Today has been such a relaxing day off.




I woke up around 8, and put a load of clothes in, washed my dishes from last night and made my bed.



I really wanted to cut the grass. Gib has a push mower, one of those that is just a metal mower, not gas powered or nada. Just a metal mower. But I couldn't find it anywhere. I bet he took it to Monjas. So, I decided to clean the garage where Babe, the dog, lives. It was so gross, but now it's sparkling clean! Well, not exactly sparkling, but I did Ajax it.



I had some keys made for the two new interns, so I brought them by and decided to check my e-mail too.



This afternoon I am going to Antigua to look for me an apartment for October. I'll have dinner there too.



I need to get home and fix lunch now. I'm making hot ham and cheese sandwiches.


It's such a beautiful day today!

Since Melvin and Zaidy are gone, the responsibility of market shopping has fallen to Rebeca, Elena, Vivian, and I. Today was our first day.




We went into Mixco. Market day is crazy. Wednesdays are the days that all of the fresh fruits and vegetables are brought in, so there were tons of people! It was so crowded and Rebeca and I made I don't know how many trips back and forth to the car carrying all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Oh, and by the way, it was up hill all the way to the car. I carried bags of watermelons, cantelopes, plantains, oranges, brocoli, carrots, cabbage, strawberries, blackberries... oh, and a box of bananas..., um... a box of chicken... on numerous trips up that hill. It was so hard. My hands, shoulder, arms, feet, legs... everything is hurting. From head to toe. I'm sure tomorrow I won't be able to move my arms.



One good thing is that it will be a good work out every week.



We didn't let Elena carry anything because she has high blood pressure. She works so hard. She was our "buyer". She did all the bargaining.



OH! I finally bought some jocotes! My favorite fruit here in Guate!
Next week I want to buy some of the tiny bananas that they call "fingers". They're sweeter than normal bananas. So good!

another trip to the psycologist

I took Seliy to the psycologist this morning... in vane, because he didn't show up, but that's beside the point. In the car, at a redlight, Seily, who by the way, spoke 90 to nothing, nonstop, all the way there and back, in the car she began to talk about her family. She said she really missed them and was very happy with her mother. Although, she confided in me some of the things her father did to her when he was "drunk". I couldn't believe that this little 6 year old girl has to have those kinds of memories in her little mind that can just come and go as they please, without warning, and break her heart all over again. It angers me to no end! I look at her sweet little face and delicate, tiny body and wonder how the man who is supposed to be her protector here on this earth could do such a thing to his daughter. Seliy changed the subject just as quick as it came about, and soon we were singing about God's "Grandes Maravillas", which was the song we sang yesterday at church. Neither one of us could remember more than three lines, so we sang them over and over in the car. I found an English radio station and started singing, "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins to her at the top of my lungs. She just looked at me in the rearview with the strangest look on her face. When I asked her if she liked my singing, she quickly said, "NO!"... HAHA!!! Children are painfully honest!

great weekend!

It has been amazing for me to see the older girls helping out with the younger girls.




Saturday, Caty wet herself and her bed during the day. Astrid cleaned her and her bed without anyone asking her. It was her first reaction. Later, Caty proudly displayed her polished finger and toenails as we watched Guatemala's game against Trinidad y Topago. She had her arms crossed, but with her "jazz hands" out so everyone could see! Astrid made her pigtails and Caty was smiling from ear to ear!



Yesterday morning, Caty had wet her bed again overnight. Sandy jumped right in and helped Caty shower off while I washed her bed sheets. Then with Astrid, they fixed her hair and got her ready for church. (remember Caty is the one who was found in a hotel room, dressed in men's clothing, and has the actions of only a 3 year old, maybe. She is soon to be 15 years old)



Last night, Irma had all of the girls ironing their uniforms and she was right there helping them. She made a schedule for it and everyone had their turn.



Andrea helped her little sister put all of her clothes away.



Lily fixed Seily's hair for church.



Maria, Lily, and Sindy cleaned their entire room and bathroom, without instruction to do so.



It made for a great weekend!





Oh, and Alabama won 26 to 7 against MTSU!! ROLL TIDE!!





Now I'm off to do errands that Melvin usually does. Bank, post office, etc. I hope I don't get lost. I've only been to this particualr post office once. I'm sure I'll be fine!

changes

It's had to have been a week or something since I've updated last. This week has been just a little different than other weeks.




First of all, I took a shift watching the older girls downstairs in the evenings because they didn't have a house mom. All of the adults are taking turns.



Second, the house parents upstairs left. They put in a notice about three weeks ago, and Thursday was their last day. It was really upsetting for all of the girls upstairs. But they have really been great in these circumstances. Please continue to pray for them.



Because of that, we had two older girls downstairs move up to the big house with the other 12 girls. So, we now have 19 girls in one house. It makes for a crazier weekend for me. I'm still staying all weekend, but now with 19 of all ages, instead of 7 teenagers... it is a bit more... stressful. It has been fun this weekend though.



Thank you for your prayers.



Pray this week, as I'll be doing the shopping in the market too. Zaidy and Melvin did that weekly, but now Elena, Vivian, and I will go to Mixco to do it. It can be dangerous, so I won't be carrying my cell phone, jewelry, extra money, etc. I trust that God will protect us, but I know your prayers will help. I will now do shopping at the Super markets on Tuesday and we will go to the fresh food market on Wednesday (in Mixco)



I'll be looking in Antigua, hopefully, this week for somewhere to rent the month of October. Also, the car I was waiting for hasn't come through, so I'm going to look elsewhere in the meantime.



There are so many little stories I want to write about, but I just don't have time right now. I will this week. I also want to post random pictures.



Oh, Guatemala lost 3-2 to Trinidad y Topago yesterday. They play the U.S. on Wednesday night!!