Coats

Arelis sports one of the new San José jackets. All our kids got winter duds- long underwear, scarves and gloves and coats or jackets. At San José they all match. Not so at Sagrada Familia. They each chose their own style.

Kids at School

On a recent visit to San Lucas, we were pleased to see how orderly and on-task the kids were. This year there have been many improvements to our school program.

Seamstress

Giovana had a secret smile at the festivities. As the adolescents were leaving to return to Sagrada Familia, one of the tutors mentioned that Giovana was wearing a pair of pants she had sewn herself. Nothing would do but we had to get a picture. Tía Nanny who was here for a sewing project will be SO proud!

Dad Learns to Skate Board

A teacher at San Lucas, María Luisa played the mustachioed father learning to skate board in a skit done by the teachers. To tell if the audience liked it, just look at the faces in the background.

Dancing is Serious Stuff!

Dancing for the Fathers´Day celebration requires concentration as well as practice. If you don´t think so, take a look at Lizet´s face!

Holding Hands

Sometimes special days are hard for our kids. Here Miguel Ángel felt the need of a comforting hand to hold. Tía Vicki was quick to oblige.

New Do

Notice Victoria has a new hair style today. The teens seem to be sporting something different each week. Thanks to the Mothers´Day cards in Plano and the jewelry sales, the kids will begin to get a bit of allowance before long. They need to be able to buy a snack to share with their friends from time to time. Edgar and Giovana now make the trip to school on a "combi" or bus with a houseparent meeting them at the stop. We are still trying to get an official change on Edgar´s birth year to keep him with us for a bit longer. He isn´t ready to be launched out into the world yet! He will begin taking a more intensive computer course in a couple of months. That can lead toward a job later on.

Teens

Our Sagrada Familia teens seemed in good moods this morning. I just heard that Margot is progressing rapidly on the "teclado" or keyboard. Her teacher, Eliana, is going to lengthen her lessons. Edgar also is enjoying lessons. Giovana and Susana like to work with the overhead and the music transparencies. This is very helpful on Sunday mornings. José was acolyte today while Manuel and Diego spread out the Prayer Books. María Perez is preparing some of the San José kids for baptism.

Sunday Morning

Juan Diego leads the pack as the San José kids come in on Sunday morning. Tía Angelica accompanies him. New, reversible coats are on the way for the girls- navy on one side and red on the other side. They should be great for these cold mornings at school. Sweater jackets for the boys that zip up to a turtle-neck collar. Frequently it is 50-51 degrees in the morning and breezy. Padre Ron was afraid Juan Diego might doze off on the front row this morning! Thank you, Zoila, for Sunday school! Rosita taught the lesson this morning. We need someone who can do a second group of the 8-10 year olds. Maybe our intern David who arrives next Sunday can. We´ll see.

Brrrrrr!!!

We are moving into winter here. The weather has really changed. Now we have nights in the low 40's and days in the mid 60's. When one is in the sun, it is really hot. But, just step into the shade and brrrrr! We have bought more blankets for Sagrada Familia. Also, we bought flannel underwear, gloves and scarves for those who needed them at both Casas. Now we are in the process of buying more sweaters and jackets for the kids at both Casas. Thanks to the help of our friends we have picked up shoes for those hard to fit feet.

Our recent visitor from St. Luke's, Denison, TX, Deacon David, felt the nip in the air, and Jonathan was glad to have the mantle for this dance performance !

Are We in Mexico??

Even Martha and Susana were impressed by the hoopla at the church on Mothers´Day. One young couple had brought a group of Mariachis to serenade their mom after church. Of course, life is better for teens with a bag of chips! They musicians were great, but a one point it dawned on Father Ron that they had slipped into traditional Peruvian music which seemed to clash with their outfits.

Encouragement

Diego Armando gets psyched up for his dance. Padre Tony and Tío Alan will give him a hearty round of applause, I´m sure.

Thanks, Luis

Luis, one of the tutors (houseparents) for Sagrada Familia brought by a panel to send back to the States with the St. Matthew´s team. I do think the symbols for the Apostles are even better than on the previous one. Kudos, of course, to Tía Nani. By the way- can you identify the symbols of the twelve apostles?? Try it.

Medals

Medalist this year were Diego and José. There medals were for track in inter-school events. Great job, boys!

New Dance

José was in a new dance this year. Cool! A chance for manly sword-fight.

Jonathan, who I nicknamed "the Runner," shows off his stuff in the dances which were very good this year. Then Maricruz does her dance. Notice how much more mature Maricruz appears now? How can it be? Our little Casas kids are growing up!

Mothers' Day

Mothers' Day is alway one we try to soften for our Casas kids. We encourage them to give a card to a special Tía in their life. This year we had "big doin´s" at San Lucas where our kids really got involved as you can see.

Do You Know the Names of the Apostles??

Well, our Casa Hogar Sagrada Familia kids do. In a creative sewing project our adolescents learned how to hand sew 4 types of buttons, patch tears in clothing, and run our new SEWING MACHINE. Thanks to Tía Nani´s God-inspired project, the teens really learned about the different Apostles. Each one with his own symbol and particular role in the ministry. Boy, did the kids feel loved on!

New Duds

A few Sundays ago I snapped this of the Casas kids in some of their new duds thanks to the "Roof Dog" team! They brought down school shoes, but because or having to reschedule their flight down, they weren´t able to bring everything they had planned to bring. Now we have received the remaining tennis shoes that had to come down via other teams. WOOF!

Muscles

Manuel enjoys exploring in strength with Tía Toni at San José when the Sagrada Familia teens came over. While we have space at Sagrada Familia for the kids to play soccer, and we have a ping-pong table, we still need a slab and basketball goals at Sagrada Familia. Maybe some weights would be good, too. Muscles developing!