Being a missionary kid isn't just about being the son or daughter of a missionary - it's about being part of the ministry, having a mission also. Alex and Maggie were invited to speak at a Children's Church in a part of the city called La Victoria. Little did we know when they agreed to speak that it was for FOUR consecutive services!! They were real troopers, though, and did an amazing job. They talked about what life was like as a missionary kid, what kinds of changes they had gone through, what was good, what was bad. The children's pastor had asked them to share every aspect so the kids would know the truth of what you leave behind and what some of the adjustments are. They told us that they just see missionary kids as being rich because they get to travel so he wanted them to have the whole picture of leaving behind family and all of your stuff. Alex and Maggie did a great job! Alex did his part in Spanish and Maggie did hers in English with mom translating. We're very proud of our little missionaries showing others that they, too, could be missionaries!

Maggie says: "Speaking in front of all those kids was odd because I'm not used to speaking in front of other people. It was also cool to be able to tell other people what we do as missionaries."

Alex says: "Speaking in front of them was kind of scary because it was the first time we had done it! It felt kind of weird. We don't usually do that type of thing! But it was fun!"

God has an amazing way of placing exactly the right people in our lives at the precise moment we need them. This year we have watched Maggie blossom and grow in many ways but mostly in self-confidence and a great deal of that is in thanks to her amazing teacher, Miss M. The last time Maggie willingly participated in an on-stage event was when she was about four and from then on she developed incredible stage fright and if forced to be on stage she should just stand still or sometimes have a break down. I nearly cried as I watched this performance and saw a new joy on her face, a new confidence to sing and take part. I thank God for giving Maggie the perfect teacher for this time in her life!

This video is from Thanksgiving when all of the elementary gave a presentation. Maggie is the second girl in the front from the left. I wish we had a better quality camera so you could see how much passion she had while singing this song! After the presentation they had a field day with lots of obstacle course style races. The pictures are below.

I had a fantastic party. It was really cool. One of my friends had a sweet tooth, so she started crying because of eating some cake and ice cream. We watched "Night In The Museum" and then we watched "Princess Diaries 2" and then we went to sleep. And then in the morning we ate really, really good cinnamon rolls. We also decorated pillow cases. The one I decorated is in my bedroom on my couch. My mom says it matches my room really well. One of my friends put glitter all over another girl's pillow case and both of their pillow cases were covered with glitter. What lots of the girls liked at the party was the karaoke. Some of the girls were playing karaoke. Some girls were playing GameBoy and then some girls were just walking around the house looking at what was going on. We had so much fun!
~Maggie