“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,
saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'” Isaiah 30:21


“Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7


Saturday, June 15, 2013

Princessa de Dios

I took the big loop past blanca Nievas, went down market street, then tuned left at the Coliseo for my walk around town in the morning. I picked up some eggs right across the street, but decided to have something else for breakfast when I remembered I would be having eggs for supper at the party. When I finished getting ready Jocelyn and I walked to school, along the way I saw one of the teachers walking up the hill and my heart dropped. I knew right away that something wasn't right and when I greeted her I could see she was holding back tears. She informed me that her daughter was in the hospital with the same sickness he son had died from about a month ago. She was going to the hospital to be with her, so I gave her a big hug and reminded her we are all God's children. I know God is using the seemingly endless struggles in her life to draw her close. Listening to the kids sing and seeing them jumping around to the songs we sing in chapel warms my heart so much! The Lord is doing wonderful things in the lives of these kids and it is truly incredible to see His presence in this place. Shortly after chapel the team of volunteers, maestros, and teachers formed a prayer circle for the teacher and her daughter. Casa de Fe is an encouraging place to work, seeing how people come around one another to support and encourage each other in difficult times really is a beautiful thing! My gym class with the second and third graders reached the point in the "bean bag toss" to add the relay portion. there were two teams and to get them running they had to run to the end of the hallway, stop behind the throwing line, toss their bean bags, and hand them off to their teammate. They liked it a lot. The cancha was busy today and since it was raining we couldn't be outside there, so I had to bring the oldest girls back to teach them a new game. Although they were less than thrilled about the change of plans, I taught them the "snail" jumping game I used to play for hours when I was little and it was a hit! The forth and fifth graders played soccer in the hallway and went great. However, one girl accidentally got bumped and totally lost it. She was not hurt at all, but since she was struggling inside, as soon as she was bumped all of her emotions let loose. When I sat her down and was asking her what happened there was no physical pain, she responded with nothing hurts...I just want to be with my dad. That's when my heart dropped for the second time today, these kids long to be with their parents so much and since they have been abandoned they face amplified emotional troubles. I always love and encourage them to the best of my ability, whenever I have a chance. I got to enjoy some fresh peppers and homemade ranch with much lunch, it was a great addition.
Can't beat a game of soccer after work to kick off the weekend!
Then it was time for English, it went very well and they all aced their last letter! Next Monday we have the final and Tuesday a little goodbye party for their last day of English class. I almost had a breakdown when I was telling them about our last two days, because I am going to miss them like crazy. After work I hung out with the toddlers for a while, then headed down to the dique with the maestros and the team to play a game of soccer. I started off taking some pictures for the team members, then got to jump in and play. It was awesome! I took it easy for the most part, but played pretty hard at the end. The game ended just in time for me to stop at home and clean up before the princess party.
All the girls and Jean Paul enjoying supper at Patti Sue's!
One minor detail that I had forgotten about was the fact I didn't have my keys, thankfully Jocelyn heard me knocking after a little bit and she let me in, so I could call to track down my keys, get in my room to clean up, and head out. On the way to the party at Patti Sue's I stopped to say goodbye to Dwight and Tandy. I knew it was going to be hard, but I was hoping to be able to hold it together. As hard as I tried I couldn't hold back some tears, I am thankful beyond words for the way they have taken care of and blessed me from the first time I met them! It was hard to say goodbye and this was only the first of many. On a much happier note, I got to be a part of my first Princess party! While supper was being prepared the twelve girls from the middle age group at Casa
Princess Viviana and I!
de Fe watched a movie. We ate eggs over fried rice and ahi, it was great. Before we even had time to ask someone to pray, Yajaira volunteered to lead us in a beautiful prayer! The girls got their nails painted while watching the movies. Also, Yajaira found out I was ticklish and I could not stop laughing. We slid two mattresses out on to the living room floor for all of them to sleep on and naturally they had to jump on them a little bit to make sure they were good mattresses! After supper Heidi read Rey by Beth Moore (in Spanish) to the girls. When she finished reading it, we crowned them all "Princessa de Dios" (God's Princesses). The last page of the book quoted Matthew 25:34, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." We are children of God and heirs to His kingdom in heaven, this is such an incredible gift! When it was time to go to bed, I fell asleep to the girls talking, what seemed like a short night of sleep ended at 6am to them talking. They were trying to be quiet, but they were all just so excited. Over the course of the night we watched some great Princess movies including; Anastasia, Tangled, Brave, and The Princess & the Frog. Patti Sue made some pancakes first thing in the morning, then we cleaned up and headed out. I was incredibly blessed to help chaperon this party, I had a blast being with the girls, everything from crowing them as princesses to helping them find the bathroom in the middle of the night. I loved these kids so much! After cleaning up at getting ready for the day I met Slyvia at the bus stop here in Shell and got to go over to her house for lunch. It was early so we spent time looking through her pictures and chatting, I was overwhelmed by her hospitality! I was super blessed to learn more about her life and family as I looked through pictures with her, I was able to see parts of her life I never would have been able to otherwise. A picture speaks a thousand words! I also got to meet her kids, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and her mother. When she started cooking I got to help,
Slyvia preparing lunch, she is a wonderful cook!
she taught me how to properly peel a potato and I am proud to say I didn't cut off any fingers! She is such an excellent cook and it was fun being able to help her in order to pick up on some tricks. When it was time to eat, we pulled the table away from the wall in to the middle of the kitchen so he whole family could come and eat. I ate with her and her sons, her mother, two sisters, and one of her nephews, it made me feel right at home. They asked me to pray for the food, it was my first time ever having to pray out loud in Spanish and it was a bit intimidating, but good. It short, sweet, and by no means perfect, but God knows what was in my heart and blessed it just the same! After everything was cleaned up, we walked a couple of blocks to the park in Marovia and sat to talk some more! After hanging out there for a little while it was time for me to head home and they were going to run errands, so they drove me home. I packed up really quick, then Jeff and Mike helped us move over to Dwight and Tandy's. I will be living here for my last few days and I must admit I am excited to live back in the center of town! After getting everything in to the new place Molly, Jessica, Mike, Jocelyn, and I hopped on the bus to the BalsaWood Store to shop. I bought more than I needed, then we went to Super Tia's one last time where I bought more than necessary again. I have been trying to get my souvenirs all bought and there's not much time left! After completing the shopping spree we went to O Sole Mio's for supper and got Nice Cream on the walk back to the bus stop. Once we arrived back in Shell all of us walked to my old house to finish washing sheets. We were trying to finish getting the house ready for the new missionaries that are coming, but the gas tank was empty so the drier wasn't working. This dilemma allowed me to change my first gas tank, better late than never! After getting it all in the drier we went to watch a movie with the crew, I slept for most of the time, but they woke me up when it was over, we went back to the old house, made the beds and finished getting it all set up, then headed home to go to bed. It has been a couple of very busy days, but I have loved every minute of it!

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