Christmas at Sagrada Familia

Well, Padre Ron and Vicki missed it as they were in the US, but we had a great Christmas. We got to open our packages under the tree as well as those sent by friends in the US. We enjoyed a special meal. And, best of all we got to stay up REALLY late and watch TV. Now how cool is that? And a happy New Year to each of you!

Nativity

Thanks to Directora Jackie we have a great Nativity at Sagrada Familia. All the kids were excited and we blessed the figure of the infant Jesus just before Edgar's party. We have a lively assembly of chickens, horses, traditional wisemen, and assorted other farm animals eagerly awaiting the Christ Child. May he be born again in our hearts this year. Feliz Navidad to you each of the twelve days of Christmas!!

Party

The kids recently had a blast at Padre Ron's and Tía Vicki´s. First the Sagrada Familia crew came over and made cookies and played before feasting on hamburgers. Then the San José kids came over for a meal. Both groups enjoyed the giant soap bubble makers provided by Brian and Kimi Shorter of Corinth. Of course Padre Juan Carlos was down in the dirt playing cars with the other little boys and girls! They loved it!

Best Two out of Three....

Here they are! Yasmin and Liz, two new girls for Casa Hogar "San José" just in time for Christmas. We´re thrilled to have these 2 new eight year olds join us. The third one, a boy of 3 yrs., should have come in today. Welcome, kids! That should bring us up to our limit for 2007 with 17 at San José and 9 at Sagrada Familia. Vicki, Martha, Manuel, and Diego will move over to S.F. in February when the Roofdogs arrive from Texas. Yeeehaaaaw!

What´s Next for Edgar...?

That has been the challenging question this last month. A recently discovered birth certificate for Edgar puts him at 17 yrs. old as of Dec. 29, 2006. Legally he can only stay at Casa Hogar for one more year. (We´re investigating options.) We have decided to place Edgar in a "Pronoe" education system where he will attend classes on Sat. only and will have weekdays to apprentice at a trade he is interested in. Right now we are investigating auto mechanics which he and José both like. Maybe a little trial time over the holidays to see if it is truly something Edgar wants to pursue. Padre has assured him that if he isn´t interested, we´ll try something else! Keep Edgar in your prayers, please!

Updating......

Wow! How time flies. Let's see what I can remember. First, we did Simba's shots. He's up to date now until next year. Next, we had the kids over to make cookies, eat, and play at the Robertson's (see http://ronandvickisministry.blogspot.com/) and then we had the BIG EVENT. That was Edgar's "promoción" from Sixth Grade. Quite a blowout. Ron and Vicki went with Edgar and the directora, Jackie, to the evening bash. Music (loud), food (plentiful), and dancing(at first shy) were the order of the event which lasted from 3:30 Sunday afternoon until 9 p.m. Tía Jackie gets the prize for getting the REAL dancing started. Edgar, a bit bashful at first, had a great time.
Also, you´ll notice Estrella in the bright pink dress. She used to one of our kids at Casa Hogar San José. Hasn´t she grown???

Christian Arrives

A new boy arrived today. He will turn 11 in January. Christan has lost both parents and has only an older grandmother who isn't able to care for him. We're glad to have him. As he is a bright boy, we are checking to see if Arelis' teacher who comes to the orphanage can work with him as well.

Maria Perez and Ron discussed some repairs needed and possibly re-upholstering the living room furniture. We'll pray about that. Maria was really excited about that possibility as she wants everything "spiffy" when the Roof Dogs come in Feb.

We'll put a picture of Christian on the blog as soon as we take one!