So I am in Mexico once again to start my life in Magdalena de Kino, and I am just amazed at how quickly time has passed in the last few years. What a different place I am in than I ever pictured... and yet how right that place feels. Tal vez a slight paradox, but for now I am content to be here and to wait on the Lord... knowing that His timing is perfect in all things.
I mean... wasn’t my college graduation last week and high school only a month or so before??? Today as I sat in our little school-room here on campus reading, singing, and playing with the children, I suddenly had the revelation that we are not the children looking to adults for all our guidance anymore... we are now adults who are offering whatever guidance and teachings we can to these children in our care. What an incredible responsibility... but an amazing one as well. And how strange to realize that “as an adult” you can still feel so very, very young and inexperienced... hello to parenting and the world of jobs, right?!?
After finally arriving an hour late to Tucson (my twenty-six-minute flight from Phoenix to Tucson was delayed for an hour on Wednesday due to mechanical problems that they never said were “taken care of” or “fixed,” but simply “everything should be okay now” and to which I silently objected strongly, not being partial to phrases such as “should be” on airplanes where I could plummet to my death...), Nicole Knobloch picked up my luggage and I from the airport (considering how incredibly heavy my bags were and the effort we went through to get them to the vehicle, I don’t feel like putting myself before my bags... as it were... =P). We ran a few errands and then headed to the orphanage where we grabbed some dinner para llevar (to-go) and got ready for Wednesday night church.
Church was a message from Bro. Joel Rinkenberger about keeping your eyes on God so that we can have a better chance at avoiding the pitfalls in life (rather than trained on the world which can take our focus off Christ landing us in a “heap o’ trouble”). After church the kitchen in the cafeteria was invaded as Amy Fiechter, Nicole, Gloria, Carissa Schlipf, me, and all the little girls joined together to make breakfast casseroles, potatoes, and a general mess. Good times.
(Life pre-hangers and post-arrival.)
(My bedroom... I thought it was going to be teal, but in reality... it's just blue, blue, blue... lol.)
I finally got home and started to unpack (I am living with Carissa in a small house in the town) realizing that I have no hangers for my clothes, that I need a rug, a shelf, and possibly a desk... and that my orange shag chair would look pretty darn amazing in my new room. Alas... it is at home in the back of a trailer with ten pounds of dust on it... maybe in the future... =)
Yesterday I slept in, read for a while, and then headed to the orphanage driving the “red truck” – which Joan Schick told me I should be able to handle easily since I’m “a Kansas girl.” Sweet... I’m glad we have this kind of a reputation, ladies! (However, considering the truck is automatic, has four wheels, brakes, and a windshield still intact... I’m pretty sure it is a luxury car compared to some of those wheat trucks... lol).
The kids didn’t have school yesterday, so Denise (Maller... head of the education department here, and married to Joe) had planned activities from 11-5:30, which included music, reading, BINGO, games, and art. We had a lot of fun, and once again I am so thankful for my time in Morelia which helped me to have a much better grasp of the language... conversing with the children is so much easier, and it’s exciting to be able to relate to them more quickly, without sounding like a total moron... believe me, I still do sometimes... just not as often ;)
(L-R: Andres, Jeff, Blanca, Jenna, and Moises... during our "sticker time.")
After dinner last night the kids were playing kickball in the “cement pit” along with Gloria and Amy (I don’t know what it’s really called, but it’s a great play area), while Jenna, Jeff, Seth, Joel, me, and the little guys sat on the side in chairs and watched. Above you see the results of “sticker time” where the favorite objects of decoration are not sheets of paper, but human faces. At one point Jeff had more than ten stickers adorning his ears, face, and shirtfront... que padre, no? Once again... good times!
So... I am thankful to be here, and I am once again impressed by the amount of love and hard work that the staff here puts in every day... it is beautiful to see. And I am looking forward to hopefully finding my niche here, and letting God direct our paths through every day and along each path He brings us to...!
Love you all, and more soon... por supuesto!!!
3 comments:
I wanna sticker Please???
do you want a smiley face with or without a bow tie??? =)
can i have a bow tie???? please???? I commented like 3 days ago, but I guess it didn't post it. So now I'll post again, I don't know what I said though...oops.
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