# 192 our story

What a wonderful way to start 2019. Don & Lizzi arrived to become house parents for Vencedores(boys) while Georgie returned to take the university girls. Ezdras & Estefany moved to Doncillas(girls) while Billy and Olga moved to the transition house.

The fireworks last night at midnight seemed to go on for hours.

January 2000: Helen called to give us the news that Dottie’s  father passed away. I thought it would be impossible to get tickets to fly home. But I drove to the airport and they gave me tickets at 7am. I rushed back to the house and Dottie and I made the mid-day flight. 3^rd: All of Dottie’s immediate family has arrived.

4^th: The pastor wanted Dottie’s family to open up a time capsule that her father had placed when he was pastor of 1^stBaptist 35 years earlier. Among the many things in the capsule was a Bible Dottie’s brother Luke had put there.

5^th: The funeral was truly a celebration of a life well led. He pastored for over 60 years. He was the man who led me to Jesus. Because of him Casa exists today.

7^th: Two girls from Norway arrived to work at Casa for three months. 8^th: Our daughter Liz had a second child this morning.  10^th: Malcolm drove us to Houston where Dottie and I flew home almost in total silence.

11^th: We had the worst accident since Dottie flipped the van and broke her back. Steve jumped up and grabbed a girder when his ring caught a nail and his finger with 18 inches of tendon was ripped off. It could not be reattached.

13^th: We went to a street market to buy school bags. One woman had ten and I needed 248 school bags. She was so excited that she ran through the market to every person selling those bags. When she had them all I paid her and she immediately closed the little store and told me that she had enough money now to take one week off.