Happy Mother's Day!

I can say that my very first Mother's Day started out with a bang! At 6:30 am, I had just fed Nathan and was changing his diaper when there was a loud noise and the house started to shake! Yes, we had an earthquake! I was a bit scared as it was probably one of the stronger ones I have felt while living here. Santi came to check on Nathan and me - we were fine. I was a bit shaken (no pun intended).

I checked on-line and the earthquake registered a 3.8 on the Richter scale. Apparently there was another earthquake yesterday in the province of Cotopaxi about 2 hours south of here. We may be feeling more earthquakes these days as they tend to come in waves.

Back to my first Mother's Day. It started out with an earthquake. Then around 9:00 am, I started hearing the Mariachi band in our condominium compound . . . someone had arranged for the Mariachi's to come and serenade all the moms in our condominium. And we were all handed a rose and a little gift by the president of our association and his wife. When I took Nathan out to see the action, he was very excited and thought it was great!

Then we headed out to the Hogar Betania (The Bethany Home for the Elderly) for a Mother's Day service there. Our missionary friend from HCJB, Esther Neufeld, came and shared a special testimony of how her mom was born in Russia to a Germany immigrant family, they later had to escape to China (due to the communists) and then finally ended up in Paraguay in a Germany colony there. Esther is the youngest of 10 children and shared about how her mom raised them all to know God and obey Him. Due to her heritage, Esther speaks several languages fluently - German, Spanish and English (she probably speaks more that I'm not aware of). Esther produces German radio programs that go out on HCJB's shortwave to German families living throughout Latin America.

We had a wonderful time at the Hogar - handing out candies to everyone and wishing the ladies a very Happy Mother's Day. One of our favorite ladies, Clara, had been honored yesterday as a "Special Mom" and she proudly wore her banner.

Our good friends, Paul & Susan Fernane, also joined us today along with our regular Hogar crew, Mike & Carol Bishop. After the Hogar, we all went out for lunch to one of our favorite spots - Crepes & Waffles for a yummy meal. I can say that I have been treated very well on my first Mother's Day and it's been special to spend it with my family!

I hope you enjoy the photos from this special day!