Day 24: Pretty Good Insight Into How Things Look Inside My Brain

I learned today that the right side of my head is bigger than the left side of my head. 

Yup, that's how I chose to start my blog today. It's a good indicator of how this is gonna go.

Today was almost a red box day. But, it was a green box day. ("what are you talking about?" ya les dije).

We made it to the Microsoft building today! (@Tesla @Cassidy) ("what are you talking about?" I'll tell you later).

So, around 8:55, I woke up sad today. I do that sometimes. There's a running theory on why, but I really couldn't discern it. So, as I do when I'm sad, I decided running was a silly thing to do and went back to bed, reasoning that we had no evening plans, so I'd run tonight. 

I woke back up a little while later (around 9:27), spent some time with God and took a shower to see if it would change my mood. It didn't, so I got dressed and laid in bed (i hung my shoed feet off the edge though) until I needed to get up. I finally got up around 10:35. I sat on my bed across from one of the 22 (22?) mirrors in our house and noticed my head is lopsided, which is kinda cool. Our team loaded everything up and left around 11.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "But Sam, what are you talking about? Your CDI schedule on Mondays has you the kids coming at 1, why would you leave so early?" You're so astute, kind observer. You're right, but we have a semi-weekly meeting at 12 on Mondays. And this Monday was one of the meeting ones. 

Yes, yes, it does only take us 10 minutes to walk to the CDI. Good observation again. Every Tuesday and Thursday, as you know, we walk the kids to school after the first CDI session. There's a bakery right next to the CDI, and it always smells so good. So, we left early to stop by the bakery to get lunch before our meeting before we started the first session at the CDI.

The baked goods were indeed good. Meat. Cheese. Bread. Excellent. 

Our meeting went really well. At the last meeting, we ended by saying at the next meeting, our gringo team would share observations about ways to improve the flow of things at the CDI. The last meeting had focused on setting up roles and a schedule, as you remember, so after 2 weeks of operation and observation, we'd have good feedback. We definitely, 100% did not forget about that job. Definitely. Well, maybe my team didn't, idk, I can't speak for them. But, though I'm not as observant as you, I did have some things to share. Mostly it was asking for help with doing the devotional time better. I've 100% been phoning it in each day. It's been ok, like I'd give myself a B-, but it could be an A+, ya know? (Serene, Cherise, Lauren.... if you see this, my respect for your lesson planning is at an all-time high) We also got to talk about some vision for helping grow the kids' hearts, not just keeping their behavior in line. It was a really good conversation. Esther has some ideas that are from one of the CDIs in Honduras, and she's going to share them with us on Wednesday. 

"wait, wait, there are CDIs in Honduras?" Yup! It's kind of part of their church networks philosophy, I think and the churches in Honduras are very central. 

The kids showed up and we did our thing. We played for a minute, and made lunch early because they seemed hungrier today. We made sandwiches again, but instead of the ketchup/mayo sauce we'd been using, we were advised that the kids like butter as the condiment for their ham and cheese sandwiches. We had doubts, but we bought some butter-flavored stuff and put it on the sandwiches. They devoured them. It was amazing. Butter. Who knew? I did the devotional. We read the story of Jesus telling the Disciples to throw the net on the other side of the boat and they caught a bunch of fish. It was a fun one to act out. 

It's weird, but not weird to me that the disciples went back to fishing after Jesus died. I guess it's the only thing they knew to do. I love that Jesus met them there again, like when he first called them. I love that Peter jumped out of the boat. I love that the other disciples didn't let go of the fish. I love that, even though Jesus was back, they took the time to count the fish. It's just a lot. Great story. 

We did English lessons and played ninja and jenga, using "I Can" and "I Can't." We did homework. I worked with Angel, Erick, y Joshua (? Josue ?). I swear some day I'll get these names right. Idk why it's so hard for these three. Probably because they come late and are always together. 

The kids headed home. Esther, Izzy, y yo spent some time throwing balls around. We cleaned up. Izzy left with Esther and Ana Raquel. Matthew and I left with Lagos. We walked back home and they drank some yerba mate and we talked for a while. We then walked to Taco Bell, which is at the base of the Microsoft Tower that we've seen by the Sabana. Turns out, Microsoft is just part of what's there. We met another gringo, who was much less interested in Spanish than we are. He's here for a year and a half. Dang. 

We walked back, ate Taco Bell, and chilled some more. Lagos left, Izzy came back. I sat around and thought about the fact that I still hadn't run, but had eaten Taco Bell. I listened to a WhatsApp message from Doug Walton about pants and shorts. Finally, I got motivated enough to run. 

It was ok. Not fantastic. I survived. It was dark, but there weren't many people. I didn't get hit by that car. Overall, subpar. But, green box! 

My letter that I wrote for Alexis a  w h i l e  back, and asked my roommate to send, finally got delivered. It got sent from my house in Bryan to her house in Bryan. Literally, less than 2 miles away. It took 11 days to get there. Oh well. I'm glad it got delivered. It was weird writing a letter before I left to be read while I was gone, but I think it was good. She sent me a picture of it. 

I'm doing laundry right now, so once it gets done, I'll hang it up and go to bed. I have 1 clean sock left, because, somehow, I packed an odd number of socks (@Kevin). 

I took a break while writing this to do the Wordle, but I'm about to guess my 4th guess. I'm close enough that I can get it if I think about it enough, but I'm tired enough that I want to just guess around and mine for letters, you know?

Ok, prayer:

PRAYER
-for us to walk in step with the Spirit
-for the kids at the CDI to fall in love with Jesus
-for good connections and conversations at H@ngout
-for gospel opportunities
-for God to speak to and bless Lagos and Ana Raquel
-for Katie to get unsick
-for good ministry opportunities
-for deep conversations

I feel like I have pictures today, but I don't remember what they are. 

Oh gosh, they're so bad. Ew. I hope my team gets some decent pictures from this trip and shares them with me, because...mine are rough. I miss my camera.

The Microsoft Tower - taken as we were scurrying across the street

The Taco Bell. Ta-da.