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Building Together
for changing lives
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March 29, 2007
- Vol 2, Issue 11
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This Week at Siempre
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Our Favorite Sites
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Greetings!
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Gorgeous weather greeted us... again
this week. New development is everywhere on the
coast and rising property values reflect several large,
big name projects starting to take shape just outside
our community. I had the chance to hang out with the
kids for a bit- Pastor Israel even used my truck to pick
up the older kids from secondary school as Alejandro
and I went along for the ride. The main part of the day
was in the hands of Debi, Mickey, Ellen and Tom as
they worked hard to love and hang out with the kids.
It's a tough life- but somebody's got to do it!
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That's Mickey, doing what she loves to
do the most, hanging out with the kids of Siempre.
Mickey was in charge of our rummage sale again this
year. She doesn't do it because she loves junk- it's
too much hard work for that -she does it because she
loves the kids of Siempre. After more than a week of
non-stop labor- Mickey was sick for a week and had to
wait until this Wednesday to join us at Siempre. I
know that hanging out with the kids was wonderfully
healing for her. She's the only one of us who's
actually lived at Siempre- she spent the first months
getting us up and running- and I think a large part of
her heart is still there. Thanks Mickey for your hard
work on the rummage sale- and welcome back!
Staying at Siempre and sharing in the
life of the kids and our workers was one of our earliest
goals. We actually built a room expressly for the
purpose of housing "guest workers" from the states.
It's never worked out quite like we'd hoped. Most of
us, when we head down it's just for a night or two and
prefer the nearby Marriott. Try it- it's a great place.
We've had youth groups come and stay- but they need
more room then Siempre offers and usually end up in
the church. The times I have stayed at Siempre, it's
been easier to just crash upstairs on a couch then go
to all the trouble of clearing out the room created and
built just for us. But you're invited to use it. When you
have time for you and/or your family to share the life, to
give of yourself, to work hard along side our workers,
we've got a place for you and you can discover the joy
that Mickey found actually living in the midst of the
promise of Siempre.
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In charge of the camera for the second
week in a row, Cynthia went out of her way to make
sure that everyone got a chance to make a face.
That's her sweet mug setting the example. I've got a
dozen or so photos of everyone from our workers, to
the youngest kids, with faces scrunched up, tongues
sticking out, eyes pulled tight and every other facial
expression you can imagine just to do a little showing
off. Most of us as parents have had to fight with our
kids when they were young not to act up when it's time
to take a picture. Some of us never out grow the urge
to make a face at a camera. Cynthia gave everyone
the liberty to look as silly as they like and I've got it all
on my hard drive... one of these days they're likely to
show up as a video on my blog! It's part of the normal
routine the kids of Siempre have the opportunity to
experience, because of you. When other children are
fighting to find a place to sleep, something to eat, safe
shelter from predators, the kids of Siempre
experience a sunny afternoon together making faces.
God's good.
Picking up Karla, Enrique and Aida at school
was a new experience for me. Riding
shotgun as Pastor Israel drove, I watched the older
kids from our community walking home. Most waved,
it's a small village and pretty much everyone knows
everyone, soon, well short of the school, we came on
our kids walking. They were surprised to see my truck
and quickly jumped at the chance at a lift. Riding back
to Siempre I listened in as Alejandro asked them
about their days, how school had gone, did they have
lots of work to do? It could have been any car pooling
parent anyplace in the US. Kids shared openly and
they each were excited to tell the story of their day.
Secondary school goes by quickly, in less than 3
years each of these kids will be forced to make adult
decisions that will determine the direction their young
lives will take. In middle school or high school, most
kids don't realize that their daily disciplines as they
study will profoundly impact the opportunities that
open up for them in the years to come. In the states,
most of us worked with the safety net of a loving
family, a wealthy economy filled with jobs and
inexpensive higher education in junior colleges and
state schools- that won't be the case for the kids of
Siempre. Good jobs can be hard to come by, higher
education is not cheap and only for the highly
motivated and the only family our kids have to lean
back on is their family at Siempre. It's so easy to
focus on the little kids, they're all so cute. But our
older kids have life changing disciplines to build on a
daily basis. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
They'll be our first graduating class and the example
they set will begin to guide the way for the children
who follow them.
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We imagined we'd be walking the
beaches of the world someday. My wife Debi is with
me most every Wednesday afternoon. When we were
much younger, our idea of "growing up" meant
enough financial success to hang out and do what we
wanted, when we wanted. Never dreamed we'd
spend our lives driving back and forth to Mexico- not to
surf... but to serve. God's blessed us and He delivers
dreams we never imagine in our youth. And the
opportunity to love and be loved by the kids at Siempre
has been one of the greatest unexpected blessings in
our lives.
Debi spotted these tap shoes at
Siempre's rummage sale and snapped them up
for "our" girls. She's always been the "fun" one in our
marriage and I think I'm welcomed warmly on
Wednesday afternoons mostly because I bring her
with me. She makes sure we have a cake each week
for birthdays. Debi and Julia, our daughter, make sure
there's always a birthday present wrapped and at the
ready. And when Debi see's something special...
something like little girls tap shoes, she can't resist
buying them and bringing them down. The girls took
turns trying them on and tapping to their hearts
content. Two weeks ago it was new Easter dresses
for all the girls- something she does each year- one or
two didn't fit and she'd had to return with the right sizes
until every girl was ready for Easter Sunday with a
brand new dress. Sadly, Debi doesn't have an email
address and rarely reads anything I do on the
computer- she won't wear a watch and it's tough to get
her to carry her cell phone- but she has a heart as big
as the world for our work at Siempre. It's her, and all
of you like her, far too many to name, who make life
special for the kids at Siempre. Thanks so much for
all you do. Thanks to those of you that can't be with us
each week and make sure to support the work
financially. And thanks Debi, just in case you ever
read this. You're pretty fantastic and I'm blessed to
share so many great days at Siempre with you.
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Husband and wife teams have made a
profound and positive impact on Siempre from the
beginning. That's Tom and Ellen Buckingham in the
opening photo. After traveling with us on our first trip
to Kenya, Tom and Ellen felt compelled to significantly
increase their involvement with Siempre. What a
blessing they've been. They're both good at so many
things, both large and small, and Wednesday
afternoon it was building a new book shelf in Pastor
Israel's office. They welcomed Naphtali into the work-
he's always a willing worker- and had the job wrapped
up long before we were ready to leave. Tom and Ellen
represent so many others who not only give
sacrificially of time and money but more importantly in
the witness of what a loving family looks like. All
people who could be "walking the beaches of the
world" and instead have chosen to give much of their
time loving the kids at Siempre. Thanks to each of you
for all you do.
Golf Tournament News! It's not just for
golfers. Every
golf entry fee includes entry to the dinner and auction
following the tournament. But you don't have to golf to
join the dinner. $25- gets you a wonderful evening
with friends and the opportunity to bid on some
incredible donations: a week at a beach house in San
Diego, a condo in Mammoth, and so many other cool
items. The money all goes to Siempre and you walk
away with the promise of good times and the
knowledge you did a good thing- why not feel good
twice? Also, get creative, and donate a service, talent,
or a week at your time share, beach home, island
retreat or secret get away. Someone else will pay
dearly to share your joy and the kids benefit. There's
even been a sailing excursion and a BBQ for over 100
people donated! WOW! It's going to be a night to
remember. Join us for a good time together- it's not
just for golfers any more. But if you do golf- and if you
would like to help us fill out the tournament- we can
use you and your corporate sponsorships.
Memorial Day Weekend! We're building big
time and we need you. Register now to spend
Memorial Day Weekend with us at Siempre Para Los
Ninos. It's going to require over 100 workers to get the
job done. You're invited to share the miracle!
siempre,
Eric Denton
Siempre Para Los Ninos
phone:
1-951-689-5806
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Siempre Para Los Ninos | 5623 Arlington Ave | Riverside | CA | 92504
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