my super friends.

I've been told few people in this world can keep up with my random-ness. Actually, I've been told by the other person in the picture that I'm lucky SHE can keep up with me. I guess this is why we've been friends for 8 years... I should also mention that we met because we were forced to work together on an interpretive dance project for grade 8 drama class. Random enough for me.

smile.

One of my favorite things to do is smile.

Have you ever walked into a room full of grumpy people and smile? It's one of my favorite things to do. I think it's because I'm an instigator and I like to see their reactions. If you haven't tried it, I strongly encourage you to do so.

We (Natsaha and I) had a co-worker at the water-park for two years that we refused to talk to until he smiled at me. Either of us didn't care how hard his day was, he wouldn't get our attention until he smiled at us. Oh, he fought it, every time, but at the end of the second summer he walked into the office and gave us a huge smile on his own. He told us that he liked how we made him smile at us, we were shocked.

The other night I went into one of the housing units where we work and there was a new little girl quietly tucked in behind a big chair. I watched her try to sneak her way into the the group of kids, but no dice. She was too shy to push her way into the crowd. From across the small room, I smiled at her, expecting her to shyly look down to the ground. To my surprise, her face lit up and she smiled back at me, her sad eyes sparkling.

Sometimes, life hits people in ways we will never understand or relate to. We try to be there and comfort them, offer an encouraging word or a hug. With our co-worker, I had no idea if he had a horrible day, but making him smile made it just a little better. The small girl trying to disappear behind the over-sized chair may have seen things in her short life that I will never understand; her smile changed the distraught look that tarnished her face.

Something so simple, something so easy made all the hardships of life disappear, even if just for 2 seconds. It's a blessing for me to be a part of that.

God is

I've recently been accused of being boring for reading blogs (bueno, ahí está tu referencia. ¿Satisfecho? jaja) but I make no excuse. I enjoy reading what other people have to say on life and on faith, I appreciate their insight into topics that I might not think about otherwise.

Today Jon Acuff was talking about who God is. As I skimmed through the comments, I couldn't help but being to mumble "amen" while scrolling down the list. I thought, maybe I should start my own list of who God is...

God is faithful.
God is passionate.
God cares for the kids the world forgets.
God is loving.
God is just.
God is there.
God is holy.
God is amazing.
God is creative.
God is personal.
God is ironic.
God is sarcastic.
God is forgiving.

Abigail

Really really small for her age, Abi holds her ground in the neighborhood. She's quiet, but makes her presence in the room and on the dirt road known. Her smile is captivating, her eyes big and brown - her personality: untrusting. She looks at you like you with an distrust and vulnerability that no one should have, especially at 4 years old.

A few months ago her mom's heart and lung disease began to worsen, after being hospitalized, I began to ask what would happen to Kati, Abi and Lucia, the 3 youngest children in the large family. The oldest brother, 20 years old, said he would take care of them. I rested assured that he would do his best.

Today, Abi's mom is back in the hospital, her oldest sister removed from the home and sent to live with a grandmother in another part of the city so she could continue attending school. Another family has moved into the home where Abi lives and in the past couple of weeks that they've been there, I've seen her quality of life deteriorating rapidly.

Tonight, she sat on my lap, an ice block with a bird's nest of hair resting on top of her head and an odor that I can't begin to describe. She's another child that has fallen between the cracks, another precious life that no one wants...

Pray for Abi.

cardboard

Sitting comfortably in my bus seat last week, I observed two children playing on a street corner. They were playing "horsie" and running all over the grassy medium of Avenida Italia. I smiled, because they were laughing really hard - and as the bus inched up the tiny hill, towards the street lights, I saw a cardboard box filled with blankets and a few cookie wrappers and it hit me: these kids weren't just playing around on the grass, they were living there.
I've seen poverty. Living in one of the most dangerous barrios of Managua, Nicaragua for a month showed me a kind of poverty I hope no one ever experiences; I just haven't seen it in Uruguay. I work with kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods and I've seen the hardships they're working through, I just never realized how many street kids live in Montevideo. Last week on the news the social workers were pleading with the people to stop giving money to kids begging on the streets and to start telling them to go to shelters. Most children and youth who live on the streets make their money by begging in the old city and by entertaining people with tricks while they wait at stop lights.
For the last week, I've been battling with this realization. I've been watching the people as the bus flies down the street, I've been taking note of how many kids I see wandering without shoes and living in cardboard boxes... I've been wondering why I haven't seen it this clearly for the past 10 months.

the weekend

Alright. I'm back from Timotó, a very small town east of here, where we had a retreat with young adults from the church I go to. It was a real blessing to get away for the weekend!
After a really warm week here in Uruguay, the weekend was freezing and of course, the building had no heat. As a result of that, I'm wearing at least 4 layers and in the picture, look a few kilos heavier than I really am. :)
This was the first retreat/camp that I've been to in Uruguay; it just wasn't the same without 3 Relient K cds being played one after the other for 2 and a half days and singing "Yes, Lord" at least 10679 times. However, it was a blessed time away with amazing friends. I'm thankful for the weekend I passed with them!

las rubias

Alejandra and I took the first picture at our very first walk to the beach on the first day I was in Uruguay. Ten months later, we sat on the same soft white-sand pile of sand and took some more. When I look back, I think of the places we've gone (Buenos Aires, Colonia, Punta del Este and Paysandú, to name a few) and the friends we've made, I think it's been a good ride. Also - our friends now refer to us as "the couple"... we're always together and when either one of us shows up anywhere alone, we get asked "where's the wife?"...

no words can describe

I love nature. I'm not a tree-hugger by any means, but I love look at and enjoying God's beauty and creation. I'm blessed to have spent a year in Uruguay where I can't get enough of the breath-taking sunsets I see all the time. They never grow old!! I know I'll miss seeing sunsets like this in Canada :)

whole lotta cuteness

Finally, a round-up picture of most of the kids we have attending in the housing unit of Pavia every week. It's hard to believe that there are still about 7 or 8 missing :( They're quite the special group of kids and I know the Lord will do amazing things with their lives!

they're back...

Two weeks of winter vacation have come come to an end. I walked back into the school today and was bombarded with hugs and kisses. I took a few pictures of the kids today, because they were so intense in everything they did. It was like a new passion for washing their hands and putting on their jackets was stirred up in them; I thought it was amusing.

These past couple of weeks have been a roller-coaster ride of busy-ness and tranquility. Seems like it's been a lot longer than 14 days, but that's just me. I've been reading through James the past few days and it's been a little eye-opening for me. It's a very direct book, there's no beating around the bush or mis-interpreting what he wants to say; I needed that this week. I've been struggling with some decisions on how to act and behave, and just as I was praying for wisdom, I opened my Bible and read chapter 4. Wow. I was sitting on my bed staring at the page as if it was a hypnotizing kaleidescope of colors... why do I ever doubt God? In my moment of weakness, I seek Him and He proves faithful in guiding me, once again.

he says she says

I'm not tri-lingual. I'm still working through French, so nevermind mastering Spanish. Better said - I can make myself understood in 3 languages. English is easy, all things are "it" (or neutral) and people have genders. Makes sense to me. Except Spanish and French don't work like that. Genders are assigned to inanimate objects. Did you know that in a couch is male? Shocking, is it not?

I've learned to deal with the concept and not question it. Over time, the gender- assignment begins to come naturally and you don't even think about it. Until, one day, I noticed that some things switch genders from language to language. Yes, it's true. Didn't know a fork had a gender? That's alright, in French it's "une forchette" (female) and in Spanish its "un tenedor" (male). Oh, the fun doesn't stop there! Watching a gender- neutral movie? Or, are you watching "un film" (male) or "una pelicula" (female).

It never ceases to amaze me how diverse each language is! I may sound like I'm complaining about it (which I might be, because when you think you have it, then they switch things around on you!) but it's really interesting to see the little switches and changes that make each language individual. I'm thankful I'm not learning German... they have male, female and gender-neutral inanimate objects!!

Inmenso amor

I recently heard one of my favorite worship songs in Spanish. Makes me happy. Care to guess which song it is?

Soy perdonado porque fuiste rechazado
Soy aceptado y tú condenado
Todo por tu amor al morir en el madero
Porque lo diste todo por mí

Inmenso amor demi por Tí
Tú mí Rey moriste por mí
Inmenso amor se q'es verdad
Fuiste Señor por mi a la cruz
Y estoy aquí por ti Jesús

Cristo Tú eres mí Rey

clown car

How many people can you fit into a tiny red car? From experience I can tell you, 6 Uruguayans, 1 Argentinian and 1 Canadian. Was it comfortable? No. Did we have fun taking pictures? Clearly we did.

I enjoyed getting to know these people this year and I'm a little sad to leave them behind, but I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for them in the future! Los quiero mucho!

mr.sun

Alright. I've been whining since April about the cold/damp weather in Uruguay. I've been talking about the unending rain, the inability to keep body heat and the battle to dry clothes. Today was nothing like that. It was amazing. The sun was HOT, the breeze was warm and the clouds were few. It FINALLY felt like summer (in the middle of the winter season). I spent time at the beach reading a mystery/romance based in Hawaii (I'm all about "feeling" like I'm in the book. lol.) and I dozed off right there in the sand.

Today was a breath of fresh (and warm!) air. Tomorrow they are announcing rain and regular temperatures for the rest of the week.

At least I have a sun-kissed face and left-over sand in my hair to remind me to be thankful for the BEAUtiful day we had today!!

Skype

I have a love/hate relationship with Skype. It never works properly when I want it to, the video has a mysterious yellow bar in the middle of it and people cut in and out more than I care for. However, I love it because I can talk to people on the other side of the world as if they were in front of me! It's fantastic for that. I got to talk to Steve, Fiona and the kids today and it was a real blessing to see their faces again! I took some video snapshots of the kids while they were telling me their adventure stories of catching frogs and riding horses...

Okay, so they're mostly of Mary, but that's only because she's so funny! She was waving and blowing kisses. She can say also say my name... I'm excited to see them again :)

always comes back

For the first time in a while, I had a good discussion with someone about the Bible. We were looking at 1 Corinthians 7... it's about marriage and stuff. I threw out some accusations of implications, but we got nowhere fast so I gave up.

I got caught up in looking deep into the passage with word meanings and cross references (doctrinal statement flashback!). I enjoyed it, it made me really think about what Paul was saying instead of simply reading (like I usually do).

Later on, while I was reading at the beach, I went to James, I love the book of James. Chapter 1 verses 5 and 6 kind hit me. (If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. BUT let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.) Not only was it a super timely verse, as I watched the waves crash in front of me, I realized that it always comes back to having faith like a child. Ask in faith, without doubt, just ask. We look into things deeply to pick it apart and find the root meaning and we make assumptions, when the Word says: just have faith.

unpatriotic

I wore blue all day: blue fleece pants and a navy blue hoodie (it's a bit chilly here). Nothing in my attire says "Canada Day"... most Canadians are proudly wearing their Dollarama flags on their backs, or an unusual combination of red and white and possibly with maple leaf tattoos from a cereal box . I'm wearing blue, but my sweatshirt does have a beaver on it. Does that count?

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

to my parents: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!