My dear family, Though I was hoping to sit down at my computer and add more fun-filled entries with crazy pictures of my energetic teens, I instead am writing this as a request for your prayers. This past weekend I was informed that one of our boys who lived in the house, but had left the orphanage about a month ago, took his own life. Gydgray, known among all the kids as "Rubio" (he was the only one with blues and blond hair) was a boy who you could tell had been through a lot. He has two younger brothers in the house who are obviously having a hard time with their brother's death. This tragedy is of course also affecting the other kids in the home who spent every day with him. My little Polly, ... read more

Taxco is a beautiful city about 1 hr and 45 min from Cuernavaca. There are a lot of silver mines there and the city is known for its charm, beauty, cheap silver, artisan markets, and STEEP streets. We started at the base of the city and walked to the highest point in the city called the Cristo Monumental that looks over all of Taxco. We didn't do bad for walking at an elevation of 5,600 ft. We even made some friends along the way. Can you call them friends if you pay for their company? paz, enchilada y chimi... read more

Hola! Yesterday I went to a town about 30min away called Tepoztlan. It is really green, mountainous, and lush. There is a hike up to an ancient Aztec pyramid with a great view. I went with three other volunteers, Josie, Tommy, and Leslee and Leslee's mom who was visiting. The trail is steep and rocky and there were a TON of people. There were a ton a families too with little kids. The Mexicans hiking looked like they were dressed to the mall! This one woman we saw was walking down in high heels!!! I was scared to loose my footing with my all terrain outdoor sandals on. We had a great lunch afterwards, and then walked around and shopped. I bought a cool t-shirt with this Aztec woman on the front. I hope these pictures ... read more

Hola todos! I'm just now catching up on some entries! Last weekend was the Anniversary of NPH. The first orphanage of the organization was here in Mexico and it was started by Father Wassen (who was from Arizona!) 54 years ago. It all started with one poor orphan boy who stole from the collection money at the church in Cuernavaca where Fr. Wassen served as priest. Father pulled him out of jail and took him into his home to take care of him. 54 years later, the home here in Mexico houses 800 orphans and now NPH is taking care of orphans in 8 other countries (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador). All this kids from the home here were bused (including me) to Miacatlan on Friday afternoon. Then the festivities ... read more

Que tal todos? Yesterday I took a stroll around the city center after saying goodbye to the other volunteers who took the bus back to Miacatlan. I went to the Cathedral, Jardin de Borda, and two other churches near the center. Then I walked for an hour uphill thinking I could walk all the way home. On the bus it's a 30 min ride from the center to my house, soooo walking made me realize just how far I live from the center. I got a good work out though! This next weekend is the anniversary of NPH. It's the 50-something anniversary. All the kids here in Cuernavaca will be bused to Miacatlan and we'll celebrate there. Also, even more exciting than my cultural walks and the anniversary, Steven (my boyfriend in case you didn't know) ... read more