Peace

Florita and Me (PC: Treson)

Never have two consecutive weeks been so polar opposite! This week has been a blessed respite from the busyness. I finished last Thursday sick and in bed. Thankfully, the kids were getting better by that point and I was able to spend Sabbath in bed listening to the New Market church’s livestream and resting.

Jose is feeling better!

On Sunday, I went to the Leones as usual. They behaved pretty well, and Carlo and I had a calm morning. As I headed to the gate to guard for the afternoon, I wondered if guarding would be as crazy as last week. Right off the bat, Jose’s father, who we had to stay up and guard Familia Feliz from last Sunday night, walked up and requested to enter. I stalled him at the gate for 15 minutes as the other staff searched for the director. Finally, she came and spoke with him as I tried to get photos and videos of him from my chair. Thankfully he left peacefully. A few hours went by with another child’s parent coming who wasn’t allowed and more family of Baby Jose. Guarding the gate is becoming more intense every week! The nice thing was that each family brought me fruit, and after not being able to eat for nearly a week, it was so helpful!

Reading My Bible Friends with the kids

Monday dawned a cloudy day. After school in the morning, Treson and I decided to go into town with Melissa to work on fundraising stuff. On the way in, Melissa made a stop and then did a u-turn in the middle of the road, which is completely normal here. As soon as she finished the u-turn, she came fender to fender with a police truck. They blocked the road and two policemen jumped out and started running toward us. The three of us sat, stunned at what was happening. I’d never seen a police vehicle here, let alone someone be pulled over! Melissa looked so confused. She was worried because she didn’t have her paperwork with her. As soon as they got to the car, they looked in the window. “Oh! Es Familia Feliz!” The shout was carried back to the police truck. The two at the car and the one running toward us all turned around and hopped in their truck, making a u-turn of their own and disappearing out of sight. Whew! We all breathed a sigh of relief and burst our laughing! It was very strange. In the evening was Zoe’s (an Argentinian volunteer’s) birthday, and we all held a party until late.

Zoe's birthday party

November 1 was on Tuesday, so Carlo, Zoro, and Treson all shaved one last time before no-shave November. It was the first time they didn’t have facial hair since arriving, and the kids stared at them in shock! One little girl from the Lilas’ house looked at Zoro distraughtly and said, “I’m going to go find your beard in the trash so you can put it back on.” It was amusing to see all their reactions!

We also found out that there wasn’t going to be school for the rest of the week because of national holidays. I sat down to complete some much-needed charting and accomplished a lot. Halfway through the day, a gigantic gust of wind hit Familia Feliz. It continued blowing into the evening, cooling the temperature down from nearly 100 to in the 50’s! Everyone dug out their winter coats and bundled up. It was so nice to feel cold!

A beautiful chilly day!

Emilianne came up with the idea of having a tea party for the Lilas girls yesterday. She, Maddy, and Elizabeth baked all morning and into the afternoon as I charted some more. In the early evening, all of us girls dressed up in our nicest dresses and walked over. The little girls were so pleased, making paper crowns and taking pictures. They were so excited and it turned out a huge success!

The Lilas' Tea Party

Emilianne and I with the girls

In the evening, Emilianne, Elizabeth, and I were craving Taco Bell, so we made crispy potato soft tacos! It was fun making tortillas and the potatoes, and then we succeeded in making the sauce from yogurt!

Very excited us!

Believe it or not, that’s just about all that happened this week! It has been a huge blessing. God not only got me through several tough weeks, but made it possible for us all to recharge for a few days as well. Next week is the pathfinder camporee, and Carlo and I will be taking care of the Leones’ house for 5 days! We have plenty of adventures coming our way.

One thing that I’ve so appreciated have been the note cards that so many of you wrote for me to read each day. I love having that little slice of home and they’re so encouraging! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

A view from our hike this morning