Fiesta! Fiesta!

Wow. WHAT. A. DAY. The struggle of the fourth day is always that it can easily feel crammed - you set a time for the dedication, and you work hard to meet that target. We were way way ahead of schedule, but then the small details got in the way and we ended up being about 45 minutes off. But really, compared to everything we did and saw? Who cares! hahaha.
Today was finishing the 2nd coat, fixing the electrical, cleaning the floor, and setting everything up that Katie, Robbie, Brian and Tito went out to buy. We ended up furnishing the house with a beautiful wood table, 4 chairs, a lot of food, storage containers, etc etc. For the family, we bought Rosaria (the grandfather) a swiss army knife, for Jaqueline (the mother) we bought a bunch of shower stuff, and for Juan, we got him an awesome bike and a soccer ball.
The dedication ceremony is always just so powerful. Brian started by holding the keys and saying a few words of dedication. He then passed on the keys to Dylon, and so on until the keys went all the way around the circle. I made a hug effort to keep it together, but alas! haha. It is just so amazing to see the amazing work that God does, and how he can take pain and tragedy to make the most beautiful of things. Brilliant.
We wrapped up the day with a great fiesta, with food made and prepared by the local church. Ben and Robbie had a "salsa" challenge, which ended up with Ben eating an entire bowl of spicy Mexican salsa! It was nice after 4 days of hard, hard work to celebrate and spend time with people we now call family (and hey! we now have an open invitation to their new home!).
Thank you again for allllll your prayers. What an awesome thing it so to serve a God that challenges us to step out and bring life to those in need of it.
Tomorrow is our free day. We plan on heading out to a local market, enjoying a nice lunch together, and a few other surprises.
To all you parents out there, just so you know, there has already been talk amongst the teens about "next year". Stay tuned? I think so! haha.

PS. I debated whether I should put this in the blog, so Ill just say this. Sometimes, in Mexico, when you eat a lot of foreign food, you have certain...needs that become...urgent, which may or may not have lead me to sit on a freshly painted toilet. ...awkward. Haha. On that note, some pictures! :D

The gang, getting ready for last night's church service.

Our trusty rental.

Lee and Katie, proud of their good purchase - a camper stove.

The dudes in between tasks.

Lee worked all morning with Juan, showing him how to do electrical.

My least favorite job of all time: scraping the entire floor to remove plaster. OMG.

A small group took the family for a walk around the block while we loaded up their house with gifts from the congregation.

Glenn and Katherine: here are the school supplies you donated!

The family during the dedication.

Emotional moment.

FIESTA FIESTA!!!!!!!

This kid was hilarious. His treatment of this dog was not so hilarious. Haha.

Juan enjoying his new soccer ball.

A new home, and new friends. :)