional.
    
32. There might be a pothole big enough to eat your car in your lane at any time.
    
33. Don’t pronounce English words with an English accent or nobody will understand you. For example, you must pronounce “hot dog” with a Spanish accent.
    
34. By the way, "awt doug"(a hot dog) is the full thing (dog, bun, ketchup, etc). A salchicha is just the hot dog and can be used as a pizza topping.
    
35. If you buy a hot dog it will come with mayonnaise, diced tomatoes and perhaps a bacon piece wrapped around it.
    
36. Ketchup goes on pizza, eggs, popcorn . . .
    
37. A money loan to a friend should be seen as a gift.
    
38. The word translated "right now" can mean anytime in the (maybe) future.
    
39. 2nd street is for tourist shopping.
    
40. If you need to change lanes, just stick your arm out the window (see the link in # 35)
    
41. You can do just about anything in your car if you put on your flashers.
    
42. Pretty much everyone has a cell phone. Even the deaf because of text messaging.
    
43. If you call a cell phone, you pay for the call.
    
44. Traffic roundabouts are dangerous. You could get stuck in one all day.
    
45. In just about every parking lot, and in the boarder line wait, someone will ask you if you want your car washed, whether it needs it or not.
    
46. I hope you like mayonnaise. It will be loaded on your sandwich.
    
47. Uneven pavement is a fact of life.
    
48. You can buy corn on the cob smothered with mayonnaise and chili powder.
    
49. Popcorn at the movies must be accompanied by hot salsa and lime.
    
50. The trunks of trees should be painted white…I think it has something to do with bugs.
    
51. Babies should be covered all the way pretty much at all times. There is no such thing as "dressed to warm" for baby.
    
52. Children are not allowed to drink cold drinks or they will get sick.
    
53. And no one should step on cold floors, or jump in cold water on a hot day for the same reason.
    
54. Baby car seats are optional.
    
55. Coca Cola from a bottle goes great with tacos.