And Then We Were Gone: The end of 2013 and the new start!!!

This is how 2013 ended, with family. Although my mom was unable to spend time with us I am glad that she went through her surgery without any complications. We love you mom and hope to spend time with you in 2014!!!
We had a fantastic time with my nephew, my brother and the Grovers… we love you all simply because you make efforts to stay connected and that is what life is about: connections, strong connections…

In other aspects:
-Our volunteering efforts continue to be very rewarding. The last cooking lesson of 2013 at Hogar Nueva Vida (I should say Estancia Nueva Vida) was taught by Chef Jorge and we simply assisted him. We made fresh pasta and fresh pasta sauce. The girls loved it and we did as well. Plus having Jorge and Luis enjoying this activity together was a lot of fun!!!

-Passion Foundation arrived in town and I had a blast. This Canadian foundation led by Loretta Cella (founder) has created an initiative together with Tia Kelly (co-founder) called Global Sorority which has the great vision of providing girls around the globe with leadership skills and connecting those girls to share experiences.
Loretta developed a model for doing so called SUCCESS and stands for Self Evaluation, Understanding, Courage, Co-operation, Exploration, Skills and Service and talking about it is not the same than seeing it applied, which I did. I was trained to deliver this model and enjoyed applying it to myself. The model goes about learning from the inside out which basically means learning about ourselves so that we can utilize ourselves better within the community; we cannot hope to change anything in this world if we don’t change ourselves.
Loretta and Tia trained me and Patricia (director of Hogar Nueva Vida) and for eight days I was able to work with three other fantastic, smart and amazing women who brought a bright outlook to my life plus I had the fortune to share with 21 Yucatecan girls and hopefully that sharing will make the difference in their lives. By the end of the workshops the girls were left with an infinite amount of tools and a project to be developed within the next few months.
I was left with couple of tasks:
-helping the girls earn some Project Management skills while leading them to complete their projects,
-representing Passion Foundation/Global Sorority in Mexico so we can build a sustainable approach to deliver this model,
-assisting with the development of the Latin Platform,
-more…

If you want to read more about Passion Foundation please go to:
www.passionfoundation.org and if you are interest in getting involved somehow please contact me: mdmoto2010@gmail.com

-More visitors in January… right after the Grovers left, Olivia arrived and we had a week of her enjoyable company. Thanks Olivia for staying with us and for volunteering your time in Merida with kids who appreciate your presence…
La Chica Swiss Dorada!!!

-A new member of the family: TAQUITA MENDOZA GROVER. We found her at the beach in Chicxulub Yucatan while spending time with the Grovers. She picked us to be her life guardians and we said YES!!! Thanks Lee and Jen for supporting us in the effort to provide Taquita with a home. We love her and will work hard to be good to her.

-Brian is going through the second year of his Masters and it is not getting easier, just more interesting!!!
At the moment February 15, 2014…In Victoria at Royal Roads University… and here some pictures of how the North looks like in February…
British Columbia is lovely and the best part our friends!!!