Activity at Casa Hogar

Yesterday was construction day for the team and interns. Josh helps as well. The kids and I (mostly me) swept and mopped. Meg did mop the bathrooms which helped me. At 12:30 we went over to Casa Hogar to eat lunch with the team and interns. There is a lady here that cooks for us all week at lunch when a team is here. She is well-known for her delicious cooking. We had delicious guacamole/pico de gallo and quesadillas and watermelon. Then all the interns came back to our apartment to relax, use the internet, and swim. I'm so glad they can come over for down time and hang out so we can get to know them better. Then it was back to the orphanage where the team had a water balloon activity and craft time for the kids. We had fun with that. AT 7:30, Melissa brought yummy Mexican food to our apartment where we had dinner, chocolate cake, and then it was an orientation time for Melissa and Josh with the interns. They had their meeting on our roof because it was nice and breezy and the view is just so great. We had really loud thunder and rain during the night. The power went off for a little while but thankfully came back on. This morning Josh went to work at the orphanage. We did some laundry which goes a lot faster when everyone helps. Cliseria (sp?) is cooking for the team, interns and us all week and made delicious chicken tacos and that homemade guacamole. Lunch is a meal we look forward to these days! We are having "siesta" time now and later will do some activities with the children. I hate that I can't upload pictures, but you can look on my Facebook page where I try to upload pics often.... Hope everyone had a fun Memorial Day.

Love, Sara Parks

domingo (Sunday)

Our Sunday started at 9:30 am. We walked to the orphanage to wait for the van/bus with all the orphans, interns, and church team. We left at 10 to head to church which takes 30-40 minutes. We were piled in there for sure. And thankfully we could open the windows, bc it is so hot. We were greeted warmly at church with everyone visiting on the porch outside. They had sweet breads (Josh would say danishes but I don't like that word!) and some kind of rice punch that I didn't try. Then we went in to a big AIR CONDITIONED room for the service. We were given headsets by a man there who translated the sermon for us. The singing was all in Spanish but we sang out the best we could. The words were on an overhead projector which helped. There was a band and Melissa (works at orphanage) led the singing. She has a beautiful voice, so we really enjoyed the singing. After the service we put on our bathing suits, piled in the bus, and headed to the beach with all of the orphans where we spent most of the day. It was so fun playing in the ocean with all of the kids. The waves were huge! For dinner tonight we ate with the interns and church team. We had Dominos pizza which tasted just like the US Dominos. Then we joined the orphans in the courtyard where they were having races. Meg joined right in and quickly made a name for herself because of her speed. Normally Ben would have, but he ate so much pizza and was too full. This boy's appetite gets bigger by the day! It was a lovely day. Tomorrow starts construction where the church team & interns will start at 8 am. Josh will join them as well; I'm not sure about the kids and me. Maybe we will go down and help some too. We have mopping to do. In Mexico, they sweep and mop every single day. I'm already behind. Hope all is well in the US. We love all of you. Hasta Luego, Sara Parks

Interns & Team

Today was full of action as our interns and a church team from Johnson City, TN arrived. Our interns are living at the orphanage in a separate section. They came over to our apartment so we could get to know each other and hang out for awhile. They are all wonderful and I think we will get along great this summer. Then we headed to the orphanage to meet the church team and help them unload. The church team consists of men & women, ages 18 - 54. They are staying in another part of the orphanage. It was fun getting to know all these "new American friends" who are all here to love and serve Jesus by loving and serving these children. Melissa fed us and the team lasagna (!!) for a late lunch. Then we all just played and played outside in the courtyard with the children. They are full of energy and welcome our attention. Meg plays chase with the girls or joins Ben and the boys for soccer. Josh jumps around playing soccer, throwing the football, or just messing around with the kids. I just wander around and try to learn these kids' names and learn some Spanish from them. We had a late & delicious dinner with Donna & Irving (upstairs neighbors) - takeout Mexican food that consisted of pulled pork, onion, cilantro, & pineapple piled on a tortilla with hot sauce- absolutely delicious. I lost count of how many I ate! Tomorrow we head to church with the orphans, our interns, and the church team. Then they always go to the beach afterwards and spend part of the day; so we will go with them. We are looking forward to it. I continue to be amazed at how God has prepared this time for us. Each day brings new, wonderful experiences, and we know it's God's hand at work in us and in the ministry of Casa Hogar (orphanage). Thank you for reading this, praying for us, and truly caring about our time here. It really means so much-

love,

Sara Parks

Update on Meg

I realized after our last post that we forgot to give you an update on Meg's health. We gave her an allergy pill yesterday morning and she seemed to be fine the rest of the day. We gave her some Ibuprofen before bed for her sore throat. Today she feels fine. So we are thankful that it doesn't seem to be anything major. She has allergies anyway, so we hope that her allergy medicine will suffice. Thanks for praying for her. We are about to head over to the orphanage and meet our interns! More later.... have a nice Saturday-

love,

Sara Parks

Family Wash Day

We started off the day with Josh cooking scrambled eggs. It's the first time we've used our stove. We don't have an oven, but we do have a microwave. Today was "family wash day". Our apartment is wonderful- just no washer/dryer. Instead, we have this room off the hallway that is partly enclosed except for the ceiling which is open. It is a concrete floor (like a sidewalk) with a big drain in the middle. There is a deep, concrete double sink and a hose. We bought detergent and our laundry is washed in the sink. All of us, with Josh in the lead, washed, rinsed and wrung. Then we carried all the wet clothes to the roof where we hung them on clotheslines. It was quite a sight, and a learning experience for us. This will be our family chore. We ate leftover quesadillas from the night before, which we love. Then Josh cut up a watermelen and we enjoyed it immensely. Josh got word that our interns' flight was delayed. They were supposed to get in to Acapulco at one today. Instead they are not getting here until 10:30 tonight. We are anxious to meet them tomorrow! Meg got to participate in a young girls (age 10-12) bible study group that our friend, Donna, upstairs does for the orphans once a week in her apartment. They visit, eat popcorn, have a bible lesson, draw and play with Donna's three babies( 2 year old Micah and almost one year old twin boys, Joshua and Jonathan). She loved it! Then we all went to the orphanage and played around with the kids until dinner. Yes, we ate dinner with them. We were nervous about the food but it was fine. Not gourmet, being hot dogs, rice and beans but they did have turtle cheesecake for dessert! We are trying to learn all the kids' names- 60 in all. It will take awhile, but we hope to spend a lot of time with them and build friendships! Buenos Noches! Sara Parks

Interns Come Tomorrow!

We are thankful for another day of getting settled and used to life in Acapulco. This morning our family was able to go to the beach for a couple hours. It was nice, but we were bombarded with vendors selling their wares. There is a huge hill near the orphanage. It's fine going down, but coming back from the beach we were huffing and puffing. It should be a good work out for us. Today I helped Melissa get ready for the arrival of the interns tomorrow. These are the students that we have been sent here to pastor. Pray for their safe travel and transition. The family is slowly getting used to life in Acapulco. Meg is still having some headaches. Tonight before bed she told us her throat hurt - so please pray for that. There is a short term team coming from East Tennessee on Saturday, so our schedule is about to get cranked up. We are studying Acts as a family and with the students this summer. It's been good so far, pray that it would continue to be a blessing. Sorry about not uploading pictures. The internet connection is slow and can't seem to handle it.

In Christ,

Josh

Getting Settled

First off, I'm sorry we are having an unsuccessful time uploading pictures to the blog. I will keep trying, though. Here is a little update:
Our first night went great, mostly because we can run our air conditioners at night. This is huge!! Today was mainly getting unpacked, cleaning, walking around and going to the bank to exchange American money for pesos. We have a pool at our apartment, so the kids did some swimming. Little Micah (age 2) from upstairs is their new playmate. He mostly speaks Spanish but understands English since his parents speak both. We met two American girls who teach at a school here in Acapulco. They also give piano and flute lessons once a week at the orphanage. They are moving back to the US this summer. Both are getting married. Tonight we went over to the orphanage to hang out. Ben and Meg love going over there and playing with the children. They had races, played soccer and basketball. I am so proud of them for jumping in even with the language barrier. The kids are so friendly and excited when we come visit. We ate quesadillas at a taco shop up the street. It was pretty funny trying to communicate with the cook/waitress. With some hand motions we were able to figure it out! Apparently some iguanas(our temporary pets) live around us. We've only seen one but hopefully more will come visit. They stay around the pool area. Donna and Irving (live upstairs) continue to be wonderful in helping us and making us feel at home. They had us over last night for dinner- tacos. Their tacos reminded us of taquitoes in the US. They were delicious- the salsa was so very spicy so we dipped slightly just because it tasted so good and fresh. A prayer request- please pray for Meg. She has had a headache off and on all day today and went to bed with one tonight. We have made sure she was hydrated all day and gave her some meds. Please pray it will go away and not be a problem all summer. Thanks and love to all- Sara Parks

We Made It!

We made it to Mexico about 12:30 today. The trip went so smoothly; thank you for your prayers. Melissa met us at the airport. She works at the orphanage. We got to our apartment and it is great! Above us is an American lady, Donna, who is married to a national. They have three young children. They have been wonderful- they fed us lunch and dinner. Her husband took us to Sam's (yes they have a Sam's) and the grocery store. We got to go down the street and get a tour of the orphanage and meet the children. It was really fun. They were so sweet and giggly trying to learn Ben and Meg's name. I'm sure they were laughing at our English accents, too. It is hard not knowing Spanish but we hope to pick up as we go. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post yet. We are pretty worn out. The hardest thing to get used to is the heat. But thankfully our bedrooms have air conditioning. We can sleep!! Good night and we will be in touch soon!

love,

Sara Parks

We are off to Mexico

Our plane leaves at 7 am Tuesday, May 24th (Happy Birthday, Mom!) from Baton Rouge. Acapulco here we come! We have been anticipating this trip since December. It is hard to believe the time is here. We are excited and a little nervous... but mostly excited! Please pray that our travel and transition would go smoothly. We will have a day to get settled in, and then the interns will arrive: 3 girls, 2 guys! We can't wait to meet and get to know them. Please also pray that our group will "click" as we work together for the summer.

Fitz, Claire, and Kate will be living at our house in Baton Rouge while we are gone. They will also have Hannah the dog. We are so thankful they will hold down the fort; this gives us peace of mind. If you are in Baton Rouge, stop by and see them and pet Hannah for us!

Josh and I plan to update this blog often so you can read about our journey and hopefully see some great pictures. Thank you for caring for our family and praying for us.

Love,

Sara Parks