feliz cumple Israel!

Today one of my favorite people is turning 5 years old! Israel is the son of two of my closest friends in Tijuana - Geovanny and Nereida. His birthday is always special for me, not only because I love that little guy like crazy, but also because in a way his birthday marks the time that I've spent in Tijuana. How so? Because during my very first summer there, I attended the wedding of Geovanny and Nereida...

...and less than a year later, Geovanny Israel was born. I was in Guatemala at the time and still remember borrowing a friend's cell phone so that I could hear the news of his birth. While I was still in Guate, my dad was going to be bringing some donations to Tijuana, so I sent him on a search with the assignment to obtain some fotos!

I didn't get to meet Israel until he was 8 months old, and during that visit, I spent many of the 2 hour church services holding him until he'd fall asleep in my arms.

We really became buddies that following summer, and that time when I left he was old enough to remember me.

Geovanny and Nereida would tell me that he'd constantly ask about me...and whenever he saw a gringa on TV he would think it was me.

I love going back and hanging out with him. Among many other things, he's introduced me to The Emperor's New Groove and Madagascar, and we've also shared some old favorites such as Pinnochio and of course, Lion King (he's a big fan of lions).

Now, each time I call his family, he has learned to echo his papa's favorite question: "Magi, when are you coming back?"

Israel has a very special place in my heart. I can't believe that he is already 5 years old... ¡Feliz cumple Ti-tis! ¡Ya mero regreso!

UPDATE: I'd been trying all day to call Israel, but hadn't been able to get through to his parents' cell phone or either of his grandparents' phones. I've never once missed talking to him on his birthday and so was sad about that, plus starting to get worried since I haven't been able to get through to his family for awhile now. Well, God was kind in that I finally got a text from another friend in Tijuana who said he had run into Geovanny downtown and found out their new cell number! Apparently they lost their old phone and my number along with it. So I was able to wish Israel a happy birthday after all...as always, he asked me when I was coming back...and then said that he would save me a piece of his birthday cake because there was still some left!