Smiles and Sunshine.

Life here at Colina has been interesting to say the least. We have been having Tribe meetings that have us all separated into the 12 tribes of Israel for Family Day. I am in the Tribe of Benjamin. Pretty awesome. We have played games and created flags. The kids in my Group continually make me happy. The hugs, the looks, the photos and the "BRICKNY" yells that flow through the air as they try to gain my attention. I love this place.

I love walking through the orphanage as the kids are on bikes or rollerblades and they fly by with their hand out so that I will High Five them as they pass. I love the little girls that talk to me at length about their dolls and everything cause thats what little girls do. The boys who chase me down the beach chucking sand at me cause thats what little boys do. The fact that I go in to the ocean and save Mel from the waves, cause thats what I do. The hugs and the little hands that grab mine in a moment of comfort.

Everyday I think of this place, its hard to imagine not being here. It has become such a part of my life its hard to imagine being home going to school and working again.

I love the classes I teach. They get to be difficult once in a while but I manage. The kids in my crocheting class make me smile. I feel accomplished a little haha.

More to come

Hasta

Sunburns and Diet Cokes

So sunburns are definitely not my favorite thing on the planet. They hurt and I don't get tan after...I just turn ghost white again. The weather here is hotter than I remember. I'm homesick but then I look at the kids and the smiles they give, the fast talking Spanish that flows my way when they are all excited about telling me something, or the kisses on the nose from my little Angel (that is really his name) and I remember again why I am here. I love the kids here. I love what I do here, even if it is mainly office work. I love the nights I spend with the ninas watching movies in Spanish and pretending to comprehend it all. They make me smile a lot.

I feel torn sometimes from the life I have back home and the life I have here. I love them both. I pray that I can keep them intertwined for a long time. Well time to get back to my office work and hopefully...no more sunburns for this little Chica.

Hasta Luego!

It is well...

So...many things have taken place in my life in the last few weeks. Another earthquake but this one felt like a spinning ride that I couldnt get off of haha. No damage. I have been hanging out with the kids and started teaching classes in Computers (who would have thought) and crocheting! I am loving it and my spanish is coming along. My family and church came down to serve a mission trip for a week. It has been a blessing to see my Papa and Mom and Sis. I missed them a lot more than I realized.

Things have been happening around the orphanage that have caught my attention. Things I am not used to, but have opened my eyes to the frailty of my life and the lives of the ones around me. It causes me to continue to live my Life to the fullest and live it to Glorify God. Big shoes to fill but I have help. :D

I have recently been listening to the worship album that Kutless just put out and it has been making me smile. The old hymn "It is well" always leaves me with a catch in my throat and a tear in my eye...It reminds me that thru it all, it is well. My soul is taken care of by someone who knows it all. I have listened to it a lot during my time here at Colina. I remember constantly that I am loved and wanted no matter what is going on in the world around me.

Till next time!