Truckin' along....

Good afternoon friends!

Things here south of the border continue on at breakneck speed. Well....actually these last couple of weeks have been somewhat quieter than July and August. :) So what have we been up to????

* Children's home: We've actually not been there as much as the months prior due to all the teams coming and going and some changes they've been going through. There are new directors serving and this week they have more kids from the Juarez and La Junta children's homes. They also have some more help for the time being. Alan is working on a few 'here and there' type projects but there isn't anything MAJOR for him at this time.

* Church - There were 2 teams in and out through the end of July/1st part of August and that was pretty darn cool for all of our family. It was pretty funny with some of the ladies in our church here in Madera too. We had our tongues and bodies moving in so many languages and directions I was gettin' a bit mixed up at times. I'm so glad people treat me with grace...

Alan has been sheet rocking like crazy and is practically done. There is one other room in the church to be done but that will be up in the air for a while. It's a storage place for the time being and that takes some logistics. For now - he'll do the taping and mudding to keep plugging along.

* Life in general -
The kids and I are back to school. The locals have gone back too so things are much quieter during the morning hours. Whew! It seemed for several months I've had the 15 and under set at my gate yelling for my kids starting at about 9am. Homeschooling doesn't translate so they just kept yelling. We're getting more done now. :)

Weather: I think the rainy season is about past. And when I say rain - I mean RAIN. This picture is outside our front door at about 2pm. "When it rains, it pours...." and yes, that is the road... Why do I think the rainy season is over with pictures like that? Well, little signs are about. The flies are gone. This afternoon I still have laundry on my line blowing and hopefully drying in the sun and a slight breeze. And it's practically September. The season started in June and it was a doozy. Except for the spanish, if I look at the hills, I think I'm in Ireland.

Hmm...the last few weeks have seen two trips to the border. Road trips are a beautiful fantasy but something I personally dread. Seven hours in a small and confined space. Add in Mexican roads and you have an adventure no matter what way you cut it. We blogged earlier about the OBNOXIOUSLY long wait we had last time so this time we were smarter. Off hours are a must.

Why two trips??? The main reason is that Alan will cease to be a legal driver soon. :) Had to get his driver's license and this is a complicated, paperwork effort. BUT we did get it. Then realized that they don't give them out right then and there. They are mailed a week to 10 days later. We knew we weren't going to wait around for 10 days. Hmmm....since we like to kill lots of birds with one stone we called Alan's parents in Colorado to see if they could come down and see us and the kids for a couple of days. They made the road trip and we were able to catch up. It's been a couple of years since we've seen them so they hardly recognized the kids. Crossing the border isn't really an option for them so this worked out really well. And, we got Alan's license right before we left! So nice to still be legal....

One thing that we hadn't mentioned in the earlier post is that we've had a bit of trouble off and on with the truck. Now, for those of you who don't know what we drive see the main title picture. This truck has been it's OWN ministry down here. There has been no end to the ways that we've used it. For hauling things, kids, people, equipment, animals, supplies for the children's homes, garbage runs, towing - you name it and Alan has probably done it with the truck.

I remember when we were looking for a vehicle to move down here with (the mini van just wasn't going to cut it...) and it seemed so impossible for us to find what we were looking for without spending a fortune. 4x4, crew cab (5 people and a hubby who is 6'4"), stick shift (because those are way more interesting to drive), long bed, good condition, a canopy, diesel, and dual tanks. We prayed about it for a while and literally were handed it on a beautiful platter. $5000 has NEVER been such a good investment. We are VERY thankful for our vehicle.

But, you can't live and work down here and not do some wild things to your vehicle mechanically speaking. The roads are really hard to describe - better to just experience them. :) I usually feel shaken and stirred after a trip across town. Alan's good about doing the general maintenence and working at keeping it in good order but sometimes more major things come up. Most recently it was the power brakes. Hmmm....difficult thing to be without. So - he had the truck in with a local guy and he was able to find a used part and put it back together again. Then yesterday the cutting out that's been happening off and on for a few months was really b.a.d. Off he went to the parts store and today has given the truck a bit of TLC (replaced the fuel filter). Next, it will be something else but hopefully we're good for a bit. :)

Here we have it; here we share it.