where my heart is

One more post

2008-06-26T19:03:00.003-04:00

Well, I am leaving Mexico this Saturday. It will be a bitter sweet goodbye for many reasons. Some of the kids that I am close to don't want me to go. Jonathan informed me the other day (for the second or third time) that he would be fine if I packed him in my luggage and took him home. If I could take some of them home I would. But on one last note here are some things that I observed here at Casa Hogar that make me smile:
1. There are stairs... and I use that term losely. Ther are planks of wood heldup by bricks on other pieces of wood. THere are times when I am going up them when I think that if I fell then that would be it, I would break some serious bones.
2. If a building inspector from the States came and saw some of the scafolding, stairs, and man made ladders they would have a heart attack right there on the spot.
3. Some of the boys have so much gel in their hair that they might qualify as flamable.
4. Paint here is a loose term. I had to make it (yes make it) and I was told not to breath in any of the things I was mixing together. And when I washed the paint off of the brushes it ate away some of the skin on my hands. Nice.
5. It rained last night and the interns sleep on the bottome floor. I could here beds moving around last night before I went to sleep. Translation: the roof is leaking and beds are being rearanged.

Those are some quirky things that I love about this place. It can be hard sometimes but the hardest part is always leaving. To say goodbye to faces that I don't know if I will see agaain that I have loved, gotten to know, laughed with, joked with, hugged, smiled, and loved on for so many years but especially last summer and this summer. I know I will miss them.
But there will always be a piece of my heart that is here, in Mexico, at Casa Hogar. I love this place and these kids. As I end this part of my journey I move onto another one. For anyone who has read my blog, thank you for reading and sharing in my experiences, joys, pains, and adventures here.

one more week

2008-06-20T14:29:00.002-04:00

i keep thinking of things to write and then when i get to it i have forgotten... i think my memory is going too. haha. well, as of this saturday i am here for one more week. my month stay will be up and i will be headed back home. its crazy how fast it went. i couldnt tell you if my spanish it better or worse but the kids seem to think i speak it better than i actually do... which i find quite funny. they will ask me to translate or just say something and be on their way. its still frustrating but oh well.
after so many years of coming here and especially after last summer, i love that you can start to know personalities, likes and dislikes, strengths,weaknesses, tht kind of stuff. kevin (6yrs) likes to be held sometimes. he just does. he came up to me yesterday and gave my leg a bear hug. so i picked him up and he let me hold him for no reason and kept giving me giant huggs. :)kevin was the little one that was here last summer that didnt talk at all. nothing. this summer he is talking is i can see a difference in him. he sat in my lap as we sang with the team and i traced his finger along the words of the song. every once and a while he would look up at me and just smile he goofy, big eared, cute smile. as crazy and frustrating as the kids can be sometimes i love those sweet moments.

a search party for a missing car

2008-06-16T14:53:00.003-04:00

so last friday i found lizandro (6 yrs) sobbing... i mean, something could have died. he couldnt even tell me what happend, he was so upset. so i asked his brother, gaudencio (7yrs), and he told me that lizandro lost a new toy car, that he had gotten in the last 30 minutes. so a search party started... me, guadencio, and osvaldo (13)were all searching for a toy car... in the dark no less. lizandro was just walking aimlessly and crying. so, i take him by the hand and we go looking int he dark for a small blue and yellow car. well, we can´t find the car and lizandro is heart broken. but i saw that one of the other boys had a pack of three cars. i ask him if i could see the pack and he said yes. i then asked lizandro if he liked any of the cars and his face lit up when he pionted to a spiderman one. so i asked the other boy if lizandro could have one of his three cars. yes, he said. i am thinking, wait... what? i don´t have to ask him twice or beg or explain that lizandro wants a car?! nope. he just said yes and i asked agian just to make sure and he gave the same answer. no questions or arguments or posessiveness. it always amazes me when these kids just share everything without hesitation. now, that doesn´t happen all the time... but more than it would bac k home. i love it. they are a family and although they have little they are able to enjoy it and let others enjoy it. anytime they have food or anything they offer it to me.
so jumping forward a few days... sunday the sermon was about family and what a christian family should look like and stuff like that. i was sitting there wondering what the casa hogar kids are thinking. most of them are not orphans. they have family that abandoned them, or couldn´t or woun´t take care of them. how do you grow up knowing that your family didnt want to take care of you or did want to but just wasn´t able to? some of the go back to visit family. i know they are used to it, in some sense, but i can´t imagine how it feels to go back and ¨visit¨your familly and go back to an orphanage. despite all of that these kids are so resilient and just great kids. i would take some home with me if i could.
thats about it... its really hot this week. i am hoping my toe will hold out until i get home.

differencesº

2008-06-12T18:07:00.002-04:00

so tuesday i got gaudencio again and again he was crying. poor kid. but he was content to sit in my lap and cry there and eventually fell asleep. i had to wake him up for dinner but i wish he could have sat there forever. i cherrish the moments when i can hold the younger ones becuase they dont want to be held most of the time.
there are so many differences between this culture and ours and i love some of the differences. i love how relational this culture is. we were riding back from the beach last sunday and lalo was saving me a seat. so, i was sitting in the back with the boys between lalo and omar and just observing. there is a lot more affection allowed in this culture without the comments that would come from our culture. i watched as osiel (who was standing and having a punching match with omar) would ,without thinking about it, just rest his hand on robertos arm. or the boys are sitting crammed into the back of the bus, almost ontop of each other. in america we have such a sense of personal space... here it is different. but in a sense it has to be becuase these kids grow up with a family of 50. all that to say, every time i come i love the affection and the realtional part of this culture so much.

it¨s raining!

2008-06-10T14:43:00.003-04:00

it has rained for the past two days and it has been wonderful! i never thought i would utter the words cold and mexico in the same sentence ever... but i was actually cold yesterday even though it was a brief period of time. what makes me laugh the most is the kids. they are used to the warm weather and so when it rains they come out with their pants and sweaters and all bundled up like its snowing. that is what cracks me up the most.
orangewood is here this week and so i get to spend a week with my mom and brother. they have been moving a lot of dirt but i think i see cement in the near future.
well, i cant think of anything else that has happened. i think i have another ingrown toe nail... so hopefully i can make it back home and have it taken care of there. and my heal still hurts (from where i had stitches)and my bad back hurts when i am doing any kind of shoveling. so... as i am falling apart at 20 (as my mom says) please pray that my body will hold out a few more weeks. :)

they want to be loved

2008-06-06T20:53:00.005-04:00

there are many children here at casa hogar and the littlest ones are the easiest to love. they just are. some of the 10-12 year olds that are more energetic and have fun and loud personalities are also easy to love because you see them all the time. there are some kids that dont get recognized though. most of those kids are the older crowd of boys, ages 12 and up. for whatever reason i just connected with some of those boys last summer. jorge calixto (13), jorge(14), jonathan(14), roberto(14), lalo(13), and omar(15)- they are great and unique and i love hanging out with them. a lot of times they will just come and sit by me and we don´t have to say anything... we can just sit there. we can have a conversatoin or not... they will just sit there. they need attentiona and recognition. yesterday lalo came out and showed me his sketch book... he is amazing! he smiled as i looked through it and asked questions and things like that. he wanted to be recognized. later my jorge (calixto) asked me to help him with his homework... of all things... math. (not my strong subject to say the least). but i helped him and then he explained to me things about his grade point average and how he needs certain grades for this and that. the kid is so smart and i told him so. he wanted recognition. that same day roberto gave me a paper to look at. i was confused but opened it and it had a 10 written on at the top! as i complemented him he just smiled. he wanted to show me his grades and be recognized. i love these kids and they need people to love on them and praise them for their accomplishments. as hard as it is to be here sometimes those are the moments i love... the ones that make the kids feel special, unique, and appreciated.

This week so far

2008-06-04T10:19:00.005-04:00

I had construction duty one day this week and most of the American teams struggle with two things. 1. They want to do cement- not moving tiles. Which I might add... those tiles have been moved a thousand times in the past 4 years. I know because Orangewood moved them at least three times a couple years ago. So, the team wants something more significant to do. Well, let me tell you, they don't know it but making and moving cement in Mexico is not that exciting, fun, and definitely not easy. 2. Americans want to give 120% the first day. They are running the tiles to the finish point. They have four more days or construction... take your time and don't kill yourself (is what I want to say). Americans want to be quick and efficient. Well, in Mexico, quick and efficient are not on top of the priority list. It will get done eventually and thats ok. The whole building isn't going to be up by the end of the summer. Moving on...
The kids.
Kevin (6 yrs) is a little boy that said absolutely nothing last year. Not a word. This year he is talking! Amazing. I was holding his hand as we were walking to craft the other day and he kept giving me kisses on my hand. :) He is a little softer around the edges this year too.
Gaudencio (7 yrs), bless his heart, had a rough day two days ago. Kevin decided to chuck a frisbee and poor Guadencio was staning about a foot away, in the line of fire. So, Guadencio gets hit and starts crying. I ran over and scooped him up and after he stopped crying he was happy to sit in my lap. Later I came up some stairs and he was crying again! And so I scooped him up and we just sat there and I held him. He likes to be held when he is hurt. Some of the younger ones don't.
I brought out sudoko again and Monse and I played. Then Uriel came up and saw what we were doing and made a comment. Uriel is 13 and he is an intelligent, quiet, independent boy. He is not one that really comes out and plays with the teams or hangs out with the inters. He has probably said a handful of words to me ever and he sat down and we started playing sudoku! Then Jorge Calixto came and went and it was still Uriel and I. So, when it was time to go to be I let him borrow the book. It is funny how something in common can bring two people together.
Well, today is my day off. So, I am resting and then it's back to work tomorrow.

I am here

2008-06-02T14:32:00.003-04:00

i arrived saturday with two other interns- beka and mandy. mandy has been here before for a year before. it was not the feeling of nervousness that i had last year coming. i didn´t have a fear of getting lost or not being able to speak any spanish. and myrtille (she does everything and is in charge of the interns), in her infanite wisdomm said that the interns did not have to do the walmart bus trip. every year the interns are dropped off at walmart and told to get back to casa hogar.... not exciting... so that is two years in a row that i didn´t have to do that! there is no one here long term- so it is just the summer interns. it feels kind of weird because aaron was here last year and was in charge. but at least mandy and i have been here before so we know what to do.
i got to casa hogar and it was funny to see how the kids greeted me. jorge calixto and chucho gave me hugs and smiles. lupe and blanca sat there while i hugged them. dani looked at me quizzically and then said - i remember you! roberto got back to casa hogar late that evening and just came smiling and gave me a big hug. then in came lalo and his brother, omar.... probably two of my most favorite people ever! i was so glad to see them and they were glad to see me.
so Sunday we went to church and we crammed... and i mean crammed in the bus. i think we had 50-60 people in a bus that sat 20 comfortably. on the way it was... do i dare say a pleasant ride? i got to sand up right by the window and i got a great breeze until we stopped. gama was smart and sat on top of the chair beside me so he could ge t the wind too. on the way to and from the beach big jorge made sure he saved me a seat and so i had to sit down. so what is some more sweat added to everything else?
i spent a lot of yesterday just observing. one of the little ones, andres, kept coming to me with a piece of fabric with something in it. he would tell me it was icecream or something and then squeal with delight when i opened it and was so surprised that it was a fruit seed. i also brought the sudoku out and liz sat on my lap while monse and i played.
wednesday i have my day off. mrytille said i could come to her house and wash close and spend the day there. so, i will probably be able to write tomorrow night or wendesday.

and so i am starting again

2008-03-26T17:18:00.003-04:00

Last summer I was able to live at Casa Hogar for two months and clean kness, wipe snotty noses, and love on children. This summer I am excited to be going back for a month. It is a long process of support raising, forms, and planning but it will be here quicker than I know it!
I have been to many countries and experienced many cultures but there is something about this tiny little orphange off of the main road in Acapulco, Mexico that I just can not explain. There is something that draws me there and makes me long to be there. There are precious faces that I love and adore and that love me back.
I was able to go to a children's home in Mississippi during my spring break and experience what an orphanage in the US was like. I was glad that I went but it just showed me how much I love Casa Hogar and the kids there. There is something about those kids, their stories, thier smiles, their personalities, that stick to me. I know some of their stories and despite the language barrier I could tell you their personalities, what they like, how they act around people. Do I know them completely? No. But I love them dearly and I don't think there is any place that will replace Casa Hogar in my heart.
I don't know how many more summers I will be able to do this but I will enjoy this one- the difficult days and the good ones.
The purpose of this blog is to let everyone back home know what I am doing and perhaps get a glimpse into my life there, the kids lives, and the culture of Casa Hogar.
So, this is for who ever to enjoy and comment on. But before you procede... know that I can not spell or put commas in the right spot! :]
Enjoy.

One last post

2007-08-05T15:21:00.000-04:00

I am home after two months of being away.
There are many things in my life that I will forever have a special place in my heart for. There are many things that have changed me and have affected me. Mexico, Casa Hogar, and it’s children are threads that have been interwoven into my life and memories. The many tears, smiles, snotty noses, bandaged knees, and faces will forever be with me. I hope and pray that I have been a blessing to the kids but more so they have been a blessing to me. They have loved me as I have loved them over these past two months. There is a story with every precious face and they have all touched me in some way. I have left Mexico and Casa Hogar but my heart remains there with the precious children that I have come to know and love over the past two months.
Thank you all for the constant prayers, words of encouragement, and love that I have received. You all were apart of allowing me to be there and be a light to those kids that needed it so desperately. I am home in the land of flushing toilets, constant water, and air conditioning! I already miss Acapulco. Will I be back next summer for a week, for two months, or not at all? I don’t know. I am willing to do whatever God has in store for me. But thank you all for being apart of this stage of my journey. Thank you!

2007-07-31T20:26:00.000-04:00

so orangewood is here. it is a great way to finish my stay here.
the other interns left today and so it is aaron and i. that is stressful during construction because we have 50 people asking what they can do and two people who know what they are doing. but thats ok. construction and kid time are going well.
since it is only me here with aaron this week i am going to be busy and so i am going to say that this will be my last blog while i am here.
once i get back i am hoping to post one more time to get my thoughts wrapped up. i hope to do that by next monday. i am also going to try and get a link posted so you all that have been reading will be able to look at pictures.
i want to say thank you for all of you that posted. you were an encouragement to me during difficult times (even if you didnt know) and your words were a blessing. you dont know how much that meant to me.
i leave acapulco this saturday and will be in orlando saturday night. i am planning to go to orangewoods later service. i will see you all soon!
pray for the group, myself, and aaron these last few days.

airport trip number????

2007-07-26T19:59:00.000-04:00

so today i made a nice little trip to the airport. yes, the airport. one of the team members bags didnt make it here but it arrived today. he needed to pick it up by 5.00 and it was 4.00. as we are scrambling to leave, get money, get flight info, i.d.s, etc. i am trying to make sure everything is in order and praying that i will be able to do this. the people at the airport speak english. thats not what i am worried about... its 4.00 and it takes an hour to get to the airport. we are cutting it close. as we are riding in our little vw taxi i am willing it to go faster so we can get there in time. and do you know what? we get there at 4.57. yes, three minutes to spare. but as i walk into the airport (we need to go to delta) all of the check in desks are empty. not good. but as i keep walking i smile because the only desk ocupied is yes, delta. God has a sense of humor and i said thank you as i walked up to the woman to inquire about the luggage. she points us to a white door off the the side (where the delta offices are) and we head towards it. its an unofficial looking door and as i push it open the door creaks and leads into a dark corridor. thats it we are going to die (is what i am thinking). but never fear, we were ok and got the luggage. we were in and out of the airport in 15 minutes. we get one of the few taxi drivers left (he was driving a status) and head for home. we hit traffic and i thought i just might melt in the heat. i was preferring the vw bug taxis over this stratus. you might be cramped in the bug but you definitely get more air. so, twoish hours later we are back at casa hogar and i am starving. i need to get some food.

its almost a week left and i am feeling good. i am not tired, sick, or eager to leave. which are all an answer to prayers.
pray for me to finish the week strong and pray for the massive group orangewood is bringing.
see you all in a couple of days!!!!

(i am coming back on the 4 of august)

glitter... seriously???

2007-07-23T21:30:00.000-04:00

so the craft today with the older kids was decorating plastic flower pots. that all fun and good until the glitter comes out. let me just tell you that i walked out of crafts today with glitter from head to toe. (literally)
it seams like in the past week we have had a influx of children come through the kitchen wanting band aides. there is something about band aides that just make everything better. well, euclides hurt himself the other night and so i picked him up and carried him to the kitchen. after getting him fixed up (ice, band aides, etc) i carried him back out and he was happy to sit and put ice on his knee. although, i think most of the ice ended up in his mouth. i think that mostly he just wanted to be taken care of which i was happy to do.
i think lupe and some of the other kids have telling me daily that orangewood is almost here (sometimes more than once a day). they are excited.
i am feeling better this week. last week i was emotionally drained but this week i am better and feeling refreshed. thank you for all of your prayers.

2007-07-20T15:05:00.000-04:00

so before everything else... the most important part and the saddest day of my life... HARRY POTTER COMES OUT TOM.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I WONT BE THERE!!!! sad day. haha. ok... had to get that out of my system.

so we can not buy nyquil here.... so orangewood, if you can, please bring it. i have been asked twice to bring it. so, i think it is needed.

i am feeling better but now i have allergies... yes! so my nose is running and i am sneazing lots. but i dont feel bad.

as i reflect on my time here i cant believe that i have been here for two months. orangewood comes in a week. i cant believe it. when you are here for two months you see casa hogar and the kids in a different light. they are still precious to me but you deffinitely see the good and the bad.
for example, the other day, geovani had an ant nest in his hands (which still had ants in it) and he ran down the corridor with the interns rooms (which he is not allowed to be in) and threw the ant nest into our common room. i think he picked the only door that was open (which happend to be ours) and chucked the nest into it. good... ants were everywhere and he thought it was the funniest thing. i on the other hand did not and i was quite mad at him.
the teams that are here for a week see the cute, sweet (most of the time), kids that live here. living with them for two months revelas a lot more. :)but i still love then even when they drive me crazy.

orangewood! see you all in a week!!! as i am sitting here, osvaldo just asked me when my group is coming. haha. :)

emily rush. i have a christmas present for you from olimar and lupe. lauren forgot to get it to you. remind me to give it to you when yuo get here.

let it rain!

2007-07-17T20:12:00.001-04:00

it rained last night and all of today.... which means wonderfully cool weather!! i love it! the kids are wearing pants and sweaters. which i think is hysterical. its not that cold.
although i love the rain it comes with some difficulties...i got soaked running around trying to find cooking pots for cliseria today. (i have kitchen duty this week) and the soccer "field" the kids play on is under a foot of water. the kids are restless because they have been inside all day.
i feel better today! thank you for the prayers! although, i have been tired this week... emotionally and physically.
nothing new this week... just more hanging out and loving on kids.

... so no one here will see harry potter with me... someone needs to go with me when you all come orangewood! please! :)
and could someone buy a knife sharpener... i was literally sawing the pinapple today with the knife i was using. .. it could use sharpening.

2007-07-15T18:45:00.001-04:00

a lot of the kids here are dropped off because their parent(s) are not able to care for them for various reasons. most of the kids are not orphans as they do have family. some have sader stories than others. but they are all a big family. the older ones help with the younger.
it was funny to see everyone together last week. the team that was here (the camping team) watched the discovery channel planet earth series with the kids at night. the show was projected onto a projector and we all sat on the floor and watched. well, we didnt exactly sit... we all ended up laying on each other. there would be a group of 10 boys, from the ages of 7 to 17, and they would all be laying on and next to each other. i would just laugh becuase that is not apart of the american culture.that is part of this culture that i love. it is so relational.

Christian left casa hogar and went back to the streets again. pray for that situation.

i do not know why the two new girls were dropped off. they are 5 and the other looks 7 or 8. maggie and jen... that means more undewear! :)

spanish is still frustrating but i want to go back and learn. pray that i will be able to learn when i get back through what ever means God has in mind.

right now i am a little sick. i think it is mostly that i am tired from working for the past two months. pray that i will finish my last two weeks strong.

2007-07-14T16:33:00.001-04:00

so today i went to the airport to pick up emilys team. i rode with myrtille on the way back to casa hogar and we had a nice little chat. we stopped on the way back to get the dinner for tonight and she parked her car funny. on her way out of the car she says to me, you know how to drive, right? if a policeman comes then just move the car. WHAT?! i have never prayed so hard in my life. haha. no, just kidding.

we had two new girls dropped off yesterday. they are shy but very sweet.

the water came back on this morning! yay! we have water.

well, i have nothing exciting to say other than the water is on.

hey orangewood! bring pictures from last year if you have them. the kids love getting pictures. see you in two weeks!!!

camping

2007-07-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

so, a team that comes for two weeks takes the older kids campinng the second week they are here. i was invited to come along but what does camping really mean here in acapulco i wondered?? well, turns out that it wasnt as bad as i thought. dont get me wrong, i love camping... the tent, the dirtyness, etc. but i was curious as to how this was to take place. well, the team rented a small house for the two days that had a pool and covered area. not too bad. :) we played games, swam in the pool, hung out. it was very relaxing and i really enjoyed it. i did get my share of being thrown into the pool though. it rained the second morning so that meant it was a wonderfully cool morning! we were all exhausted coming home and (i might add) crammed into the casa hogar bus. jorge fell alseep on me and i was happy to use his head for a pillow.
today was the last day of construction for me! woohoo! myrtille (our boss) asked emily and i to go to the grocery store for her today. so now we are waiting for her to come and pick us up. i have not gone yet... but i have a feeling that this trip will be interesting!
oh, before i forget... let me explain to you the phenomenon of the acapulco water system. its not reliable. so, this means that the city water will be shut off randomly for who knows how long. well, the water has been off for three days now. casa hogar has reserve tanks for the americans but we are down to the last ones. the kids have no water and we might not either before long! so i am praying that the water will come back on!!! :)

ronda and kelly it is good to hear from you! it is an encouragement to me that you all are reading and posting something! thank you.

2007-07-10T19:47:00.000-04:00

yesterday i woke up really tired and didnt want to get out of bed. construction is tiring. it also seemed like i was constantly being hit by every kid here and that gets annoying and tiring. at one point during the day jorge trapted me and another person inside a storage closet and i believe my exact words to him (in english) were, jorge, when i get out of here, i am going to destroy you. if i could have made some kids disappear yesterday i would have done it gladly. :)
today i have not been hit (well, maybe occasionally) and i woke up feeling refreshed. one of the teams here is taking the older kids camping and i was invited to come along. so, tom. and thursday should be an interesting event. i am curious as to what exactly camping is here. i understand that the girls have cabins and ac! woohooo!
the time has flown by as i remember back to when i first got here. after being here for a little over a month i am feeling more and more at home. i dont know if i can exactly put it in words. i feel content. i am happy to be here. i love loving on the kids. they have returned that love. i am not anxious or looking forward to leaving, but yes, i am coming back. :)

pamela and sarah, i love hearing from both of you! it means a lot to me that you are reading and that you posted something! thank you.

2007-07-08T19:58:00.000-04:00

So, Thursday I went to the grocery store with Myrtille. This proved quite interesting because it takes me a while to find the little bit of groceries that I need when I go. So we go and she hands me a list. Now, not only is this list in Spanish, it is also a page long. I thought, oh, dear, please do not send me off in this store and tell me to find all of these items. It will take me three hours to get back to the registers. Thankfully, though, all I had to do was follow her through the store and grab whatever she grabbed. I could handle that. When we got to the register I was preoccupied with putting my massive truck load of groceries onto the counter. The bagging girl came up the me and assuming, incorrectly I might add, that I spoke Spanish, asked me something. I was not prepared or paying attention, so I did what I always do in those situations... just smiled and say yes. Well, it worked because she accepted me answer and did something about it. As I got to thinking I thought, oh, no, what did I answer yes to. Whatever it was, it was not that important because we got the groceries and headed back to Casa Hogar. What an adventure that was.
THose are the times when I am out of my comfort zone. If I don't know what the kids are saying to me I can usually get the idea of it or ask someone. And they are kids... who cares if I can't speak perfect Spanish to them. Half of them can't spell any way so they don't care how I speak. Adults are the ones that I get nervous around. Especially when I am at a store and they don't know that they sound like they are talking 300 miles an hour at me. If I told them, I don't understand, talk to me slower (like I do to the kids) I would definitely sound like an idiot. And I prefer not to do that. This tactic is not always good because I just slide into the, I am comfortable with English and so I am not going to try and speak to you in your native language. THats a good attitude. :) The last two weeks I have not been as discouraged with my Spanish. But keep praying for that!
We went to the beach today with the kids and the teams,like we always do on SUndays. I was asked to sit in the back with some of the younger boys. Which I grudgingly did because the seat I was sitting in had 0 , and I mean 0, wind flow. But that is ok... they wanted me to sit with them and I did. So, we got off the bus and had to cross the street to get to the beach. I grabbed Gaudencio and his brother, Lizandro's, hands and off we go across the street. I was finally coerced into getting into the water and had a great time jumping the waves with Jazmin and Rossy. When it was time to go I had to help the now soaking wet and very sandy Gaudencio and Lizandro collect all of their belongings. With shoes, shirts, socks, and newly acquired sea animals in hand we are off to cross the road again. I asked Lizandro to give me his hand and he did so with great pleasure after rearranging his belongings all into one hand to accommodate me. Gaudencio could not quite put everything into one hand to he was satisfied with giving me his arm. We all ran across the street and got into the bus. Many sticky and wet Mexicans an Americans all get into the bus. Osvaldo was sitting to my left and Gaudencio ended up on my lap and Lizandro to my right. So, that was my day today. Nothing too exciting but more loving on kids.

Maggie and Jen- i think the little boys (4-6 yrs) wear briefs. i think the older boys prefer boxers. But I really don't think it matters. Whatever you think is better.

2007-07-07T17:46:00.000-04:00

since rebecca and laurens last day was thursday we went out to eat with myrtille on tuesday. all of the girls plus aaron got into aarons car. which made a grand total of seven very hot and sticky people in the back of aarons vw bug. so, all the showers and getting ready for the restaurant went out the window. but it was also the day after the fourth of july and so we all sang every patriotic song we could think of on the way. what a site that was.
so, it is friday and rebecca and lauren are gone. so that means its just the interns and aaron. we have two teams here this week.
last night it rained and when i stepped outside this morning to walk to the kitchen i actually said , wow, its cool out this morning! amazing! but whatever was left over from the rain is gone and it is back to very hot. when i leave the weather will be the only this that i dont miss. :)
this morning i am sitting in the kitchen and all of a sudden i hear, raquelita! raquelita! so i got up and headed for the little voice calling my name. gama was waiting at the top of the stairs for me and informed me that he and lupe wanted to paly uno. so out come the uno cards and off i go to play yet again, more uno. my cards are about to wear out but thats ok!
i have construction duty next week....yes! not. it will be more cement, bricks, and dirt. i take back the weather comment... its not the only thing i will miss. i wont miss construction either. :)

patti. i dont know how scrub sizes are. the ones i have are cheapo ones from walmart and i think they are just a medium. i wear a size 8 in pants though. i dont know if that helps. and do you have mrs. vandergriffs email address??

2007-07-05T18:00:00.000-04:00

yesterday i got to go out with the team. we went to the market, out to eat, and later to the cliff divers. i sat out the cliff divers as i have seen them too many times already.
today i got to play with the kids again. i gave my uno cards to a kid while i had to go do something and i came back to quite a funny site. angel (who is not quite there all the time), alfonso (6), eli (5), kevin (5), gaudencio (6), and one other little one (i cant remember) were all sitting on the floor playing uno. which is a funny site because none of them quite know how to play, kevin doesnt talk, and alfonso is giving direcitons. what a great site. you gotta give it to them, they were trying.
i was later flagged down by geovani two different times because he wanted to play with me. so, i am playing lots and lots and lots of uno! :)
we had another little boy dropped off yesterday. he is 6 and has 3 other siblings here. roberto, olimar, and marbella are his siblings. he looks just like roberto! he is very shy so far and i have not gotten a chance to talk with him.
the boy that was dropped off the other week, alejandro, is doing so much better! if you remember, i said he was having a hard time adjusting. i am so surprised at how calm he is now and how much he smiles. that is good to see him doing better. i was worried for a bit about him.

mrs houck. if you send money i would be happy to go to walmart and get things. you can send a list and i can buy stuff off the list or you can send no list. i did not know about kristina! that is so exciting! i got goose bumps reading your post!
jen and maggie. if the coloring books are stupid then i would say paper and coloring stuff would be great. underwear for the boys and girls is great. i would assumer that all ages would be welcomed. the littlest ones tend to not have as much because there are rarely so many little ones here. we have 2 four year old boys, 3 six year old boys, and one 6 year old girl. but the girl, liz, is very tiny for her age, so keep that in mind.
debbie. i have collected some ideas for the vbs thing you all will be doing. i am calling my family on sunday and i will relay that information to my mother and i will tell her to pass it on to you.

oh, and if anyone wants to bring an extra pair of scrubs down for me that would be great! i have been wearing the same ones all week and they get really nasty. dont worry if it is too much though. i can def. get by with the pair i have.

more things to bring

2007-07-04T15:14:00.000-04:00

i have only asked aaron about what to bring. i need to ask lauren. i am still figuring out what the vbs topics for the kids. i will let you know hopefully by the end of the week.

rechargeable batteries. aa or aaa. angel has a radio that he always carries around and the batteries have disappeared.
NyQuil. lots of it is welcome i am told.
martin would like a spanish concordance
used soccer cleats are always welcome. some of the boys are on soccer teams here.

2007-07-03T12:43:00.000-04:00

this week i get to play with the kids! an extremely hard job... just kidding. but def. my favorite job.
i think i am going to play uno until my brains fall out. the kids love to play and my cards are very worn out but i play with them anyway. that is all i have done all day today.
anyhow, while i was playing uno today i observed gaudencio trying to catch flies. this kid is about 6 and for the life of him he cant sit through a vbs lesion or sit through a prayer without squirming but he has a patience of a saint when it comes to catching flies. very carefully and with complete concentration he creeps around on all fours with a plastic cup. once he spots a fly he very carefully sneaks up on it and slowly, very slowly, places the cup over the unsuspecting fly. he pinches the cup with his fingers and goes to capture more, in the same cup. what a funny site that was.

osvaldo mentioned today that he would like a spanish-english dictionary. he sat me down the other day and asked me to teach him english. which was quite interesting as communicating in spanish still has its difficulties. but i wrote him out a list to look over anyway. i also asked him if he would like a spanish-englsih bible and he said yes. so, if anyone would like to purchase those two things for him he would be so happy. as i am thinking about it, if there are any cheap, easy, beginner books to help him learn english, he would love that too.

speaking of gaudencio up there i remembered something. the kids, interns, and new team went to the beach on sunday. gaudencio must have forgotten his bathing suit because i saw him running around in his underware, which were at least 10 sizes too big. i watched as the hours went on the sand filled his underwear and he was having quite a time keeping them on. his brother, lizandro, was running around in shorts that were 5 sizes too big and were made smaller in the back with a rubber band. they later took off his shorts and he had the same underwear issues. although, it was quite comical, i think normal fitting underwear would be very nice for these boys. so, all that said, owood, please bring some underwear for a 4 year old and 6 year old boy. although they dont wear underwear frequently, when they do it will be much appreciated. :)
the girls love to draw... so coloring books, markers, crayons, pads of paper would be great for them.
i am still keeping my ears open for things the kids need.

emily and addi- i am very glad you wrote! i love hearing from you! if you see any other good movies tell me. :)

2007-07-02T13:53:00.000-04:00

well, today the some of the boys graduated from middle school (?? i think that is the equivalent here.)and all of the interns got to go to graduation. this was all decided the night before... which meant that we all had to get one kid a gift, make a card, wrap the gift, ect. i chose to get osiel a soccer ball and ball pump (he is forever asking for both and he is my halo buddy) i then searched our kitchen for anything suitable to make cards/wrap gifts and i found construction paper and trash bags. well, it is all we had so it had to work. osiel ended up getting a soccer ball in a trash bag and and air pump wrapped in construction paper. despite the ugly appearance he opened the gift at graduation and the biggest smile broke across his face. we all ate breakfast afterwards and once he was done the soccer ball was immediately out, pumped up, and kicked around. i love that these kids could be celebrated and recognized for their achievements by us today.

i will have to get back to you on what i am learning. i dont want to just half heartedly answer the question.

berry family- i am so glad to hear from you. i was smiling as i read all of your notes. addi, i cant believe you are going to be 13! i have watched you mature and grow into such a beautiful young woman over these past 3 years! i am sure you will have a wonderful birthday! i wish i could give you all hugs and kisses... but i will just have to wait until i get back! :)

patti and kim... you can send cat pee gum with the owood group. that would be wonderful. and you can always send me reeses... we cant buy them here. :) if there are any good books that either of you have i would love a book. i am reading a lot down here and i am running out of book to read. but honestly, i can not think of anything off the top of my head that i need. if this is not sufficient surprise me! or ask some of the people coming maybe .??
i only say this because i was laughing when emily made a comment about me playing video games. with in that same comment she said that next time i should get an anime movie and watch it and i laughed as i read it. i laughed because she does know what i like. :) but i dont know, really
for the kids. soccer balls and pumps are always welcome. the girls love making jewelry. so, things like string, beads, wire, etc would be great. the kids love card games, board games, puzzles, anything of that nature. i will ask for anything specific but that is what i can come up with on the top of my head.

2007-06-30T18:22:00.000-04:00

i found out how to change to language on this blog.... so that means i can use spell check! lucky for all of you... half way into my stay i figure it out. oh, it makes me laugh.
since i have been coming to acapulco for so many years i have some great and memorable taxi stories. seriously, great taxi stories. anyhow, we were riding in a taxi the other day and it made me laugh because we were riding in a new taxi. i knew this because not only was the interior was new, clean, and completely intact, but the taxi got up my hill (mountain) without sounding like it would implode. most importantly though is that the speedometer worked... funny, but true. anyway, i thought it was funny.
i had construction duty this week and some of the older boys have been helping out. which is funny because this was an opportunity i got to know them in a different setting without all the little kids around. well, jonathan was one of them helping and on friday he and i had cement wars. needless to say, i have a nice new layer of cement on top of my left shoe.
patti... i will answer your question and explain the great wonders of doing construcion. we were scrubs because we are required to wear pants and goodness knows that i would keel over and die if i was wearing normal pants out in this heat. well, i only have one pair of scrubs... so that means one pair of scrubs for four days of constructions from 8am-12.30pm. which equals lots of smelling and overall grossness. good thing i really dont care. :) i do take a shower afterwards though... for my sake and everyone elses. :)
during the morning part of the day on friday, the team was asked to de-weed/clean up/remove debris/ remove dirt/ etc from a patch of buried side walk out side of casa hogar. and let me tell you that some of these kids needed dawn bradley for a mother when they were younger because for the life of them they did not know how to pull a weed out a the ground. they need to come to my house for a summer and spend it with my mother... they will know exactly how to pull all kinds of weeds. that story was for you michelle. :)
well, i don't have any more stories that i can think of. i guess it has been a quite week. i dropped off my laundry at the place across the street... i am taking a chance that it will be washed this time. it was this place or lug it down the hill and quite frankly i will take the chance of it not being washed again before i lug it down and back up the hill.
i cant believe i have been here for a month. it has flown by. i am happy to be here the kids and i are both excited for orangewood to come. they ask me every couple of days when orangewood is coming and who is going to be in the group coming.
bradley family, have fun in nice cool michigan with the holzhauers. eat lots of cherries for me. :)

2007-06-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

I am on Emily's computer so it has normal buttons! You know what this means?! I can capitalize things! So exciting. :)

Yesterday Osvaldo and Eder came into our kitchen because Osvaldo hurt his foot in the courtyard. Eder was not hurt but came wanting to dress the wounds. It was interesting, as Osvaldo sat down in a chair I knew he didn't want Eder to fix his foot. So, I sat down in the chair opposite and propt Osvaldo's foot onto my lap. I smiled as the little spot on his foot was still a little bloody but it was something that could have been ingnored. But I could tell Osvaldo wanted to be taken care of and it was a moment that I could say with my actions, Osvaldo, you are important to me and I am going to love on you by fixing this little cut on your foot. So I took great care in washing off the dirt on this foot that had not been wearing shoes all day and carefully cleaning it with peroxide and all that good stuff. When I was done and put a bandaide on it just smiled and said thank you. It was important to him and so it was important to me that a moment was taken to show him that he is special and cared for.
Today is my day off and so Emily, Julia, Rachel, and I decided to go to Starbucks and sit in the A/C and get a fracppuccino. I just smiled as we were leaving Casa Hogar there was a flurry of, Raquel, Raquelita, Raquelito, and a few other nicknames I have aquired. I am very content being here with the kids and loving on them and having them love on me in return. It is a blessing and a joy.

Jen- So far the teams have not have any craft things for the kids. I am thinking of string, beads, hemp,ect. Things that can be pulled out during the day so bracelets and such can be made. Def. bring some of that kind of stuff down. The girls love it but so do the boys. Right now that is all I can think of. But I am keeping my eyes and ears open for you.
Debbie- I have been asking about messages the kids need. I am still gathering info. but I am so glad you asked. I will let you know when I have a more complete list.

lizzards... or iguanas. same thing.

2007-06-25T20:50:00.000-04:00

so, as some of you know, i am terrified to the core of my being of lizzards. yes, it is true. mrs. landrum knows first hand... there was an incident in ap english with a very LARGE lizzard and an open window. well, there are two variations of lizzards here. one is iguanas and the other is geccos. there is a gecco that has taken up residence in my room and i am waiting for it to fall onto me at night. although, i have not seen it in a while and i am hoping that means it is dead or gone. either would be great. well, last friday the kids found three baby iguanas. now the problem here was that i could react to these iguanas becuase if i did i would be terrorized by them for the rest of the night. it took every fiber of my being not to run for my life. :)
it is interesting to see which kids the teams interact with. it is usually the younger ones that are outgoing and friendly. it seems like once the boys get to a certain age they fall through the cracks. but they long for a hug, someone to talk to, and attention. some of the older girls are like that too.
two of those older boys helped with construction today. jonathan (14ish) and josue (15ish) we joked around and had fun but it was amazing to me how they just lit up and were so happy to be helping. they were smiling and laughing and having a good time with me. they just wanted to be noticed and enjoyed, just like everyone else. i know i have written something already like this but it has been weighing on my heart. it frustrates me that some of the teams do not see the older boys. so, orangewood, you now know... i am asking that when you come dont attach yourself only to one cute little kid. reach out and get to know some of the older ones, especially the older guys. they are just as much fun and need you just as much.
pray for the newest boy that was dropped off last friday. his name is alejandro and my guess is that he is 12ish. he is having a hard time adjusting. and bless his heart, i dont think he realizes that i have no idea what his is saying when he talks to me. he speaks 300 miles an hour and just talks his little heart out. but i just dont have a clue what he is saying. thats ok... if he wants to talk to me then i will look like i am understanding and give him my full attention. :)
i am still struggling through the language! aaaahhhhh.

how many americans can you fit in a bus

2007-06-24T16:40:00.000-04:00

today is sunday it is means a new team is here. it also means going to church which is always a bit awkward.
this morning we loaded all 17 groups members plus lauren, myself, hermano david, and his wife, laura, into one of the casa hogar buses. let me just tell you that it was not a comfortable fit, but we were all in. it was like when we, as americans, see 300 mexicans pile out of a car in the states... except we were americans in a van in mexico. it was great fun.
church is always interesting for a few reasons. i dont speak spanish and so i can have no real conversations with memebers of the church. and the only thing that is translated during the service is the sermon. so when we are praying i have no idea. it doesnt help though that the man up front praying is looking around while doing so and so are half of the members of the church. then i feel stupid when i figure out what is going on (if i figure it out)becuase i have no idea. at least there is ac in the church. and there is a woman that comes when church is out and sells the best little frozen ice/ice cream things. so good.
i have no new stories that i can tell. there was a new boy dropped off here on friday and he was having a very hard time adjusting.
there is one boy who just had surgery on his leg (jesus) and he is on bed rest. but every day we have an understanding. when i walk by in the mornings he always yells, raquel! how are you?! and that is my cue to come over and talk to him. i ask him how he is doing and what he did today. then he will ask me the same questions. i look forward to our daily little chat. :)
i have construction duty this coming week. so pray that i will have rest and strength!
as i am sitting here on the computer mexico is play the us in soccer. there are many screams coming from one of the rooms... are they bad or good screams? i am about to go and find out!

i dont have a title for this

2007-06-21T15:20:00.000-04:00

it is amazing the different relationships that are formed during a longer period stay. most of the teams come through and get really attached to the little/younger kids. which is understandable... who doesnt love a snotty little boy that wants to sit in your lap or a little girl that will grab your hand and lead you off somewhere. over the past few weeks i have gotten to know some of the older ones here-edi, martin, jesus, omar, martha, angel and they are totally different relationships, but in a good way. (it especially helps that edi and martin speak english) it is a sad that some teams do not take the opportunity form those realtionships.
a funny thing is, i immediately notice the langauge difference in these realtionships. edi and martin speak english. so, if i dont understand what they are saying in spanish (after i have told them to speak slowly) they will tell me in english. i laughed at one of the little girls the other day. i didnt understand what she was saying and i told her so to talk slower. she did and i still did not understand. so, her solution was to just speak it louder to me, thinking that it would fix the lanuage barrier. oh, how i laughed.
but whatever the age of these kids, they want you to notice them, to talk to them, to love on them. i was asking euclides, one of the younger boys, the other day if he remembered andrew. as soon as i said the name andres his face lit up in the biggest smile and he was so excited to know that andrew was coming back. the kids will take out notes that they have had for forever and read them over and over again. things like notes, letters, and coming back mean so much to them. things that we get often and take for granted... at least i do.
i was talking with the other interns and aaron this week about the kids and their stories. most of the kids here are not orphans, they have families, and for whatever reason they are not wanted. my heart breaks for them knowing that they are not loved by the few people on earth, their family, that are supposed to love them no matter what. they are here, living with a ton of other kids that are not wanted. i can not imagine what that feeling is like and it makes my heart ache for them. but that is the result of a fallen world.
whatever the story or the age they are here and i have an amazing opportunity to love on them but to ultimately show them christs love. he is using me despite my own fallen and sinful nature. good thing i cant do it on my own. :)

yesterday emily and i took our laundry to the place down the hill... yes, we had to do it. the place accross the street is not open and quite frankly i dont want to take me laundry back there. (you can read about what happend to it last time somewhere down below) and when i say down the hill, i mean down the hill... this place is almost at the bottom. and when i say hill, i mean more of a decently steaped climb upward for a quarter of a mile. so i get to pick it up today and carry it up the hill to casa hogar. i am so not looking forward to it. and i use the term carry loosely... it might be dragging behind me at some point. :)

more little boys and thoughts

2007-06-19T14:54:00.000-04:00

i have more stories. i hope you all are not bored of them.
during singing time with the team, dani, who is 6, randomly wanted to sit in my lap. and i was very happy to let him. later, while playing a game, he hurt his toe and was doing his best not to cry but was not succeeding. aaron took him to our kitchen and i followed. i came in and he was sobbing in the chair with his foot in a chair in front of him. no little kid wants to be by himself when he is crying and in pain so i picked him up and set him in my lap. after calming down and gettting his toe fixed he put on tenis shoes and was back to playing. i laughed as i thought... these kids know i am here to love on them and they are willing to take that love i can give them, despite all of the new teams that come in. like patti said.
later i went upstairs and played uno with the girls.

we just got a new fan yesterday.yay. you would think that it would be easy to put together with picture instructions that a five year old could read. whoever designed the fan did not have easy assembly in mind. however, it is together (for the most part) and working.
before we had the fan though i was laying in my bed, in puddle of my sweat, and thinking. i dont know what two months will mean in the end for me. is this the start of something long term for me or will it be these two months and then one week in the summers afterwards. i dont fell a calling to be here now, i need to finish school. but i dont know what the future will hold. just thinking.

michelle and david... i hope you are eating lots of breakfast and cake for me in alabama!!

water guns and bubble gum... not a good idea

2007-06-18T14:26:00.000-04:00

what team thought that it was a good idea to give little boys water balloons and water guns?? obviously a team that did not stay and see them put to use. getting squirted constantly with warm water is not my idea of fun.
well, it is a new week. this me3ans two new teams and new duties for me! this week i get to help cliseria cook for the teams. and i am not complaining! food is good in my book. especially cliserias food.
last night some of the younger boys decided to congregate around julia and myself. we are all trying to talk to each other, which is funny in and of itself, and here comes lizandro. he needs a place to hide for hide and seek. so we hide hime under a pile of dirty scrubs and he is very happy to let up cover him up. for hiding spot number two we hide him in the garbage can. nice, typical little boy. i love it.
then, later that night, the interns got bored while sitting in the kitchen and somewhere along the line someone got out half a bag of gum balls. so we start chewing and making a gum wad. i dont know how many calories we consumed and or how much sugar. it was funny until the pile started leaking spit onto the table. we then decided it was time to throw it away. all the while are are listening to music and talking to edi. sometimes i think he just laughs and finds it all very amusing.
almost forgot! nicole and brittany... i found fred in our old room. fred was the fan my mother bought last year and we all decided to name it. dont ask. i was so excited to have a fan (i stole it from the one of the team rooms)i brought it down stairs to my room and rigged it up with an extension cord so it would work. so to cut the story i had a nice fan for two days and it now decided to die on me and it quit. great. no fan. myrtille said she would buy another one for us though.

i cant believe that this is week three! i have mixed emotions when a new team comes because the kids all want to be with them and i dont want to be forgotten. which is stupid on my part because the world does not revolve around me and the kids are not mine! but really that is an unrealistic fear because the kids still want to be with me. i did want to killl the few boys that had to water gun the other day though. our shared kitchen drives me crazy for various reasons. i just have to keep telling myself that it is ok, i need to let it go. all in all i am good though. i really love the girls i am here with and the people that i am working with. i am still struggling through the language though.

a birthday part for three

2007-06-16T15:58:00.000-04:00

so last night the 4 interns and aaron celebrated the three little boys who had birthdays this month. they were gama, roberto, and uriel. gama is the youngest but is a very sweet boy with such a big smile. roberto is a character and if you catch him in the right mood he will do some nice faces and voices for you. uriel appears silent but gives a ready smile and laugh at any moment.
the interns got ready for the party by waging war against the kitchen and its dirtiness. the constant army of ants, dirt, and stickyness had to be removed in order for us to eat around our table with the boys.
once everything was clean and it was time aaron ordered el pastor tacos ( my favorite) and all of us sat down and ate. i will not tell you how many little tortillas i ate. :) michelle, i know you are laughing.
then the plan was to play video games. i can so do this. so, uriel took a controler, looked at me, and off we went to the xbox. he did have to ask twice.
gama, who has never played halo before, was on my team. and i must say that once he got the hang of driving the car we were very good at taking everyone out. needless to say gama and i won. but there was a lot of: gama, gama! no! no! it is me! dont shoot! i am on you team! no, gama, no! gama, we are blue! where are you raquel? i dont see you? is that you? yes, gama it is me, i am here. turn around.
so the little boys had to leave at 10.00 and in comes edi (older edi for those of you that know). now edi, aaron, and i are playing. now it gets interesting. there was a lot of edi shouting: run, run, run for your life! and this went on until 12.30 and we were all tired and hungry and went to bed.
yes, i will admit, i am a nerd. yes, i like video games. but hey, el pastor tacos and video games. those are two thing i can do! :)
yesterday was quite an exicting night here.
and today i had to mop the kitchen again because the boys decided to throw cake at everyone and there were ants in the kitchen again. i dont think they will ever leave so they can just take up residence. the ants and the flies. nice.

a quite week

2007-06-14T11:10:00.000-04:00

this week has been slow and quite with no team here. i really have been enjoying it.
there was a problem yesterday though. there are these golf ball sized seads that continuously fall out of the trees at casa hogar and they quickly become moving projectiles... which is quite painful (i know from experience) so yesterday started out with the kids chucking these small seads at each other and it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. well, it so happend that one of the new boys got hit in the mouth. i think his name is lizandro. although he was asking for it, he got his and instantly started crying. so i got up, picked him up, and sat down on the steps with him. as i rocked him in my arms he is crying and limp against me. after a while he starts to sniffle and the snot and spit merge together and dripp down his face onto his shirt. at this point, monse, who is now sitting next to me, start to laugh. i start to laugh. he starts to laugh. after sitting in my lap for a little long he is back up on his feet and goes off to dig worms with two other of the little boys. i laughed as i thought of two things yesterday. 1. love is a universale language. all lizandro needed was a lap and a hug. 2. little boys are the same every where... get hurt, cry, get over it quickly. he later came and found me and showed me his worm.
how i love kids and their funny moments.

mom, the blues shoes are now on emilio s feet. i believe they are the same ones.
emily... the kids did get your christmas gifts. and when you come down here for you two months i think lupe and most of the other kids will cry of happiness. you are greatly loved down here by many of the kids. as far as i know, marisol is living with an aunt. i havent seen her but i am told that she comes and visits sometimes.
mrs. houck... i have an address for you. one of the interns parents are coming june 23 and can bring me a package. my mom can figure out what style of camera i have but i guess i could figure it out. i dont know if it says on the camera or i can find it online. my email should be somewhere on the blog. parvusagnus@yahoo.com

success!!

2007-06-12T19:31:00.000-04:00

well, i am down the street using the internet because casa hogars internet isnt working.
so the interns did not have to do the hint hunt when we first arrived but aaron was bent on us doing something. so we created out own. the four of us boarded a bus yesterday. i like the buses... they dont requiire talking. we almost missed our stop for walmart. as we frantically look us and see walmart almost passing us by as we are say oh, theres walmart, our bus driver was nice enough to make a quick stop and let us out. then, julia and i walked to startbucks to meet someone. nice cool, airconditioned, comfortable seats, starbucks. the other girls took the bus to the mall. now came the big test for julia and i . after starbucks we had to take a taxi. and since neither of us really feel comfortable speaking this was going to be interesting. we got a cab, gave directions (yes, rachel did give directions, thank you) and WE GOT TO CASA HOGAR!!! yayyyyyy. praise the lord.
you have to understand two things about acapulco/the spanish language that i love. 1. there is one major road in acapulco and anything we and everywhere we need to go is on that road. this means wonderful things for me. getting lost is not as likely.
2. spanish is spelled the way is sounds... why cant all lanugages be this way.
anyway, i am enjoying talking to the older kids, especially jesus and lupe. (his name isnt pronounced jesus and there is supposed to be an accent over the u but i dont know how do do that on this computer) lupe and jesus understand that if they speak slowly and use words that i understand we can have a conversation. most of it is them talking but thats ok. i understand. speaking is my problem.
i have been dogged by the kids to play uno today. emilio is a wicked little player. he cracks me up as he enjoys watching me draw more and more cards and then when i finally get rid of them he relishes in the fact that most of the time he beats me to saying to word uno... and i draw more cards.
two boys were dropped off yesterday. i dont know all of their story but i understand that they lived in the states and were sent back to mexico. i guess their family couldnt take care of them or didnt want them. sadly, this is the case for most of the kids here. but it breaks my heart to know that they are not wanted and all of a sudden they are thrown into this different environment and are expected to be ok. they are shy and keep to themselves but hopefully they will come out of their shell as they are here longer and realize the people here love them. and who knows how you say their names. i have aksed three people and no one knows. .. haha.
during the last two days i have had a peace about being here for two months. it is a blessing. i am glad there is no team this weeks because that means a slower pace and more time with kids.
kim houck you are going to make me cry. contact my mom about what kind of camera i have and what style. it is best that i dont buy a camera here because they are really expensive and the walmart by use doesnt even have cameras. i will get contact info for the team coming in two weeks so something can be sent to them.

oh, and i did my laundry at casa hogar. well, let me say that i washed my laundry and then my rooom became a giant close line. and while we were gone yesterday our toilet cbecame possessed and decided to start leaking between the hours of 3 and 4. great. we came home to noahs flood in our front room. hopefully that will get fixed soon... our toilet is kinda important. :)

the weekend

2007-06-10T16:31:00.000-04:00

i bought a camera before i left because my old one was reaching the end of its days. so, i pulled it out last night and started taking pictures. well, to skip the story, wihtin an hour of having the camera out it got dropped and is now broken. i was upset but i cant do anything about it.
and there was a lack of communication with the laundry people and to skip that story i dont have laundry today. i dont know when i will get it because this place is never open consistently.
well, looking back on my first week here i was thinking. i came and was immediately very comfortable around the kids, with the food, with casa hogar. so i did have an advantage. but 2 months is still very intimidating to me. i do have orangewood to look forward to at the end of my stay though. this week has been hard but overall very good. patti, this is for you... i am at about an 8 today. :)
this week i have seen two movies and finished two books. i saw an american haunting and invisible. i reread the poisonwood bible and read the kite runner. i would recommend the books but not the movies.
all in all a good week. i have not called my family yet....so i am going to figure out how to do that.
and thank you for all of you posting! it is very encouraging to hear from everyone. :)

** an udate on the laundry... i have it back but it is not clean. go figure. so on to plan b.

oh, the stories i have to tell

2007-06-09T18:28:00.001-04:00

so lets start with yesterday.
yesterday was the last day of construction. after hauling bucks of dirt and concrete across the courtyard for a week, shoveling dirt, and mixing concrete my body was rebelling against me. i was exhausted, tired, and my muscles we hurting. but during ciesta time ariel, who was here for three weeks and left today, asked if i wanted to go to the grocery store. i needed some things and i would rather have gone with someone (going with someone means a better chance of getting there for me) so i said i would go with her. we had to walk do this hill (and i use that term very lightly) to get to the bus stop. let me just say, god bless the ac buses! they are 10 cents more than the non ac ones and with a happy heart i handed over my 10 extra cents. i tried not to fall asleep on the bus and pay attention to where we were going because i was going to have to do this more than once. we get our groceries, get back on the bus (an ac one again), and get off at our designated spot. now came to real test- walking up the mountain of a hill of get to casa hogar... with my groceries in the amazingly hot weather. if a taxi drove buy i would have paid him to drive me up the hill and drop me off at casa hogar. but no, i drug my feet up that hill and we finally got to casa hogar. on fridays the kids put on a little show for the team that is leaving. then, they have a little dance time at the end. i left early and went to bed because i was so tired and my head hurt.
i am better today. and it was my job to go with aaron to the airport and see the team off. but that was an adventure in and of itself. aaron has been here for who knows how long is at casa hogar until september, i think.
so, the team leaves in thier air conditioned bus and aaron and i get into his blue vw bug and we will meet them at the airport. no ac. ok, i can handle that. the only thing this car has on the inside is a speedometer. and that doesnt even work, as i will notice later in this little trip. we get down that mountain of a hill i walked up the other day and realzie we forgot something. so, we turn around and get back. so, we are starting out late. no problem though. so i start to notice some things about his car. as we go around any sharp turns my seat starts to wobble. i think, this is great, i am sitting really close to the wind shield and my seat isnt secured to the car. good. as we are going up another large hill the engine is running at a dull roar. not a soft hum like normal cars. i hear a soft screaching noise coming from behind us... i hope the bumper is still on. then we get down the same hill and aaron says with a smile, i was going to tell you this when we got down the hill...but we are almost out of break fluid. at this point i cant help but laughing. this is great and i am enjoying the humor in it. we ended up missing the turn for costco(we have to pick up pizzas for the team so they have lunch) so we park and walk. thank the lord of ac in costco! we walked around costco while our pizzas were being made and ate the samples. ok. got the pizzas and walk back to the car. we turn around in the middle of the median, i am convinced that there was no road there. we are runnig late still and need to stop at oxxo (a 711 type store) and pick up drinks. aaron didnt want to go up the street and turn around so we settled for waiting at a break in the traffic and we drove on the wrong side of the rode for a bit to get into oxxo. good. got the drinks and now need to get to the airport. on the way to the airport the car makes a new noise and aaron turns and looks at me and says, well, i have never heard that noise before. well, we got to the airport and saw the team off.
they were a sweet team. and actually they were from chatanooga tn. and go to ccs. which is the shcool mr brower and mr arnold are at and and mrs vandergriff will be there soon. i told them they better take spanish becuase they will love mrs vandergriff.
anyway. we went to starbucks afterwards and i am now back at casa hogar. i dropped my cloths off at the lavanderia accross the street. i was about to cry for joy when i saw that it was open. there is no rhyme or reason when it opens and the closest lavanderia is down that mountain of a hill. if i had to carry my load of laundry up that hill i just might cry. there is no way. so there was a small victory... laundry is being done. hopefully i will be able to get it tom. there have been issues with being able to pick up laundry becaue we never know when this place is open. so this post was long but i think the whole thing was quite comical.

oh, if anyone wants to send anything to me or to the kids it is best to get it to my family or someone from orangewood coming down here. there is a mailing address here but the package or whatever you wanted to send might not get here before i leave. so best bet would be to give it to orangewood to get here.

next week there is no team and the week after that i shouldnt have construciton duty. yay.

one more day of construction...

2007-06-07T14:11:00.000-04:00

friday is my last day of construction duty with the team. you would not believe how incredibly smelly my scrubs are. i got done today and layed on the tile floor of my room under the fan as i was waiting for the shower. i am sitting here in the computer room as the kids playfully shout english words that they don't comprehend at me. little things like this just make me smile and make my day.
yesterday i was talking to someone as i saw fernando come running across the courtyard with the biggest smile on his face and a hose in his hand. as he ran by me he stuck out his tongue and continued running. it just makes my heart happy to see those rare uninhibitted smiles of his. he has a tremendously sad story.
and let me just tell you about last nights dinner. i can can eat many things (as many of you know) and dinner last night was not one of them. i had to tell myself to not look at my food and it would go down better. the kids and myself had eggs with cut up hotdogs soaked in a hot chile sauce. i am cringing trying not to thing about it. so i wont be eating with the kids on wednesdays anymore. :)
the kids keep asking me when my group is coming! orangewood, they are waiting for you already. more of the kids remember me then i would have thought, which is encouraging. they language barrier is frustrating but i have to deal with it! :)
you can pray for lauren, who has been here for a yearish. she is leaving at the end of june. right now she is in the states because her grandfather is in a coma and not doing well. pray for wisdom to know when to come back to acapulco and strength for her.
you can pray for me that the little quirks of living with 7 other people with not overly frustrate me.

one more thing

2007-06-04T14:43:00.001-04:00

if anyone sees emily rush you can tell her that lupe has been asking if she is coming this summer. when i told lupe yes she smiled as she said she was very happy!
derrick, nicole, and brittany... lupe also asked about you.
mom, you were asking about any good things to bring when orangewood comes... the kids really like board games. they love (and have here) monopoly and candyland. if you want to bring some games that are easy to play that would be great.

i am just laughing

2007-06-04T14:17:00.000-04:00

yesterday i just had to smile at some things... i will relay them to you.
i got up and laughed as i got up and was angry at my shower for not giving me cold water. so i had to deal with luke warm water. not ideal but ok.
then i laughed as the interns went to the grocery store and i went and bought antibacterial hand sanitizer only to come home and find out it was antibacterial hand soap. i also needed sunscreen so i went looking for it only to find it behind a locked glass case. yup... locked behind glass, thats right. my best guess was it was one of the few things in the store over 50 pesos (5 dollars) so it was locked??? go figure.
once the team down here went out to play with the kids i brought out my playing cards and uno cards for the kids. marbella instantly asked for the playing cards and i got a group of boys to play uno with me. i laughed at the diverse group i got- jesus (15), george (12ish), roberto (13ish), guiermo (12ish), gama (10ish), and then the 3 year old (kevin) came up and wanted to play. i actually added guiermo into the game later and kevin sat on my lap as i told him what cards to place on the pile. you gotta love the 3 yr old trying to play uno.
i laughed as fernando is no longer pushing me (as he once did) but has taken to stickng his tongue out at me (which is an inprovement from pushing). it just makes me smile.
i laughed as the other rachel, myself, and some of the younger boys were trying to come up with a nickname for me becuase there are 2 rachels. osiel and roberto were making me laugh so hard... i will give you a taste of some of the names- michael jackson, looney toons, mosquito, luna, cara linda, texas, mexico, raquel china, and some other crazy and normal ones thrown in there.
yesterday was a good hang out day. today i am drenched in sweat and need to take a shower because i had construction duty with the teams.
oh, orangewood! i have an update on our green tiles... they have been moved and stacked on the other side of the courtyard. that makes me laugh every time i look at it.
off to a nice cold shower and a nice nap!

Walmart here I come... or not.

2007-06-02T14:37:00.000-04:00

there is a spell check (as patti pointed out to me)but i am writing in english so it doesn{t really work... oh well.
so the interns (myself, Rachel, Emily, and Julia) all arived and we had a little get to know you/orientation here in acapulco. lauren (who is has been at casa hogar for the past yearish) confirmed my fears... we were going to be dropped off at walmart and had to make our way back to casa hogar. ANd we were supposed to do it in pairs.AND take the bus. AND find things along the way. }kind of like a treasure hunt.great, even better. secretly i was dreading this day. but it happens that lauren forgot the hint sheet and we couldn{t do the hint hunt. which meant that we were driven strait the casa hogar. praise the lord! haha. so i am here now.
the kids are a little shy to warming up to us. three out of the four interns have been to casa hogar. it was nice to here some of the kids remember my name.
there are a few new ones that i have seen so far. the youngest are 3 and 5. for those of you reading that know the kids... marisol is no longer here. she left one day and didn{t come back.
well, i have to go. i am paying for internet and i don{t want to leave this room because i am sitting right next to the fan!

Here Finally!

2007-06-02T14:25:00.000-04:00

I am trying to figure out how do do all of this because the internet is in spanish. great. and the shift bar is on the wrong side and so i am not going to capitalize anything. just warning you.
i got on the plain tuesday morining and arrived in atlanta and go to baggage claim. i get one of my two bags and stand there for 15 min as i watch the same baby seat go around the luggage thing multiple times. as i am about to have a mild heart attack because the bag with all of my clothes is no where to be seen i see the bag come onto the conveyor belt. so now the catch is to find mtw at the meeting place. great. this means i have to follow directions and we all know how great i am at that. i have never gotten lost in an airport (which is kind of impossible for most people) but i am not most people. but all went well and i found my destination .
prefield was for all the interns going to the field this summer. we drove to north carolina to have training/bonding time. i met a few people that know my friends and actually someone i knew. its such a small world. prefield was for two days and it was fun but i was itching tobe in acapulco. friday we got up at the crack of dawn (4 am) and drove back to the atlanta airport and my team went strait to check in. after many confusing signs and turn arounds we got to the delta international flights check in. our flight to mexico city went well but finding our way through the mexico city airport was quite interesting. talk about confusing! atlanta had nothing on the mexico city airport. the confusingness (i know its not a word) coupled with the fact that we don{t speak spanish made it a little difficult to figure out wehre to get our connecting flight. but we had 3 hrs. so it was ok. after an hour flight we were finally in acapulco! as i stepped foot off the plain that familiar rush of heat and the smell of the acapulco airport greeted me. i just had to smile. i am back with the people and city that i love.

Realizations!

2007-05-15T00:08:00.000-04:00

I leave in exactly two weeks! I leave on the 29th! I will be in Atlanta for two days for pre-field training then it will be off the Acapulco! I will be gone for two months with three other female interns.
Once I get to Casa Hogar I will be living in one room out of one suitcase for two months. This means a couple of things: I am OCD/a perfectionist when it comes to some things in my life... my room is not one of them. My mom has never used the words clean and Rachel's room (seriously) in one sentence together. So how fun will it be to live in one room with three other girls? At least I will only have one suitcase so things can't go too far. And who likes to live out of a suitcase for any short amount of time, much less two months?
I will be living at Casa Hogar which means no AC and no flushing toilet paper. Fans will become my best friend and so will cold showers. This is all part of the adventure. I will leave certain things behind (like hot showers). But that is ok because you don't want hot showers when it is 300 degrees outside and you are always hot. :)
Anyway, I am as ready as I will ever be. I am excited but nervous as I don't know what two months will looks like at Casa Hogar. I know it will be challenging and difficult but it will be rewarding. So pray that I will adjust well and that I will be an encouragement and a blessing to the staff and children there! And that I will learn Spanish quickly!

the old and the new

2007-03-19T15:45:00.000-04:00

This list will be updated when I think of something else

These are things I am looking forward to:
1. The children
2. Cliseria's cooking and Mexican food... chicken tacos ( I won't miss American food at all... if you don't believe me ask my dad, mom, or my sister )
3. EL PASTOR TACOS! (I know they will be in heaven waiting for me when I get there... oh, so good)
4. learning Spanish
5. Being back in Mexico!
6. Orangewood coming
7. Short cold showers
8. Hot long days and hot sticky bus rides
9. Probably getting lost some how (it is my super power)
This is what I am specifically thinking when I write this post (my dad is freaking out as he reads #9 :) In the past the interns have been dropped off at a Walmart and are told to find their way to Casa Hogar. And you would assume, and very correctly, that I, Rachel, having been to Casa Hogar over half a dozen times would know how to get there? right? haha. WRONG! So, moral of this story is that I will be no help what so ever and I will try not to volunteer my opinion. Becuase I completely lack a sense of direction. (this in not an exageration) If anything I will rub off on my fellow interns and we will all get lost together. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened. It wouldn't be the first time and I know it won't be the last. I know my whole family and some of my friends are laughing right now because they know what I am talking about.

Some things I will miss:
1. My family
2. The last Harry Potter book coming out *tear*
3. Going with Jonathan, David, and Matt
4. My cat
5. Air Conditioning!
6. My Berry girls!
7. My friends
8. oh, I am going to miss the last Harry Potter book!!!

the start of a new adventure

2007-03-19T15:31:00.000-04:00

So I am going to explain about this blog.
Since 6th grade I have gone to a children's home in Acapulco Mexico. Over the years I have stayed for various amounts of time, with different groups of people, and at different places around the city. And everytime I have loved it just as much as the time before. I always went with the intention of coming back the next summer for a week with my Orangewood group. But this time will be different as I will be staying as an intern for 2 months! I am excited but I will miss my group that I always go with. But they will be there eventually... just not the whole time with me.
Now to explain the title of this blog. I have been very blessed to be able to travel the world and go on various mission trips. I recently went to Japan (on a misisons trip) and when I came back this is the question everyone asked:
So what do you like better? Japan or Mexico?
And my reply was: I loved Japan. The country and the people were beautiful and amazing. But my heart is in Mexico.
So there it is. Simple but true.
My heart is in Mexico at Casa Hogar with the children I have loved and watch grow up for the past 6 years.
This will hopefully document my journey there for everyone back home who cares to read about it.
It is still very early in the process as I am starting to send out support letters and all that good stuff. But as the time grows closer there will be more to write about!

a start

2007-03-19T15:20:00.000-04:00

So before I start writing anything for anyone who is reading you must understand a few things about this blog:

1. I can not spell. Never have been and never will be.
And since this blog has no spell check be prepared for some stupid spelling errors.
2. I am convinced that in elementary school I was not told where commas go in sentences. As a
result I don't know how or where to use them. (and to think that my back up plan in college is
to be an elementary school teacher! ha!) So be prepared for a lack of punctuation.
3. This will be my primary form of communication. (because it is easy) So leave lots of comments!:)
Except for you facebook people... I will be on as often as I can to check that.

Other than that I hope you enjoy reading!