Love one another

Happy Birthday Paola!

It's Friday which is always exciting, but this one was extra special! The day started by volunteering myself to help with the the pre-k and kindergarten field trip, after I realized I didn't really know what I agreed to Rebekah filled me in and I spent morning with the little guys. Due to rain we ended up just watching a movie in the house, but the kids were wild. They were so excited and antsy that they didn't really want to watch the movie, jumping from beanbag to beanbag seemed like a much better option to them! When the movie was done we took all of them back up to the school and it was time for gym class. The 2nd and 3rd graders had an assessment for the first part of class and joined the little ones afterwards. Most of the time after their test was spent "playing restaurant" I must have been a good customer, because they served me a lot of fake food! It was adorable to see how much fun they were having playing, that used to be one of my favorite things to do too! For the next gym class we went down to the cancha to play some basketball, and in the last physical education class we played soccer. It was a busy morning at the school. The teachers loved the cookies, so I might have to bring them more often! They are so appreciative of small gestures. Once I finished teaching the English lesson for the day and testing on the letter K, it was time to celebrate Paola's 12th birthday. I wrote the words to the song on the board, we practiced it, then sang it to Paola in English before enjoying cookies! I was a little behind the game in asking

So much love from home.

about allergies, but before they ate them I tried to make sure they didn't have any that I should worry about...but I had no idea how to say allergy in Spanish. It made for an interesting couple of minutes and after I went and asked another teacher what the Spanish word for allergy was the girls could understand what I had been trying to ask! After school I cleaned up around the school, then headed down to the house to hang out the children. The kids were all spread out and enjoying a nice afternoon. The dog managed to get a toy from Wilson and he had a blast watching me try to get it away from him. Every time I would get close Wilson would whistle or call the dog away so I couldn't get it, but eventually I out smarted the doggy! It was hard saying goodbye to Duvi this afternoon, but I know God has her in His hands and will be taking care of her. She is such a sweet young lady and like all of these kids, when given a chance will do GREAT things! John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” My real job in life is to love as Christ has loved me. The best thing I can do is to shine the light of God in this world through love, and that is what I will do all the days of my life! I pray my love is selfless, good-hearted, and pure like Christ's love for me. Every day I learn more about what it looks like to love like Christ and it is my prayer that I continue to learn more and draw closer each day. I got to be part of the orientation for the Concordia group tonight and it was a treat, seeing familiar faces and see such a large group from home here to serve the people at Casa de Fe was great. We ate pizza, then moved in to the time of rules and expectations. I also received two wonderful packages, one from family and the other from friends :) I am so so thankful for the continuous love and support shown in various ways! I have a lovely stash of cards, treats, coffee from Moxie, and many other useful items. In fact, all my new food reminded me of a sceen from the movie "Heavy Weights" when the campers all had their hidden stash of favorite candy!