What's Happening?

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

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

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

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.