One Week.

I remember writing a blog post after my first week of being here. It feels like yesterday. In reality, it was over a month and a half ago. What? WHAT?

Before I left, I was freaking out thinking "7 weeks is foreeeever. It's going to be so long and so hard and so lonely and I'll probably be sick of it after 3 weeks." HA. God had different ideas, apparently.

Because I love it down here. I really do. I love the cheap fruit and the sunshine. I love the taco stands and bus routes. I love the people I'm working with down here, even though I rarely understand a word they say. I love my intern-buddy/roommate/new best friend Carly and the fact that God has perfect timing. I love the stray dogs that are everywhere (The friendly ones, at least). I love the little corner grocery stores where they sell toilet paper and chili sauce on the same shelf. I love how people greet you while walking down the street. I love the language. I love the way we celebrate holidays for a whole week down here. I love the pace of life. I love the fact that we get to walk everywhere, no cars. I love going to this crazy, Pentecostal, loud-music church.  Most of all, I really, really, just REALLY love these kids. Their laughs, their smiles, little quirks, inside jokes, and the way I'm ambushed every time I walk up to the house. I love reading the Bible with them, helping Uziel walk, jumping Jaime on the trampoline as he laughs uncontrollably. I love Teddy playing jokes on me. I love Antonio's gentle heart and the way he spends 30 minutes feeding Javier because he loves him. Like, what? I love the big hugs I get from Lupita, Marcos, and Joshua. I love it when Luis laughs so hard it sounds like he's in pain. I love giving Thelma high-fives every time she takes a bite at dinner time. I love talking Victor for walks. I love arguing with Alex about who Javier belongs to (It's me, in case you were wondering). I just love them, plain and simple.

And I don't want to leave.

But on the other hand, I'm so excited to go home. I miss trees and good coffee. I miss rain and having girl nights with my roommates. I miss my family. I miss going to church services that I understand. I miss my ministry in Oregon. I miss the city explorations and the country drives. I miss my friends. I miss being able to wear things other than missionary pants and T-shirts. I miss being able to go places alone. I miss being able to walk down the street without men honking and cat-calling at me. I miss the community I am part of, in church, with neighbors, old friends, new friends. I miss having people over to play Just Dance and sing karaoke just because we can. I miss staying out till 3 am with anyone crazy enough to join me. I love midnight trips to Walmart to satisfy late-night cravings. I miss my bunny.

And I want to go home.

So, in one week, you'll find me kissing every single one of these 29 kids goodbye, and then tackle-hugging family and friends as they pick me up in the airport. Be prepared; I will be an emotional wreck. Happy and sad. Reunited with everything I left 6 weeks ago, and missing everything that I just left. 

And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I went to a funeral tonight.

Lying in the casket, wrapped in white, was Lydia. The little girl who was nearly smoked to death before she was even born. The little girl who could hardly move. The little girl who wasn't supposed to last 6 months. The little girl who fought to live every single day for nine years. The little girl whose soul is now happy and complete in the presence of her Savior.

At the news of her death Saturday, I didn't know what to feel. Typically, with news of death, we're supposed to feel sad, right? But when death means that the horrible struggle of pain and suffering that Lydia endured is over, and now she rests in the arms of the One who loves her more than anyone, it's almost happy. She's safe now, with no more tears, and no more pain.

But in life, she left an impact. Probably a bigger impact then a lot of people will leave. She was constantly touching the lives of the many people who walk through the doors of Gabriel House. She will be greatly missed by the staff of the house, and by her 29 siblings. Just because she's in a better place now doesn't mean tears weren't shed tonight.

Wynn and Linda are an amazing couple who come every Tuesday and Thursday to love on the kids. Lydia was Wynn's favorite. Every Tuesday and Thursday, for 4 years, Wynn has come to hold and feed Lydia. The first time I met Wynn was when he was holding Lydia. So when Wynn and Linda showed up this afternoon, I knew it was going to be emotional. I held it together great until Linda started telling me how devoted Wynn had been to Lydia, and how much he had loved the little girl who couldn't show him love in return. In the back round I heard Wynn telling Teddy and Antonio how Lydia is happy now. A few moments later, Teddy and Tonio came speeding up to us and Teddy said "Linda! Guess what! Lydia is happy and dancing with Jesus up there!" while Antonio mimed dancing with a huge smile on his face!

And then I lost it. Definitely not from grief, but from joy. Joy because she is with Jesus now, and joy because my boys know it, too.

So Lydia, don't rest in peace. Dance with joy. See you soon, sweetheart.

Catch Up

I told you I'd be bad at writing blog posts. It's been a week! And in my life, a lot happens in a week. The highlights are as follows:

HAMMOCKS: We took Ely and Chely down one evening and had them chill in the hammock and hang out with us for a while. We drank hot chocolate, listened to country music, talked, and generally had an awesome time! It was so special for them, and the next day when they saw us their smiles were HUGE! I love these girls!

BANANA BOATS: We had some of the kids over one night for banana boats. Pyromaniac chaos mixed with marshmallows ensued. It was great :) The kids loved the banana boats, and who can resist a roaring fire? Culture note: It's almost impossible to find plain marshmallows down here. Nearly all they have contain both regular AND strawberry marshmallows. Weird.

HOT COCOA: The next night we had a picnic with some of the kids who couldn't come to make banana boats with us. Instead, we enjoyed hot chocolate, Belgium chocolate, and Nature Valley granola bars (Thanks, Mom). It was fun once you got past ALL of the boys making fun of me for eating spicy candy and nearly crying. It's their favorite joke. They also made a mess EVERYWHERE. Melted chocolate on their faces, crumbs on their pants, hot chocolate spilled on the blankets. The good stuff. 

MOTHERS' DAY: We made a banner with the kids (they each got to color a letter) that said "Se amamos mamas", and on Saturday we had a small party with lots and lots of food. I was so stuffed I could hardly walk afterwards. We also took the boys to buy flowers for the mamas. Seriously, these women work SO hard. I'd never be able to do their job. Same goes to all you moms out there! During the week, the little school that runs here put on a party. Teddy and Alex were dressed up like cowboys, there was a whole lot of music, and gifts for all the mamas! 

And so that's the past week. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. The past few days have been nearly 100 degrees so that doesn't help at all. The heat is one of the most physically draining things I've dealt with. Literally the only plus is we get to play water games with some of the kids. I've never heard so much laughing from that group! Most of them were just breaking the water balloons over themselves 'cause it was funny! I've never been so wet in my life! The only downside is you can only play with the water for so long before it's time to go back to work! Thankfully, the therapy room is one of the whopping two rooms that has air conditioning. Today I hid in the working with the kids for the whole morning. Speaking of physical therapy, I have some news regarding that. My PT friend, Johana, has left to work in one of the girls' rooms, and a new employee, Aracely, is taking her place. Unfortunately, Aracely knows less about physical therapy than even I do, so today I got to train here in things I know nothing about. I tried to explain (as we working on some kids), that these were the kids that Johana had worked with, so I didn't really know what we should be doing. But, alas, Aracely doesn't understand my broken Spanglish like Johana did, either. So between the blind-man-leading-a-blind-man situation and the fact that we can't understand each other AT ALL, the next two weeks are going to be interesting. Just as I was getting comfortable. Heaven forbid life ever be easy!

Speaking of life being easy, Carly and I ran out of drinking water. So this evening, we traipsed out to Callimax, which took about 30 minutes. There we picked up the essentials (milk, yogurt, cereal, bananas, and avocados) and two 5-gallon jugs of water. We then proceeded to look like fools lugging around nearly 50 pounds of water in really awkward containers. You would think they'd make them easier to carry. We took the bus back, and then walked down the side street (Which was suddenly miles long) with our water. I could hardly pick anything up for the rest of the night. But hey! No need to work out tonight! 

And so that's that. I now rely on drinking lots of water, taking cold showers, and sleeping every chance I get!

Until I find the energy to write again...

Adventure time!

It's the weekend! (More or less. It's Wednesday and I'm only now posting this...but it's about the weekend) Guess what that means! Hopefully you can guess from the heading...

Yeah. So Carly and I went adventuring Saturday. I've never taken the bus back in the states, but I know how it works, more or less. Here in Mexico, it's a little different. You basically just wave down the bus as it's speeding past, and to get off you just tell the driver to stop, and viola, you get off wherever the heck you please! In between getting on and off, it's a lot of crazy (And by crazy, I mean adrenaline-infused scary) driving and swerving to the side of the road to pick up people. The drivers talk on their phones and everything! It's pretty entertaining.

After a while, we found ourselves on the side of the road with direction to go down a couple block then take a right. We ended up taking an early right and walking through a fairly sketch neighborhood full of shacks and horses. But don't worry! It led us right to a gorgeous beach! After wading around waist-deep in the ocean for a while (note: The waves here a tiny. Like little baby waves compared to back home. No surfing for us!), we climbed up this big rock pile to dry off and work on our farmers' tans (or burns). Somewhere in the midst of swimming and sunning, someone decided it'd be fun to steal my 5 year old, falling apart pair of converse, and one sock. So I went traipsing around on the blistering hot sand, dust, and streets wearing one sock. Really makes a fashion statement. On the way home we stopped at good ol' Walmart for groceries and a new pair of shoes for one of us hehe.

Around 5:30, after some down time at the house, we were about to head out in search of fresh fruit and tacos, when we were ambushed by a small army of children telling us it was time to go to church. Apparently their church has a Saturday night service once a month so that the families can enjoy a day together. So we went to church. Before the service we played a pretty intense soccer game. Joshua and Marcos vs. Carly and I vs. a stray dog. The dog won. Between having 4 legs and teeth, she was a little hard to beat.

Sunday was filled with early morning sunshine, hot chocolate with the kids, and exploring Maneadero on foot. We found lots of places we want to take the kids to; the pet store (THEY HAD SO MANY BABY BUNNIES! Along with a lot of the same animals I sell at PetSmart), ice cream shop, park, all the while brainstorming things we could back at the house. Maybe a sleepover with the girls? Banana boats at sunset? Homemade ice cream? I guess we'll find out!

There was some big hullabaloo going on at the house by the time we got back, complete with presents for the kids, pizza, cake, much needed food and supplies, and a killer sax player! The kids loved the music, and the smiles and crazy dance moves abounded!

Then in the evening we had tacos at my favorite taco stand. I decided to try a torta this time, and man, I am sold. It was fanTASTic.

TTFN

Happy Day of Work!

Also known as labor day here in Mexico. I had the day off (Which was much needed. For some reason, the past few days have been exhausting). I slept in, cleaned my room, hung out with the kids a bit, and *drumroll please* watched TV. Now, before any of you freak out saying "What were you doing inside staring at a screen when you could be outside getting ahead on your summer tan?!?" Let me tell you: The past few days, it has been nearly ONE HUNDRED DEGREES OUTSIDE AND MY LITTLE OREGONIAN SELF IS DYING. Seriously, it's so hot. And so windy. And the wind just picks up the dust that is, well, everywhere, and it's like a sandstorm! It's ridiculous. So yes. I was hiding inside my concrete home so I didn't die of heatstroke. Sue me.

I have some exciting news! The new intern/roommate is here! Her name is Carly and she's awesome. In some ways we're really different (Like, she's a soccer player and has never seen Lord of the Rings. That last fact will change), and in some ways we're really similar (We both love adventures and have 23 year old brothers named Matt). At one point when we were talking tonight (Out underneath the big dipper and shooting stars) I told her to stop explaining my own life to me. It was like with every word that came out of her mouth she was describing my life! It was kinda scary, and super awesome. I'm excited to have someone to explore the city with! Already today we took the kids for a walk (Did I mention the weather? Walking, which turns into me pushing wheelchairs around, loses it's fun when it's 100 degrees out), and then hit the taco stands for dinner and went to the neighborhood market. 

Side note: I bought Cup of Noodles at the store. Definitely expanding my food choices!

Oh, and speaking of FOOD. HOLY COW. TO MY MOM AND MY ROOMMATES: YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST. Jan brought down two, count them TWO, big, fat care packages for me today. I now have an abundance of my favorite brand of Earl Grey tea, hot chocolate, coffee, candy bars, chocolate, brownie and cookie mix, beef jerky, cereal, and even my little stuffed animal dog, Pierre! Bonus: He was packed next to the coffee, so he smells fantastic now! I am currently enjoying a cup of hot cocoa, with some Trader Joe's chocolate on the side. The girly, I-need-chocolate-to-function part of me has been very sad lately, but no more! So thanks, people, you really are the best.

Other than that, life has been, well, quite good. Just running around doing physical therapy, learning more Spanish vocabulary, and finding giant spiders in my room. If you take your thumb and pointer finger, and make the "OK" sign, that is the leg span of the spider I found in my room last night, 2 feet from my pillow. The night before I found the same type of spider (This one nickel sized) crawling around on my toe. I can't wait to see what I come across next! :) Actually though, I do really like spiders. Maybe not on me or in my bed, but they're pretty cool! Get over it.

On a sad/happy/bittersweet/I-can't-describe-my-emotional-state note...in exactly 4 weeks, I will be home in Oregon. I'm excited...I miss trees, and people, and driving around listening to country music, and piano, and working with jr. high kids, and my little brothers, and well, a lot. But I'm also sad. More than sad, I'm freaking out. Less than a month? I've been here for 3 weeks and it feels like no time at all! These next 28 days are going to fly by faster than a jet breaking the sound barrier! I can hardly wrap my mind around it. Be prepared for many a blog post where I run around not being able to cope with the fact that I will soon be leaving my kids.

Until those fun times, live fantastically. Write to you soon.