Hello! We're the Finchers from Nashville, TN. Check back here often to read about our adventures in our new life at the City of Children in Ensenada, Mexico.
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© Jeff & Natasha Fincher
Jul
18
The teen boys found this little guy hanging out in their dorm this week. They have decided to keep him as a pet so we had to do a little research to see what types of things they eat. You will be happy to know that crickets and little creatures like that are on the top of the list. We’ll be sure to introduce you to him the next time you visit!
Jul
15
We have once again had quite a week with the North Boulevard team. It’s hard to adequately describe what their week has been like. So I’ve tried to shoot lots of pictures and video so you could have a small taste of what we experienced. Every night they began with their annual evening assembly bouncy ball race:
After the bouncy ball race, they moved into their evening VBS assembly. Each year, rather than splitting the kids up and going to class, they perform a beautifully written and hugely entertaining skit that builds off the previous night. This is video from the last night:
The space themed week ended with the grand finale of shooting off several moon rockets with all of the kids after a massive campus wide scavenger hunt. It was a HUGE hit with the kids. Here is what it looked like:
I’ve got to show you some of these pictures as well! Looking at these pictures makes me wish I had a better camera. The quality is not that great but my timing was pretty good. Be sure to click on the pictures to see the full sized image:
Jul
11
I have had many of you comment on your disbelief regarding the Ensenada Snow Storm that I reported on a couple of weeks ago. It in fact was a joke – the team that visited that week brought a snow machine and set it up outside after their V.B.S. Keep in mind that we do live in the desert, and it was July. Sadly, it has never snowed in Ensenada – especially in July. Sorry for any confusion that may have caused!
Jul
11
We had a great week with the team from Pleasant Ridge and Sycamore last week. Continuing the work they began last summer in “God Provides Park”, they work extremely hard this year constructing and raising a beautiful set of sun sails over the picnic area. Check it out:
They also invited the Mexican Cultural Dance Team that has visited many times to perform for their group. As always, the group favorite was the dance where the man attempts to imitate an iguana. Watch this video and judge for yourself if you think he accomplishes his goal:
Jul
6
This week I had the opportunity to go on a field trip to a little town East of the City of Children called Ejido El Porvenir and a children’s home called Ninos de Baja. On Sunday we were visited by a man named Don Hinton and a group that was working at Ninos de Baja. Don has been coming to the City of Children since the early 1970’s and was so moved by his experience here that upon his retirement, he and his wife decided to start a children’s home of their own. The result was Ninos de Baja. Don invited me to come and visit the home with him on Wednesday. Throughout the 20-30 minute drive there and back, we had a great conversation about what the City of Children was like back in the 70’s. Don said that he was deeply moved on his first visit when the dorm parents killed their only chicken to serve his group for dinner. Upon his retirement Don and his wife moved to Mexico for 13 years. He is now 74, retired, and brings groups down a few times a year.
The children’s home was inspired and modeled after the City of Children. However, there were several differences. They have been in operation for 10 years, they are a short term care facility, their children come from the DIF as well, and their children can be adopted. Because of that, they have a pretty high / frequent turn over rate of children. They recently had 5 kids adopted so the total number of kids that they are currently caring for is 18. Their kids are between the ages of 1 and 8. At the home, they also operate a day care center for the community. Being in a small community, they are able to really get involved in community life. They, like the City of Children, host visiting mission teams who do work projects as well as spend a great deal of time with the kids. The team that was there this week is building a new storage facility for the home.
What a great learning experience it was to spend time with Don and to learn about another children’s home in Ensenada! I believe that networking is so important, especially in work such as this. There is so much to be learned from people like Don and his staff who have been doing the same thing in the same place for many years. Be sure to check out the Ninos de Baja website by clicking HERE.
Here are a few pictures I snapped of their home:
Jul
4
This week the group from Southside, Lewisburg, and Fairlane brought with them the Wizard of Oz. They put together an impressive production with detailed costumes for their nightly VBS! During class, the characters visited the kids classes and posed for pictures. Here are a few of their images from the week:
Jul
3
I still can’t believe it. It was a freak storm that came up so quickly. We were all standing outside the American kitchen after the VBS on Wednesday night. At first, there were only a couple of flakes, but before we knew it, it was coming down in buckets! The kids had never seen anything like it. They sang – they danced – they laughed. They absolutely loved it. I’m so glad that I was able to get video evidence of this once in a lifetime storm:
Jun
27
We had a great week with our friends from middle Tennessee this week. Not only did they work hard, but they also took LOTS of pictures of our kids. Here are some of the highlights:
Jun
25
Summer has arrived, and with it we welcome mission teams, warmer weather, and swimming pools! Today was beautiful in Ensenada. I read that it was extremely humid and in the mid-90’s in our home city of Nashville. Here it got all the up to the mid-70’s with clear blue skies. In celebration of such great weather, the babies pulled out the swimming pools and picnic supplies and made a day of it. I don’t think it’s possible to take a bad picture at a baby pool party, especially here at the City of Children. Click any of the following pictures to see it full sized:
After getting out of the water the kids were freezing until they dried off. Then they ran around in their undies until they decided to jump in the pool again! One thing is for sure – they are all going to sleep great tonight!
Jun
20
We had a great week last week with the group from West Chicago and Denver (and numerous other parts of the world). Below is a sampling of some photos from their week. Click on any of the thumb nails for the full sized version.
