Hello again from Mancora.

We hope that you are all safe and sound and getting ready for Christmas. It will be very different for us to celebrate here away from you all and away from the snow.

We returned from Ecuador after leaving to renew our visa and ourselves a little. It felt like we were coming home and it was a welcome sight to see places and faces that we knew.

The next month after returning was extremely busy. We were planning our Adult classes and our after school classes with a good group of children coming on a regular basis. It has been rewarding to see the progress of them away from the distractions of a large class. They are actually remembering things from class to class and day to day. They are mostly girls with only one boy, but they all work so hard and the time we spend three days a week with them is light and refreshing. For the last day before the summer holidays, which are in December to March here, we took them to the beach. It was great to interact with them in a less structured setting. We crammed 21 people into 4 motos. We paid the motos and told them to head to the beach. We only paid them 50 centavos because we had been told that the locals only pay half the fare. Rita informed us later that the locals pay the same price as the tourist, 1 sole. Poor guy we ripped off.

We also had the opportunity to host our first Bunko tournament. It was really funny trying to teach them all the rules and instruct them. There was no cost, but we gave out some prizes. Once they all got into, no one wanted to stop. We were playing until 2 am. The beers and snacks kept us going. We handed out the Bunko Boo Hoo Bundle to Ernesto, who despite his cheating all night long, still ended up being the loser. So they are now hooked on Bunko too like many of you.

Our friendships here with a couple of families have really begun to deepen and develop. They are Rita/Benjamin/Jackie/Alexadra who you have heard us write about before,and the other family is Juana, Miguel, Laura,Gabriela. We have spent some time with both of them recently. We went on a fishing boat with Miguel and Juana and the girls. We tried fishing, not with a pole or anything, just a line over the side of the boat. Shelly was lucky to catch a little guy, and Miguel caught supper! Check out the photos. We also took Juana and Miguel for their first taste ever of pizza and pasta! It was fun to introduce them to this as they introduced us to ceviche (raw seafood in lime sauce).

We also spent time with Rita and Benjamin and the girls on the beach one Saturday afternoon, building sandcastles and just relaxing. They work at the school but also run a small business so they don't relax enough. It was fun to play in the water with the girls. They will soon have another addition to their family as Rita is expecting and due in April. So we will be here for the birth. They have truly become like family to us and we are glad to know them. They are truly kind and humble and tender people.

The volunteer house had a few Americans in it, so they decided to celebrate Thanksgiving...although there was not a single bit of turkey, or any meat for that matter, the meal was a huge success with 20 people sitting around the table and leaving just as stuffed as ever!

The house planned a little Buen Viaje (Good Trip) party for us the night before we left. It was one of our favorite memories yet as people sang and danced (check out the video). Rita and Benjamin sang us a blessing and it was extremely touching and moving. They just have such a gentle spirit about them. We will miss them while we are traveling.

We will be traveling the month of December in other countries in South America as things slow down here for this month with final exams and travel and festivals , it is hard to keep any type of schedule....so we have taken the recommendation to travel. We are looking forward to it but will miss being here for that long.

When we return we will be living in the beach house so that will be great. But what is even greater is that we have bought a motorcycle to take us back and forth as the beach house is a little farther along the beach. They are really cheap here and we already have a buyer when we leave in August. They are really fun to drive and everyone has one here, so we fit right in:)

When we return to Mancora it will be a new year. We are looking forward to leaving behind some of the challenges that we have faced, but taking with us the lessons we have learned from them. We have grown from our time in the volunteer house and we hope to keep learning more about ourselves as we move out on our own. We look forward to the freedom the beach house will bring us and also to the chance it will give us to share our gift of hospitality that we haven't had a chance to share too much yet.

We will keep you updated as we travel along in South America. Good Luck getting ready for Christmas. Keep warm and safe.

Hugs and kisses

Shelly and Stacy