They have arrived!!!!

Leyna and Melissa have arrived, safe and sound! They are GREAT! Oh, and the cat is fine too!!!! Yes, Melissa brought home a cat! Just letting you know...thanks for the prayers....Sarah and Pam

and finally...today, our last day!

So, today is our last day....I can't believe that it has been a month! Melissa and I have mixed emotions....we are sad to leave, and happy to go home! Today in school we have a final test and then we will say goodbye to our teachers. Then, after school we are going to the SPA one last time, and then going to the Orphanage to play for awhile, and then say good bye to the girls. We will be able to tell them without a doubt that we will be back again next year! But it will be so sad to say goodbye, it has been wonderful! When we get back to the apartment we have a lot of work to do getting it cleaned up and getting all of our stuff packed and ready to go. Then we will go out to dinner with Juan Jose. Sad but happy.....he has been a blessing to us.

I can't wait to get home and see my family and friends! And sleep in my own bed, and smell the nice clean air that our exhaust emissions systems filter for us! Ahhhhh! Life is good! That is one thing we won't miss...the smell of exhaust fumes!

Thank you all so much for the prayers, thoughts, and comments. All of that has made this experience all the more wonderful for us!

Pray for a safe return home. We arrive at DFW at 5:20pm tomorrow evening!

Love in christ,

Leyna (and Melissa)

Yesterday...

In our first class we walked to the market with our teacher and got Kathleen flowers. I in our second class we went to the MEGA, and bought about 20 things of 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner, scrubby sponges, a new mop, a bucket, tooth paste, hand towels, and gathered things that we brought to give out also. We had a car full! Before we went to the orphanage we went to the animal shelter, and helped out with their kitties probably for the last time. When we got to Casa Hogar, we gave out and stocked the stuff that we bought from the MEGA. We also gave them out all of the stuff from Leyna's ballet studio to them. They only wanted to take one thing each, but then towards the end we started putting all of the hair ties in their hair, and putting more braclets on their wrists for them. They really loved all of the stuff. They tryed to give back the extras, but we wouldn't let them. They are so appreciative of the littlest things. Thank you for the money that was sent that helped us buy them these gifts!

Then we played with little Lupita because she is really attached to Madre Petra and calls her 'Mama'. Madre Petra could use a break now and then, so we took her and occupied her for awhile. Then we got to help the older girls draw Christmas cards!!! I guess they are planning ahead!

Kathleen is feeling a little better, she has some prescription meds that she is taking for the pain. She is sleeping a lot, but is feeling much better. Your prayers are very helpful, so keep them up. Thanks! Melissa (and Leyna)

Miss Kathleen

Please pray for Kathleen today, she may be sore after her fall. Thanks, Leyna and Melissa

Wow....Today!

Today we went to the hot springs...but did not stay long because it was raining. It was really cool! While we were there we saw one of the little girls from the orphanage with her mom and a man and his wife from Texas....don't know why they were there??! But then we got back and Kathleen came home, went to get her laundry, and then she came back into the house and she told us that she had slipped and fell and that she had chipped her tooth and thought that her nose was broken! So we all went to the hospital. Her nose is fine, and the dentist fixed her tooth...right there! ...it was a very interesting experience. We couldn't go to the orphanage obviously.....so we did some things that Kathleen had asked us to do... get her some ice cream and return her books at the library. We walked in the rain all day basically, but it was fun, and we got to do some shopping too which was great obviously! So it was an interesting day. But all is well now. It has been raining non-stop all day, because of the hurricane coming toward Mexico right now. And it is FREEZING! Well, it's 50 degrees. I guess we should count our blessings though, seeing as it is 100+ in Texas right now! We are both getting sad about leaving. There is just so much stuff to do here we could never fit it all in. But it has been a wonderful trip, and we are ready to be back home!

Leyna and Melissa

books and black-faced cats

Today after school we went to the animal shelter and I visited my favorite cat, Griselda. Here's a picture of her. It's so sad that she doesn't know that I'm leaving! Then we went to the orphanage and helped the girls wrap their books in paper or plastic or both for school. Each girl has about 8 books, and they all need to be wrapped! It took forever! But, we had fun with the girls, as usual! That's pretty much it. Melissa

Tutus and twirls!

Today we passed out the tutus for the younger girls. They went crazy! They loved them. There weren't enough ballet shoes for all of them to have a pait, so they would take turns wearing them for five minutes at a time. They were running around screaming and chasing each other, and dancing. They had a lot of fun. It was a joyful time. I took lots of pictures, Leyna danced around with some of the ninas. All of the girls are back now, and have started school. Everything is settling down now that all of the girls are back. We rode back to the school (they take English lessons with Senora Josephina as well...) with them and then we went and printed off some more pictures for the poster that we have been working on. We got to work on it some more this afternoon after school. We have it almost all the way finished. Pray that we are able to finish up everything that we have started here in San Miguel, and that we will do it to the glory of our Savior! Well, not much more, keep up the prayers! We will try to send pics of the girls in tutus tomorrow for the blog...
Melissa and Leyna

Soap

One thing that we have noticed is that the girls at the orphanage do not have soap at the sinks. They stick their hands under the cold water and them wipe them on their clothes! So, we decided that one of the best things we could do for them would be to buy them some hand soap. We went to the Mega store, and bought 12 soap pumps full of soap and 4 huge refills for them. We hope that this will be a good contribution! Today when we go to the orphanage we will give them the soap and the Madres some chocolate that we bought for them. Then we will probably help them organize their things for going to English school tonight! We will write again later with more information! Leyna and Melissa

Baby camels and pink poodles...

Yesterday we had a busy one, working at the S.P.A. and at the orphanage. We are helping get the girls ready for school, so we have been busy there! We also helped adopt out a few animals, which was fun!Last night we went to the circus with Tom and Lu. There was a clown between each act and the clown and a trampolinist were doing an act together, and the clown was trying to do the act better...kinda like a dance off, except it was a trampoline off...and so the clown did some flips,and then the trampolinist was doing these HUGE flips and aerials. and the clown just jumped off onto a mat. So the trampolinist did a huge flip off onto the mat. Then we saw the clown kinda push the man forward while he was still in the air to try to get him on the mat when he landed, but his left foot didn't make it, and he limped back over to the tramp. The whole time he didn't make a sound. Then the clown then walks over to him, and he helps him walk over to the curtain, and the stage crew grab him from there and take him behind the curtain. During the intermission, the trampolinist was screaming, and you could hear it over all of the people talking. We were sitting no more than a yard away from where it happened. Sad for him though, other than that the circus was awesome! Please be praying for him.

Melissa and Leyna

We will try to update later too. Sorry, we have been very busy with school, orphanage, S.P.A., keeping in touch with our parents, etc. We will also need to be working on our schoolwork from here, so hopefully we will find time to get everything done. Please pray that we will also be good roommates...

Today, after school, Melissa and I volunteered at the S.P.A. ( A.S.P.C.A.) again. It is so hard to love on all of the kittens and cats and not be able to take them home. Melissa is determined to get one cat back to the states...and I wouldn't doubt that she will make it happen! After the SPA we went to the house and loaded all of the pictures of the animals onto the computer. Then we came back to the school to meet our ride to take us to the orphanage. However, when we go there, Señora Josefina said that the Madres called and they all had to go somewhere today at the last minute, so it would not be good for us to come since nobody is there. :-( Since we had a bunch of extra time, Melissa and I went on a long walk around the town and had a chance to have some good old english conversation with eachother. It was very pleasant. Now we are back at the school using the computers. We are VERY fortunate to have internet access like we do! Thank you Senora Josephina! Tomorrow we were planning on going swimming in the hot springs after school, but our plans have changed so we will have to figure out something productive to do...like study....or eat! Hopefully we will be able to get to the orphanage and see our little muchachas though. Life is good in San Miguel de Allende......but there is no place like home! (click, click) No place like home! (click, click)
:)
Leyna

Monday is gone....

Saturday we went on a bus tour, and visited 2 homes. One was an American's house, he makes beautiful jewlery, the other was at a cannery. It was a HUGE house! Then a lady that we met on the bus took us to go see a play. Once we came home, Leyna and I walked over to a local art show, where there are lots of vendors selling their art, whether it be jewlery, clothes. Then we had dinner with Tom and Lu at Hecho in Mexico. It was very good. Then on Sunday Juan Jose took us walking around the Jardin. Then we went and saw Licensed to Wed in English with Spanish subtitles. It was cute. Today after school, we went to the orphanage and played with the girls. Then folded clothes for the madres. Then we sorted them out, and wrote names on the new clothes we gave them. Then we went to school, and wrote this blog. Keep up the prayers for our health.
Have a fantastic day!
Melissa

Trails and Nails

We walked around this afternoon until 4, at the market. We had lots of fun, we took a little detour, but got to where we wanted to go. Then we went to the orphanage and Itzel decided to paint my finger nails a metalic purple silver color. The polish is all over my fingers and nails. She would put some on, then use a piece of toilet paper and wipe it off. I finally have my nails finished. It is... hmmm.... lovely... then we took the picture frame with all the girls on it home so that we could update it. We'll work on that this weekend. Not much happened today. Love ya,
Melissa

Viernes, 10 de Agosto de 2007

Yesterday we went to a pre-school graduation for one of the girls at the orphanage:Itzel. They all got dressed up. Then they danced, got awards and sang a song. Itzel got to hold the microphone (right next to her mouth) and was the lead. They were really cute. Then this morning we got up, (the power is back! YEA) and we walked in to the school at 8:05 ish, and as soon as we got to the computors, we heard ''BOom Boom boom) and then all the lights and the power went out, so we were without power for...2 1/2 hours. Then they all came back! Yea! We are going to go to market today, and walk around until 4, and then we will go to the orphanage. Leyna's stomach started feeling better around 11:30, and we had some cake, so keep up the prayers. We will try to send some pictures later on today, but dont hold your breath.
Love you all
Melissa

A Day in the Life....

Yesterday (Melissa sent this last night) we went to the Tuesday market for our second class of spanish. It is basically a whole ton of people trying to sell...well...everything. That was pretty cool. Then we went to the orphanage at 6, and no more that 10min after we got there a really bad storm arrived. So we stayed outside in a patio type thing were we could stay dry without actually going indoors. There were only 4 girls there. While we were there, a lady came, I think her name was Blanca, and her husband came later with a little girl from the orphanage: Juanita. We were trying to communicate with her, and here's what I got: She is praying to be Juanita's mom. (We talked to Tom's wife Lu about it, and she says that Juanita is one of the few girls that are up for adoption.) So they packed her up a new suitcase, and gave her some clean clothes, and then they were going to go back to their house after they ate. (Dennis: they were having apple's and banana's for dinner Monday night, and Tuesday night they had cereal and bananas). One of the younger girls (Dulce) was having her 3rd birthday party sometime soon. She had a party dress. It was white, with pink flowers on it, and she wore a hoop skirt. It was really cute! Then we went home. When we got home, the power was out and so we ate dinner, and did our homework by candle light. Mrs. Kathleen told us that while she was at the school lightning struck that put all the power out. It was right across the street from the school. Then today after our classes we went to the animal shelter. We went with a lady that helps out with the cats. There was one kitten that was really pretty, and was a definite lap cat. She will get adopted out fast. But there was one adult cat, that I really want. The only one that I would really want to get. All the others were really sweet and nice and cute, but this one was really special. She has been there for about 6 months, and all of her siblings have already been adopted out. She is mostly white with 3 or 4 black splotches on her. She is only $25 too. (hint hint mom and dad... :o)... ) We didn't go to the orphanage today because it started raining, and we didnt think the 30min drive would be worth it just to sit and watch TV with them inside. So we helped out with an English class for the younger kids at the school. Then we made these really cute paper flowers for the 4 girls that are at the orphanage right now. Keep up the prayers.

Today in San Miguel

We got word this morning via Melissa on her cell phone that San Miguel is without power this morning. There was a storm last night and lightning struck the building across from the school, which is also very close to where the 3 amigas live. So, we may not get any news from them today. Hope you are all enjoying the blog. Please do not hesitate to click on "comments" below any blog and then write something. You can click "anonymous" if you do not have a gmail account, just remember to sign your name. I know that everyone would love to hear from their friends! Thanks, Pam Rader (Leyna's mom)

Hello from Melissa!

We went to the orphanage yesterday, and there were only 6 girls there. They were all younger, except for one who is maybe 13. So, we watched over them. Leyna got a really bad tummy ache, about 1 hr before we left, so we went home about 30min early, so be praying for her health. We just bought them a new soccer ball, and a new volleyball, the little girls were very excited to see new balls! They played with them all day! They really liked them. Keep up the prayers.
Melissa

update

Well, we have been talking to the girls briefly, but they are having a hard time finding time to write a blog, so I will fill you in. The girls and Kathleen went with Tom for a four hour walk around San Miguel on Sunday. They are becoming very familiar with their surroundings. Today they had a blast in their classes. They join up with some teenagers that have already been there for three weeks tomorrow. They did a bunch of homework to catch up enough to be with them. So, they are looking forward to that. Today they are serving at the orphanage from afternoon until about 9pm, helping put the little ones to bed. They are going first to buy soccer balls for the girls, as theirs are deflated and old. They went home just now from school to eat fruit and shop. That's all I have! Please pray that they would continue to become more at home and more comfortable in San Miguel. Pray for unity and for Kathleen to find some time to paint. Pray against homesickness. Thanks so much! Keep the comments coming, they are reading them! Pam Rader

Life in San Miguel

Here is a post from the girls. We talked to Kathleen yesterday too, and she is doing well. She has been feeling under the weather with her sinuses though, if you could pray for her. She is working diligently on her Spanish lessons, the girls say that she is very good at speaking Spanish. Everyone seems to be settling in, and having Dennis there has been really good. Here's the post, don't forget to hit "comments" at the bottom and send them a message. Thanks, Pam Rader

Hey everyone!....Yesterday we went to the Bellas Artes (a very cool art museum) for one of our classes in school. From there we went to the library to see a movie that some of the girls from the orphanage were in. We met all the girls there and they we very excited that we came. After the movie Melissa and I, and Dennis and Kathleen, went out to a traditional mexican lunch.Then Kathleen went home and Tom (Dennis' friend who lives here and is fluent in Spanish, he and Dennis do lots of stuff for Casa Hogar) took us to the orphanage. The girls were so excited that Señor Dennis was there! We played with the girls for a while and then had a meeting with the Madres about buying the girls the things that they need. They said that they needed socks, underwear, and undershirts. So we decided that we would go tomorrow (today) to buy them that stuff, and Madre Perta is going to come with us to make sure we get the right things. We also talked to the Madres about helping more with the chores. They told us that they really would need help with the babies at night with baths and diapers, pajamas, etc., since most of the older girls would be off at camp next week. We are both very excited about helping, and the madres were shocked that we wanted to do that. After we left the orphanage, we went back to Dennis' brothers' house and used his computer-phone. We both called our parents, so that was great! Then we all went out for a wonderful meal. We got back home at 10:30 and went strait to bed. It was a wonderful day! But now, we have to do homework! Love to all, Melissa and Leyna