Mexico 2013 - part 3

Hopefully you aren't tired of hearing about my trip because I still have much to share.

Tonight I thought I'd take you through the small village of El Castillo - where Rancho de los Ninos can be found. This small village is between the Mazatlan airport and the city of Mazatlan. 

The streets are dirt and the homes are humble.

This set of blue buildings below is the local school.

As you drive through El Castillo, there are signs pointing you towards Rancho de los Ninos.

And at the far end of the village, you will find the home.

These are the dorms the work teams stay in. They are not used unless teams like ours are staying there.

The dorms are not fancy. We sleep in bunk beds and use mosquito nets to add protection against mosquitoes, lizards, geckos and scorpions!

This was my bed on the bottom. I insisted on a bottom bunk because as a child I fell out of one too many top bunks at camp!

And the showers are humble. You can take a cold water shower out of the faucet, or use water in the black bag that is heated by the sun during the day.

I took a few pictures inside Rancho de los Ninos. This is a typical room that sleeps four boys.

This is Vernesse cleaning the fan in the only room that is air conditioned. This is where the youngest kids sleep. This is also the room I worked on last year (we had to reattach the ceiling and walls. It was good to see they were still in place)

Since I was there last year, they have gotten a beautiful, new kitchen thanks to Back2Back. Since partnering with Rancho de los Ninos, they have built a new concrete fence all around the property and given them this new kitchen.

Thanks to a generous donation from one of my church members, we were able to buy them a microwave and juicer for their kitchen.

As I walked around the back I saw this sign....And whoever receives a child like this in my name receives me.

"Faith moves mountains"

I couldn't tell what they were growing, but it was neat to see this garden. I've never seen a garden in rubbermaid totes before - have you?

Also on the premises is a papaya tree....

And a coconut tree....

This man was hired to put in some lights and he helped us cut open the coconut so we could get to the water.

I took my violin again this year and had several opportunities to play for the kids, staff and community.

We ate delicious meals prepared by Monica and her daughter Blanca. Yum, yum, yum!

I didn't seem many geckos and lizards this year, but did get a photo of this one.

And I saw my share of scorpions....one dead and three alive. (about 4 more than I would like to see). But it's good to see them and be reminded of their presence.

Teresa and I set out "scorpion hunting" so we could get some good photos for our kids. We went back to the dorm and there was a rock right outside the door. I remembered Ed had looked there last year so I turned the rock over and this guy was right there.

This is another one we saw near the gate of Rancho de los Ninos.

That's all for now. I've saved the best for last so be sure to come back to read more....