April 15, 2009

Update 6:

As you may have noticed, I haven’t sent an update in quite some time.  I kept meaning to but just didn’t know what to say.  My last few months at the mission were very interesting indeed. 

Both of my little boys started coming to the day home full time in January.  It was a bit of an adjustment for all of us.  I had to get used to sharing them with a visitor and they had to get used to sharing me with each other.  They both continued to learn and blossom in the program.  And, of course, they continued to be the cutest things ever.

In March, I got to visit Janelle for a week in Oaxaca.  I went with Anna, another girl from the day home.  It was a much-needed break for us and we loved being there.  Janelle and Jill were great hosts and we loved getting to know Selina—the baby girl that lives with them.  The weather was much nicer in Oaxaca and we got to escape some of the day-to-day drama of the Baja mission.

During my trip to Oaxaca, it became very clear to me that the Baja mission was not going to be a long-term thing for me.  I decided during my week away that I would accept a job at Elim that would allow me to start teaching in June.  When I returned to the Baja, I informed my supervisors that I would be leaving at the end of May.  I had absolute peace about this decision and was looking forward to returning to Elim. 

Through a variety of circumstances, I ended up leaving Mexico on April 4^th with my friend Anna.  We spent about a week on the road traveling Rte 66.  We had tons of fun and got to go through reverse culture shock together.  (The grocery stores are so clean!) 

Currently, I am in Chicago.  I’m catching up with some friends and visiting Elim.  I’m excited about returning to my life here but still missing Mexico terribly.  Early next week, I’ll drive to New York to spend some time with my family until I return to Chicago in June.  I’ll be doing some work for my dad and may look into subbing to keep myself busy. 

It’s been a very abrupt transition so I’m still trying to process through all of it.  I know that I needed to leave when I did but I’m not ready to be completely done with Mexico.  I miss my kids and my friends more than I can say.  I guess I’ll just wait and see what the future holds.

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for the mission.  They are going through some changes down there and there is a lot of healing that needs to happen.
2. Pray for Anna and I as we try to figure out our futures and as we deal with this transition.  I’m glad to have her to go through it with!
3. Pray that I can continue to process the things that I have learned and grow from these difficult experiences.

Praises:

1.      Necessary changes are happening at the mission.

2.      We made it safely across the country.

3.      I have great friends and family all over the world that have helped me through these times.

Attached are some pictures:

1 –.Selina – the beautiful baby that lives with Janelle in Oaxaca.

2 – The amazing Day Home staff.

3 – Our 4-6 year olds.

I started teaching English a couple of weeks ago and I really love it.  I have to try really hard not to laugh at the kids but the things they say are just so cute.  (In all fairness, they laugh at my Spanish sometimes.)  Here are a couple of my favorite stories from this week.

The kids really wanted to learn the animals.  I don't think it's that useful right now but it's what they wanted to learn.  Everytime I show a picture of a bear, one of the girls yells "BEER!" very enthusiastically.  I have explained the difference between bear and beer but she keeps forgetting.

Another one of the girls came up to me after class and said "How do you say poopy?"  I told her what it was in Spanish.  She said "No.  Poopy."  I said it again in Spanish.  She said "No.  Un perrito chicito. (A little dog.)  Ahhh....Puppy!