Children on the playground

 First of all, we are thankful that Miguel's temporary visa arrived in Nogales last Thursday and he was able to pick it up yesterday. This visa will allow him to cross into the US and the permanent residency card will then be mailed to us. I've learned that it could take 1-4 months for the card to arrive. 

Miguel and Denver unloading hay

Lord willing, we plan to visit Miguel's dad in California next week!  Our trip is planned for September 8th-17th and at this point, we are planning to drive. We are very excited about all the adventures we hope to have. Miguel will be reunited with his dad after 9 years apart and we will meet our niece, Delilah, who was just born last week.

Monday morning my heart burst with joy to see the playground full of students in uniforms. It feels like new life! It's also been a joy to see the teachers again. 

Last Wednesday and Friday, Kendra, Maestra Ivette, and I presented the after-school program "Hilos" to  the teachers and then the parents. Over the weekend the school schedule was changed (by higher authority than our local school from approximately 9 am -2 pm to 7:30 am-12:30 pm) and so we've been making adjustments to the Hilos Schedule. Inspite of this hiccup, we are excited for several interested families and look forward to welcoming more into the program. 

The name "Hilos," means "Threads" in English and comes from the idea of weaving threads together to create a stronger cord. Some of these "threads" would be Christ, the community, and family. The program is currently for 4th through 9th grade on two afternoons a week for two hours and will include lunch, a social-emotional class, and three courses over the semester - horses, art, and cooking. 

I am also learning to navigate my new role as supervisor in the kitchen. One relatively small challenge recently has been an invasion of beetles! It's been especially bad the last couple weeks of this rainy season. As you can see above, yesterday we decided to curb their enthusiasm by covering the cracks under some of the doors.

Some more difficult challenges have been letting go of responsibilities and taking on others, giving direction and a listening ear, and in general, challenging myself to be a better leader. I'm learning that I can't fix everything. I don't need to micromanage tasks or relationships, but I do need to listen, receive push-back, encourage communication, seek solutions, stand my ground, apologize, set boundaries, and grow. 

I would really appreciate all of your prayers for our trip, the supervisor role, and the after-school program. There are a lot of details in play: relationships, schedules, time-frames, objectives, disagreements, disappointments, and adjustments to be made. I've felt empowered, excited, overwhelmed, afraid, and hopeful. Please pray that I can turn each of these emotions, each responsibility, and each plan over to Jesus. I can't do it on my own!

Thank you for your continued support!

Trip to Juarez

We set off around 7:30 AM from Magdalena on Thursday, August 12th. This view is looking down from a lookout just before the Chihuahua state border.  You can see the fence between Sonora and New Mexico, USA

The white line is the fence.

We arrived there right around noon.

Here is the pass.

And the welcome to Chihuahua sign.

As we neared Juarez, the landscape flattened out. We even drove through an agricultural area between Janos and Ascension and saw a few lakes.

Friday morning at ten, Miguel had his medical exam. It took three hours. They drew blood and gave him a couple shots besides other examination.

This is the building where he did the majority of the exam. The building on the left is where they gave him an eye exam.

We arrived at an airbnb Thursday night, but it wasn't what we were expecting. The kitchen area was shared with other guests, so we talked with our host and moved into another airbnb on Saturday morning. This one was much more spacious and private.

And it was still in the same area of Juarez just about 5 min. from the Consulate. There was also a supermarket, office supply store, pizza place, and pharmacy within walking distance.

Friday night it rained all night, so there was a lot of flooded areas.

This is in the neighborhood of our second Airbnb.

Just outside the neighborhood there was this flooded intersection. Some cars stalled and got stuck in the water it was so deep. You can just see a minivan behind the black truck that is stuck in the water.

Saturday we settled in and relaxed. Sunday we watched church online and then went to the Juarez Central Park.

It was all free and they had a giraffe, an ostrich, lots of ducks and geese, and some turtles in the lake. Kind of random!

They had a botanical garden and we saw this little squirrel animal. Some people were giving it radishes.

There were lots of sidewalks, benches, picnic tables, and playground equipment.

And even an outdoor auditorium. From the auditorium, we could just barely see a horse race track across the road and could hear the gun shot starting the race. While we were at the auditorium, a group of young people showed up and were practicing break dancing (flips, spinning around on their heads/backs, etc.) It was interesting!

Monday we spent the day relaxing as well and I had a number of phone calls with my mentor and my brother, etc.

Tuesday, Miguel had his interview at noon. I was not allowed in and waited for a couple hours until he came out. They had given him this blue paper and asked him to come back at 7 AM Wednesday morning.

We were kind of confused, but messaged our lawyer and he did some research and found out that they started doing the interviews in two sessions since February. We were relieved to find out that it was normal. We had been expecting to get the approval that afternoon, but would have to wait until Wednesday. 

I had a work meeting over video call and then in the evening we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for supper.  It was supposed to be our celebration dinner, but yeah, it was delicious anyway.

I had honey bbq and mild buffalo.

We started cleaning up our airbnb. We had been debating whether or not to pay for another night since we didn't know how long the 2nd interview session would take, but we figured we would be done in time to drive home. Wednesday morning I dropped Miguel off at the consulate at 6:30 AM, drove back to the airbnb and packed up and cleaned. I turned in our keys and arrived back at the Consulate around 8:15 AM. At 9 AM, Miguel came out with his approval slip. SO EXCITING!

Now we will wait a week or so until his passport gets mailed to Nogales, MX with a packet of information. Then we will cross and give them the packet at the border. Once they receive the packet, they will start the process of making and mailing his permanent residency card. After two years since we mailed the I-130 form (original petition) and one year since we were documentary approved (just waiting for the interview), it is so exciting to know that he is approved! (Take a peak at my featured post to read my update from August last year about Miguel's immigration process.)

We called family and left Juarez around 9:30 AM.

The mountains above Juarez.

We made it back to the lookout in Sonora around 1 PM

The scenery throughout the whole trip was beautiful and we were thankful to eat some tacos for dinner in Imuris and arrive back in Magdalena around 5 PM.

Thank you all for your prayers and we will hope to see some of you the end of this year in ILLINOIS!

Praise the Lord!

Expo Esperanza 2021

 

Balto participated in the dog obstacle course with C.

Miguel and I made burritos, cinnamon rolls, and "fresh waters" (lemonade and Jamaica) and sold them at the food stand.

Our view of the arena

It was exciting to have many children and other family members from CVV (our school on-site) participate in the barrel racing and the music competitions. 

I was especially proud of my piano students who participated and both won! This lovely little lady who played Amazing Grace beautifully and another lovely young lady (below in white) who impressed me with her dedication, learning and playing Canon in D.

Sunday after Expo, we had a meal for all of CVE and I didn't have any helpers. Thankfully, these two girls were available to help and did a great job, making brownies, cutting watermelon and washing dishes. We whipped up a supper of haystacks for 40 people in just a few hours!

The Monday after Expo Miguel and I took Marce to the airport in Hermosillo. After dropping her off, we went out to eat and had some delicious ribeye steak tacos.

It's been raining and raining and raining here. Wednesday last week, the water nearly came into the kitchen and then on Friday it flooded the back storage. I wasn't here to see the mess, but thankfully some others cleaned it up. 

Permanent Residency Interview in Sight!

Miguel and I were ecstatic to hear that his permanent residency interview is scheduled for August 17th. It's been two years since we sent the initial petition and a full year since we were approved in documentation. The interview is the final step in the process and the finish line is in sight! It seems rather surreal. We would appreciate your prayers as we travel to Cuidad Juarez (8 hours east in the state of Chihuahua, MX) for the interview. Please pray for a safe, anxiety-free trip and that we would have all the required documents in the correct formats, etc. With the interview taking place this month, the expectation is that Miguel will be able to travel to the US by October.

The final leg of our journey took about six months longer than normal due to COVID. Interestingly, last Thursday I emailed our lawyer (after six months of no communication) and asked if he had heard anything. He responded that he had heard that in June 2021 they were finally interviewing those who were approved in March 2020, so I gave a sigh and prepared to wait several more months. The very next afternoon we got the date! 

We will be traveling to Cuidad Juarez on August 12th. A medical exam is required at least two days before the interview, so Miguel will go to that on Friday. We will stay the weekend and have the interview on Tuesday. Of course there are a lot of nerves and stress. We were expecting to have a few months between scheduling and the actual date, so with only a couple weeks to prepare, we have been busy printing, checking documents, planning other appointments that need to be done ahead of time, etc. 

Thank you for your prayers for our peace of mind!

Along with the flurry of prep for our interview, we are also preparing for Expo Esperanza this weekend (August 6th-7th). Miguel is planning to sell some food items at a food stand, so we are making plans for that. 

So far we have made a number of burritos and cooked up some meat for tacos. Salsas, lemonade, Jamaica, and cinnamon rolls are on the to-do list for Thursday.

Last week I had my final sewing class. This sweet girl made a patchwork pillow.

I'm also excited to hear a couple of my piano students play and of course, see all of the other projects and watch the horse and dog events.

We also squeezed in a fire drill last week.

In other news... I will be taking a position as kitchen supervisor beginning this month and we are hiring a new assistant for the kitchen (as our previous kitchen assistant retired). Although we have done a lot. of planning in preparation for this transition, it still brings another layer of excitement, stress, and uncertainty. But I am hopeful for a good transition, communication, and the opportunity to grow in my leadership skills. I would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and grace. And also that I can learn to face conflict with appropriate confrontation when needed (one of my weak areas).

Some of you may have heard about the violence in this area. 

 A couple weeks ago on Wednesday morning, shooting broke out within hearing distance of the CVE property. It has continued off and on for the past two weeks in various locations around Magdalena. We don't know all the specifics, but different gangs are fighting with each other. Usually this takes place on the outskirts of town and is more common in the evening or early morning. We also had a week of violence a year or so ago when COVID first started, so this isn't new. However, this was the first time that the shooting was so close to CVE property on various occasions. More soldiers and national guard have been called in to the area. About a year ago, CVE established a communication system with protocol, so that whenever shooting is reported, everyone stays put, reports their location, gates are closed and locked, etc. Thankfully, in the last week there has been only one incident, so hopefully things will be improving.

The violence can be very discouraging. As we are slowly dropping COVID precautions, we find free travel still restricted because of safety issues. Church was canceled a couple times, events were canceled and rescheduled. Over the past year, we have missed visiting the ranches and climbing the beautiful mountains in the area. Please join us in praying for safety, for peace in this community, for the families, men, and women involved in the gangs, and those closely affected by the violence. Many of them may have grown up into these gangs and know no other life. Please pray that they would see beyond their current situation, desire something different, and find a way out. Many young men and women face the temptation to become involved. Pray that they can find community, relationships, and hope through the Christian church and not the gangs. Please pray that corruption will be brought to light and that the people in this community would look to Jesus for satisfaction and hope. Please pray that we can know how to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and be a light during this time. And praise God that he has kept us safe!

Below are the words to a song I've been writing over the past year as I've processed the brokenness I see all around me. I pray that it can bless you and help you to feel God's presence beside you as you face the brokenness in your life.

Never Look Away

by Laura Aviña 

Children wailing in the sand

Wars ravaging the lands

Addictions destroying a man

How could this, How could this be the plan?

Death knocking at our doors

Hatred scattered on our shores

Sin simmering in our hearts

I just don’t, I just don’t want a part.

Let me place the blame.

Show me who to hate.

Oh God, let me break,

        Be the one to take.

I can look away,

Just ignore the pain,

But I see you, I see you, and hear you say.

"I never look away.

I am here to stay.

I took the blame.

They chose Me to hate.

I let myself break

And I bore the shame.

Now I stay, now I stay. I never look away."

Suffering is everywhere I turn.

I wonder when we will ever learn.

Pain is more known than happiness.

I cannot bear, cannot bear this brokenness.

You hold each tear from every eye.

You count the injustices and lies.

You know the trauma in each heart.

And yet you, and yet You want a part.

Some of us learn to blame.

Some embrace the hate.

Some let themselves break

A victim’s life to take.

Some just look away,

Choose to ignore the pain,

But I see you, I see you and I hear you Say

"I am here to heal.

I know what you feel. 

Let me be the One

To whom You always run.

Justice will be mine.

I will draw the line.

Stand up straight, lift your face and just look to me."

Our God, He is the Healer.

Our God, He is the Judge. 

Our God, He is the Savior of this world, our God.

He holds a bottle in his hand

Filled with the tears of all the land.

Someday he’ll crush it in his fist.

It will rain, it will rain true justice.

Lift up your hands and broken hearts

Even when hope is torn apart.

We can watch beside our Lord

Through the pain, til the day he wields the sword.

We choose not to blame.

We choose not to hate.

We choose not break.

We choose not to take.

We won’t look away.

We can’t ignore pain.

We will pray, we will stay, and listen to Him say.

"I never look away.

I am here to stay.

I see and I hear

All you feel and fear.

Stand strong in the fight.

Face it with my might.

I will be, I will be everything you need."