Raising Some $$$

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

It has been a whirlwind, but the fundraising season for Manos de Amor is almost over. In the span of 5 ½ weeks, we have held 3 major events: a Cocktail Party, a Hamburger Fest and last weekend was a GIANT event called Rhythm and Ribs where 1500-2000 people sampled food from almost 30 restaurants, drank beer and danced under the stars to the music of a local band. It has been fun – and exhausting – and I’m pretty sure that all of us on the steering committee are happy that this part of our job is finished. We have auctioned off almost 150 items, given away 70 raffle prizes, and split a pile of 50/50 money. We have sipped wine and danced on the beach, flipped burgers and sang Karaoke in the middle of a street and gnawed on ribs in a big empty field. Most importantly, we have raised a lot of money which is essential to keeping our home running and keeping our children safe and educated.

Dancing Under the Stars

Hamburger Fest

After picking the short straw, I had the privilege of chairing this last big event and I am so grateful for the dozens of volunteers who worked hard helping this greenhorn pull this off. I have led a LOT of events, but this one was certainly unique in so many ways.

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Although we have not seen rain here in Bucerias for months, my biggest fear was the big black clouds that began to spit just as we started. To my great relief, instead of rain we were given a beautiful rainbow. I took that as personal encouragement! At the end of the evening, we were treated to a fireworks display by the nearby hotel. Pretty awesome start and finish to a great event!

I have been in charge of venue setup for many gymnastics meets, and my friends Lorne and Barry have often teased me (you were teasing right?) about how I bossed them around during equipment setup. (I want the vault runway there…. No there….. no 2 inches to the right…. I mean 3 inches to the left….). Well I have to say I get much better service here (now I’m teasing). I mentioned that we really needed to get someone to move a car that was parked in a bad spot, and instantly I had 8 Mexican men literally pick up the car and move it out of the way. I picked up a table to move it and a nice Mexican man told me ladies don’t have to lift tables.

She said she wants the car moved…..

So my inauguration into Bucerias fundraising is over. I met many very cool people, counted a LOT of pesos, sampled ribs and tamales and ceviche, and shook hands with Mexican politicians. I translated spreadsheets with income and expenses (I can truly say I have never had a line item for ‘Bano revenue’ before), cooked 120 pulled pork sandwiches and walked a LOT of steps. I can’t say it is my favorite part of charity work – I’d rather just play with kids- but I do know that raising funds is super important and I am grateful for the many snowbirds and other tourists who supported our children. GRACIAS!

A Sad Week for Jose

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

This was a sad week for Jose and his family – and it broke my heart too. Every Friday Grant and I drive 6 year old Jose home to spend the weekend with his family in San Vicente. He lives with his mom and his 6 siblings and his nephew and 2 nieces. His grandma and aunties have come from the state of Michoacán and have been living 3 blocks away for the past few months.

Abuelita is on the far right at our Boxing Day Pizza Party

On Sunday I received a message on Messenger from 13 year old Isabel. Although she no longer lives at Manos de Amor, I hear from her almost every day. “Hello Karen – what are you doing today?”. I value the relationship we have built with this family. But the message I received on Sunday was not just chit chat with a bored teenager. She told me her abuelita – her grandma – had died. Oh no. We had just visited with Grandma the week before when she had been caring for a sick Jose. She had not been sick then – but apparently a sudden pneumonia had taken her. We were set to pick up Jose later that evening and I asked what they needed – should I still get Jose? Would they keep him with family, would he attend a funeral?

In Mexico, funerals often happen very quickly – within 36 hours. There is no embalming, no waiting for many days for family to travel. There is a wake the first night with a viewing of the body and some type of funeral or gathering the next day. I received a message later that afternoon asking me to come get Jose at 7:00 as usual. In Canada it is normal to bring food to a grieving family – and I knew that it would be even more important to do the same here in Mexico. There is no extra food in the fridge to feed visiting relatives. So we stopped at the grocery store and bought 4 roasted chickens and some rice and beans and headed out to get Jose, not knowing what to expect.

When we arrived it was quiet at the house -and 12 year old Laurentino told us all of the family had gone to Michoacán – his mom, most of his siblings, his nieces and nephews and aunties and uncles. He and 13 year old Isabel were left at home and Jose would be going with us to Casa Hogar. He did not know how long they would all be gone. I was so glad we had brought the food as there was none in the house and the two children were there alone – under the watchful eye of a neighbor who I knew probably did not have extra food for 2 more.

20170214_142302-4 Jose seemed stoic – he walked out of the house and climbed into my car without a word. I talked to Laurentino for a while – told him to contact me if he needed anything – and drove Jose back to the orphanage. As soon as we walked into the home, Jose’s damn broke. He started crying- deep sobbing. For over an hour I sat on the couch holding this little guy in my arms while he cried and asked for his mama. I have seen Jose angry, happy, mischievious – but I have never seen such sadness and pain from him. He cried and I cried and told him “Today I am your mommy Jose. It is okay”. After an hour or so I laid Jose on the couch and left. Laura, the night worker, said he could sleep with her. I was heartbroken leaving him but I knew he needed a good night’s sleep.

The next morning I arrived at Manos de Amor and as soon as Jose spotted me he ran up to me and said to me (in Spanish of course) “Karen, last night I was crying because my Grandma died – I’m ok now”. I smiled and said “I know Jose – you were sad. It will be okay. Your Grandma is with Jesus now”. His serious little face, “No Karen – my Grandma is in Michoacán”.

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So Jose will be okay. Sometimes it is healthy to cry hard – not just for Grandma but for a missing mama, for a hungry weekend, for nieces and nephews who are born to 13 year old moms, for one room homes in cardboard towns, for all that is hard in his young life. Today I watched him laugh as hard as he cried on Sunday and I smiled with him – Jose will be okay and we are so happy to be part of his story.

A Blooming Good Life

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

I recognize that sometimes I use this blog to complain and grumble about the things that are difficult here (no my windshield has not been repaired yet), or sad (my fingers caressing the many infected cuts on little Kevin’s legs), or irritating (the barking dogs at night – oh so many barking dogs). But this morning I walked out into my garden and just felt so grateful for the beauty I saw there. I generally suck as a gardener, but we bloomed stuff! I reminded myself once again that even when situations here are difficult, when what I encounter in the homes and people I visit feels like walking in a dry and parched land, life is good. Very good. And I rejoice in it.

“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.” Is 35.2

What is a Typical Week?

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

My last couple of blog posts have been complaining about our car woes but I want to be very clear – we are loving our new life here and recognize that we have a purpose here that goes far beyond being comfortable in our wheels.

r-r-2017 Last week I made a quick business trip to Canada and returned Sunday afternoon, eager to get back to what is now my normal life. Every day we go to the orphanage to spend time with children. I am now on the Steering Committee of the home and we are in the middle of the fundraising season. Our largest fundraiser is in less than 3 weeks – 1500 people will come to eat Ribs and listen to music and hopefully spend lots of money on raffles and 50/50 draws and auction items. I am chairing the committee for this event even though I don’t have a clue what I am doing – which is kind of how I rolled in Canada too (ie Gymnatics Nationals 2007!). But what we love most is connecting with the children at Casa Hogar and last week was a typical week in our life there.

GROUP VISITS

On Wednesday we helped conduct a group visit. All we knew was that a group was coming from the Four Season in Punta de Mita to tour the orphanage. Shortly after 2:30 a giant bus pulled up – I can’t imagine how the driver navigated through the narrow roads in this neighborhood but the children were pumped to see this bus stopping at their house. 40 top producers of a software company – Qualtrics – poured out of the bus and spent the afternoon playing road hockey and other games and touring the home. They left a GIANT pile of fantastic gifts – schools supplies and backpacks and clothes and fans. They also presented us with a cheque for $100,000 pesos. Veronica asked me to thank them in English and I admit I had a hard time talking as I choked back the tears. During the winter we have many tourists who visit – they don’t all leave $100,000 pesos but they all leave something – a bit of cash, a bag of toys, some ice cream or candies, always smiles and hugs and pieces of their hearts. I love looking at the children through their eyes and reminding myself why we moved here. Thank you Qualtrics – and all of the other visitors who have blessed us this winter, including my own friends Melanie from Weyburn and Alex and Jill from Regina.

CHURCH

Wednesday night we accompany the children to Spanish church. Nothing is as lively and life-affirming as Spanish church and we love dancing around with the children – and holding young Jose as he inevitably falls asleep in my arms. As much as we believe in feeding the bodies of these little ones, feeding their souls with God’s love and hope is the most important – and satisfying – thing of all.

ENGLISH LESSONS

We started a new program last week using Duolingo to teach the older children English. Duolingo is language software that Grant and I have been using regularly to learn Spanish. It has the capability to be set up as a classroom – using individual lessons and group activities. This means that we can help facilitate their learning without being fluent Spanish speakers. And it is perfect for children and teens because it feels like you’re playing a video game. We worked with Miguel, Rubi, Paolo and even young Edgar last week and they are all eager to learn English – and to help Grant and I learn Spanish. Win/Win! We would love to invest in a few tablets which would make using this technology much easier so if you have any old ones you don’t want let me know! For these children, learning English will open doors to working in the tourism industry and it will absolutely change the direction of many lives.

HELPING DAD

The home had a broken Golf Cart sitting in the yard for the last few months and Grant set to work fixing it. He had a LOT of helpers who wanted to hang out with him and help.

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SWIMMING AFTERNOON

Just like in Canada, teachers here schedule In-service days one Friday per month. Last Friday school was out and we were all invited to go swimming at the Yacht Club in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. The Yacht Club is the winter home to many families who live on boats, traveling the world. The children who live on these boats are home schooled and don’t often get the chance to hang out with other children, so they loved hanging out at the pool with our children. It was a fun afternoon and we ended by making pipe cleaner bracelets.

After swimming, Grant and I drove Jose home to San Vicente as we do every Friday and visited with young Irandi and her baby Alison.

It was a full week and after dropping Jose off we drove to Nuevo Vallarta and ate pasta and sipped wine in a quiet garden restaurant. Although we are where we want to be here in Bucerias, sometimes we need to withdraw from the crazy noise of children and dogs and roosters and music and close our eyes and just breathe. To be together. To reconnect. To toast this life we are figuring out. To just be Grant and Karen.

MAKING FRIENDS

Last night we attended a Western Themed party. We are slowly making our own friends here – some Mexicanos, some Gringos. I don’t think you could survive here if you didn’t have people to ask the tough questions: Why does my stove dial only have numbers 1 to 5 instead of degrees? Where do you buy your spices? Flour? Do you eat vegetables anymore? You found dried cranberries? Where? What is your favorite taco place? And always… did you hear that music last night?

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Tonight we will go and pick up Jose and deliver him back to Casa Hogar. Our week will start again. We will spar with car dealerships and conduct committee meetings and eat tacos and sweep up the never-ending supply of dust that comes through our windows. We will laugh with children and maybe cry for them. But whatever this week brings us, we will live boldly and fully. We will be grateful. And we will eat tacos.

The Car Adventure Continues….

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

22 days – apparently that is what MANANA means to the Volkswagen dealership here in Puerto Vallarta! And that was after Brandon the Key Guy’s 5 MANANAS. 27 Days to get a new key made to replace the one that is now ½ way to Hawaii.

I told you the story of losing the key and breaking into the house and finally getting the car towed to the dealership. I thought that was the end of the story. Just a couple more days. But of course it was not. Every day for the past 22 days we have called Raul or his manager Adrian to ask if our car is ready and every day there was another problem. Another story. Another manana. They ordered a new part. They took apart the dashboard to put in the new part. Nope, didn’t work. So they ordered all new keys. Started over. And finally the answer we had been waiting for. Your car is ready. What started as $1700 pesos and 3 hours turned into $12,000 pesos and 27 days. Plus 3 weeks of a rental car. But she was ready and we headed over to pick her up.

When we arrived Raul had some interesting info for us. When we had purchased the car, (that’s another whole story – check it out here) some of the warning lights were on. Of course, we said we would not buy it until those lights were checked and the problems repaired. Yes Lady, Of course Lady, we’ll send it to our Electric guy and get it fixed for you. When we returned the next day, the lights were indeed fixed – faulty sensors had been replaced they said. Well now Raul told us that when they removed the dashboard and the instrument cluster they noticed that the warning lights had been painted over with dark nail polish. Not repaired. Not replaced. Covered up. Sigh. Raul assured us that everything seemed to be running well and honestly, I just wanted to get out of there with my Canadian politeness intact. They brought the car around, Grant left in the rental car and I climbed in ready to finally take Azulita home. And then I saw it. A large crack in the windshield. Right in the driver’s sight line. Not a chip. Not a small crack. A big, ugly, multi directional, crack. So I called Raul over – “What is this? I am sure this wasn’t here when we brought it in”. “Are you positive – if you’re positive I’ll take your word for it and we’ll repair it.” Was I positive? Grant drives most of the time and could I have I forgotten this? We do drive on some pretty crappy roads. He had driven away by this time so I told Raul that I would talk to Grant and call him right back. So I met Grant at the Car Rental office and he gave me the answer before I asked the question. “What the !@#@#$!!#### is that on the windshield?”. As promised, I immediately called Raul – not even 15 minutes after we left the dealership – and his answer was “Well I talked to my manager and I don’t think it happened here and you really can’t prove it did so I don’t think we can really do anything”. Aaaaargghhhhh.

Of course, the one thing Raul did not take into consideration is that I had taken photos – a lot of photos – because I have to share this crazy adventure on Facebook and on this blog – and I did indeed have proof that Azulita arrived at the dealership with NO CRACKS IN THE WINDSHIELD. “You have pictures? Really? Okay, I’ll send you our email address and you can send them here”. So we waited 2 days – you KNOW he did not send the email address. Today we went to the dealership. We stood outside the Service Manager’s office until he was free and we told him our story. “I’m sure it didn’t happen here” – and then I did it. I whipped out my phone. I produced the BEFORE picture taken in their dealership, I zoomed in on the clean windshield. I produced the AFTER picture. I zoomed in on the cracked windshield. I waited. “Well maybe I’ll check the videos here in the shop and then we can make a deal. We’ll have to fix it. I guess.” Call me manana. And here we go again…….

BEFORE:

No crack…..

AFTER:

Yup… definite crack

Stay Tuned……

El Dia de los Reyes

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

On Friday we went with the children to the last fiesta of the Christmas season. Here in Mexico, January 6^th is known as El Dia De Los Reyes (3 Kings Day). It is the last of the 12 days of Christmas and symbolizes the three Kings who found Baby Jesus. This is a day of family gatherings, parades, gifts and the special bread called Rosca de Reyes. The children of Manos de Amor were invited to a party at the La Cruz Yacht Club, sponsored by the mostly tourists who sail in the Bay and live on their beautiful boats. It was a fun party with lots of games and crafts and hot dogs and a gift for each child.

20170106_133016 One of the highlights was the cutting of the Rosca. The bread (it reminds me of Easter Bread) is a sweet bread shaped in a circle to represent the crowns of the Kings. It is covered with candied fruit. Hidden inside the bread are little plastic dolls – baby Jesus. The tradition is that whoever finds the baby must host a Tamale party on Feb 2^nd. For these children, the promise is whoever finds the dolls gets as many tamales as they want on Feb 2^nd. It reminded me of when we hid money in our birthday cakes when I was young – what kid doesn’t love a fun choking hazard treasure hunt? And the best part??? I got a Baby Jesus! So I think that means I have to host a Tamale party.

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That brings to an end Christmas 2016. Like all children, these ones have been loaded with candy and spoiled with gifts. I have no idea if they understand that it was the generosity of total strangers that gave them the Christmas that most other children get from their parents. I don’t know how their parents feel either. It is something I wrestle with all the time – how can we help without hurting? I don’t have the answer and so for now I just trust my heart and give what feels right. Thank you to those who donated money and time and gifts to make Christmas special for these sweet children. I trust that you will reap the blessings of spirit that come from sharing your heart. Oh, and I guess you’re invited to my place for tamales on February 2nd!

A Crappy Week of Mananas

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

I have always said that I am going to take it all in stride. I am not going to expect things to be easy here or for everything to go smoothly. I will have lower expectations and take each day as it comes. But I admit that this week has presented an irritation that is threatening to make me just a tiny bit cranky.

Last Friday – that’s right, 7 days ago – this story began. Our girls were still here and after a few days working with volunteers at the orphanage, we were excited to go boogie boarding at the beach in Nuevo Vallarta. It’s one of our favorite beaches to enjoy some chicken nachos and some sunshine and waves. When it was time to leave we packed up the lawn chairs, the boogie boards, the umbrella, the towels and sunscreen and books and bags. As we were walking to the overflow parking lot down the road Grant reached for his keys – and I watched the panic cross his face. The keys to our car and our house were gone – he had forgotten they were in the now empty pocket of his swimming trunks. The keys had joined my glasses that were swept away by waves a few years ago. We were stranded at the beach – I know, worse problems right? But forget the beach part of that sentence, the point is we were stranded. As best as we could we asked around – the security guard, the restaurant guy. (The same people I had asked the day Grant lost his phone AT THE SAME BEACH.) We wandered through the shallow water looking for waterlogged keys. Nada. So we hailed a taxi, shoved all our stuff in his trunk and headed home.

Walking the beach…. looking….

Did I mention that our house keys were on that ring too? We were back at home, but stuck on the street in our bathing suits. I went to our neighbors who are related to our landlady and asked if there was any chance they had another key. They laughed at me. So Ninja Warrior Grant set to work. He climbed the tree in front of the house, shimmied across the roof, used the umbrella pole we threw up on the roof to reach in through the bedroom window to slide the balcony door key close enough to grab, and opened the balcony door. We were in. And in case you are a Mexican house thief reading this, don’t even bother. We have moved that key so you won’t be able to reach it.

Now the good news is that we do have 2 sets of house keys – our friend Marioo who had stayed at our house had the second set. But I knew he had lent them to our other friend Carmelo who needed to borrow a light one evening. And I didn’t know where to find either of those guys. So I contacted Zac, who contacted Marioo, who contacted Carmelo, who brought the keys to Marioo, who eventually brought them to us. We were in and we had house keys again. That is the end of the good news.

The next day we went to Poncho’s for breakfast – we knew we needed a Mexican friend to give us a hand. We realized that there is no easy way to get a new computerized key cut. We had purchased 2 extra keys online while we were in Canada but had not programmed them to our Mexican car yet. We figured we would need to tow the car to the Volkswagen dealer – but of course it was a Saturday and when we called there was no one there who spoke English. Poncho called for us and they said they could do it but it would take 3 days and cost $1700 pesos. And we would have to arrange for a tow truck. BUT…. Poncho knew a guy. Brandon the key guy. Within 10 minutes Brandon was at our table in the restaurant asking what we needed. Yes, he could do it. That same day. He would meet us at the beach at 2:00. It would cost us more than the dealer, but we would have it that day. Perfect.

At 2:00 we took a taxi to the beach and surprisingly Brandon showed up almost on time. He jimmied the door open and took apart the door lock mechanism in order to take it back to his shop to cut the key. img_20161231_141543 He said he would be back in less than an hour but we knew there was no way that was happening. Especially since he said he had no gas in his motorbike and all the gas stations were closed because of the gas hike that was going to happen the next day. He assured us he would be back – if he didn’t run out of gas. We went to the beach, took out our tablets, ordered some lunch and some drinks and settled in to read and play some Candy Crush and wait. He arrived back in about 2 hours, after having driven to San Vicente to get gas. So far so good. Surprisingly good. And then it wasn’t. The last step was to call Volkswagen for a code to do the final programming. And they were closed. ALL of the Volkswagen dealers he knew were closed. It was New Year’s Eve. So…. Monday. We would have to finish on Monday. Are you sure Monday isn’t a holiday? No, no, no – we will definitely get this done on Monday. I will call you on Monday.

Okay. We can handle that. Both Brett and Meigan had been up all night sick from food poisoning, so we weren’t really planning a New Year’s Eve party anyway. We walked down to the Thai place for some supper and came home to watch fireworks from our balcony. On Sunday, our family vacation was officially over. The girls had to take a mini bus with their suitcases to the airport, but they were feeling better and were okay with this last Mexican adventure.

On Monday morning, we walked the 25 minute walk to Bucerias Centro to Brandon’s shop, eager to get little Azulita back on the road. Nope, Brandon is not in today. Manana.

On Tuesday morning, we walked the 25 minute walk to Bucerias Centro to Brandon’s shop…. Nope Brandon is in Guadalajara today. Manana.

On Wednesday morning, we walked the 25 minute walk to Bucerias Centro to Brandon’s shop… Nope Brandon is not in. Maybe this afternoon.

Now the good news is that my FitBit was very excited counting steps – we have walked a LOT over these last few days. My daily update congratulated me on being an overachiever with over 10,000 steps each day – over 18,000 on Saturday alone! We have taken taxis and buses and mini vans. But mostly we have walked. And now I want my car back. So Wednesday we decided to go back to Plan A and call a tow truck and take the car to the Volkswagen dealer.

So I used my crappy Spanish – and a bit of help from Poncho – to call a tow truck. It’s a lot harder to speak a new language when you can’t use charades. But I did it. We took a taxi back to the beach where we met the tow truck guy and were driven to the dealership in Puerto Vallarta.

And then we met Raul, who assured us the car would be ready at 6:00 that afternoon. They would reprogram the key and it would ONLY cost us $2400 pesos. Remember they had told Poncho it would be $1700 just two days before – we were now being quoted the price with the Gringo Tax added on. Fine. Just get my car on the road.

That afternoon we had a blast with a whole bunch of visitors at the orphanage – one of my jobs is to meet any visitors who want to visit and make donations. Of course we had to walk there from our home, carrying our BBQ, but it was worth it. We played games and did crafts and ate hot dogs and it was just too late to grab a bus back to Vallarta by 6:00. Which is a good thing because at 5:45 I received an email. “We are having some problems and your car is not ready…. Manana”.

A bus ride, known as a Mexican Massage, complete with musical entertainment

On Thursday morning I called the dealership….. Yes your car will be ready in an hour. Should I call to confirm before I come? No it will definitely be ready at 12:30. Okay – here comes another 45 minute bone shaking bus ride to downtown Vallarta. This time we could actually see the ground going by through the holes in the bus floor. Worth it so I can get my car back. As soon as Raul saw us I could tell by his face that this was not happening today. Facial expressions are bilingual. There is a problem programming your key – when you used your new key to try and start the car, the anti-theft device scrambled up the program and we need to buy a new mechanism. From Pueblo. Which will take 4 days. At least. And cost $8500 pesos. So maybe next week?

Aaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh. That’s it. Time to call the other Poncho – our car rental guy – and beg him for a car for a week. It’s high season – cars online are $400-800 US per week and there aren’t many available. But Poncho is ‘our guy’ and he gave us the special rate he always gives us – $148 for a week. We promised not to throw his keys in the ocean. We were back on the road.

Poncho from Fox Rental – our car guy.

When I moved to Mexico I fully expected “Manana” to be the way of life here. I did not expect the telephone guy or the gas guy or the cable guy to show up today. I knew he would be here “Manana”. But this week gave me 7 Mananas and I am not really convinced I am any closer to having a key for my car. But as we walked towards the bus stop today I said to Grant, “Isn’t our worse day here still the best life ever?” Every life has its challenges, its disappointments, its frustrations – but when you are where you love to be, you just go with it and eat another taco. It’ll be better….. manana……

My 2017 Word

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

Every year I give myself a word to focus on – a word that represents what I really want to see grow in my life in this new year. I have been doing this for more than 20 years. It’s not exactly a resolution, it’s more of an intention. Some years I repeated the word from the year before because I knew I wasn’t quite there yet. “Whole” took me a few years because it’s a pretty big job to really feel whole. 2 years ago I chose “Joy” because I knew the road was going to be bumpy as we planned our move here. “Joy in the journey” and all that. Last year was “Peace” because I expected – and experienced – a lot of stress and chaos and needed to re 2017 Concept Watercolor Theme mind myself that there IS peace that passes understanding when you are where you are meant to be. I probably should have picked “Fitness” or “Healthy eating” a time or two. But what about 2017? Now that we are finally here, what do I want to see grow in my life? Because you know that what you focus on always grows.

This year I have chosen the word BOLD. We are truly loving our new life here in Mexico, but honestly I am just slightly terrified every moment of every day. Not scared as in “What if I get shot by banditos” but scared as in “Do I have what it takes to start a new life, to learn a new language, to find a new purpose?” And I know that if we are going to succeed here, we will need to step boldly right into the middle of the craziness.

The definition of BOLD:

not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring: a bold hero
necessitating courage and daring; challenging: a bold adventure.

At first I thought my word should be BRAVE: “possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance”. But then I realized nope, I am definitely not possessing or exhibiting courage. Maybe I will feel more brave at this time next year. But being bold means stepping out IN SPITE of not feeling brave. It’s going to mean talking to my neighbors when I know my Spanish sucks big time. It’s going to mean driving through sketchy shanty towns to drive children home on the weekend. It’s going to mean eating stuff that I don’t recognize because someone has sacrificially offered it to me. It’s going to mean hugging a child who I know has lice or germs or sickness. It’s going to mean making new f e30e8956f015ebbc14e1b14891bd5a60 riends when I really just miss my old friends.

Where do I start? How do I become bold and courageous? I think when you’re bold you don’t have time to ask that question – you just get off your butt and you step out and you grab onto whatever is in front of you. Even if you don’t feel brave. You trust that you are where you have been called and you are not alone. A bold hero on a bold adventure. That’s what I want to be this year.

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Happy New Year to all of you who are cheering us on – I truly hope you have found the word that will guide your way in 2017!

Therefore, since we have such hope, we are very bold. 2 Cor 3:12

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Josh 1:9

Beware of the Swanson Family Vacation

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Karen moves to Mexico

The thing with family vacations is that they are seldom as perfect as you plan them to be, but in the end they add a bunch of stuff to the memory vault that you will share forever – funny stuff and irritating stuff and crappy stuff and amazing stuff. Stuff that only this particular group of people can share. It’s YOUR stuff. That is what makes a rewarding family life – and as Hollywood has already discovered, vacations seem to produce more stuff than any other time.

Christmas week with our daughters here in Bucerias was mostly great. But when we remember the Christmas of 2016, we won’t remember the perfect weather, the beautiful days at the pool and beach, the sweet children at the orphanage, or the delicious street food.

These are the things we’ll remember:

The stuff we lost:
- The prescription sunglasses
- The purse with the IPhone and credit card
- The necklace just purchased at the market
- The keys to the car and house
The stuff we felt:
- The food poisoning
- The busted up toes from surfing
- The cold sore
- The itchy head
The stuff we chased:
- The lice
- The maggots
- The ants
The stuff we heard:
- The chickens
- The dogs
- The goats and parrots and roosters and sheep
- The unending fireworks

Those are the things we will laugh about together for a long time – kind of like the Las Vegas vacation where the car overheated the whole trip and we had to drive with wet towels on our heads, or the Disneyland vacation where we ate nothing but 39 cent McDonalds cheeseburgers and Taco Time because we really couldn’t afford that trip at all.

But we also had some sweet moments together this week and one of my favorites was the day we played together and danced together with our Manos de Amor children. I hope we’ll remember that afternoon too, because life must have some gentle moments to offset the harsh ones. Some joy to offset the pain. Some laughter to offset the puking!

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Adios my lovely daughters Meigan and Brett – safe travels and come back soon. We definitely have more memories to create. Hasta pronto mis hijas bonitas!

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PS. In case I’ve scared you away from ever visiting us, let me assure you that the maggots are gone, the lice are gone and the smuggled box of Borax took care of the ants – they’re gone too!

This feels like Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2016 by Karen moves to Mexico

Christmas looks very different here in Mexico. I mean it physically looks different. Having grown up in Saskatchewan my entire life, Christmas just comes with snow. Christmas lights glitter against the frosty trees and fireplaces glow as a backdrop for our giant puzzles and games of scrabble. I have spent the past few Christmases here in Mexico so I am getting used to palm trees and beaches – but it doesn’t feel quite the same. Last night Christmas felt a bit like home.

Daniella & Grant

After spending most of the afternoon playing games with the dozen children who were still at the orphanage, we returned in the evening for a family Christmas evening. We pulled the couches around the giant donated TV, popped some popcorn, turned off all the lights and cuddled together to watch a movie about the true story of Christmas – the birth of baby Jesus. Daniella was tucked tightly under my arm and she was engrossed with the story – especially excited when the angels appeared. As we watched, I realized that THIS FELT LIKE CHRISTMAS. At one point, Daniella looked out the open doorway – no frosty glass blocks our view here – and pointed at a super bright star. “Mira – la Estrella!” Look. The Star. When baby Jesus was finally born, the children all applauded. This is what Christmas is about. Knowing that Jesus was born to care for the ‘least of these’. Knowing that we get to share in the journey with him as we care for these little ones.

Me and Perla… who used to be Mona

Of course, like every family every soft special moment is interspersed with the ‘real’ moments. Under my other arm was mischievous Perla (My name is Perla now…. I was Mona when I was little…consider myself scolded). She was busy pouring chili on her popcorn and you just know that’s going to go bad!

Jessica & Geraldine

Today my own daughters will be here. Our Swanson family Christmas will begin. Most of our traditions have changed now. There will be no tobogganing, no hash brown casserole, no quiche, no grandparents or extended family. Our stack of gifts will be much smaller.

But the essence has not changed. Baby Jesus will still guide our way and the star will remind us of that first simple Christmas. Meigan and Brett will join us at the orphanage to play with their ‘siblings’. And Brett will probably beat us in a game of Scrabble Slam …. Cause that’s just what we Swanson’s do.

Merry Christmas from Santa Samantha

Have a blessed Christmas Eve my friends!

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