Well yes, as of today I think it is 87 days until I come home....crazy indeed because I still remember back in September and saying "Yeah I have only been here for 3 weeks and I have 11 more months to go." And yet, here it is and it has come up soooo fast. And the next 3 months are only going to pass by even quicker because they are filled with MCC meetings.
Mid-April we had a team meeting in Matagalpa. I always enjoy them, not only is it a little bit of a break but our team is wonderful. It's great to hear what everyone is doing, some great things happening and also struggles. I was able to talk through some issues I have been struggling with with some of the people who have been here a bit longer. One of them is trying to live simply even though in reality compared to the majority of people here, I am rich or at least have access to more luxuries. I have been struggling with the feeling of sometimes feeling like I live two separate lives, I can grab a coffee or go to a movie or go on all these great weekend trips but then I come home and try to live within the same means as my family. I struggle with the balance of knowing how much to actually show because I think there can be generosity but then their can be flaunting....i'm not explaining it very well but maybe some of you reading this have gone through the same sort of experience. Anyways, I came to a semi-resolution and I went to the swimming pool with my cousins and a friend of mine and later on we all headed to the theaters. It was my little brother and cousins very first movie (How to train your dragon), so that was pretty exciting....at least for me :) And although it was all in Spanish, I think I laughed at all the appropriate spots ;)
I honestly cannot be grateful enough for the family God has so richly blessed me with. My family in Canada as well of course. But my Nicaraguan family has been amazing. I think if I was living alone, I would feel a lot more homesick. However, I am constantly surrounded by family (cousins, brothers, nieces) and I am involved in the church a bit too, so there really isn't time. Or when I have felt homesick, God has usually blessed me with a really great conversation with my parents or host mom especially. I feel like we have been able to really build a relationship, I have been able to learn and grow from watching her interact in our family and with others. The generosity of my family is unbelievable. Honestly, if anyone reading this even mentioned that they knew me, you would have a place to stay instantly for as long as you wanted. They have already built onto their house and made a room bigger for me and my 'husband' haha I told them they could wait awhile on that one, but either way...it's ready!
The last couple of weekends I have spent more time at home. Actually a couple weeks ago I went to Granada with my brothers and the church. They had some baptisms in the lake there, and then we literally swam all day. I was somehow the only one to completely burn my face. It was a great time to get to know more people and young people in the church and also kind of go out on my own as usually I am always with Leyla and Ebert while at church. My grandma was also in the hospital and so Leyla was often there to watch her and keep her company....which left me to fill the 'good daughter role.' Which meant getting up at 5am and putting on the rice and beans and making sure lunch was ready to go and a cup of hot coffee in Ebert's hand when he woke up! haha thankfully it's not a permanent role and I chose not to wash any of their clothes, because let's be honest, I wait until the last possible minute to wash mine (and then I take about 5hrs to do it). Nonetheless I now have good practice with making rice (next time I won't forget to add the salt) and whipping up a few things to eat.
Work has been going okay. We have a few new girls. I am not sure if I mentioned that we have one girl about 10 years old, her name is Eloisa. Another girl Jenifer who is about 6yrs and the most adorably precious baby girl named Maria Clarita. All girls have different diagnoses but it's been neat to kind of take them from step one. For example, Eloisa has now just started going to our school at Hogar Belen, Jenifer is blind and was apparently pretty much left to sit in the hammock all day when living with her family. When she first came she was really scared of any movement, hated standing and most definitely did not like walking with us. We are gradually having her walk (with assistance) a little farther each time and she is responding more to outside stimulation rather than just sort of curling up into a ball (where it is safe and she has her feet and hands tucked in.) Well and then there is Maria, she is adorable and has Down Syndrome. She just came this past week and is apparently 14 months although looks much younger than that. We are working on getting some of her muscles working and some core stability as she is pretty much a rag-doll (which could come in handy when I put her into my carry-on to bring her home!) There have been some frustrations for sure at work. I think part of it is just cultural differences and the other part is that I have different expectations and priorities than some of the workers and management do. So I have been trying to work within the environment while also gently pushing for some change...we'll see how it goes.
Hmmmm, funny story for you though. I was given some money from some people in the U.S. to spend for the kids. As it has been really hot here, some people suggested we should get a small kiddie pool. So I went out and bought one and we've actually used it the last couple of Fridays. The kids LOVE IT! And I usually end up being in there for about 3 hrs while the kids are all rotated in groups of 4-5. Anyways, the last time we were in there, a little guy Moises apparently swallowed a bit too much water in all the excitement and ended up throwing up a little bit........so I hauled all the kids out of the pool so that we could change the water before the older kids got in. Well let's just say that God truly works in small ways because about 2 minutes after I got all the kids out, one of them spilled his beans....literally, spilled his beans all over the floor! haha sorry, I think my sense of humor has changed a bit, but really, I would have had to clean it up if it was in the pool, but this way I didn't have to! Plus, I can only imagine how many of the kids peed in the pool while I was in there, blowing bubbles and such...so really, I think I did my part :)
Tomorrow my family and I are heading to the big stadium here in Managua to watch Javier try out for a baseball team which should be pretty exciting. He says he'll take me out on a hot date once he starts making the big bucks in the major leagues.....so I'm all for it.
Not sure what else I can say. My dad is coming at this end of this week for a quick visit and then back to work :)
Hope everything is well with you.
Bendiciones
amanda
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