.2010.

I haven't always loved making resolutions. Mainly b/c I fail miserably on them. But I feel that this past fall has already been building up and beginning some new habits in my life, and Ive been working toward some goals that I need and want to be intentional on this upcoming season.

So Im gonna copy a few friends (like this one) and try and attempt at a "my 10 in 2010".

Here we go. (in no particular order)

1. explore more of Mexico. visit at least three other cities/states.

2. improve my spanish skills. study periods two times a week.

3. do better at communicating and connecting with my friends, encouragers, and supporters back home. (this includes blogging!). Develop a team of folks in Canada to help with this.

4. continue to take care of myself. keep running/exercising every morning. improve diet.

5. manage my money better. be more aware/organized with my finances. and develop a plan to tackle my school debt.

6. continue to invest in sharing life with Scott y Ana and the team at EOC... in all our messiness and realness.

7. call my mom more.

8. share time weekly with some dear sisters... journeying together, challenging one another.

9. dare to be "girly" sometimes.

10. procrastinate less. especially in personal life details.

Some are lofty goals... some are tangible and completely doable if i just take action. Its funny b/c I can be very organized and make things happen in my work life, but can fall so short in personal areas.

This year I want to take action. I feel this fall has been a wrestling, intangible, reflective space. Its been hard. beautiful. and enlightening. This stage is far from over (ever...).

But when I left for Canada I was given a challenge... to take time away and return ready to take action. Ready to make some changes. Im nervously excited.

This year I want to be in love with Jesus more. I didn't include goals like "reading the bible more" or "improve prayer life" b/c really at the core of this has to be a motivation to simply be with Jesus. I pray this stirs up more and more for me this year.

This year I want to to nurture new gifts of the spirit... and restore some that I have neglected. I want my character to overflow in joy. patience. and gentleness. Not cynicism, judgmentalism, or selfishness.

Phew. I guess when you write it all down like that, it really does seem lofty. But this year more than ever Im ready - no, willing, to make this year a good one. And I suppose I just made myself a whole lot of accountability in sharing it with you all.

thanks for your support friends. in every which way.

.home is where the heart is.

Well here I sit at the Buffalo airport, en route back to Mexico. Im uber early - thinking I'd need to combat some wintery weather and upgraded security, but all was smooth sailing. So what a better excuse to write a blog... finally. (I do promise to post more regularly... really... its a resolution/goal for the year. and i have people going to harass me if i don't... so track along with me this year!)

home.
canada is home. it always will be. i am still a proud canadian and the last three weeks visiting family and friends in Ontario have been a reminder of the incredible people in my life. And although I am happy to return to a warmer climate, it was even good to be home amidst some snow, christmas season, favorite pubs, good restaurants, sane drivers, and a country where a tall, white girl doesn't stick out so much!
but even more than Canada, my 'people' in canada are what make it home. the history of friendships are so rich. there were so many visits that we were able to just pick up where we left off...there are some friendships that I am just so able to be known, really known... there are people who know how to ask just the right questions to get me thinking... It was so amazing to reminisce - to celebrate our past memories but also be secure in the future of our friendship no matter where life has taken us. Whether it was time with my family and getting to know my nieces and nephews a bit more, or time with the ol' highschool gang, or faithful camp friends, or Wellington Square peeps... I was surrounded by people who love and support me. I am truly blessed.
It was hard to manage these three weeks - wanting to visit with everyone, but knowing I couldn't. And even though I was determined to not run around too much, by the end of my time in Ontario I was tired of visiting and ready to head back. home. home to mexico.

the first time i used the word 'home' for mexico, i was a little surprised. but i suppose i shouldn't be. it is my home. it's where my everyday community is right now. its where my purpose and passion is right now. its where my calling is right now. and despite the cheesiness of it, it's where my heart is right now. i desperately missed my friends and faces of the EOC. It was refreshing to step away from my work, but I am ready to jump back in the game of my job and life. not to mention my own bed and not living out of a suitcase.

so it was so fullfilling for my heart to be home. in ontario.
but im so ready to go home. to mexico.

here's a few pics of my wanderings this christmas...

and so many more wonderful faces and moments that im unable to capture...

.strength.

Meet Kauyagene. The story of this young woman has been an incredible one. It's been a pleasure to have been able to be apart of this journey with the Sanchez Family. For the story, check out the 2 posts called "God's faithfulness" on the EOC webblog.
www.eocyugo.org
Just click on the blog section and give it a read.

God is good.
and big.

.pics.

Just some shots from this past fall season

.im still alive.

I once again have become the bad blogger I hate. Not updating my blog. Im determined to get back on track so hopefully you will stay with me my friends and supporters!

The fall has been a fantastic season thus far. Here's a few updates on the ongoings of my life and activities of EOC.

- The fall months mean planning, visioning, implementing new programs and ideas, and improving on past ones! When teams aren't in we still have lots of work to do and my list of things to do and projects to work on, never seem to disappear!

- We have hosted teams from Petaluma, San Diego, & Idaho to build houses, install bunkbeds, and run VBS programs! We enjoy having small teams in at this time as we really have a chance to connect & build relationships. I really enjoy the bigness of the busy weeks in the summer, but also enjoy the intimacy of these smaller teams as well! This past week we hosted a team of folks where the majority of the members were retired seniors! I was so impressed by their passion, love for Jesus, and stamina!

- We have converted the “ camp store” to more of a “coffee shop”. (C3 - coffee, community, connect). The hope is that it can be also be a place open to local community - especially local youth to use internet, have a safe place to hang out, and raise awareness about the world around them. We have been enjoying the new look and feel of the place!

- Our video guy, Marvin, who many of you know and love, recently celebrated the birth of his first daughter! He and his wife Monica welcomed Natalia into the world October 23.

- More local youth have been hanging out the EOC which makes us very excited! Roberto hosted a night of games, hang out, and movie on the big screen and over 40 youth from the community and various churches showed up! We also hosted our first weekend retreat for a local youth group! We are excited about opening up our doors more and more for the local community. Its cool to get connected more into youth ministry world again. Although Im still a bit timid in up front leadership b/c of my spanish, I am hopeful I will be able to serve and connect more with local youth groups and pastors in the upcoming months.

- Ive become more involved in the "homes of hope" program - the house construction ministry. I am now facilitating the team that helps monitor the selection of the families, interviewing potential recipients, and programming the calender. It has been a very rich experience as it provides me with more 'front line contact' with the people we are serving. I love meeting the families before they receive a home and building a relationship with them. Now when the teams are in, and I visit the progress of their home, it is that much more significant! It's been a pleasure to work alongside Pastor Abraham, Juan, and Ana on this.

- A team from my church (wellington square) as well as two other teams from Southern Ontario will be coming here next week! Im soooooo excited! To have familiar faces here and share my home with my community from back home! I have started the countdown of "how many more sleeps!" It should be a great week!

- Our staff team and their families will be building a home and working on a few other projects together in a few weeks. This is an exciting chance for our staff to come together! We will end off the week together with a fantastic Thanksgiving feast! Later in December, a team of pastors that we work with will be building a house together! What an amazing opportunity this will be for these brothers to come together with one purpose and focus! We are excited about these opportunities to empower the local church - these are homes that teams from canada and the states have sponsored but are wanting local hands to build. How cool eh?! We are excited about this new step in the ministry!

So that's a quick glance of some updates of the happenings around here over the past while.
Oh! And for my Ontario peeps, i've booked my flight home for a visit - Dec 15 - Jan 6! Hope to get lots of great visits in!

.mulege.

Well Im back from our adventure and trip to Mulege/Santa Rosalia. Our team of 9 from EOC headed out Monday to Friday to help with hurricane relief and support the needs of these communities in any way we could. We all kind of felt like a team that we host here at EOC. We were reminded of what it was like to travel together, to a new place, with new weather (HOOOOT weather!!), new routine, new culture, and new needs. We were humbled. We were stretched. We worked hard. We sweated (did I mention it was hot?!). We laughed. We enjoyed fantastic hospitality. We partnered with new brothers and sisters. We built new roofs, new rooms, and even a few small one room houses. We connected with pastors as well as government officials (including the president of the municipality). Doors have been opened to see how we can continue to partner with our new friends in these areas... where the needs are great - and not just b/c of the hurricane. Imagine a family already struggling to get by, living in a shack for a house, when a giant storm comes and destroys there home. They barely can pull together enough money for water and food, not to mention another home. It was hard sometimes to think "there is so much more that needs to be done... isn't there more we can do?!". Yes. There is more. And we are excited to explore those possibilities.

It was encouraging to hear of the testimonies of some of our new friends. Hearing how these communities were buzzing about a group of volunteers (from ensenada, us, canada, and locally) that were going around helping people. They shared this was the first time a team had come and offered aid like this. This is exciting - not b/c of wanting any praise, but to see how quickly the impact is felt. In just three days we were able to help with 15 projects... 15 families lives were impacted and some relief offered. A team of volunteers from 2 local churches joined us every day and it was so encouraging to hear of their excitement as well to carry on. This was new for them as well - to reach out, to share the love of Jesus... in action. I am confident the ripple affect will carry on in these beautiful communities.

It was also special to share this time together as an eoc team. The joys (and trials) of travelling, living, and serving together were a highlight as well. Laughing over a meal, tackling a project together, or sharing thoughts and stories under a night sky, are all moments that have brought us closer together as a team.

Look forward to hearing updates on the status of Mulege and pray with us as we seek to determine next steps to help and serve our friends in the Mulege area.

.hurricane jimena.

Many of you probably heard about the recent Hurricane Jimena that hit here in Mexico in the beginning of September. Likely most of you heard the initial warnings, and once the hurricane was less impact than they thought and new coverage backed off, many of us didn't think much about it after that. Even here in Ensenada we didn't feel any impact of the hurricane and I know personally I didn't take much time to investigate if there was impact in other areas.

Last week, contacts in Mulege contacted us with an appeal for prayer and donations. We soon learned of the devistation that had occured in there area from the hurricane. We decided to take this opportunity to see how we can reach out further, to see how we can serve. EOC Director Scott and staff Juan made a short trip to Muleje last week to meet with some pastors and government leaders. They quickly realized the needs of our brothers and sisters south of us. Houses, buildings, hospitals flooded ... belongings ruined... cars demolished... roads torn up... infrastructures damaged... power & water lines lost...

Upon their return we quickly began to communicate the needs to the local churches here in Manadero. We are collecting donations of clothing, food, blankets, and needed supplies here at the chapel at the camp. We also felt we had resources to share with our friends in Mulege and so a team from EOC and some local churches will be making the 10 hour drive to Mulege early Monday morning (sept 21) to spend a week to help with relief work. We will help repair roofs, cleaning, and however we can! Pray for our team and for the people who lives have been turned upside down. Imagine the damage a hurricane can do in our north american cities - now think of the impact these violent storms have on shanty houses and cities with little infrastructure.

Im keen to embark on this adventure. Who doesn't a love a 10hour road trip?! Im excited to work side by side with my mexican hermanos! Ready to get out of the office... pumped to get to do some front line work... to get my hands dirty. It should be a good week of hard work with great people. And Im sure the guys will keep me laughing as well.

Some shots of Scott's trip to Mulege...

trying to salvage one's belongings...

the local hospital... notice the water line on the wall...