Pizza fiesta

Last night we had a pizza party for the girls that didn't receive reports from school. This week only 10 girls had reports, so I guess that is an improvement. It was a lot of fun. It was my descanso weekend so I just bought the pizza and soda and met the girls at dinner time. The girls were amazing. They helped me carry over all of the food and waited patiently for me to arrive before they started eating. Nobody took more than they were supposed to and they were all very polite. (I consider this very successful for 19 teenage girls)

Everyone had a great time and it was fun to do something special for the girls. We had a few birthdays over the weekend and so we were able to celebrate that as well. The girls sang the traditional Mexican birthday song, "Las Mananitas." At the end of the dinner they all thanked me and gave me hugs. It was really sweet.

By Archbishop Oscar Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Descanso in Teotihuacan

Language barriers

My girls after lunch: We want to pray.
Me: Okay. See you Monday.
My girls: No. (Make the sign of the cross)
Other encargada: You were confused.
Me: Yeah, most of the time.

Finally, a break so I can update this

Last weekend was my first official work weekend and it was really fun, but a lot of work. To start off with 20 / 28 of my girls had bad reports from school so they were all castigadas (Essentially like grounding - no going outside and no television). So I am starting a new program in my section. All of the girls that have good reports from school will get to have a special dinner with me. It is really awesome because a lot of the girls are telling me that they are going to do really well so they can come to the dinner.

On Sunday, I made cookies with the girls that had good reports and we had activities. I got a chance to know one of the girls, Lucero. She is a very sweet girl but she tends to be a loner and she can get upset easily (like most teenagers). She is new to the house and has only been here three months. We talked for a little while and she told me that she really likes to write. I told her that was wonderful and that I would love to see some of what she has written if she ever wants to share it. The next day she wrote me a story and showed me several things she has written. She is very talented and was so excited to share her work. One of the benefits of being a volunteer is being able to find ways to connect with the girls in new ways. There are 28 girls in my section and with only two caretakers they can't all receive the individual attention they need.

Monday was a holiday and the kids weren't in school. (I now have an idea of why my mom was disappointed when we didn't have school). They didn't have anything to do so I brought over the DVD player from the volunteer section, made popcorn and watched Pirates of the Carribbean. The girls were excited, but the best part was that all the girls were so grateful. They all thanked me for sharing my movie and for buying them popcorn.

So overall, it was a very rewarding weekend although very exhausting. Tonight I went with some of the girls to Life Teen, a religous program for teenagers. Well anyway, I am off to play volleyball. Lent starts tomorrow so we have Mass at 6:30 in the morning.

Peace