Tuesday and Some Thoughts

Why hello!
I realize you must be in complete shock because I blogged the other day, but I have some things on my mind that I really want to share with you, namely, about Tuesday and some other thoughts.


So first, Tuesday. I finally got my first dose of "me" time since arrival.  I slept in until 9:30 (which is unheard of here, 8:00 is thought of as sleeping in), and my housemates were getting their IDs in Guayaquil, so I just read, cleaned, and decorated--it was great.  I also went out to get some food, and on the way, I stopped by a neighbor´s, Freddy´s, house, and met his wife Reina.  I got food to make lunch at Carmen´s, a lady I haven´t talked to much but I can tell she has a huge heart.  She even threw in two manderines for me!  I also stopped by the panaderia to get some bread and then our usual place for pineapple.  I felt so comfortable walking around our neighborhood, greeting people with a buenos dias, and just smiling.
When the roomies came back, Liz and I decided to try a workout DVD (shocking, I know)  and did some kickboxing and power yoga.  It was fairly amusing, especially for Brittany and Julia, who got to watch us and laugh. After the workout, we had a pretty hilarious lunch (due to conversation, not food).  Soon enough, it was time for me and Liz to go to Valdivial. Valdivia is one of the after school programs Rostro runs, and this one is in our neighborhood.  Everyone in Duran except the Mundo teachers have a permanent placement in one of the ASPs, but until classes begin, I´ll be helping out.  I was at first excited to not do this every day, but as I go, I get increasinly upset because these kids are so cute!  It´s impossible not to see God in their beauty, innocence, love, and an occasional rough outer shell.  Sure, things get crazy, but I still love being with the kids and emanating in their joy.  Tuesday, Liz and I ran the activity and made complete fools out of ourselves by dancing for everyone, but they seemed to like it!  I also jumped rope with some girls, struggled to learn names, and butchered Spanish, and enjoyed myself entirely.
On our way back home, I introduced Liz to Freddy and we were there for awhile, still massacring Spanish, but also talking about life.  He thinks that since I studied religion, I´ll be a nun, but I tried to tell him that no, that is not gonna happen.  We also went to Gabriel´s house, a grandfatherly figure who always gives us cokes and life lessons.  When we came back, Jules and Britt were cooking up a storm, and in no time we had a delicious dinner.  That night, we had our first spirituality night (one a week, we will have both a spirituality night and a community night, along with daily prayer).  It kicked ass.  Britt led it, and it was a beautiful time where we shared our faith, our darknesses, and our lights.  These girls continue to amaze me, and I still have so much to learn!


So now it´s time for "some thoughts" section, that while incomplete, are things that have been coming up here.  I´d love to know your thoughts on these!!
-We´re all made by the Creator with unique gifts.  Yet sometimes, we don´t even know what those gifts are or how we can best use them.  That´s where community comes in.  Others may be able to point out our gifts in ways we could never have known, and not only that, but they can bring out our gifts.  It is up to us as humans to ignite others to their fullest selves and to extrapolate others´gifts when they are buried.  We discover who we are and who God is in community, and in that sacred place, we can make others whole.
-(This comes from reading Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle SJ, and while I´m only on chapter 2, it´s my new favorite book and EVERYONE should read it!).  God created us, and therefore we are perfect in his mind.  God sees us as firme, or "could not be one bit better."  As humans, we tend to dwell on our imperfections and our since, but God cannot stop staring and smiling at His (or Her) creations.  God sees all the goodness He´s instilled in us--He can see our best selves, even when we cannot see it or act it.  God loves us just as we are unconditionally.  He sees the perfection of His creation in us, and we are exactlywho He wants us to be at this moment--we could not be one bit better, for this is how God loves us and made us, just as it.  Even though we all need to grow, God loves us and can only see the beauty He created.  We are beloved.  How cool is that?


This last part is still something I struggle with and am thinking about a lot, but I think it´s so beautiful and powerful.  So sit on these and let me know what you think.
Until next time, paz y amor.