Day 9 (also 2): Finding the Rhythm and Learning How to Exist
So, the date for these posts is almost always wrong, because by the time I get around to posting them, it's tomorrow. But still today, because it doesn't count as tomorrow (to me) until I sleep. I know, that's not how dates work, but still. That's how Sams work.
That's a weird way to start a blog. I think you get a lot of my flow-of-thought here. Maybe also look at Katie's Blog for a different perspective.
I was talking to the team tonight as we were eating our Chizzas (if i wanted you to know, i'd tell you), and I said that some moments here, I feel like I could totally hack it here; I feel like I've getting the hang of just doing life here. Other moments, I feel like I am in over my head and maybe this was all a mistake and thank God that we didn't come for the whole summer (usually those moments coincide with the moments where my brain decides to forget Spanish). Today was one of the former. We took the bus by ourselves*, we ran things at the CDI by ourselves*, we fed ourselves*, and we even crossed the road by ourselves, lol. All those asterisks don't actually go anywhere directly, they just mean I'm going to have to put caveats on them all as I tell you today's story.
Ok, so. I woke up today, after sleeping really well last night. That was kind of surprising, because Matthew and I are currently sharing a bed, and it's been a long time since I've shared a bed. Usually, I'll grab a couch or the floor or hammock instead, because I just generally don't like people touching me. If you didn't know that, that doesn't mean stop hugging me or w/e (except during COVID, i guess), it just means that's why I'm awkward about it sometimes. A N Y W A Y. Slept really well, don't think I sleep-punched Matthew, though he said I mumbled and gestured some.
Matthew made breakfast for us. He spent t i m e making Gallo Pinto, which was unquestionably better than the Gallo Pinto that we had at the hotel restaurant, which was unquestionably better than the Gallo Pinto that we had in the restaurant at our hotel last year, which was pretty good. And, Matthew said he forgot to add cilantro, so it could have been even better. So, what I need you to take away from this is that Matthew makes phenomenal Gallo Pinto, like, top-tier. So, yea, we ate breakfast as a little equipito around our little table. It was totes presh, fam. I hung up my newly-washed laundry to dry, and we walked to the park to worship together.
We chose a new spot for worship, because our former spot was for our 7-person team. It just felt wrong to stay there without them, you know? **I just checked my smartphone, what a weird moment** Matthew played his guitalele and we sang. It was lovely, though my heart was quiet today. Maybe it's just the growing emotional tiredness of engaging with kids and students (and most everyone else) in a different language or something. But, it was really refreshing. Lagos joined us and gave us the keys to the kingdom CDI so we could open it when we got there. He then gave us very specific instructions on which bus to take and when to pull the cord and when to get off and where to go from there. Great discipleship skill!
So, we grabbed our stuff, and made a plan for the day, and headed for the bus stop. It took a lot longer for the bus to get there than it had when we were with Lagos, but maybe that was just me toeing the line of being nervous. We got on the bus, and paid the bus driver, and found seats. Then I tried to get off at the wrong stop, and Katie said "No, that's silly." So we didn't get off at the wrong stop, which is good. Instead, we got off at the right stop and walked to the CDI (after stopping at the store to grab some snacks for the kids). We got everything set up, and Georgen (the lady who runs the folklorico dance team and is (i think?) the official director of the CDI) came to join us. She has made me nervous, because I think she's in charge, but she doesn't say much or redirect us or anything, mostly just sits and watched and engages with the kids. Today was no different at first, but she jumped in and played games with us and was really nice. Which, I realize as I'm typing this is kind of how I think the kids felt about us at first.
Anyway, the kids came, but just the little ones today. We've split the group into alternating days (M/W, T/Th) based on age to have smaller groups and more age-appropriate content. Monday nights we'll have guitar lessons after the CDI times. Tuesday nights and Thursday night we'll have H@ngout things on Zoom. Fridays will be a day for us to do fun things and relax, and also to invite the college students from H@ngout to join our fun things for some casual life-on-life discipleship time. Saturdays, I think we're at the CDI, but shorter, with the big kids (?) Saturday nights is church and Sundays...I don't remember ("bruh, aren't you, like, in charge?" ...sort of, but not exactly). Somewhere in there, we will help at Duke's some, pull students in to help us with the CDI, and may get to do some tasks to bless the women's clinic the church is working with.
We started with some games and some dancing and the usual, but then we did a (very young) Discovery Bible Study. The idea behind DBS is that it is simple and easily reproducible, which allows us to multiply it. So, we want to train the kids to engage with scripture in a way that can lead to them being able to read and understand, rather than it being some holy, messy mystery book that they are intimidated by. We'll be doing that every time we have the kids with us, just at different levels. We'll be focusing on stories about Christ, because they are powerful and can be understood at different age levels. It went pretty well today.
We also had an English lesson, some music time, lots of games, and practiced reading in Spanish. These kids are amazing, y'all. They help each other out, and are generally obedient and respectful (with obvious moments of exception). They are pretty squirmy though. But we do a lot of active games, which helps let out the energy. I got to have some really good moments with Axel y Saúl today, which was encouraging. Though I'm often not entirely sure what they're saying.
After our time at the CDI, we grabbed dinner at KFC (yea, we did). We had the Chizza (oh, so i DID tell you), which is a chicken pizza, but really is just chicken parmesan. It was ok. I wasn't impressed. But I'm glad we did it.
We went to our bus stop and got there right as the bus drove by. So we waited and saw another one (but it was different, so I got nervous and we didn't actually get on after I waved it down). Then we saw another one that looked promising, but it was the wrong bus, so we didn't get on (which is good, we later saw it crashed into a car). Finally, por fin, we found our bus and we got on. As we got to our neighborhood, I started thinking, "is this the right stop? IS IT?" But Katie confirmed it was, so we didn't miss it our stop... and we didn't even get lost a little but on the walk home. Bien hecho, gringitos.
We chilled for a few minutes, I put on some worship Spotify to test my computer's connection to the TV. Though apparently I did it right as Matthew was starting to strum his guitalele. Sorry Matthew. Lo Siento. We joined the H@ngout zoom call and helped lead the games. We played mafia, which was new to some of them, and had a lot of fun. At the end, Lagos gave them a message encouraging them to love people they disagreed with, rather than leaning into the divisiveness around us. It was glorious. Alexis joined us on zoom from the states, which was really cool (though a lot of Spanish).
Afterwards, we watched episode 2 of The Chosen (again, I'm sold). It left my heart feeling very worshipful towards Jesus. We then walked to the store and I bought a coke and got some more cash for the bus rides this week.
Now, I am typing, Matthew is chilling, Sheryl just took out all our trash (what a servant), Katie just finished her blog post. So...bed time. I am very proud of myself. I didn't drink my coke. I was about to. It looks so cold. But I didn't. Yay me. Basic self control :D
PRAYER:
- for us to get into a good rhythm without getting complacent.
- for us to stay engaged with the Lord, each other, and the people here
- for our Spanish brains. They're so wee. they need helps.
- for our connections with the kids and the students
- for encouragement for the church here
- for our team that's back home as they process and engage with normal life
Picture:
So. I didn't get many pictures again today. Sorry!
CKCAOAB:
S: 8
S: 7
K: 8
M: 10
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