Meet Fox.

  

 

This adorable kitten was at the Ranch one afternoon just after Halloween. He was a tiny little rack of bones. As much as we wanted to take him in, we knew that it would not be a good idea for us to get another cat right now. (Thinking about our 5-day venture back to Michigan with one cat in the car is enough of a headache, adding another...) So we gave the kitten some water and promised we would bring some cat food the next day we came, in case the little guy was still around. 

That day came. 

He was still there. We did what we said we would do, as I tried desperately not to get too attached and said goodbye for the weekend. 

Monday rolled around. 

The kitten was no where in sight. We thought for sure it had died or wandered off somewhere. I asked one of the little girls what happened to the kitten and she told me he was inside. So we went in to see him and the workers flooded over asking us if we wanted it. 

Apparently, someone in El Castillo, the neighborhood that Rancho de los Niños is located in, gave the kitten to one of the kids while they were trick-or-treating. The kitten, helpless and cute as he was, was not wanted there. They said they wanted to give him to me, as a gift. I looked up at Ian and said, "There's no way we can leave here today without this cat."

We took him home. Bathed him. Gave him flea medication. Took him to the vet. We even introduced him to our cat, Mancha. 

(They actually played really well together. And it was fun to see Mancha interacting with another cat. I think he liked it, but was glad that the little guy was not a permanent fixture in our house.)


Then yesterday... we found him a home here in Mazatlan. We had posted pictures on facebook and asked our friends to help us out, because we don't know very many people who would want a cat. A friend of a friend from church down here fell in love with him and came to take him home with her. We were a bit sad to see him go, but we're so glad that we found someone who wanted him.

Mexican Halloween

Yes, they do celebrate their own version of Halloween in some parts of Mexico (mostly Northern regions) and we were able to experience some of it!

  

First, this involved some pan de muerto, which is used in celebrations of Day of the Dead, but some regions use this to celebrate Halloween, too.

 

A round, ball of dough with sugar on top. Delicious, but by no means filling.

Kids also dress up! This is our friends' daughter, who is dressed as a traditional Calavera Catrina, also more commonly associated with Day of the Dead festivities. Kids here also go trick-or-treating. In our neighborhood, the kids only went to houses decked out in Halloween decorations. They also don't say, "Trick or treat" at the doors, they sing a song! Something like...

Somos los angelitos, del cielo bajamos, pidiendo calabacita, para que comamos… ¡Calabacita, tía!

Which translates to: We are fallen angels from heaven asking for treats that we would eat . . . Give me a treat, auntie!

We did not have any trick-or-treaters at our house, but it was entertaining to hear and see the ones in our neighborhood. An interesting twist on an already interesting holiday :) 

Fall in Mexico

Fall is a colorful time of year in Mexico- just in a completely different way than I've ever experienced.

It's like springtime!

Though I am very much missing the fall weather in Michigan, the little pops of color all around can't help but bring a smile to my face. And it reminds me a little bit of home. Now if only the weather would start to cool down a bit... :)

A new HOPE

This week, two of the older boys from Rancho de los Niños left to start a new adventure... a new adventure over 600 miles away... in a big city called Monterrey. 

These two boys, Angel and Ponchín, joined BackBack Ministries' HOPE program.

They will be living in a home on Back2Back's campus with house-parents and some other boys their age, getting an education and experience they never would have been able to get. Both have left family here in Mazatlan- Ponchín, his mother (who, praise the Lord, actually let him go) and Angel, his younger brother, Jorge, who is still at the Ranch.

If you could... be praying for both of them as they transition into this new, different life in Monterrey. It;s going to be hard, but pray that they can stick it out. This is an amazing opportunity for both of them. Also, pray for their family back here, that they will adjust to not having their loved ones near.

Taking Back the Garden: Day 5

I am beginning to find that pictures can tell a better story than I can...

 When we first arrived in the morning, there was a chicken inside the garden area, but it couldn't get out...

 Ian caught it! He was a little mesmerized. :)

 After picking out all of the weeds, spent some time turning the dirt over

 With the old tomato containers, we had to dump them out to mix the dirt up.

 Then sand was added to hopefully help with the drainage issues we had last time

 Ian brought over some pebbles/small rocks, which we put in the bottom of the tomato containers

 Then the hose was added

Ta-da!

That's all for now...

Mattoons: 5

Wildlife/Jungle/etc.: 0

Taking Back the Garden: Day 4

So, there was a bit of a delay with the garden work due to our busy week with Back2Back last week. We got out there bright and early this morning and continued cleaning things up...

 Goodbye, weeds growing through and under our garden wall!

 This is also the location where Ian killed 4 tarantulas- two big ones and two babies.

 So clean!

 And brought over some sand...

This will be for the planters. A lot of the plants the first time around showed signs that the soil way not draining well. The sand will be to help the soil drain better, hopefully resulting in better plants!

Some other fun things we saw include: 

Goats! We've seen them often, but it's still funny.

A bright green lizard! He scurried out of the weeds as he heard the goats approaching.

Super cute puppies! These are the new additions to the Ranch, the brown one as of last week.

Mattoons: 4

Wildlife: 0

An exciting week!

We've been a bit busier than usual this week... There was a group in town from Back2Back! And we, being more acquainted with the city and some of the other children's homes in the area, helped to guide the group and show them what this city's got to offer. We visited some of the places that B2B might be partnering with here, got to play with kids, and help out with some work projects at Ejercito de Salvación and Rancho de los Niños. Unfortunately, for the afternoon of service projects at Rancho de los Niños my camera battery was dead and I had forgotten to put the charger in the camera bag.

 Lina, taking a break from gymnastics

 My little assistant!

 Kids from the Salvation Army Children's Home learn traditional Mexican dances to perform at hotels and restaurants in the city to raise money during the holiday season.

 Jesús, putting "cuernos" on Ian

 Hanging on the trampoline

 All of the kids wanted to pose for me on the jungle gym

 This was all of the little monkeys

Little Fernanda

The kids enjoying some iphone apps

It was a really great week and we're excited to see what God has in store for Back2Back in Mazatlan!