Daily Happenings

Yesterday, Karen and I began our 1-hour journey to Carpio catching our first bus at 7:30am. Every morning before the girls start their respective classes, one of the teachers leads the girls in a Bible study. It's a pretty laid back atmosphere. The girls can bring their kids, which at times can make things a little distracting when a baby is crying. But for the most part, the kids are good at entertaining themselves inside the safe fences of the refuge.

So there are many things I can get used to, like cold showers, not flushing toilet paper, rice and beans with every meal (including breakfast), dinner after 7:30 pm. But there is one thing that I've experienced many times in Latin American culture that I will never get used to. We are sitting in a circle having devotional and one of the young mothers starts breast feeding while we are reading Juan. And she continues feeding her child for the rest of the study. I know it's natural and all, but I really don't want to watch anyone do that. But I'm a little modest like that, so take these comments with a grain of salt.

After Carpio, Ana and I took the bus back for club. I learned that I have a lot more patience when pre-teens have their bratty moments (which is too often) when I don't completely know the language. Especially when they are screaming. Every moment I have been here, I've wished I knew more Spanish. But club on Thursday was not one of those moments. A preteen boy that apparently only knows how to communicate by screaming was having a moment. When the other adult looked at me like, "I just want to get out of here", I was able to just smile because I had no idea what he was saying or what was going on. That was the only time so far during this trip that I've been thankful I'm not fluent.

A few random facts:
- Keylie, my host family's cat, came back after 5 days of being MIA. I think she realized food was worth enduring living with 3 kids.
- I already have a bit of a farmer's tan.
- Johnathan has given me another last name to fit in. He now calls me Lauren Michelle Hudson Mier. But Michelle for short.
- I still haven't gotten used to Emily watching me everywhere I go, but I stole Visa's slogan and I've started to say: "Emily, everywhere you want to be."
- I think whoever owns a steel company is making bank because every house here is barred up with steel fences around it. And every door, even the closet, has key locks on it from the outside. My house has three doors with dead bolts before you can even get inside. But I do sleep well at night.

Lauren

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11