A Night in the Life

The last couple days have been wonderfully crazy. Our first group was here and we kept them plenty busy. Some projects got done quickly, others will be summer-long projects. I'm happy to say that my summer will include lots of footer-digging and concrete pouring, my old loves from my last trip. My life wouldn't be complete without them. Today is a brief head-above-water day where the first group is gone and the next arrives tomorrow. Therefore, I am sitting in front of a fan eating leftover tacos for breakfast and lunch before going out to get more for dinner (although I heard a rumor about some sort of bacon/hot dog creation for dinner).

Two nights ago I had an incredible opportunity. For reasons not important to all of you, the Salvation Army home needed some overnight help this weekend. That meant that a few of us (staff/interns/groupies) got to go out to the home for the night and hang out. When we pulled up in the van, the kids came RUNNING out of the dorms to greet us, they were so pumped. We played games and had a quick devotional before getting them in bed. It was quite an adventure. They loved to call me over to tell me something, even though I didn't have the faintest idea what they were saying. I relied on a lot of hand motions and facial expressions to communicate, but its all good. After the kids finally settled down enough to go to bed, us American-folk sat on the curb in the dark, Mexican countryside and talked. We talked about our lives back home, God, orphans, special needs kids, and what was going to change because of this trip. It was super cool to hear the group members talk about the drastic changes they want to make in their lives and thinking; a lot of them were similar to my own when I was here for a week.

As I sat there on the steps looking up at the stars, I was struck by how BIG God is. He created everything and is active in his creation. I know God is at work at home, I know God is at work in Lansing, and I know he is at work here. And yet, he offered us the opportunity to know him intimately. I know it sounds like a simple revelation, but it was what struck me on the steps outside that dorm.

Wow, ok, take a breath from all that heavy stuff...one of the best parts was the next morning (which was at 5:45 in the morning after a terrible night of sleep in a dorm that felt like it was 120 degrees in a bed that may or may not have contained lice) when we woke the kids up for breakfast before going to school. I felt a little tap on my face, opened one eye, and heard "buenos dias!". I mumbled something the greeting in return and crawled out of bed. The little fella that is on my shoulders in that picture up there was struggling to wake up. Everyone else was bustling around getting dressed and picking on each other, he had made it like two steps out of bed. He was face down, spread eagle on the floor passed out again. I couldn't help but crack up. Eventually we got them all off to school and then took off back to the team house. It was a quiet ride, but it was a great night.