Day 20: Fairly Brief Update, Fairly Good Day

I got so excited about sending my Monthly Prayer Email Update Thing that I almost forgot I needed to post here, too. Really, I enjoy any platform where people are subject to my rambly and weird thoughts. Though my monthly emails are more processed and filtered than this mess. 

Today was an interesting day! Good though. Thursday means long day. I woke up to a message from Katie in our group chat, saying she couldn't go to the CDI because she's feeling sick and doesn't want to share with the kids. Then I went back to sleep until 7:20, at which point I got up, got ready, and Matthew, Izzy, and I walked over to the CDI. 

Lagos and Ana Raquel were also unable to come to the first session today, but Izzy, Mateo, Doña Maria, Tannia, Georgen y yo were in business mode, so we got it done. The morning session kids were in a mood today. They were wiggly and hard to wrangle, but cute. I was in business mode, so I was stricter than usual. The kids respond fairly well though to discipline from men. For sad reasons though. We talked about Father's Day today, and several of the kids responded with, "No tengo papa." Ni abuelo, ni tios... one of them said they could give the card to Georgen. She seemed flattered, but sad at the idea. Lagos is probably the main (or only) positive male role model several of these kids have. Saul is a notable exception (remember, we played futbol con su papa the other day), and he's one of the more stable kids we have. 

We made little bean and cheese taco things and sliced apples for the kids today. They loved it. It's the best reaction we've gotten to any food so far. We did a double story for the devotional today: Jesus' resurrection and visiting the disciples. I got to understanding-check the kids from the previous Bible story, and it was encouraging. They remembered 3 things: Jesus was killed by people, but it was God's Plan. Jesus died to pay for the bad things we've done. The cross was made of wood. I don't know why, but they repeated the third thing multiple times.

Matthew's English Lesson was so well received today! The kids were focused and remembered the previous lessons and absorbed this one really well. We watched a fantastic video, that couldn't have been more perfect for Mateo giving the lesson.

Walking the kids to school today was fun; I got to talk a lot with Jeikol, Jeremy, y Saul. Ellos son traviesos, pero they are sweet kids.

Second group was good, same Bible story, same English lesson, same tacos. Different order, but it went pretty smoothly. I worked with Iker, Josue (?), y Nahomi para ayudarles en estudiar ingles. It went aight. By the end, I was pretty dead. Matthew had to leave after the English lesson to work on his teaching for tomorrow (pray for the homie), so Izzy and I did a lot of the cleanup and shutting down the CDI. 

We decided that we were going to get McDonalds for dinner. I really wanted that KitKat McFlurry y'all. It was fun getting to sit and chill with Izzy. We get the occasional opportunity to go on side quests and it's always a lot of fun and usually involves some sort of conversation that makes me Think. We got our food and somehow managed to get everything back to the apartment and then ate with our team. It was...McDonalds. My fries were old, therefore, disappointing.

After dinner, we watched Thor 2: The Dark World. It wasn't much better than I remembered it being. But, it was fun to watch as a team. 

I caught a mini-nap. Matthew played guitar. We talked a little bit about plans.

Suddenly, I remembered I hadn't sent my monthly email yet, so I wrote that. It went more quickly than usual. 

Alexis and I got to talk briefly, and now I am finishing this. Tomorrow should be good; gonna work on my teaching and stress and go for a run and maybe have a meeting and then church. 

OK, PRAYER

-for us to walk in step with the Spirit
-for our girls to connect well with the H@ngout girls tomorrow
-for Matthew's teaching
-for a restful, but productive weekend
-for good times with God for our team and the church
-for open hearts to his leading
-for good connection as a team, with the church, and with the people we're serving

Mateo doing his thing