Hello from Yakima

We've also kept our days busy over the past 3 months here in Maz with visits to FloreSer. In case you don't remember, this is the teenage girl's home here in Mazatlan. Please click on this link for a little info on the purpose of the home. http://www.orphanagefunds.org/pdf/09/FloreSer.pdf We've been spending time helping them with their English. They're like little sponges, so eager to learn. They do take some English classes in school but not one-on-one. So they have an opportunity with us to ask questions on what they really want to know in English. Like for instance, today, they wanted to know if boys were beautiful. Of course, we said they were not. We explained the word in English was handsome or guapo in Spanish. So it's been very interesting working with them and so rewarding too. We've even been learning some Spanish ourselves. Also, today, Greg put up a volleyball net for them. The home, they moved into recently, has a tennis court in the backyard b...

Today, Greg and I went to FloreSer (the teenage girl's home here in Mazatlan) to help teach them English. Out of the 6 girls, 3 of them participated. They were like little sponges, so eager to learn. The home mother's have been instilling in them the need to learn English to have a better future. 2 of the girls take English in their schools but the others do not receive it. Not sure exactly how the curriculum works at the different ages here in Mazatlan. The opportunity to work with these girls is so rewarding and is helping us with our Spanish too. We just hope in some way we can help make their futures a little brighter.

The girls shown in the picture below are currently living at FloreSer here in Mazatlan. This is a girl's home that was opened last February, 2009 as a place for troubled teens to take refuge. They now have 9 girls but 3 of them had gone back to their families for the holidays. Pictured below are 6 of the girls with their home mothers, left, Brenda and, right, Alicia. The girls are from left, Azucena, Lupita, Jenifer, Karen, Alexa and front/floor Rosario. They range in age from 13-17. The home was very clean and comfortable and the girls seemed very happy. They understood more English than they could speak and when we asked what they might need in their home, they were able to get across they needed 2 more lamps. Our good friends, Dick and Jan are taking them the lamps this afternoon. We left them each a small Christmas present. We went back today and took them some games. They have 2 weeks off from school and the home mother's explained they did not have any games and that woul...

This week we attended the open house for the teenage girls new home, FloreSer (Bloom to be), here in Mazatlan. It's a home that has been established for young girls 10 - 16 years old and will hold about 14 to begin with. Two girls, Mariam and Diana, 14 and 16 respectively have been victims of abuse during a good part of their lives and will be the first two girls to live in this home. Besides providing them shelter, food and education they will also receive psychological support. The project for this home arose out of the need for protection for Mariam who had gone to the Orfanatorio de Mazatlan (the orphanage we have been associated with for the past several years) for help but due to her age and circumstances they would not allow her there. Unless these abused young girls are either pregnant or on drugs there was not currently an institution available to them. The open house was to make everyone aware of the needs of the new home such as furniture, clothes, etc. They received man...