Or will be, on a very early morning flight. Kevin Hicks is picking me up at 5:00. Ugh. Make that double ugh.

I’m tired from the stress (which surprised me, really) of getting ready, and trying to cram the usual last-minute items together. Overall, this trip’s preparation seems to have gone well, although I didn’t do as well fund-raising as I’d hoped.

Also, I started missing Nichelle back on Friday, and that left my SMI (Saturday Morning Index) off-kilter. Thankfully today was much better.

I’ve been missing Mexico for a couple of months now, and am eager to get to work with the Tudors again, although it’s very difficult leaving Nichelle behind.

Overall, we hope we can be a help to the Tudors, and we’re looking forward to seeing the children’s home in operation. I'm also interested in how our mostly-newbie group does. So far my tarantula stories haven’t scared them.

Well, as I often close my e-mails: Onward ...

Let me just say that our trip so far has been absolutely wonderful, and I will post more details later. Right now I am trying to keep my paper-based journal updated, and might have a chance in the next few days to post some details.

It seems strange to enter this from Mexico, especially from Ejido Constitución, being in which is, in many ways, like stepping back in time.

Rebekah (who you remember) and Guicho (her slightly older brother) are the current permanent residents of the home, along with Olivia (Pastor Ruben's sister) and her daughter Anaís (age 11). The home gets foster kids, for various lengths of time, from the government, and one nevre knows when they will arrive, so the transient population is subject to change without notice. The home's construction is so much further along than it was two years ago that it's difficult to describe imagine all the work that has gone into it. There's still more to do, but what is finished is beautiful.

The girls have done very well - I think better than any other teen group - in mixing in with the locals wherever we've gone. They seem to have no trouble or shyness in using their limited Spanish, and it has been great to watch them. Alyssa made one really funny goof - she asked one of the young men who had been acting as a kind of tour guide in Madera (a town we were at for two days), “Quieres un bebe?” (Do you want a baby?) when she meant to say, “Quieres algo de beber?” (Do you want anything to drink.)

Tonight in Consti we have a young-versus-old volleyball game scheduled, after which we have an Americans versus Mexicans match planned. We know better than to challenge them in futbol (soccer)!