Hmm, February 12th was the last update. What has happened since then?
Well-Valentines Day was such fun! We sure know how to celebrate around here. Staff housing made a feast for lunch, took a trip to Ceiba, and then made ANOTHER feast and watched a movie. I woke up in the morning with the delivery of breakfast-in-bed... heart-shaped banana pancakes, por supuesto. Thanks, Julia! (No, that doesn't say John or James or Jose... don't get any ideas!)
Another new development has been the ever-growing love of mine for the kids at the Children's Center. I have been spending almost every spare moment there and becoming more and more attached with each smiling face, each spurt of laughter. I absolutely love them. They make my heart warm, they make me smile, every cliche saying that expresses happiness is what they do to me. And, honestly, I'm not sure how they do it or why all of the sudden. But, I do know that I'm overwhelmed.
It's almost the same as my ever-growing love for Dr. Bob. Julia, Estelle, and I visit him regularly at the hospital and now I have gotten to the point where if I go too long without visiting him I immediately notice and can't wait until the next chance I have to get to the hospital and chat his ear off and read to him and sing to him and, love him.
One of my favorite little boys at the Children's Center, Kevin, may be leaving soon. He's got the roundest, plumpest cheeks you've ever seen. With that 2-yr. old mischievous cuteness about him, I'm not sure how anyone could resist his sly smiles and self-imposed authority. This week they will go to court with his family to see if they're ready to have him back. I want the best for Kevin, I honestly do. And, I realize that being with a healthy family is the best. But, I will definitely miss hearing "E mio!" and "Adio" and "Mi patos!". Please pray that the Lord would give this judge discernment while deciding what's best for Kevin.
Tonight we had Mrs. Zina over for dinner. Julia, Estelle, and Joelle did an AWESOME job of cooking a feast for the queen of Loma de Luz. In the meantime, I was in my spanish class until 6pm, had to go to Lucinda to get a new chimbo and then, of course, had to stop by the Children's Center to see Kevin for a bit. However, when I finally did arrive to dinner, I got over the feeling of guilt that they had waited for me and we heard so many great stories about Italy, Mrs. Zina's parents' salvation, Dr. Bob, and more. She had us go around the table and tell what we want to do after we leave. I told her I want to major in TESL and that's when we heard that her parents were saved through taking classes by a Christian lady who taught them English as a Second Language. Imagine that! Seriously, it was a real encouragement and definite confirmation of the validity of the passion the Lord has given me.
As for my learning Spanish-WOW. I have a bittersweet relationship with Spanish now. I no longer want to speak it every second, that's for sure. I've gotten to the point where I've almost learned all the verb tenses so, in mid-conversation, it's getting harder & harder to pull the right one of my head and push it out of my mouth. While I no longer want to speak it every second, I seem to want to study it every second. In fact, tonight when I decided to write this that's exactly what I had to pull myself away from. I've been translating the book of Acts from Spanish to English, memorizing(ed) Mt. 22:37-40, doing exercises in the book, etc.
In summary my spare time looks something like this: Children's Center, cooking & cleaning, visiting Dr. Bob, and studying Spanish, in no exact order.
Hope this update finds you all well. Please keep in touch!
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