Birthday Week!!

Look Who turned FIVE!!!

Asa says he woke up taller :-(
Anca came for the party :) ...

We had some kids over from Guadalupe. They played games, launched water balloons, ate hot dogs, and cupcakes. There were two kids from the Valley who shared birthdays with Asa-- so we celebrate dthem too :)

Jesus turned twelve!And Magali turned Eleven!
This Mexican Birthday Party thing was much different than we are used to. Our family alone is like 45 people... so we are used to big parties. But the kids were really missing their cousins and there friends. They are used to their birthdays being like a family reunion.

God is still teaching us :)

Garden Update

The garden is overflowing!!

It cracks me up that I can read the posts from a few months back and see how frustrated I was with it!!

God is good!


He saw my complaining- and blessed me anyhow :)

More Pictures Here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/steffensenfaminmexico/Garden2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

><> Shae

A year of Change.

One year ago today, we hugged our family and friends, and drove away from Roseburg.

Our land cruiser loaded down with what was left of our belongings headed South.

I remember being excited. I love Mexico. I have wanted to live here for more than a decade.

There are so many things that I could write about..... my brain is overflowing with events of the past year. We have welcomed groups of servants, guest teachers, and students. we have hosted conferences for people from all over the Globe. We have painted, and cleaned, and landscaped, and repaired, and picked and pruned.

The one things we have not done- is struggle.

We spent the 3 years leading up to Mexico struggling.

God taught us so many lessons in that time. He was preparing us for this.

He was faithful to give us the desire of our heart that matched us perfectly.

Now- I'm not saying that packing up everything we have ever known and moving across a National border was easy. At all.

The kids cried. A lot. They still do.

They miss their family. They miss their friends. They miss the simplicity of living normalcy.

I miss my family. I miss my girls. I miss my Coffee Shop. I miss my church.

Oh, how I miss my church!!

But if we are weighing all of these things on a scale- they do not even compare to the blessings that we have enjoyed here.

We have been happy, and we have had more fun than we know what to do with.

We have new friends. We have lifelong new family members. We have seen lives changed.

We have met people who have changed ours.

We have seen the Gospel go out from this place and spread all over the world.

All of these things said~~ I am more anxious than I can even tell you to see this year to come!

Thank You for supporting us!! All of our family and friends back in OR {and other places too!!}-- your prayers have been felt. We are here because you sent us. You obeyed God, and supported us. You are just as big of a part of this as we are.

Blessings to you all- and stay tuned for a Garden Update :)

><> Shae