Bianey's Afternoon

When you have sixteen girls, it's hard to find time to spend a lot of one on one time with every girl. A few years ago I started the tradition of "stealing" the girls. On my free day or in my free time I steal a a girl a away for a couple hours and spend time with just them. Normally it's during a meal time. At the beginning of the school year I make a list of their favorite foods. It can be a meal I have to cook or it can be  from a restaurant in town. What ever they want. When we're done we sit and talk, play on the play on the play ground, go hiking, make cookies, you get the idea. It's a great time to hear what's going on with them, what their home life is like and for the older girls, their dreams for the future. This past week was Bianey's turn. She wanted to make pizza and play on the swings. She's s girl after my own heart, when I gave her the option of tomato sauce or pesto she chose pesto! When we cut open the bell pepper we found a "baby" pepper inside.

What a yummy pizza, pesto, chicken, bell peppers, onions, jalapenos, garlic, sausage and a little cheese! We used my soaked whole wheat bread dough to make the crust. 

A little bit about Bianey.

Bianey is an orphan from Sonora, Mexico, about an eight hour drive from here. During the summer she lives at the orphanage with her older sister and brother. She is ten years old. This was her first year here. She is such a bright and intelligent girl! I was blown away on how quickly she learned sign language. She came knowing only  few signs and now she carries on rapid fire conversations! A few months ago she asked Jesus into her heart!

Setting Goals

I'm sure at the beginning of the year many of you set New Years Resolutions that have been long forgotten by now. We all do it, they may be goals full of good intentions yet in the business of life they tend to fall to the side and not be attained. How do we set goals and then carry through with them? First of all they should be measurable. Secondly it is always helpful to have a person to keep you accountable. This past year I  have been blessed to be able to audit a few Bible classes at a Bible College about 30 minutes from where I live. This semester I am taking a womens discipleship class and our teacher had us all right out goals we had for the semester. They needed to cover three areas and be measurable. All the ladies in our class had varying goals. I ended up picking four areas. Many of my goal are measurable but a few are not.

Spiritual

• Stick to my Bible reading program (reading through the Bible in one year) There are days when I get overwhelmed by the amount of reading in addition to my own study time. I decided to listen to it on CD while I exercise or cook.
• Memorize John 15:1-17 by May 19 (the end of my Bible class)
• Write down five new things I am thankful for daily. You will be amazed at the amount of things you can give thanks for. It is a wonderful way to look at all the ways God has blessed us. Especially at the end of a hard day.

 Physical

• Exercise 30 minutes five days a week . A few days a week I walk with a friend, the other days I have to be accountable to myself. Sometimes I take my girls hiking.
• Drink more water. I try to mix it up a bit by drinking a few cups of herbal tea as well.

Intellectually

• Research two herbs a month and write about them on this blog. There are so many wonderful herbs that God has created for us to use for health and healing.
• Learn how to make lacto-fermented sauerkraut and pickles before the end of the school year. I've tried making a couple batched but I didn't like the taste. So I need to make some more.   

 Others

• Write one or two notes of encouragement or thanks weekly. I love to be encouraged by others yet I don't return that encouragement to others. Writing notes is an amazing way to brighten a person's day. 
• Be more hospitable. When people come by our dorm I want to take more time to focus on them and not various things I have on my list for the day. There are times when we may consider those interruptions an inconvenience yet taking time with that person may be exactly what they needed. I want everyone  who enters my home to feel loved, wanted and cherished. 

Now that you know about my goals, what goals do you have for yourself and your home? Be sure to share them with a person that will keep you accountable.   

Special Day

Yesterday was such an special and exciting day! Two of our students, Celsete(7) and Juan Carlos(11) asked Jesus into their hearts!!!! Juan Carlos has been here for three years and Celeste for 1 1/2 years. We have been praying for them and teaching them for so long and finally they understand! Now we will be seeing them in heaven! It is always so exciting when your students finally realize that they have sin in their life and that Jesus is the only one that can offer them that healing forgiveness. We also had an amazing rainbow yesterday! Unfortunatly I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing. All the girls, one of the teachers and I ran around trying to find that best place to take a picture. As you can see the little girls had alot of fun but came back very muddy. Oh, well where's the fun in staying clean all the time. Cloths will wash and little girls can be showered.



   

The Ranch is 2010

Happy New Year to you all! Sorry I am so behind on updating this blog. The new year has gotten off to a good start. Last week we had stormy weather as I am sure many of you heard and experienced. We got almost seven inches of rain over six days. Our average rain fall for the year is seven. God is blesing us with more water in our well. Thankfully the Ranch recieved very little damage form the rain. One of our old pine trees fell and one of the staff houses flooded but besides that we are fine. Other areas are no so blessed. Many towns have had their bridges washed out. One city, San Quntin has had to have food flown in becasue all of their brigdes washed out and there is no other way to get into the city. Many of our students parents live in that area so we don't know when they will be able to come and vist.

A few weeks ago a new girl from Chihuahua, Mexico was brought to us by a Mennonite family. Esmeralda is eleven years old. She lived with her mother and their tribe near a Mennonite settlement in the mountains of Chihuahua. Esmeralda is a sweet but strong willed girl. She may not know very much sign but she knows how to get her point across! She is just now realizing that things have a name, that she has a name. Please be praying for Esmeralda to pick up on sign language quickly and that she will come to know Jesus

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Giving Thanks!

                                      Psalm 100

1	Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2	Serve the LORD with gladness:          come before his presence with singing.
3	Know ye that the LORD he is God:          it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4	Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,          and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5	For the LORD is good;          his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Spur One Another On

There are over 50 verses in the New Testament that have the phrase "one another" or "each other" in them. Mark 9:50 "Be at peace with each other." John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Romans 12:16 "Live in harmony with one another." Romans 14:13 "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another." Romans 15:7 "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Hebrews 10:24 "And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. (NIV)
No matter who you are, where you live or where you work you will always be around people. Maintaining good relationships with others is so important.This is especially true in communal living. At our school there are 32 students and 20 staff and families. We are with each other daily ten months out of the year. Here's the other thing, we didn't pick each other. There is rarely a time when you are alone. A hike up to the hills is about the only place to get away from others. I, along with another young woman, Alyssa care for sixteen deaf girls ages six to eighteen. We all share one large room. It is our bedroom, living room and play/homework room. In a situation like ours you need to be constantly looking out for the needs of others ahead of your own. This is true for all families, living, work and ministry situations, but even more so when you live, work, eat and sleep with people you didn't necessarily choose. God choose us all to be here together. Over the past five years I have lived and worked with many different personality types. On our own our differences can be the source of great conflict. When we let him, God has used all of our differences to make us stronger and more effective. A few weeks ago, one of our teachers commented on how well we as a staff complement one another. I have been so impressed with how willing and helpful all of our staff are. When some one is sick or something comes up there is always someone willing to pitch in and lend a hand.

Most of our students are looking out for one anothers needs as well. Don't get me wrong there are those backbiting moments. Over all I know that the majority of them are there for each other. In the girls' dorm "buddies", every week our older girls take turns helping the little girls get ready in the mornings. It teaches the older girls responsibility and helps the "moms" out allot. When ever one of our girls is down there is always other girls read to give hugs. Life isn't perfect, there is conflict. There are times when our boys and girls bring one another down. When we make it a practice to love and encourage one another life in definitely more peaceful. We are all many members of one body with Christ is our head and we all have a part. When we encourage one another and show our love and appreciation for one another it makes our staff and kids want to do the same for others. So today, make your effort to spur one another on to lover and good deeds.

Shoe Day

Last Saturday was Shoe Day. Every year a church from San Diego blesses our students with new shoes. We meet them at a shoe store in Ensenada and then the kids are alowed to pick out two pairs of shoes. Oh course we decide ahead of time what kind of shoes they need. Once we get there the kids go around with our staff and members of the church to find the perfect shoes. It's a busy and a bit crazy couple hours but the kids love it! They are so proud and excitied about their new shoes.