Things Are Starting to Come Together..

"Joshua said to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great things among you'" (Joshua 3:5).

The view of the Parroquia from Instituto Allende, a nearby art school

End of week three! Thanks again to everyone for your support and your prayers. It has been so wonderful to be able to stay in touch with everyone through amazing technologies like Gmail, Skype and Blogger--and also through mainstays such as telephone and snail mail. I feel as if you all are my "great cloud of witnesses" cheering me on in all that I do.

This week started out a bit bumpy--stomach problems adjusting to the food and the water here, and the kids acting up a lot, fighting, making messes, being disrespectful and creating an environment of chaos. And yet, by today, something changed! My stomach problems have resolved (Pepto Bismol tablets have seriously saved me) and by the grace of God the past two days have been much more manageable with the boys.

L to R: Fernando, Ángel, Dayron, Erik, Jair and Juan Pablo

Mondays the kids wear all white and gather in the patio area to salute the Mexican flag, singing the national anthem. This is done all through elementary school through high school. White, though? Perhaps not the best color for two year olds to be wearing. Needless to say, it's a good thing that every day before they're picked up we change the kids into a fresh pair of clean clothes, use a wet wipe on their faces and gel up their hair. :)

Get more of a flavor of the craziness

I am learning that each day is different, and you just have to roll with the punches. The kids each bring their own temperaments and you never know how it's going to go. On Tuesday, right off the bat I knew it was going to be challenging. Isaí, the man from the orphanage who drops off the boys, said that in the van Erik, Ángel and Fernando were fighting. They were like bulls waiting to enter the stadium. Needless to say, I came home that day and soundly fell asleep, absolutely exhausted and wondering how I was going to get through the next two months.

Ángel and Fernando looking out of the classroom window to the patio

And yet the past two days have been completely different! As I've been praying through feeling frustrated with the boys' behavior and being overwhelmed at how incredibly mischevious they can be, getting into nearly everything possible, I really think the Lord has provided me the love I need for each day when I ask him--enough love to be able to be more lighthearted, to laugh away the spilled drinks and thrown tortillas, and to take joy in the boys.

Juan Pablo and Fernando at Juarez Park

Today, like two weeks ago, we went to Juarez Park. Erik, pretending that piles of sand were cinnamon cakes, actually tried to ingest some. Luckily, Marisol caught him and had him spit it out. "¡Uácala!" (the equivalent of "ick," from what I've gathered) she exclaimed as grit mixed with spit dribbled down his chin. Juan Pablo and Fernando "rode" the turtle statue, headed towards Juan Pablo's house. Ángel commenced in peeing in broad daylight rather than holding it in until we made the trek back to the daycare.

The other day I came across Joshua 3:5, and I've decided that it's going to be one of my theme verses for my time here. I want to keep in mind that each day--whether it be a crazy one or a 'manageable' one--holds its own blessings from the Lord in the form of fleeting moments. I am trying my hardest to treasure up each of those fleeting moments, whether it be a big ol' grin from Fer when I tease him, kicking a ball back and forth with Juan Pablo, or a hug and a kiss from Dayron at the end of the day. I am doing holy work in a holy place--holy because the Lord is there, holy because the Lord is at work. God is working, doing great things among ALL of us, and in all places. We just need to pray for him to help us see!