Is it really May already?

Wow...It is May 8th and I haven't written a blog since January?! My, has time flown. Things have been a challenge, as always. Sometimes it is hard get in the mood to write a blog when things are just so tough. BUT...tonight was very special to me, so I wanted to share. Every night we ring the bell at 8:30pm for the kids to gather in their dorms for prayers and bedtime. I went in the "sextos" dorm, for the girls in their 6th/final semester of high school and spent a couple hours just hanging out with them. Usually we pray and then Annelies (a fellow volunteer from Belgium) and I have to say goodnight and make a quick exit so they can lockup and set the alarm. But tonight, the director who usually tells us to leave was busy with something, so I was able to stay with the girls until 10:15pm! I just sat with them and they told me old stories from their childhood while growing up in Miacatlán at the home for our younger children. One of the girls that I spend alot of time with turned to me in the middle of one of the stories and said, "Te quiero. Me das mucha risa." (She loves me and she thinks I'm funny! haha). I felt so privileged to hear their stories and it was just a fun experience to see how excited they were to share. They are such a wonderful group of girls. (Of course I've always known that, but sometimes I forget the good and that they are the entire reason I'm here volunteering, when you have a cloud of negativity surrounding you.) I'm going to be so proud of them when they graduate this July.

The little things, like chatting late at night with the girls, or having someone tell me that they love me, are the things that get me through. We are going to plan a pijamada (pajama party!) for this weekend. I can't wait. :)

I wanted to end this blog with a video of the Asian Day event that I helped Annelies organize, but I can only share it on fb. I'll have to ask Erika (a past volunteer and our current Projects Coordinator employee here at NPH Mexico) about getting a copy of the video. Annelies received a donation from a group in Belgium, so she had extra funds to put on an awesome event. The video Erika made shows me getting clobbered while sumo wrestling at the event. I'll have to post it soon for people without access to it on fb. Stay tuned! (a message to all the devoted followers of my dead blog...haha)

A couple of the wonderful senior girls: