Feeling Blessed

These last few weeks have been so full. Although the big items are always the ones that seems to draw our attention the most that does not mean that they have to be the most overpowering. God's presence is so amazing, there is no counterfit that could ever replace the peace that marks our lives. In such a crazy time in our life of transition, death, sickness I have to say that still the most powerful emotion is peace. It is a feeling that is hard to describe but you know it unmistakably.
These are pictures from our celebration night that we had for Carmela for completing one module of school. She read a poem, a few stories and recited The Little Red Hen, she even did all the parts with a comical twist!

OUr New Best Friend

Meet our new hepa filter :) Well after about at least 3 weeks of searching for a Air Purifier (Mexico City has the world's worst air pollution) We found some!! Since Julia seems to be developing asthma and is still not sleeping better, she is still up at night coughing even on steroids. We are hopeful that her air purifier will help. Today is a home day as it is a Holiday in Mexico City, and Jules and Carmy are running fevers. So we thought that it was a good day to get some things done around our apartment. Thanks everyone who prayed that we would find our air purifiers it was looking a little doubtful for a few days and I seriously didn't know if we would find any.

Claudia's Theme Song

In Your Arms of Love

Well the last time this song was playing through my head and heart, I can remember driving away from our good friends (Kent and Ashley's) house in Calgary over a year ago as we were leaving for Costa Rica and not knowing when we would see them again. It was one of those moments where your heart is so sad and heavy there are no words.   I quietly heard these words,

"My heart is glad that you have called me your own there is no place I'd rather be,

than in your arms of love

holding me still holding me near

in your arms of love"

I love that the Holy spirit comforts us when we have no words to express our pain.  Those were the words to a worship song by Kutless "Arms of Love".

Yesterday I felt a similar pain, but one I have not begun to process.  Yesterday I found out that my identical twin sister may have third stage of a rare form of skin cancer.  I had always wondered when that horrible C word would really effect someone very close to me,  I have already lost a number of people to cancer but this is something I never would have imagined.  

SO how do I feel, numb, angery, I will fight I am not going to allow this!   But I also feel a quiet peace, that tells me stay calm, we can do this, one day at a time. 

As I was sitting here this morning I once again heard the sweet words to that song, playing in my heart without any invitation, I am so thankful that we are never alone and we have a comforter who knows the deepest things of our hearts and will never leave us.

here is a pic of my Claudia, please pray as God leads you.

love Sandra

Just a normal day in Mexico City

Here are some pictures of us hanging out at the park and playing basketball with some of the kids on our team.  It is mind boggling how many kids and youth there are. The streets, schools and parks are over flowing.  What a great way to meet other kids.  We are praying for opportunities to meet and begin relationships and feel so honored to be here.

The Urban Jungle

Wow, I knew that this city was big but until one drives here one does not realize that it turns into a monster of traffic and can actually swallow you up into the abyss of lostness.  The map book, which they call the "Guia Roji" is only about 250 pages long with an index of thousands of street names in which a lot of them are named the same.  If you miss a turn it could take you miles into the wrong direction before you can figure out where or how to turn around and figure out where you are again.  And such was the case for what happened to me.  The first Friday night we were here, two teammates of us, Rick and Pablo, myself and my mom, who came down to visit, decided to adventure out to Home Depot at 7:00pm...the time is important to note...On our way to pick up Rick, which was only about 15 min. away, we got lost.  An hour later, because of traffic and getting lost, we picked up Rick.  Ok, so it was now 8:20, plenty of time to get to our destination.  We approached  this all important spot where we had a decision to make, left or right.  I was driving and could hear nothing but Left, no right, no left, no right, so I took the loudest left/right and went right.....Wrong way.  We were so close, we could actually see the parking lot...but after an hour of not finding the parking lot again and driving through a frightening neighborhood we decided to head home at 9:40 pm not ever arriving at our destination.  (Home Depot is only about 25 to 30 minutes away)

This story just proves to you that we need your prayers even as we drive here.  Pray for safety in traffic and if we get lost in a bad neighborhood and pray for patience as we sit in traffic and resist the temptation to participate in the horn honking competition to move ahead a foot or two.