¿Que pasa con Los Trules?

I Survived

2011-06-28T21:39:00.001-07:00

So it had been awhile since I had gone out to the villages where we normally do our different ministries, right? Well, I had the chance to go out to one that I used to teach in and I was pretty excited about that. There were some others who also wanted to go so we took my car and we led three vans full of people out with us. I let someone else drive though. Everything went well apart from getting a little turned around because the area has changed so much, but we arrived at the church just fine. We sang some songs with the children, listened to a Bible story, served them soup and crackers, cleaned up, and played a little while with them. Then we loaded up to leave. So we went down the rough hill out of one village and into another and the driver is looking around and talking. Well, if you know me you might know that I have always feared being stranded on the side of the road for some reason or another. Actually, probably only my parents know this. When I was a little girl I would watch the gas gauge in my parent's car and worry about whether or not it was time to stop for gas. And now as an adult I'm always asking my husband, "Did you hear that noise?" anytime I hear a new noise that my truck may be making. So, back to the village. The driver is looking around and talking and I'm mentally picking out the less damaging spots in the dirt road that he should drive over because I'm thinking of the welfare of my truck. I notice that he is drifting toward a small cliff and just as the warning words were leaving my mouth we fell right into the ditch. Oh my goodness! One of the people in the very back, I have three seats, climbed over everyone in his path and jumped out of the truck. Others slowly made their way out while I stayed strapped into my seatbelt trying to figure out if I should stay inside, jump out through my door, or climb over to the driver's side and get out that way. I didn't like the driver's side option which is actually what everyone else chose. My concern was that it was going to tip that way and crush everyone in its path. Finally, the people from the three vans arrived to help. I took the wheel (after throwing out the driver's coffee because I didn't want spilled coffee in there on top of everything else), but someone else said they had off-roading experience so I let them climb in and here's what happened.

2011-06-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

Well, we were blessed to be able to take a vacation last month. We decided to go to the San Diego Zoo since Aaron loves to see animals. We sit down to our computer and he names off animals for us to bring up on the screen. He gets quite excited about it. So we spent a week in a house in Cardiff by the sea, CA. The house overlooks the ocean. We were able to see dolphins jumping in the water right from the house. It was awesome to wake up to the ocean view and to sit down to a meal and look out the window right at the ocean. And to top it off the owners loaned us the house for the week. We took lots of pictures of the view and of the animals, but the best one was of Aaron. I guess he figured, "when on vacation, vacation from everything!".

We were also able to take him to a playplace. I really wish we had a couple of those here in Ensenada. It's hard to find a place where he can be free to play without us worrying about him getting hurt. It's also a place where he can do things on his own. We don't have to help him climb things because they're made for his age group.

So we got to relax, do some shopping, eat lots of things that we don't eat at home, and just spend time together as a family.

Our Little Drummer Boy

2011-01-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

Noche Mexicana

2010-09-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

September 16 is Mexican Independence Day. Our church celebrated by obtaining a permit to close off the side street where the church is located and setting up a stage, food booths, an eating area, and a seating area. I made about 70 cupcakes that all sold before the night was over. I really enjoyed the festivities. I even ate a small cricket, which for me is amazing because I'm not adventurous in that way. It was actually quite tasty though I don't care to try them again. Unless, I had to do it to be on the Amazing Race. Anyway, there was lots of music, there was a sermon, an altar call, a Best Dressed contest, and food.

No Words Necessary

2010-06-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Don't ever let it be said that we don't care about the wheelchair bound in our neighborhood in Playas de Chapultepec, Ensenada, Mexico. Okay, even though I said that there were no words necessary I have to say something. First of all, they didn't exactly make it easy for the person to get the wheelchair up the "ramp" for lack of a better word. Second of all, where can they go after they do (if they do) get up there? There's no sidewalk, they have to get past the stop sign at one location and past the power pole at the other. Then there's barely enough room for a person to walk in front the house let alone try to fit a wheelchair down that narrow strip; that is if they survive the big drop they have to experience before trying to go down the narrow strip in front of the house, which I can tell you is impossible. Here you see two wheelchair "accessible ramps", but there are many more down this very street. A waste of money if you ask me.

Our Trip

2010-05-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, our family was blessed to be able to travel to California this month. David's Visa was approved on April 9th and two days after it arrived by courier we packed up and headed North. We spent the first night in Pasadena and visited with some family there. Then we headed to Fresno which is where we are now. We have enjoyed our time here so far. We have plans to go to Yosemite and possibly to San Francisco.

Look Who's Walking Now

2010-04-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Aaron's Walk in the Park

2010-01-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

A Disappointing Sunday

2009-10-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I woke up yesterday morning looking forward to a birthday party that we were going to after church. It was a party for a two year old and we were supposed to take Aaron in an animal costume because the theme was Noah's Ark. So I bought him a Zebra costume a few weeks ago when I was in Fresno and was excited about putting it on him. When Aaron woke up that morning I got him and brought him to the bed with us. He was playing as usual, but suddenly went for my face and scratched my eyeball. I didn't realize it right away; I thought he just poked me in the eye. I closed my eye and waited for the pain to pass, but it never did. 30 minutes later I still have my eye closed, I feel like there's something in it and it's red and watering. So I got up to take out whatever it had in it, but there was nothing. I tried washing it out with water, but no relief. Two hours later and it getting worse. It won't stop watering, it hurts, I can barely see, and it still feels like there's something in it. David finally taped gauze over it and that helped me see better, but once I walked outside I felt like I was blind. At church I had times of very intense pain. I took some Tylenol to help with that and after service I went to get some medical attention. They gave me a prescription for an ointment, ibuprofen, and a warm tea compress. So David put the ointment in for me and on to the party we went.

Now more than 24 hours later and my eye is swollen and I can hardly stand to have it open for any length of time and yes, it still feels like there's something in it. It's very debilitating and annoying.

Update

2009-10-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I'll just have to admit that I'm not doing to good at keeping our blog updated, but don't give up on me yet.
So Aaron turned eight months yesterday. He has seven teeth, seven! And he knows how to use them. Just about every time I pick him up I have to tell him not to bite me because he buries his face in my chest or my shoulder and he bites. Thank the Lord that many times he just gets ahold of my clothes, but unfortunately many times he gets skin. He's not crawling just yet, but he's almost there. I'm sure within the next few weeks he will be crawling.
David and I have been teaching Sunday school for several months now once a month. David is actually the teacher; I am there as an assistant to him. At first we were teaching 10 - 12 year olds, but were just assigned to the 4 - 6 year olds. There is a big difference in behavior. When we went upstairs to go into the classroom, three of the boys locked the door and would not let us in. So David decided that they would not participate in the activity that we had planned with the lesson. After our first class, David said that he misses the older kids.
I have also started helping out in the nursery once a month. I really enjoy working with children and teaching children so this involvement in the church has been great. Since having a baby I haven't been able to do all that I would like to, but I'm starting to be able to do more and more and feel useful again.

Are You Serious?

2009-08-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

So I was watching Fox news yesterday and they had a report on a woman and her dog. The lady had recently been laid off of her job and found out that her dog needed a costly operation. Well the lady had no insurance for the dog nor money to pay out of pocket. So she went on her My Space page and told her story. I don't recall if she put out a plea for money or just told her story. But the money came pouring in to help her pay for her dog's surgery. There was even a woman who was a victim of hurricane Katrina and living out of her car that sent in money for this dog. Are you serious? There are so many worthy causes to give money to. The money could have gone to the hungry, homeless, to missionaries, an orphange, the Salvation Army, missionaries (or did I mention that one already). Anyway, the list is endless and it does not include animals who need surgery. Now I love animals, I have a dog myself. Before she belonged to us we took her to the vet to be cleaned and cured of a bite that she received from a large dog. The bite had become infected and the owners weren't doing anything about it. So I care about the care of animals, but I think that it is ridiculous that people would give the money for a dog before giving it to a human cause.

2009-07-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a tough day for us. David was sitting at the top a 7 Ft. ladder installing a ceiling fan in our bedroom and for some reason took a fall. I don't remeber what made me turn and look at him two seconds before the fall, but I did. Just in time to witness it. The ladder fell into the closet and broke the bar where David's clothes hung and David fell the other way. It was very scary. I grabbed the baby and ran into the room. He got up on his own, but was stumbling. I quickly put the baby on the bed and tried to get David to sit down. He was not cooperating at all. I was trying to get the ladder out of the way and get David to sit while yelling for help. Mentally, David was not there. I yelled several times out of the window while trying to keep David from falling again. There was absolutely no one out there. Finally, Brenda and Scott,two other missionaries here at EOC, heard me and came running. By that time David had come around. Scott arrived first and suggested that David lay down. He laid down, but had no idea what had happened to him. He was sweating pretty good so I got a wet towel for his head. He had a good size wound on the right side of his head where he hit the boxspring. We have a bedskirt over the boxspring of our bed that has a bunch of small squares on it and you could see that print on his head. Scott asked him how he was feeling and he replied that he felt fine. He asked him that a few times and David had the same response. So he asked him what day it was and he got that wrong. He did get his and my birthdates right though. David heard us talking about him and talking about going to the hospital and so he asked me what happened. By the time he finally understood what happened he had asked me about ten times what happened to him. He would ask if he fell? From where? and What he was doing? He didn't remember things that had happened earlier in the day either. When we got to the hospital they took him in right away. They checked his eyes, took X-rays, and gave him an injection for pain and swelling. They gave him and another patient injections in the buttocks right there in the patient waiting room. I felt embarrassed for the both of them. In the end they said that all was fine. No fractures to the skull. They gave him two medicines to take to continue to help with the pain and swelling. That evening his right eye started swelling and bruising. Now the swelling is gone, but he looks like he's wearing eye shadow on one eye. Praise God that his injuries were minor and that he is recovering well.

Aaron's New Toy

2009-06-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

Aaron's First Solid Food Feeding

2009-06-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

A Visit Home

2009-06-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

So, as I stated before, David was denied his Visa to visit the U.S. So Aaron and I went alone. It was a good visit. My father had not yet met his grandson so that was exciting and we were able to be there for my father's birthday. Many family members came over to see us and we were able to go to visit other family and friends.
While home Aaron's aunt Johnita (my sister) bought him a Jumperoo. I was so anxious to get back to Mexico and put it together and let Aaron jump away. It was so funny to see him in it. We had to put a pillow under his feet because he couldn't touch the floor. (see video)
I also bought him some rice cereal, his first solid food. He wasn't sure what it was or what it was for, but it didn't take him long to figure it out. By the third day he realized that it was the cure to his hunger.
This week we are hosting the first of our summer groups. Since having Aaron, I haven't done too much in the kitchen. During the Spring I made desserts and now I'm doing desserts and evening kitchen prep. David takes care of the baby at 5 p.m. when he gets off of work and then I go into the kitchen to help get dinner ready for 6 p.m. It's nice to be back in there. I love the kitchen!

The KKK Working at the EOC?

2009-05-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

So I looked out my window this morning and wasn't sure it was safe for me to go outside. Why? I saw this man with a white hood over his head. As you all know that has never been a welcomed sight for my people. But, seriously, it was Roldolfo who is a house leader and mechanic here at the Ensenada Outreach Center. He was painting with a sprayer and didn't want to get the paint in his hair and on his face. As soon as I saw him I laughed and thought, "I've got to take a picture of that."

Potpourri

2009-05-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. It has been a terribly long time, but now that I have internet in my house I promise to post more often.
Well, right now we are in our slow season. Actually, during the month of May we do not normally have groups. It's the time that I usually go home and speak to different groups in order to raise support. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that last year because I got married in May and not able to do it again this year because my husband cannot cross the border to the United States. In fact, he went today to apply for his Tourist Visa, but was denied. So we shall spend another May here in Mexico.

Aaron continues to grow and gain weight. Right now he is 3 months and 1 week and he weighs 18 pounds. He has outgrown his 0-3 months clothes and there are some 6 month clothes that he cannot fit. Hopefully, his weight gain will slow down so that we do not have to put him on a diet. He's discovered his hands so he's always sucking on them. David loves to talk to him which makes Aaron laugh and talk. I love to hear him laugh. Sometimes when he's eating he just looks and me and smiles. AAAAHHHHH!

Speaking of babies. Melody and Jeremy had baby Caleb on April 4. They are also missionaries here with YUGO. In July Angela and Daniel will have a baby boy too. I guess it's the year of the boy.

May 10th was not only Mother's Day, but it was also David's birthday. I made him a cake and we celebrated with a few friends. In the picture, Aaron has a fork in his hand ready for his piece.

On another note. On Friday we moved to another house. We used to live on the street that is on the back side of the camp. We now live on the same street. David has moved his office to the house and in his office he has his beloved drumset. The house has two stories so from our bedroom we have a small view of the ocean.

The Birth of Aaron Trules

2009-03-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

Aaron David Trules

2009-02-18T16:01:00.001-08:00

Well, our little bundle of joy has finally arrived. Aaron David Trules arrived just before 8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11. He weighed 7.5 lbs (3.400 kilos) and was 19.7 inches (50 cm). During the last week and a half of my pregnancy my blood pressure had been up and down. The doctor had me checking it twice a day to decide whether or not to let the pregnancy continue or to do a cesarean. On February 10 it was back up so the doctor decided that the 11th would be Aaron's birth date. So I called my family and that day they made their way down to San Diego and then to Mexico the next day. They got here just at the time we needed to leave for the hospital. I had to be at the hospital at 4 p.m. and the surgery was scheduled for 6:30. The doctor got there sometime after 7. They allowed my mother to go in with me and to take pictures. She was able to film the surgery and the APGAR tests with the pediatrician. We have had lots of visitors over the last week and my family just left this morning. So now the true test begins. How will we fare on our own?

4D Ultrasound Photo of Baby Trules

2009-01-16T16:08:00.001-08:00

Baby Trules' Morning Routine

2009-01-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

2008-12-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

So the first day of rain was nothing. The rain continued throughout the day and night. Rain here for me is bittersweet. I love the rain, but here on dirt roads it is very messy, you can get stuck in the mud, and there are many, many people who do not have adequate shelter from the rain. In the first picture the water is running alongside the camp which is the brown building on the left. In the second picture check out the runoff on the right.

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

2008-12-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I don't have any boots, but that's what I need to walk down our street and all of the streets in our neighborhood since the rain that we had last night.

Baby Furniture

2008-12-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

This was our baby's room before David put the furniture together. Our crib, changing table, and dresser arrived about two weeks ago and David jumped right on putting it together . The dresser was first so that we could start putting the clothes in it that had been donated to us. He said that the dresser was the most tedious of the three pieces. Next the crib and then the changing table.

Now all three pieces are in. We need to find a night stand now for a night light. Unfortunately, the outlets in the room are not well placed. None of them are close to the door. That bugs me. I'll probably put in a plug-in light that will help me find my way to the night light for those late night feedings.

I registered at WalMart. What a task! I did it online so I had to go through each department and find what we need. For the most part it was worth it because I was able to read reviews on many products and make decisions about which one would be best for us.

Gonna Make those Pink Clothes Blue

2008-12-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know that's not exactly how the song goes, but I needed it this way to fit our situation. You still get it, right? Well, that's what we had to do. On November 11 I was told by the nurse at Kaiser that she thought we were having a girl. In her defense, she did say that the machine was not the best quality. But, David wanted a girl and so I took that information and ran with it. Not a good idea. At my appointment on December 2 at the actual hospital with a better quality machine, I was told that we were having a boy. She showed me on the screen why she thought this and she gave me a picture. This is not the same "she" as the previous appointment. Though I did see her just a few hours later I didn't tell her that she was mistaken. So we had to do as the title indicates and now we have to think of a boy's name. We had settled on Maya Lorene for a girl.
Please pray for us as we are still needing to decide on which country our baby will be born in. We would like him to be born in the U.S., but we need to get a visa for David. Not such an easy task.

David, David, David

2008-11-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is all about David.
So last Sunday the owners of the house that we have been renting finally came to clean their things out of the house. The wife had left the house at one point and that was when David and the husband where putting some things out front and David was so proudly showing him the flowers that he had planted and had been caring for for several months now. They still did not have any blooms on them, but they had many buds. Now, David had put much work into these flowers and as I mentioned before, he was very proud of them and anxiously awaiting they day that they would bloom. Actually, one had a teeny, tiny yellow flower on it. Well, he and I left to go to church and the couple stayed there to finish. At some point the husband left and it was then that the wife got inspired to pull up all of the weeds, because obviously we were not taking very good care of the front yard. Just as she was finishing up the husband came back and saw her handy work. He informed her that those were flowers that we had planted, not weeds. So now David is pretty bummed, to say the least, and has no desire to even water the tree that's out front.

Next story. Tuesday I had an appointment at Kaiser in San Diego and I figured that I would be able to find out the sex of our baby. David wanted me to call him as soon as I found out, but I wanted to wait until I got back home. David has wanted a girl from the beginning and already had a name picked out. He contacted me several times during my time at the doctor to find out if I was able to find out or not. So yes, I did find out that we are having a girl, they're pretty sure, but I didn't tell him. I went to the store and bought a pink gift bag and a few pink things. When I got back to Ensenada I put the bag on his desk and waited for him to return.

Next story. David has been taking drums lessons for a few months now and so we have a drumset in the house. YEAH!!! This is not really a story just information.

My 11 week ultrasound

2008-10-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

19 Weeks Along

2008-09-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well I'm almost half way through my pregnancy. I'm pretty excited about that. I just started to feel the baby move. David is anxiously awaiting the day that he will also be able to feel it move. In the meantime, he's just excited for me.

Summer's Over

2008-09-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well, the summer season has come to an end. No more groups for a little while. Everyone is resting and vacationing.

Big news!!! We are expecting a baby. It was our plan to try to get pregnant right away and God blessed us to do just that. I am 17 weeks along. We have received a due date of February 17, 2009. We are very, very excited. We have been able to see the baby by ultrasound and hear its heart beat. We have been going to the doctor once a month and have an ultrasound every time and even receive a DVD of the ultrasound. I have received many opinions on the sex. Most people think that it is a boy, but David really wants a girl. It doesn't matter to me though I'm leaning toward a boy. I feel bad voicing that when it's the opposite of what my husband wants. Anyway, it is what it is and we will both be very happy with the child that God blesses us with.

Tamales

2008-08-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

I love tamales!!! So I jumped at the chance to go and learn how to make them. One of our summer groups decided to purchase all of the ingredients for 500 tamales, help make them, have some for lunch, and leave the rest for the church to sell as a fundraiser. After the masa was ready we made an assembly line and put them all together. There are many things that you can put into them. My favorite is shredded beef with carrots and potatoes. These were chicken with potatoes and jalepenos. They were yummy. Check out the tamales slideshow.

Vacation's Over

2008-06-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dear friends
A lot has been going on since we got married. First of all, for our honeymoon we rented a condo on the beach in Rosarito for five days. On our wedding day it was beautiful and sunny, but the next few days were cloudy and it rained on one of the days of our vacation time. But, the condo was really nice and it was great to be able to hear the ocean 24/7. We even saw a few dolphins. The condo actually belongs to the Christian author, Josh McDowell. Cool, huh?

Once at home we began to put our house together; trying to find a space for all of our things. David put together and installed a ceiling fan in our bedroom. We use it every night.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Mardy has been busy expanding the kitchen. There was a bathroom right next to kitchen, but that has been knocked out and we bought another sink and put that there and put in some more counter space. The other sink will really come in handy during those big weeks when we have lots of dishes to wash. Our service space is much bigger now too. We also got two more industrial sized burners so that now makes six. Also, our summer interns have started to arrive and none too soon. This week we have 123 people and over the next few weeks we will have even more.

One day David and I were at my favorite taco stand, Mi Ranchito and there was a medium sized dog just hanging out there. He had a collar on and, for the most part, was pretty healthy. The taco stand owner was telling us that he had been there for about three weeks and had been abandoned by his owners. Apparently, the neighbor was going to call the pound if she could not find a home for it. So we decided to take it home. First we went and bought a collar and some dog biscuits. He wouldn’t get into our vehicle so David walked him home. He barked most of the night and I was starting to regret taking him in. If a dog barked five blocks away he would bark. He barked at everything! The next day we wanted to take him to the vet and have them bathe him and free him of all the friends that were hitching a ride in his hair. We went to put him in the car and he jumped right in. He’s gotten used to the sounds of his new neighborhood and doesn’t bark half as much as he did the first night. We named him Bailey.

Lastly, I was able to use my Mexican marriage certificate and change my name with the Social Security Administration and DMV. YEAH! So now I am officially Kimyco Trules.

The BIG Day!

2008-05-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, all of the knot tying ceremonies are done. It’s official. On May 3, we had a beautiful ceremony with family and friends. There were many ups and downs leading up to the big day. We had to replace a bridesmaid two weeks before the wedding and a groomsman two days before the BIG day. So we ended up asking two people from church whose names we didn’t even know. There were issues with transportation for some who were coming from California and for a short time my soloist had to cancel on me, but ended up coming after all. For a while I couldn’t find a pianist, then I had one, then I didn’t, and then I did. On the Thursday before the wedding I heard that he was in Florida, but would be here. That concerned me just a little. In the meantime the number of attendees was growing and we were searching everywhere to find a place where we could rent some glass plates because we only had 125 and were expecting about 75 more. So we ended up buying them for $1 each at Ikea in San Diego. Right after we paid for the flowers I had passed by the florist and it was closed with a sign in the window. All I could read of the sign was “For sale”. I was on my way to church and forgot about it afterwards. Then the next day or so David and I were passing by and again the florist was closed and the same sign was still in the window. By then I was panicking inside. I had called the florist just a few days before and I remembered the phone number so David called while I drove. No answer! Now I want to scream. On the way back home we stopped by, even though it was closed and David spoke to a neighboring business owner who informed him that the florist was opened just earlier that day. I read the sign in the window and it was for land that was for sale. WHEW!!! I was feeling better. Later that evening David called the florist and this time she answered. Suits, tablecloths, and many other wedding details were all issues right up until the day. Oh, the church had been given an enormous fan from some ship and there it was on the day before the wedding right there in the sanctuary. After many ideas on how to move it and many hands pushing it we finally got it out of sight. (This is only part of it)
On the day of the wedding my plan was to be at the church by 12 noon. I got there at 1:30 a half an hour before the wedding was to start. When we drove up I realized that earlier that day I had given the keys to the decorator and failed to get them back from her. I called her and she had given them to someone else because they were going to take more tables to the church, but I had asked that same person to pick some things up from the store for me. So we waited for about 15 or 20 minutes and they arrived. The day before when the tablecloth lady was at the church putting the tablecloths on the tables and making me really late for the rehearsal dinner, she asked me if I wanted her to bring some candies to put on the tables. I told her that that would be fine. So Saturday while we were locked out of the church someone who worked for the tablecloth place drove up and delivered the candies. Or so I thought. When we got ready to put them on the tables we discovered that it was a box of glass ashtrays, not candy. How funny!
Despite everything we had a wonderful time and just as many reminded me, no matter what happens before the wedding, in the end David and I would be married.
Enjoy the slideshow.

Finally!

2008-04-06T23:27:00.000-07:00

Well, after all of the hoops we had to jump through it's finally done. Before I tell you what's finally done, let me explain something. Here in Mexico clergy are not authorized to legally marry you. So if one wants to get married in the church, one must first be legally married by the state. So you have two wedding ceremonies. Some people legally marry long before their church wedding and some just weeks or days before. And now for the "finally done" part. David and I were legally married on Friday, April 4, 2008 at approximately 11:30 a.m. Now don't cancel your plane tickets and plans to come to our May 3 celebration. That's still on. David and I are still living apart. We are not yet enjoying the priviledges of marriage. So our May 3 ceremony will still be just as special as it should be. Okay? See you in 27 days. Check out the slideshow of our civil ceremony.

Getting Married in Mexico

2008-03-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

Getting married in Mexico is not easy. Worse if you are a foreigner. Want to hear about what I'm having to do? Okay! Well, first we went to Registro Civil to find out what the requirements are. They gave me a paper with four things that I needed. 1. Get my birth certificate apostilled and translated to Spanish. 2. Have a marriage search done, apostilled, and translated. 3. Have my I.D. translated. 4. Get permission from Immigration to marry. In the words of my childhood heartthrob Magnum P.I., "I know what you're thinking". What in the world is apostilled. Apostille is a French word which means a certification. It is commonly used in English to refer to the legalization of a document for international use. So I got numbers 1 & 2 done in Fresno and that cost me about $70. Then I went to get a tourist visa since I do not have citizenship here. There I met an English speaking Mexican who has the teeny tiniest little office. He is in the business of helping English speaking foreigners get various legal documents. He gave me three options. I could do everything myself, have him tell me what to do, or have him do it all. All three options are exspensive. I chose for him to tell me what I needed to do and paid him the $20 fee for that. Him telling what to do was not the exspensive part. So he started doing that. Then he asked me what David did for a living. I told him that he worked for the ministry. So he figured that David did not earn much money and said that he would do the paperwork for me for free. What a blessing!

So he did my paperwork and I paid him for the copies. Then I bought a visa, went to the bank and paid $240 for one permission and $60 for something else. Only the Mexican government knows what that was for. Anyway, David and I went and got our blood tests done and then took the results to a doctor. There they took our weight and blood pressure and signed a paper saying that they talked to us about ALL kinds of things. They actually didn't talk to us about ANYTHING. So that was almost $50 for the blood work and doctor visit. Next I turned in my paperwork to Immigration and they said that the permission should be ready by April 7th. Then we went back to Registro Civil and and bought an application and found out that we would have to get married in 14 days or do the blood tests and doctor visit again. Why you ask? Because the blood tests are only good for 15 days. We had them done the day before. I wouldn't get the permission until one day before the blood work expired. Also I still hadn't completed number 3 of the requirements which was to get my I.D. translated. So now one option was to go back to Immigration and ask them if they could rush my permission and then request an urgent ceremony for which we would have to pay extra, of course. And the other option was to wait until the 7th to get my permission and then do the blood work and doctor visit again. Which of course we would have to pay again. It came out to be just about the same price. So we decided to go and cry to Immigration and see if they could speed up my permission. Well, of course the person that does the permissions was on vacation, but they said that they would have it by March 31st. Praise God! As for my I.D. I was told that if I use my passport I don't need to have it translated because it's already in three languages with Spanish being one. So I'll see if they accept that. Last night we had to attend a two hour pre-marital class. Yet another requirement. Actually, they said that it wasn't required, but David said that we needed to play it safe and not let our non-attendance be a reason to deny us our civil ceremony. So we went. It wasn't bad. We also had to ask them to rush the proof that we attended. Tomorrow I will be a busy little beaver. Collecting all of our papers from different places and turning them in at Registro Civil and paying for our ceremony and for them to rush it. Another $130. Oh yeah, we have to have four witnesses. FOUR!

What's Happening?

2008-03-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.

It has been awhile since I have written. I have been very busy trying to get everything ready for my upcoming wedding in May. Exactly two months from today. YEAH!!! Anyway, things are a little quiet around camp right now, but next week we will start our Spring schedule. We will be pretty busy then. We have been making some improvements around the camp and talking over ideas of ways to better the ministry here. I am still planning the meals, shopping for the food, and running the kitchen. I'm trying to add more meals to our meal rotation, but it is not easy finding meals that can be prepared for large crowds in a small amount of time. Also, I don't always have access to the same ingredients here as I do in the states. So I don't have many meals in the rotation yet, but I'm still looking.

Also, I have been notified that I am about to lose my medical insurance because I do not have enough financial support coming in to sustain it. I not only need support to keep my insurance, but also just to be able to continue in the ministry here. To be totally honest, I have several things that I have to pay monthly. Some are: rent, food, and car insurance. Now that I will be getting married and hopefully expecting shortly thereafter, I will need support even more. Yes, David does have a job and we will both have to put money into our new life together, but if I don't have enough to support myself it will be hard to bring another person into the picture. So, I ask that you will please prayerfully consider supporting me and the work that I have been called to. I have been here now for four years and God has been faithful. I trust that he will put it on the hearts of many to give to His ministry here that I am so priviledged to be a part of. I have added a "Donate" button to this page that you can click on and donate securely through Paypal. If you would like to partner with me financially on a monthly basis please click on the YUGO link under "These are a few of my favorite links", Resources, Donate & Support Info., and the Donate now. I need you!

Wedding Plans Part 2

2008-01-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

Well, things are coming along. I went home to Fresno in December and purchased my wedding gown and a few other things. Well, I didn't purchase it, but it was purchased. The pictures that I have posted are not of the gown that I chose. It was a lot of fun trying on the different dresses and having family and friends there with me. Toward the end, though, it did get tiring. I was definately ready to go before I got to the last dress that I was to try on. Which, by the way, is the one that I chose. We spent four hours there at David's Bridal.

I was also able to find a couple to be the MC's of the reception and a friend to make my veil. The MC's have also offered to purchase the flowers for decorations.

Well my desire was to marry in the States so that I could change my last name, but I have just discovered that it will cost $455.00 to apply for a fiance visa which is what David would need to cross the border into the U.S. So I think that's out. I heard that I would have to jump through more hoops for me to get married here than for David to get married in the States. I will soon find out what those hoops are.

Wedding Plans part 1

2007-11-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on how our wedding plans are coming. We have decided on a place, I think. We will know for sure in about two weeks. The time of the ceremony has been a topic of more discussion than I care for. I think I'm going to lose that battle, but I guess it's not that big of a deal. I have created an invitation style that I really like. I've decided to make them myself. It will be a lot of work, but I'm sure it will be fun and I have plenty of time. We still have not found all of our wedding party. Some people, like my brother, are not so easy to get a hold of. Then there are the others. Not from LOST, but those who are not part of the wedding party, but are truly essential to making May 3, a special day. I'm always thinking of something else that I need someone to do. Picking bridesmaids dresses is not a task that I am enjoying. Finding a style is hard enough, but then to find it in my color adds to the difficulty. I can find what I think is the color, but is it really? It's hard to tell over the internet. I did register with JC Penney and Williams - Sonoma. Williams - Sonoma was fun because it's kitchen stuff and I like to cook and love to bake. I had registered on a honeymoon site, but decided not to go with it.
So speaking of the honeymoon...I have been looking into some places. I found one that I was pretty excited about, but found out today that it is no longer available and I didn't like the alternative that was offered. I'm waiting to hear back about another place. Well that's all for now. I have literally spent all day on my laptop and I need to call it a day.
God bless,
Kimyco

Day of the Dead

2007-11-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was Day of the Dead. This is a major holiday here in Mexico. Some Mexicans feel that death is a special occasion because the soul is passing into another life. Plans for the celebration are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. On November 1 and 2, families usually clean and decorate the graves. Most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings, which often include orange marigold flowers. In modern Mexico this name is often replaced with the term "Flor de Muerto", Spanish for "Flower of the Dead". These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings.

Toys are brought for dead children , and bottles of tequila or atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. In some parts of Mexico people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives. These offerings are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto (bread of the dead) or sugar skulls and beverages. The offerings are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the offering food, so even though the celebrators eat the food after the festivity, they believe it lacks nutritional value. I have visited an altar that was built in a home in El Zorrillo. They even had a basin of water and a towel for the deceased to freshen up before partaking of the food that was put out for them. Pillows and blankets are also left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey.

I mentioned that I have visited an altar that was built at a home, well, some families build altars or small shrines in their homes. These altars usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Virgen Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, and scores of candles. Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar praying and telling stories about the deceased. In some regions, celebrants wear shells on their clothing so when they dance the dead will wake up because of the noise. Some will dress up as the deceased.

Public schools also build altars with offerings, usually leaving out the religious symbols.

Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as important to the Mexican heritage.

Interesting.

Pig Out

2007-10-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

This month I was able to fly to Sacramento CA and participate in a missions conference at Valley Springs church in Roseville. It was a three day event that started on Friday night. There were several missionary speakers. Some from Africa, one preparing to pastor in Tijuana, Mexico, and others. There was another room set up with tables where we set up our displays and greeted people as they passed by. We were able to give them pamphlets, business cards, prayer cards, verbal information, and some showed videos. On Sunday, the last day, they brought in a whole roasted pig. The body of the pig was cut into little chunks and we were provided with toothpicks to sample the swine's carcass. It was quite yummy!

I had the privilege of staying with former Ensenada Outreach Center missionaries, Barney and Sally Jones, whom I had not seen since the summer of 2005. It was great to get to spend time with them. On Saturday night I was kidnapped by two former interns Kayleigh and Brittney, both from the Sacramento area. It was fun seeing them and hanging out.

My flight there and back was open seating. When I boarded to come back home there was an open seat about four rows from the front that had two women in both the window and aisle seats. I was going to go further back, but thought better of it. So once I was seated I whipped out my "Brides" magazine and started flipping through the pages. The lady in the window seat took out a small pad and a pen and started to write something. She wrote a question asking me if I was getting married. So that started a conversation between us. It turns out that she and her husband are missionaries for Silent Word Ministries. She is my age and her name is Kim. Oh! That reminds me. I met a girl at Valley Springs named Kimiko. Cool, eh? Anyway, I really enjoyed chatting with Kim on the plane. I felt a connection between us and kind of hated that the flight had to end. We exchanged information and have been in contact since our returning home. She's from Nashville, TN. Hi Kim.

At Last

2007-10-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

At last I have received a marriage proposal from someone I actually want to marry and I know that God is fine with me marrying this person. I've had others that I knew were not the ones. Thank you God for patience and wisdom! So on September 30, 2007, David Trules asked me to marry him and I excepted his proposal. We have decided on May 3, 2008 here in Ensenada. One thing, though, about getting married in Mexico is that the woman's last name does not change. Don't get me wrong Dad, I love the last name you gave me, but I'm ready to change it for the purpose of marriage. So we're hoping that David will be able to get his visa and we can have a civil ceremony in California and then a church wedding in Ensenada. Yesterday we went to look at a prospective wedding and reception site. We did like it, but we are going to check out a few more that we know of. One of the great things about weddings in Mexico is that they have what they call "Padrinos". What the padrinos do is pretty much pay for the wedding. So we made a list of things that we need, i.e. a place, food, decorations, etc... and we divided it up. So he has things that he has to find padrinos for and I have the other part of the list that I have to find padrinos for. I guess we might call them sponsors. So, God willing, on May 3, 2008, I will become Mrs. David Trules. At last.

Brighter is Better

2007-10-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, now that the busy season is over Mardy Barnes, one of the full-time missionaries here, has been hard at work sprucing up the dorms. He has taken down the blinds, ripped out the carpet, put in tile flooring, made twin beds into queen-size beds, and added bright colors to the walls and beds. Looks great Mardy!

What do you think?

Rest for the Weary

2007-09-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

Our summer season is officially over. I'm not saying that we are weary, but at times during the summer I'm sure we were. Last week and this week we have been on vacation. It's so quiet around here. Once again I am the only one in the house. This summer I shared the house with six other girls. Though the most we had at one time was five. When I get the stats on the number of houses, meals, clinics, and such I will share them with you.

I do, however, have stats on me. So I'll let you know......I am now dating a man that I met this summer. His name is David and he is a great guy. The past two Sundays I have attended his church with him. I really like it though the worship is rather lengthy, but that's typical of Mexican churches. He's very courteous and mannerable and he takes good care of me. He never walks in front of me, he opens doors for me, pulls out my chair, and he even pours my drink from my individual bottle into my cup. One really rare thing about him is that he carries my purse wherever we go. The first time he did it I had several things that I was carrying so that was understandable, but he has done it every time even if I do not have other things to carry. My father is not too crazy about that idea, but I think it is so sweet. Well that's all for now. I will gladly keep you posted on que pasa with our relationship. Please pray for us.

Belen

2007-08-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a tough day. A few of us attended the funeral of an eleven year old girl who drowned. I have heard different stories of how she actually ended up in the water. Her name was Belen. She was the only girl of eight children. I first met Belen a few years ago when I lived in the village of Maneadero where she lived. She and her brothers would attend the feeding program and various VBS's that were held there in the clinic in that village. She would often be left in charge of caring for her brothers. Several months ago she helped Kayleigh and I move several boxes and things out of the clinic.

We showed up at 10 a.m. for the funeral, but the pastor told us that it had been pushed back a few hours and told us to join everyone up at the house where they had the wake the day before. There was her small casket with many flowers and candles surrounding it. An hour or so later some of us helped carry the flowers as we walked behind the casket down the hill to the church where the service would be held. There were many family and friends there. Half of them were the children that Belen had attended school with, befriended, played with, and gone to church with. Toward the end of the service the pastor asked all of the children to stand at the front and asked myself and my fellow missionaries to come and pray for the children since we had been active in that community. Some of us taught at the school there, cooked and served food for the feeding program, interpreted for VBS, and cared for the children in the daycare that we ran. During that prayer many tears started to flow. Then Belen's father, through tears, managed to say a few words to the attenders and to his beloved daughter. Though it was very sad I'm glad that I was able to attend and say goodbye to Belen until I see her in Heaven.

Another Kim in the Kitchen

2007-07-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks here at EOC were pretty busy and the temperature is rising in Ensenada. Thank God for my good friend Nona Kim. Last summer we worked many hours together in the camp kitchen and last week we were together again. Flippin' pancakes, scramblin' eggs, and grillin' fajitas. Thanks Nona for your hard work. It was good to have you here again.

What a Relief!

2007-07-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well, this week has been a big week. We have been cooking for 170 people twice per day. I have spent more hours in the kitchen than in my bed. But for the past 3 mornings, and it will happen again tomorrow morning, I have had relief cooks. Fletch and Leonard, who call me Chef, have volunteered this week to come in and help me in the mornings. The first two mornings I tried to be there working alongside of them, but this morning I pretty much sat back and let them do their thing and that's my plan for tomorrow too. They have been such a blessing. Thanks Leonard and Fletch!!!!

Also, last month we opened up a little camp store. We sell coffee drinks, sodas, Mexican blankets and ponchos, candy galore, YUGO shirts, greeting cards, and I could go on and on. But one other thing that we sell are my cookies. I bake cookies and sell them to the store as a way to supplement my support. Sometimes I cannot keep up with the demand. The cookie sales have gone very, very well. This week there have been a couple of men who have bought however many there were in the store at the time it opens, they sit outside at a table and they share them with people who come and talk with them. Cool, eh?

Have your cake and eat it too.

2007-06-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well, somehow I have gotten involved in cake decorating. Actually, last year a friend of mine asked me to make her wedding cake. Of course I laughed because I had never done such a thing. I love to bake and I have baked hundreds of cookies, but cookies a cake do not make. She insisted that I could do it so I agreed to it. I solicited the help of my good friend Nona Kim from La Palma, CA and we made a 4 layer cake and 3 separate cakes that sat around the main cake. It was hard work, but we did it. The cakes turned out beautifully. Unfortunately, I lost the picture that I had. Anyway, before this a another friend of mine, Randy, from Canada had given me some tips and allowed me to help him make an extravagant cake for a 15th birthday celebration. Here in Mexico it's like a mini wedding. Then a fellow missionary Patti Coles bought some supplies for me and showed me a few things. So I decided since I had some tools I should use them. While I was home in May I decided to take a cake decorating class. I failed to take a picture of my first cake, but here is a picture of my second one.

2007-06-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Have You Noticed...?

2007-05-22T01:02:00.001-07:00

Have you noticed how often we use there's in place of there're? So, according to what we learned in elementary, there's = there is (singular) and there're = there are (plural). Why do I hear so many (and I do mean many) people say things like, "There's so many people... or there's a few reasons..."? I just read an article on MSN Health & Fitness that quoted a lady as saying, "There's thousands of babies born that way every year." So what she actually said was, "There is thousands of babies born that way every year." There is so many people..., there is a few reasons. I hear this in person, on TV, and I read it. Every day! It bugs me so much. What's happening to our grammar?

My New Ride

2007-05-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, though my Nellie (my Corolla) has served me very well in Mexico I'm hoping to turn over the keys to a new owner soon. In other words I'm selling her to make room for my new blessing. Thanks to Mr. R. Davies of California I now have the Title to a 2000 Dodge Durango.

A Day in Jersey

2007-04-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

So Friday we were able to treat the kids to a day at the park. There is a park here called Jersey because it is owned by a company called Jersey which is a major producer of milk products. To enter the park you must present three tops to any of their products. So we asked the kids to save or find three of these tops. All of them showed up with their permission slips and lunch and we loaded the van for a day in Jersey.

Happy Easter!

Spring

2007-03-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I know, it's been way too long since I have written. Please forgive me. Hopefully, this will work because I've been having problems with my site.

Anyway, the U.S. decided that Daylight Saving time would come earlier this year and Mexico stayed the same. So right now Ensenada is not part of the Pacific time zone. Weird, huh?

On the first day of spring we had a party with the kids. They love pizza, so once again I ordered a pizza. This time I got one that has 60 square slices. It's huge! But before we ate we did one of my favorite crafts. We took some stick pretzels and dipped them in chocolate frosting and stuck them together to make a bird's nest. Then we gave them speckled malted eggs and several different jelly beans to put in the bottom. On top of the eggs sat a yellow marshmallow Peep's chick. So the end result was a mother bird sitting on her nest of eggs. It's so cute.

Christmas Party

2006-12-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

Today we had our Christmas party in Lomas Bonitas. The children were so excited. They were jumping around hugging each other and us, screaming, and falling on the ground. Wednesday they made picture frames and I took pictures of each one individually. The first thing we did today was to glue the pictures to the decorated frames. They turned out very nice. The children had requested pizza so we arranged for a pizza place to open early so that we could fulfill their request. One of the pizzas that we ordered was a Mexican pizza that has sauce, cheese, beans, chorizo, and jalapeños. They also wanted chicken mole. So we served that with rice and corn tortillas. And no paryt is a Mexican party without a piñata, so we had that and candy bags made up to give apart from the candy in the piñata because that's how they roll here in Mexico. When Franciscisca (not in this photo) broke the piñata the kids dove for the candy while she was still swinging and one reveived a blow to the head and another one a blow to the hand. All in all we had a great time.

New president

2006-12-01T22:43:00.000-08:00

Today a new president was installed in Mexico. For the past six years Vicente Fox has been the president and today Felipe Calderón was installed as president for the next six years. When a new president takes office every six years on December 1st, it is a national holiday. There have been major arguments and physical fights over the installment of this president. Official tallies indicated Felipe Calderón as the victor after the July 2 election, but due to ballots being found in two garbage dumps his opponent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rejected Calderón as the winner. To make a several months long story short, in September Mexico's special electoral court unanimously declared Felipe Calderón president-elect of Mexico. Obrador then said he would create an "alternate government," and called Calderón an "illegitimate president." And this is what all of the fighting has been about. But despite all of the protests Felipe Calderón took his oath of office with the support of the outgoing president Fox.

2006-11-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

The children that we are teaching are from the ages of 5 - 12 years old. It's like our own "Little House on the Prairie" school. We learn one alphabet letter per week, a color per month, and a shape per month. We always review numbers up to 20, the months of the year, days of the week, and the seasons. Next week we will start on the letter 'Ch', pronounced che, which comes between 'C' & 'D'.

We hope to not only teach the children academics, but also good manners, good hygiene, and good social skills. We desire to be there for them while their parents are away working long hours in the fields. They only earn about $12 per day per person so many times they will take their children with them because they can also work and earn money for the family. Fortunately, the school attendance is pretty constant. I pray that the parents will see the benefits of allowing their children to get an education. I know it's hard for them to think of the future and not just the here and now. Many of them can only see that their children can bring more income into the household today and they don't think of the fact that an education will enable them to earn more money when they are of age.

I Thank God for this opportunity to serve Him and Mexico in this way.

Please pray for wisdom for Ana and I. Also for patience for me as I still have a hard time with the way many things are here in Mexico.

Kimyco

2006-11-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

2006-11-23T21:18:00.000-08:00

Hello all.
Here's what I've been up to lately. I had to give up my classroom in the village of El Zorrillo (the skunk) to make room for the new pastors that arrived to pastor the church there. I was very sad to say goodbye to my kids and they were not happy about leaving either.

Now myself and my friend Ana are giving classes three days per week to children in Lomas Bonitas who do not have the necessary papers to register in the public school system. These children are from Oaxaca or their parents are. Spanish is the second language for most of them. Throughout our day in the village we will hear much Mixteco spoken among the children. There are about three children that only understand a little Spanish so we use other students in the class to translate for us. We have started with the basics since these children have never been to school. We are teaching them the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, etc...

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