Beauty and Spring

With the warmer weather rolling in I can't help but be excited for the arrival of spring. Anyone else feel like this has been the longest winter ever?

At Balboa Park in San Diego, I was in total awe of the beauty of their orchid collection. What an amazing flower with gorgeous colors and dainty details. Maybe something that pretty could pop up in my yard this year?

Less than 48 hours ║ San Diego, California

After our time at the orphanage in Rosarito we decided to spend a little time enjoying San Diego before flying home. It was my first time experiencing the city. With so many possibilities of what we could see and do it was hard to decide. Lucky for me, my friends Ashley and Andy lived in San Diego recently and were able to point out the highlights via email. I carried that printed email with us the whole time (good thing since my iPhone died). Wonderful recommendations; the Gas Lamp District for dinner/nightlife, La Jolla beach, Cafe 222 (peanut butter banana french toast!) across from their old apartment, and Balboa Park. Though our time was short, I was impressed with the city and what it had to offer. I also couldn't help but think about how drastically different life looked from one side of the border wall to the other.

PS-Here's to Southwest Airlines for having our flight come back to Indianapolis 25 minutes early...awesome!

City of Refuge ║ Rosarito, Mexico

Last week, Tim and I had the opportunity to travel south of Rosarito Mexico to the City of Refuge Campus of Tijuana Christian Mission with Eric and Bethany from our church. Tim had been working with Eric on the site plans for an erosion control solution for the property. While a relatively new campus, the serious erosion issues were causing concern and limiting the full use of the property. The guys were able to meet up with key people involved with the mission to discuss of the current concerns and talk through solutions and next steps. The men were incredible who had already given so much of their hearts, time and talents to this organization.

While the men were doing engineering work, Bethany and I were playing with the kids and taking a nice portrait of each of them. My hope is for them to have a picture that shows how beautiful and special they all are. Many of the children at the campus come from very broken homes or no homes at all. I was so encouraged by seeing their love of life, love for the Lord and love for each other. There is so much to say about an experience like this, but here's just a few photos to give you an idea.






































































I do want to share that the mission has suffered a significant decrease in their funding and are really stretching to make ends meet right now. Many people wonder, how do I get connected or really help a group like this one? Well, this group is very organized and has opportunities for individual child sponsorship, listing of current needs and opportunities for groups to come visit and work on the property. I know their are so many huge needs out there right now, but if this group pulls on your heart, please at least take time to read through their site and think about what it might look for you to help in a small or big way. Tim and I hope that with the help of our church support we will be able to see the erosion control project to completion in the near future.