Preparing for Blossom Garden

At the Castro household, we have been very excitedly preparing for our trip to visit Blossom Garden Orphanage in Jamaica next month. Two weeks ago, we had a car wash at our house and many friends and family showed up to have their car washed by about 16 kids. It was a blast and we were able to triple the goal we had set for the day!!

Thank you to all who showed up.

With that money, we have been busy buying the supplies that Mrs. Brown, the director of Blossom Garden told us they were in greatest need of.

We went to Neighborhood Thrift Store (thank you to AP for giving us such an awesome discount!) to buy some clothes.....

then we went to the Dollar Store to buy toys and school supplies (Jacob and Andrew Rush went along to help us pick out all of the toys).

We also purchased some Bibles and books from Majesty and bath soap and shampoo from Wal-Mart. We already have about 4 suitcases packed for the orphanage and are getting so excited to deliver it to them!!

We are praying and expecting that God will do an amazing work in all of our hearts and that this will be an experience that none of us will ever forget!

Ringbearers

My cousin, Jason got married to the new Annie Papi this weekend and the boys were all ringbearers in the ceremony. Instead of carrying rings, the boys all carried wooden bats with their names engraved down the aisle. It was a very fun celebration and the boys looked so cute in their tuxes that I had to post a few pics.

Cody's Baptism

Well, because our trip to Jamaica was pushed back two weeks, Cody was able to get baptized earlier than we had anticipated. We were so proud of him and his step of faith to pubicly express his love for Jesus. So, last week, Cody and I sat down to write his story. I asked him if he wanted to tell it to me and I would write it or if he wanted to write it himself. He chose to do it himself and following are his words that were read by Nicholas as Cody stood in the baptismal.

I want to get baptized today because I love Jesus so much and because he died for my sins. I asked Jesus in my heart when I was five because I wanted my sins to be forgiven and so I can go to heaven. I am getting baptized today because I want to follow Jesus and because he is my Lord. My favorite Bible verse is Phillipians 4:13. I like this verse because it says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My mom has helped me understand who Jesus is by praying and reading the bible with me. That is why I am getting baptized.

We then left church and headed to Cody's last all star baseball game. Later in the day, our friends and family came over to celebrate the occassion with us over pizza and cupcakes. It was a wonderful day and Cody ended the day underlining his favorite verse in the brand new Bible that was given to him by Mimi and Papa.

Philipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Blossom Garden Orphanage

Our family has been blessed with a wonderful opportunity to take a family trip to Jamaica in June. Last month as we were watching one of our favorite shows, Extreme Home Makeover, we saw a spotlight about a school in Jamaica. We learned from watching the spotlight that many of the children in Jamaica do not even own a pair of shoes. Upon further investigation, we learned that many Jamaicans live in squalor, with poor housing, limited food supply, and inadequate access to clean water, quality health care, or education.
Last month, in church we studied the book of James. James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
That same week we realized that there is an orphanage in Jamaica only a few minutes from where we will be staying. Blossom Garden is an orphanage that houses approximately 70 children from the ages of birth to 7 years old. These are children who have become wards of the state and the orphanage, although it is state funded, still is in need of many basic supplies and support.
Our family has decided to put our faith into action and we will be visiting the orphanage to assist in any way we can by serving meals, playing with the children, blowing bubbles and reading books. It is also our hope that we can assist in supporting them by bringing along some of the items they are in need of. We were put in contact with the director of the orphanage through the Apostolic Christian World Relief organization and they informed us that they are in great need of:
· Clothing for boys and girls ages 5-9
· Bath soap
· Shampoo
· Small toys
But, we cannot do this on our own. It is our goal to fill many suitcases with clothes and supplies to leave at the orphanage. If you would like to join us in our project to be a blessing to Blossom Garden, you can donate any of the above items or make a donation that will go towards the purchase of the above items.
We will also be having a car wash at our house on Sunday, June 13th and a lemonade/cookie stand on the corner of West/Herndon on Friday, June 18th. Please join us at either event!
Thank you,
The Castro Family
Neil, Ann, Nicholas, Cody and Brett

Spring Break 2010

This year we were graciously invited to spend Spring Break at the coast with some friends, the Nishikawa's. They have two boys that go to school with our boys and they all five have a great time together. We got to make camp fires on the beach (Cody's favorite activity of the trip) and smores at night. The boys enjoyed their first real round of 18 holes with Jaret and Drew and we even made it to the Farmers Market in San Luis Obispo. We ate a ton and enjoyed the relaxation. Here are a few pics from the trip:

The boys hit the course. Funny how their golf swings look just like their baseball swings!

Making Smores

Cody and his buddy, Drew

Of course, I could not leave the coast without taking some portraits of the boys by the pier. This is Nicholas's 10 year old pic. Cody and Brett's pics are on the previous two posts.