Big news; small tooth

 My tooth is loose!  It has been loose for most of February, until finally....the baby tooth came out yesterday while Iris was eating a soft ice cream cone.  I'm so glad that she didn't swallow it.  Anyway, it was exciting, especially because she's been wanting to see how much the tooth fairy would leave for her.  It is a real joy to see her excitement over an item so small. 

In school, Iris is still happy to see me, and gives me a great hug.  She's a bit clingy, too, but I figure that I need to enjoy this while she freely shows her affection.  She continues to enjoy being read to, including chapter books (Magic Tree House, Bobsey Twins) and listening to books on tape.  She is a whiz at memorizing Bible scriptures for AWANA, and making rubberband loom things.  She can even learn from watching YouTube videos, pausing and rewinding to get it just right.  Wow, she is learning computer things fast!

Her class wrote their name the French way (cursive-style) using different colors.

 
As for me (Cindy), I spent a week in Antigua, Guatemala to work with Common Hope-Fundacion para Familias de Esperanza.   Our team of seven came together swimmingly to build a two-room house, interact with social workers and children from San Miguel Milpas Altas, and met Guatemalan families (Chiappinos) affiliated with Common Hope.  I was most struck by the personal connections and sincere partnerships between Common Hope staff and the families who want a better future.  While there we learned about Common Hope's plan to be more intentional about getting students and their families sponsored.  Education is critical to help families climb out of rampant poverty and poor living conditions.
FACT:  a Guatemalan H.S. graduate can earn double what an adult without a diploma earns.

Solymar was a social worker who had a gentle and firm way of talking with families truly struggling to keep their kids in school.  She and the other 18+ counselors do an amazing job of discerning real needs and appropriate encouragement for the families.

Taught 27 fourth graders a rudimentary ESL lesson.  The real purpose was to connect with the kids, two of which were sponsored by members of our team from First Pres. Church

The experience of building a house, receiving incredible hospitality and thanks only proved to me that God can do anything.  He deserves all honor and praise.
At our first morning devotional, we sang these words:

"Lord I need you, Oh I need you...Every hour I need you.
You're my one defense, my righteousness.  Oh, Lord, how I need you!"

February began the year of the Horse

New Year's Eve...again!  In the Lunar calendar, Chinese and other Asian people celebrate a new year, and this is the Year of the Horse.  I gave a short presentation to the kindergarten students at Iris's school.  Yes, the dress I wore was made for me in SF Chinatown over 30 years ago!  It was tight, but I managed to fit into it well enough to walk around.  I was very thankful for the help of our local Chinese Association (RECA) to perform a lion dance for five classrooms.  The children got the story of the mythical great race of animals, received red envelopes (with chocolate coins), and enjoyed eating lucky candy or fortune cookies.  The children and their teachers were very appreciative. Even now along the school walls, I see the Chinese characters (horse, star, etc.) that they painted in class.  One kid asks me every lunchtime I'm volunteering, "how do you say._____ in Chinese?"  He greets me with "Ni hao!"  Sooooo fun!

Thanks to Nancy Wang, President of Redwood Empire Chinese Association, for bringing the lion dancers- her grandsons.

Next year, the principal would like to plan better, so that the whole student body can participate.

As for the New Year's parade, I missed it with my family because I was returning from Guatemala.  Read about that in another post.  Shin nian kwai le!