The Winter Journals: January 2007

Recien Kazadito!

Over the weekend my friends Aaron Patton and Ximena Arce were married in Baco Raton, Florida. Here are some pictures.

The Bride and her father!

Aaron's friends from Maxwell and Santa Cruz.

The Arce Family
The ParentsOnly gringos can rock the tweed at a formal wedding.

Cutting a rug with Ximena's mom.

Bartender!

Aaron's brother Josh.

Having a Blast in Boca

The Last Dons of Santa Cruz

(Below) Matt loves bowling more than bullying kids on the playground.

Whose turn is it?

Who took this?

New friends!

Helen learned how to tie a tie. Next on her list. How to say Raton.

Sassy.

Yuzo. He was that one Asia guy in The Fast and the Furious.

New and Old Pictures

Glad I was off that day...

John and I recently replaced that light fixture.

It's not easy to strike a pose with the snow and wind in your face.

The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia?

The student and teacher. Shiraz looks sad because Eli took his Redbull without asking.

Tried to get a picture of the field during the heavy snow fall. Even though it's blurry, it still looks mysterious. Well, as mysterious as a playground can be.

The BMG

Over the weekend Louhelen was meeting place for the Black Men’s Gathering (or the BMG). It is an event I have had the blessing of being a small part of twice in my life. The BMG gives black men a chance to be together as brothers…as family. They get a chance to talk, to laugh, to cry, to sing, to be happy, to praise God, to play music, to ask questions, to enjoy the company of their brothers. These men represent the young and the old of the black company. Knowledge and wisdom is passed on during this time, to ensure that the future is to be a blessed one. The love that has emanated from this weekend has been overwhelming and can barely be described in words. It is amazing to be greeted by total strangers as if you were a part of their family. The staff was allowed to join the men in prayer to end the weekend. The men played drums, prayed, and sung the Praise of God. Now I will admit that I’m a crier, and this morning was no exception. I wept openly at the beauty, power, and sound that surrounded Unity Hall.

I guess you just had to be there.