Aztecas vs Toltecas, School & General Life in Mexico

Hey all!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've written!  There's so much to update you guys on!  Warning:  This blog entry may be seriously long!

La Ola Olympics
--
A couple of weeks ago we had our yearly La Ola Olympics.  The two teams competing were the Aztecas and the Toltecas.  I was the team captain for the Aztecas.

Me, Acacia, Esme, Ana, Jhoana & Nayeli

Yosselyn, Karla, Angeles, Yessi, Jeff, Erendida, & Chuy

The day started early for the kids (7 a.m. which is early for a Saturday) with Becky banging a pan to wake everyone up.  The teams rolled out of bed, still in their pajamas and dragged themselves downstairs waiting for what would happen next.  The morning event was a surprise scavenger hunt!  The two teams were running around the entire compound looking for clues and trying to figure out riddles.  The scavenger hunt ended with someone from each team jumping into the pool (at 7am!) to retrieve one of Chuy's toy cars.  Toltecas 1, Aztecas, 0.

Although slightly let down, the Aztecas regained their team spirit when we drove to the Malecon (like a boardwalk/park) to participate in the relay race.  Kids were positioned all over the Malecon and had to hand off a baton to the next girl as they raced.  It was a super close event but the Aztecas won!  Toltecas 1, Aztecas, 1.

The third event was the sack race.  Even though one of the Toltecas fell down they still won!  Toltecas 2, Aztecas 1.

Next was the balloon toss where with a lot of luck, the Aztecas won.  Toltecas 2, Aztecas, 2.

The next challenge was the water relay race where we had to swim from one end of our pool to the other and touch the wall.  And then the next person would jump in and so on.  Super close race but the Aztecas won!  Toltecas 2, Aztecas, 3.

After that we had a water ball game (a mix between basket ball and soccer) and after 30 minutes the Toltecas had wiped the floor with us Aztecas.  Toltecas 3, Aztecas 3.

It was all down to the last challenge, pulling as many gummy worms out of whipped cream as possible with only your mouth.  After a really close day of games and good sportsmanship, the Aztecas won the La Ola Olympics this year!  I was so proud of my team and the Toltecas!  Everyone did such a great job.



School
--
Some of our older girls have already started back to school, however the rest of the kids start back around August 20th.  4 of our girls were blessed to be sponsored and accepted into a nearby private school.  These girls are super smart and they are all so excited to begin school in a few weeks.  Through generous donations they were able to get their uniforms, shoes, and everything else needed to be ready to start classes.  3 of our girls will be home schooled at La Ola by Yours Truly.  I've never undertaken anything like this before so please, when you think about it, pray that I have the knowledge to teach creatively and in ways that the kids understand.

Of course, I'm also still learning Spanish through books and online study so please keep that in your prayers as well.  I will be teaching the kids all the subjects needed to jump ahead to the grade they should be in for their age.  All three girls will be completing 3 grades this year.  The reason they are behind is because when they came to La Ola, they hadn't been in school much.  All of these girls are so smart and excited and willing to learn the material required for them to catch up.  I will be teaching them (Spanish, Science, Math, Geography, etc.) everyday for about 6 hours.


Theology & Ministry Master's Program
--
I have been given a wonderful opportunity to begin taking classes toward my Master's degree.  As some of you know, I had wanted to get my Master's at Fuller Theological Seminary after college, but it didn't quite work out.  I made a choice to fully pursue missions and decided that if God wanted me to have my Master's then I would pursue that later when it was God's time.  Well, God is being SO good to me, as usual!  The pastor of the church we attend here, Ross Arnold, is starting his own Theological University here in Mexico.  He actually graduated from Fuller with his Master's and from Regent College in Vancover with his doctorate in Theology.  He has all the permissions from Mexico to begin this school, and we start classes in September.  The best thing about all of this is that he is not charging us to take these classes!  What a generous man!  We only have to pay for the books which are fairly inexpensive here. Becky, Bob, Ciera and I are all taking these classes together and will be working towards our Theology & Ministry Master's degree.  We will begin with three classes:  Old Testament Survey, Old Testament Theology, & How to Study the Bible.  If you think about it, please pray that all goes well and that I can take what I learn and apply it to my work here at La Ola.  Our staff is extremely excited about starting these classes!  (This Master's degree will not be accredited in the U.S. or Canada.  It will only be accredited in Mexico and probably South America, however the information learned in these classes will be extremely beneficial.  And it's free so no loans!  Woot woot!)


General Life
--

La Ola received their new van a week or so ago and it's brand spankin' new!  And, it's a stick shift.  I learned how to drive stick shift in high school and practiced a little more in college so I figured that all of my past knowledge on the subject would have dissipated from my brain.  However, when I took it for a spin the other day, I remembered most everything and did a pretty good job while "re-learning!"  I will probably be driving it sometime tomorrow with our kids.  Be proud Dad, be proud! haha!

I've been working a lot on my Spanish so that I can become fluent.  I gets frustrating sometimes not understanding things (and having the kids making fun of you for saying things wrong, haha).  Please pray that I stay dedicated in learning this language fully.

This summer the kids have had so much fun with riding the horse and swimming and just forgetting about school for a few weeks.  2 of our kids, Chuy (6) and Mili (3) don't know how to swim yet, and I have been working with them a lot in the pool the past few weeks.  I was told that they wouldn't even go near the water last year.  Now they are holding onto my back and letting me swim them around, as well as letting me hold them as they practice kicking and moving their arms in the water.  Mili swallowed some water the other day, and I was afraid that she would tell me she was finished.  She covered her mouth and coughed for a few minutes and then said, "Otra Vez," which means "Again."  That is one determined little 3 year old!

Anyway, I know this week was a long blog entry.  You can read it in spurts if need be!  :)

You have no idea how much you guys mean to me.  I love you so much and think of you all the time.  I'll try to make some videos soon so that you can see and hear the kids.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for supporting me with your finances and prayers!

Erin.