Orphanos Foundation

Back in Texas!

posted by Richard and Ximena Roseland — May 31st, 2009

Well, our last few weeks went by amazingly fast, but they were also extremely busy weeks, filled with last minute activities. It was an exciting time for us, but a time filled with sadness as we knew what the end would hold.

At the beginning of May, a group from Canada visited the orphanage and we were able to be involved with that group. First, due to the fact that the group was coming for a week to do VBS type activities and get involved with the kids at the orphanage, I asked if the kids could also put on a little "show" for the Canadian volunteers. Due to the fact that each one of my classes has been learning a new song this past semester, I cleared it with the group to have my classes sing all of their English songs for them. It was a little chaotic, trying to get 120+ kids into their groups and ready to sing, but in the end it worked out ok. I was a little disappointed as the CD player was dropped 5 minutes before we started singing and so the CD scratched and we had to sing most of the songs acapella, but in the end it turned out great and I was really pleased with how many of the kids were so excited when it was their turn to sing. Second, we were able to go with the group to a local church in Queretaro to which the group had given funds to help with the construction of the church. As we were about to leave to the church, another volunteer (Aron) thought that I was going to lead in the first van as I had driven to the church the year before with the same group. Little did he know that I had completely forgotten how to get there and of course the pastor of the church was not answering his phone. We ended up terribly lost and, in my attempt to get back to the main road, ended up stuck at a dead-end of a one-way road with just enough room to squeeze by the cars on either side of me (some of which had their side mirrors dangling due to being previously hit due to the small space). And may I also add that I was at the bottom of a hill, being forced to drive in a reverse back up the hill, with no space on either side of me, in a 15 PASSANGER VAN!!! Thankfully, Aron helped me out and we got the van up the hill and finally made it to the church after making a few calls. But it was an experience that we will never forget!

We also had two exciting things that happened in April: Ximena's brother came to visit and Easter! First, Ximena's brother had a week of vacation and we were able to work out the visa paperwork so he could come visit. It was great to be able to have him see what our life was like in Queretaro before we left and it was so great to be able to see him and visit with him. Second, we had Easter in Mexico! We couldn't find plastic eggs or any of the typical Easter stuff, so we painted eggs with watercolors and then we hid them around the house. It was fun and was Ximena's first Easter Egg Hunt! And of course we couldn't let those eggs go to waste, so we made deviled eggs!!! It was a little sad to see our creations destroyed, but they sure did taste good!

Due to the swine flu (that ended up resulting in nothing), on April 26^th all the schools in Queretaro were cancelled and there was rumor that all public transportation would be closed as well as the US-Mexico border. We decided to leave a few days earlier than expected and actually left on April the 28^th. We had to rush to finish packing, as we were not planning on leaving so soon, and we packed up the car in 1 day! I don't think that it hit us until that Monday before we left that it was actually happening. We had to go say goodbye to our kids and it was absolutely heart wrenching. We have built such strong relationships with the kids and to think that we would not be seeing them on a daily basis literally brought us to tears. Let's just say I was a mess! We really think of many of them as our kids and we have never had to leave them before, knowing that we won't be coming back to live and work with them. But at the same time we know that when it hurts to say goodbye, it means that we have loved and built strong relationships that will last a lifetime.

We have now been back in Texas for a month and we are adjusting to life back in the states. It was really hard at first to go from life in the ministry to life back here. It was difficult leaving everything that is familiar and having to go through reverse-culture-shock. But we know that this is God's way of strengthening our relationship with Him as well as with each other. Here is the list of the small little "shockers" that we found when we got to Texas:

• 1) When we forget to buy eggs at the store, we can't go to our neighbors "tiendita" to buy some.
• 2) Instead of paying $3.00 for a four course meal, we now pay $6.00 for drive through.
• 3) We finally have water pressure!!! Showers are amazing here!
• 4) If we received a mail in Mexico, we would get really excited! (Thanks Nancy). Here, we received mail all the time, but of course it's just junk mail.
• 5) Worshipping at church in English has been amazing here!
• 6) We can finally flush toilet paper...it still feels like I am doing something wrong each time I do it.
• 7) Even though our house in Queretaro was small and we sometime complained about how hot and uncomfortable it was, we still miss it...
• 8) Tacos and gorditas will never be the same again!!!
• 9) And dishwashers??? We are so used to washing our dishes by hand that now it just seems like it takes too long and double the work to put them in the dishwasher. I don't think we will ever trade in our sponge and dish drainer!
• 10) We miss getting hugs everyday from our kids and being able to know how their day at school was and what has been going on in their lives.

There have been a few things that have been going on in our lives since we have been back. First, we have started attending Oso Creek Fellowship, which is one of our supporting churches. They want to reach out to the members of the congregation that speak Spanish as their first language and so last week was the first week for us to translate the service. We will continue to translate every other week. God provided us a perfect place to be involved and we couldn't be happier. Second, Ximena is now 34 weeks pregnant and and her belly is getting huge! (Am I allowed to say that???) She is just about a month away from giving birth and we are looking forward to the arrival of Santiago Caleb Roseland. It is very weird to think that we will be parents in a few weeks, but we are so super excited to finally meet him. Please continue to pray for the pregnancy and for the transition from a married couple to a family.

Overall, we are doing well and we can say nothing besides "We are blessed!" We are blessed to have wonderful people like you who have committed to support us throughout our time in the states as well as wherever God will send us after our furlough. We are blessed to know that God has provided us with so many blessings and little surprises along the way. We are blessed to serve an amazing and all-mighty God who cares so much for us. We are blessed to be deemed worthy for the experiences that we have had in Queretaro and the new adventures to come. We are blessed...and we hope that God continues to bless each and every one of you as well. May the phrase "God bless you!" take a new meaning for you today.

Recent Photos

Photo Gallery