Happy Birthday Juanito!

I realize that it has been almost a month since I have last posted. Sorry about that. Things around here have been busy. It's hard to say with what exactly because we've been up to so many different things. No matter, I really wanted to share about a family that I'm getting to know better as I spend more time at Faustino's church (Camino de Cristo).

This is Sofia (and her youngest son Gustavo). She goes to Faustino's church and is almost ALWAYS there when there's a service or meeting. She, her husband Juan, and their three boys walk to church faithfully every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I meet with her once a week outside church (this week twice since we missed last week because I was in Mexicali). We are doing a study on the book of Acts and we've been talking a lot about the Holy Spirit. It's really a pleasure to meet with her. I go to her home and I'm greeted by her two older sons, Juanito and Chava (nickname for Salvador), running down the stairs and all the way out to the truck. Chava calls me Ani (we haven't quite figured out why yet), and comes out screaming "ANI! ANI! ANI!" -- it's pretty darn cute. It's customary to greet people with a handshake when you see them, so as I carefully open the truck door, I try not to hit the boys with the door and instantly, two tiny hands are extended towards me, eagerly waiting to greet me.

Sofia and I sit, we chat, we pray, we study the Bible, and share our stories, lives, and how we've seen God working around us. I love getting to know her and getting to see her heart. She struggles a lot to read the Bible because she speaks a dialect, Triki, as her first language, and is just beginning to get comfortable with Spanish. Despite this struggle, she really has a heart to know God and His Word better. Please be praying for her as she pushes forward, standing firm in her faith in God.

This is Juanito, Sofia's oldest son. Today he turned 7. Happy Birthday Juanito! :o) His face is covered with icing because of the traditional birthday "mordida". He took a bite out of his cake and his face was shoved into the cake--by Pastor Faustino no less! It's tradition!

He's a really sweet kid and is forever asking to take pictures with my camera. It turns out that when he's not taking pictures of other pictures, he's a pretty good candid photographer! He's been one of the most faithful members of our Children's Ministry and knows almost all of the texts we have memorized over the weeks! He's a really special kid.

And THIS little fellow is Chava. The funny thing about Chava is that he was terribly afraid of me when I first met him. He would come to church with his family and be sitting in his stroller, I would wave to him or shake his little hand and he would burst out into tears! Juan and Sofia tried to tell me that he was just cranky because he'd woken up from a nap.... but I think they were just being nice. He was plain scared of me!

Eventually he started coming around. He came back to Children's Church one week and I was amazed when he made it through half of it without crying and running for his mom! The next week he managed to stay with us the whole time, and ever since then he's been glued to my hip. We get along SO well now that when I drive the family home from church, he cries because he has to get out of the car and I'm going to drive away--quite a change from how we started off!

I can't talk about the whole family without talking about Juan. Juan is the father of these three boys and the husband of Sofia. Honestly, Juan is one of the most gracious and gentle men I know. He always has a warm smile on his face, accompanied most of the time by pondering eyebrows as he weighs and listens to what you say to him. Juan preaches most Thursdays, which is awesome, especially considering the fact that he just started learning Spanish two years ago. I especially love hearing Juan's testimony because it is so evident that the transforming power of the Holy Spirit has worked and is working in his life.