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