High School Graduation

It's been a very long time since my last update. As most of you know, I had a great 3 weeks in the States from the end of June to the middle of July. It was nice to be home, spend time with family and friends, and have some much needed r&r.
Once I got back to Mexico, life became busy again. This year, 14 of our kids graduated from high school - this is a big deal. To celebrate this special occasion, we decided to have a graduation party (which we began planning the weekend before). The week of the party was spent getting food ready, putting up a canopy over our outdoor raquetball court, organizing the program, and decorating. The day of the party was also full of last minute preparations and I wondered if we would ever get things ready in time. But as always, everything worked out :)Despite all of the last minute organization, the party was a huge success and a very special time for all of our graduates. Several former Ninos staff, as well as some of the kids' supporters, flew to Mexico to share in the festivities. All of the graduates were given money to buy something nice to wear for the party. The boys bought suits and the girls bought either a dress or a nice shirt and pair of pants. They all looked great sitting at the head table.The program consisted of short speeches given by the executive director and the field director of Ninos de Mexico, by the principal of their high school, and by the principal of our school here at Ninos. While the speeches were nice and full of encouragement for the graduates, the most meaningful part was yet to come. One of the sponsors of each of the graduates had either written a letter of congratulations or had come to Mexico to deliver their congratulations in person. Almost all of the graduates were crying as they listened to the heartfelt words from their sponsors.
Once the formal program concluded, we enjoyed a nice meal. The meal was followed by a surprise - the houseparents had hired a Mariachi band to come and play for an hour. The graduates had fun requesting their favorite songs. For me, the big highlight of the night was after the Mariachi band left. A spontaneous dance party broke out and several of the kids and staff spent the remainder of the night dancing. It was such a fun way to conclude the celebration! The music finally stopped at 12:15 a.m.
We are so proud of the graduates and look forward to seeing what God has planned for them in the future. Some of them are now studying at universities in Mexico, others are studying at Bible college on the border, and a couple are studying in the States. It's an exciting time. Keep them in your prayers!