Hierve el Agua, the circus, and more...

I apologize in advance for taking SO long to update. We've been quite busy here, with teams and family coming in, as well as our usual schedules!

The first adventure I'll recount was our day trek up to Hierve el Agua, a limestone waterfall that has beautiful pools that you can swim in too! It was SUPER cold because the water is spring-fed.

The little puebla or town you drive through to get to the waterfall

Such beautiful views

Scary switchback roads for an hour and a half...

The gorgeous pools

When I saw this spring where the water comes up, all I could think about was  John 4:14 - "But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
And because this spring was so protected, I also thought about Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Living in a foreign country does not make me immune to those things that entrap and entangle me, keeping me from ministry. I must remember to still guard myself, even as I live here in Mexico.

This little rushing bottleneck in the spring reminded me of Proverbs 18:4 - "The words of the mouth are deep water, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream." How thankful I am that the Lord's wisdom is so much deeper than my own.

The Lord is a great Creator, and His glory is shown through nature.

The scary road to Hierve!

The team we had in was from Mississippi, and they were on spring break. We had middle and high  schoolers, as well as college and a few adults. They worked at the children's home for four days. The kids loved it and made lots of new friends. The same day the team left, the H's had some family come in to visit and work at the children's home as well. We've been very busy with folks coming a going quite a bit!

This is a picture one of the sweet teenage boys at the children's home colored for me. When he handed it to me, he looked down at his feet and mumbled, "I colored this for you." When I told him thank you, he blushed a little and ran off with his buddies. Such a sweet moment.

We've been learning Mark 5 in our storying time with the H's. It has been challenging, but I've loved it.

This adorable girl's name is Flor, and although I can't have favorites, she is a secret favorite of mine from the children's home.

You know you are missed at home when your father sends you pictures of flowers and tells you he loves you.

For whatever reason, I am even more clumsy in Mexico than I am in the States! This injury occured when my finger got too close to a plastic fan in the van with the team...

Yes. The Chinese circus came to Mexico. And we Americans went.

On a side note, I have been officially accepted to UGA! YAY!!!

That was the last few weeks in a snapshot, and I hope I will have the time and energy to post more often!

So, for those of you who are praying for me, I have several requests:

1) The seminary students we have started working with will learn English well, and that we will be an encouragement to them as they prepare to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth here in Oaxaca.

2) That we temporary people will be an encouragement to the people and missionaries and their kids here.

3) For the local Mexican church we attend here.

4) For the kids in the children's home here. They often come from really rough home lives, and if they have families, they don't get to see them very often, usually only three times a year.

5) For the teams and family we have coming in soon. (My family gets to come visit me next week!!)

6) For the boy I tutor at school. J has some severe problems that can impair his learning and ability to retain information, and he can be a bit of a challenge at times. But I love working with him, and he is one of the sweetest boys I've been around here. 

7) That we will not become complacent in our lives here just because we are getting more comfortable.

Thanks for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support as we share here in Mexico!