Hymns of Zion #201

"...I want my friends to pray for me, to hold me up on wings of faith, that I may walk the narrow way, kept by our Father's glorious grace...I need the prayers of those I love." Hymns of Zion #201

Monday, August 24, 2020

Expo Esperanza 2020


So Expo was a little different this year, with just CVE participants.


 However, I did heat banana bread and make coffee to serve in the mornings!


Wetting the arena in preparation for the horse performance. This year, there were only two animal categories, horses and dogs.


Riding in style


That kid! Up and at it again! #waytogotadi


These three are watching the dog competition.


Go, go, go!


The winner!


This cool suspension table was on display. 


I helped with some of the sewing projects, so I was excited to see what the kids got!




I also had the opportunity to judge the cookies, and bread and tortilla categories. (Thanks to Carissa for the photos.)


Miguel judged agronomy. Here he is presenting the championship ribbons.

After a successful Expo weekend, the summer staff headed home. We miss them! 
Miguel started working part time at CVE on Monday. 


Miguel's cousin, Gonzalo, came from Colorado for the Expo and stayed the following week. We enjoyed having him over for a "carne asada" on Friday night!

Then on Saturday morning I played soccer and sprained my ankle.


This picture looks a little worse because I had been wearing a sock with a design on it and it imprinted on to my leg which was a little swollen. Anyways...I couldn't walk on it for a couple days and then started walking wearing an ankle brace. Now a week later it's kind of at that dangerous stage where it doesn't hurt all that much and I can easily forget and do something I shouldn't (like start running). So no sports for a few months and we'll see how it's feeling!


Miguel helped with some classes in the shop with the kids last week. They built two corn hole game sets and a Kubb game set. (Look it up.) So on Thursday morning I played a little corn hole. If you look closely at the picture you can see that one red bag got knocked in, but another is hanging, caught by the red one on top. Too bad for the red team! They almost got two more points!

    Do you ever feel like you are learning the same spiritual lessons over and over again? I once thought about how God teaches us and thought, you know, sometimes the lessons are so simple and yet we struggle. I imagined God giving a lesson on the ABC's. And there we are, "A...B...umm...Let's see that was...A...umm, ok...C, no B...C..." you get the point. This is the poem that resulted from that idea.

As I pray my ABC’s


Could I ever tell Thee, Father,

What I really desire to pray?

Such a jumble of thoughts and praises,

My weak lips are trying to say.


But I know that Thou art mighty

As I pray my ABC’s

Thou canst form them into phrases

Of a prayer that pleases Thee. 

Thursday, August 6, 2020

CVE 5K Color Run 2020

We had our first ever color run here at CVE!


Marissa was my training-buddy for the three times I practiced before the race! We ran together most of the way. She was also my buddy along with Lucy at Joy Camp.


Coming across the finish line!


Miguel and I 

The girls pyramid

And the aftermath


The summer staff pyramid!

It was a lot of fun. The fastest runners made it in 22 minutes plus seconds. I made it in 32 minutes and afterwards we had fun as you can see above. Then we ate watermelon and energy bites (peanut butter, chocolate, oat bites) and headed home!

Tomorrow is the first day of Expo Esperanza 2020 which is looking a little different this year due to COVID-19 restrictions! Hopefully some pictures coming soon...

As I looked back at some of my previous posts, I saw that a year ago before Expo we were just getting our paperwork finalized to send in the I-130 form (the first step in Miguel's US residency process). So a little update... the beginning of the year the USCIS approved the application and passed it on to the National Visa Center. The National Visa Center asked for more documents which we sent in and they have confirmed that they have all the documents needed. At the moment, we are just waiting for an interview to be scheduled in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. With COVID-19 preventing travel, we realize that those interviews could be somewhat behind schedule, so we're just waiting to hear. Thanks for your prayers!

From Stars to Snowflakes

I thank Thee for the stars above
And all the universe.
The mountains great, the sunsets gold,
Thy wonders we rehearse.

I thank Thee, Lord, for details, too,
For snowflakes, each unique,
For fingerprints, and fingernails.
To understand, we seek.

How can a God know how to make 
A mountain or a star
And also separate our thoughts
From what our intents are?