Mckenzie celebrated her 5th birthday this past week and we had two different parties one Mexican Party and one American Party. We had a great time and learned many new things about Mexican Birthdays. Erica one of our Mexican friends helped Kandi make gelatin for the party. Every Mexcian birthday party has gelatin. Kandi and Erica cut peaches into small pieces in order to make flowers in the middle of the gelatin and they were very pretty. I was very proud of all the hard work they went to and the gelatin turned out very nice.

Kandi made a very nice Little Mermaid cake for the Birthday Party and Mckenzie loved it. It was great she did a wonderful job as usual.

Mckenzie had a great party with some of her friends from Sunday School. They had a great time playing and just having fun. They enjoyed all the typical Mexican activities. 

They had a pinata full of Kandi and sang a typical Mexican song while they bashed into it to get the candy out.

With any good Mexican Birthday Party there is a "Mordita". This is when someone pushes the birthday girls face into the cake. Mckenzie was very excited about this and was asking all day long if her friends would "Mordita" her. They did and she was very happy. 

Kandi, Kaitlyn and I also gave Mckenzie a few gifts. Kandi and I got her a little swimming pool for her Barbies and Kaitlyn gave her a sleeping bag for her build a bear. Cinnamon found the sleeping bag and seemed to enjoy it.

We had a second party with our missionary family here in Guadalajara and also with one of our closest Mexican family friends. It was a great time and Mckenzie had a great time. This was an all American Birthday Party with a cookie cake and ice cream. 

The Haynes family went back to the US for a Missions meeting and Grammy had an opportunity to send a little gift back to the girls. Mckenzie loves High School Musical and Kaitlyn loves Hanna Montana so she sent then outfits to patch including wigs. They have had a lot of fun with them and a few others have had some fun also.

Here is a few pics of the San Juan de Ocotan area. This is the area that the new Bible Studies have started and we have found God at work in a Big Way! There is nothing like seeing the look on a persons face as they understand the Bible for the first time. Wow God is working and moving in the lives of many people in this area. Right now there are about 15 adults studying His Word here and many are already asking when and where is the church that they can go to. We hope and pray that one day very soon we will see a church start in this area. Please be praying for those that are seeking the Lord in this area. 

Here is a few pics of the kids and Kandi from the first week of school. They all Love It.

Here is a sample of what the girls are doing in school. They are both pretty proud that they have learned to write their names. Of course Kaitlyn is learning to write in cursive and Mckenzie is just learning to write. Kaitlyn is doing great in school. She is doing great in cursive, reading, math, and she is a whiz in spelling (she gets that from her mommy). Mckenzie has almost mastered her ABC's and is loving school also. 

It finally happened after several months of wiggling Kaitlyn has lost her two front teeth. She is enjoying trying to eat with out them and is very proud. Isn't she cute!

This last month Matt also went to a mens retreat with several other men from local churches. It was a great time getting to know the men and spending some quality time with them in the country. Most of the men camped out for the night but Matt went back home in order to attend our Churches gathering at the local Baptist Camp.

Now that is a tortilla warmer. (We take tortillas serious here.)

2 weeks ago our church went to a local Baptist Camp to have our service and to witness several Baptisms. It was a lot of fun and it was a blessing to see so many people being Baptized. The country was very pretty and reminded us a lot of Missouri. The girls also made a new friend that they can add to a list of aunts on the field. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Of course it doesn't matter where you are at Baptist love to eat and have fun.

These are just a few pictures of the kids ministry in Los Cantaros. We are dreading saying goodbye in just a few weeks but God told us in the beginning that this was a short time project. We know that there are many more in the city to share with so we will be moving on to a new area in October. Please be praying for us as we search the exact area that God has for us next.

 

This is a quick picture of Kim Simpson and Kandi teaching the English class in Los Cantaros a couple of weeks ago. 

The ESL Class was started with the hope to find older youth and or adults to study the Bible with us but we have not had any success with it either. However we know that God will use the stories that the youth in the ESL class and the kids in the kids club have heard to impact their lives in the future. God's word does not go void when presented. 

Thank you again for your prayers!!