Its been about 3 weeks since I have been here and It seems like a month or more. I washed one weeks worth of clothes BY HAND haha! And it was a workout. It took me 2 1/2 hours to finish. As some of you may know, there was a Hurrican in the country, but thankfully I am a couple of hours away from the storm. In the city where I am, we only got a thunderstorm.
My day consist of 3 hours of language conversation with 2 different tutors and 1 hour of grammar with another tutor. They are all in their early twenties, and a lot of fun to be with for my tutoring sessions. I am learning slowly, but surely and at times more slowly than I would like. I go to Church here with the family. But I do not understand barley any words during the service. So at times it reminds me of the Charlie Brown cartoons where there in class and the teacher is saying " blah blah wa wamp wamp" for 3 hours. I have some good books and a journal with lots of blank pages to help me keep focused and stay connected to God.

Everyday I take the public bus to school for about 30 min each way. The things I see while riding the bus have been making me think, pray, write, become angry and hurt. There are kids that come on the bus, sing with a small instrument and when finish, will walk from the front of the bus to the back, collecting money. It is school hours when the children are doing this so I know that they don't attend school regularly if any at all. The are tons of people selling food, water, towels, anything that doesn't weight too much in your hands, and are on the side of the road, in the bus or in the middle of the street selling. I thought to myself, " everyone is working hard, yet no one is getting anywhere, their still poor" it makes me think that the saying "hard work can get you anywhere" doesn't apply for everyone. I have been reading a good book called "Banker to the Poor" that has been opening my eyes to the financial institutions that work against the poor.

I have been pondering the statement that says to "take up my cross" and wondering what that looks like in my life now. The answers come as often as the questions. But one thing that I have learned is that giving up all things in surrender, and seeking after one thing, the one thing that makes the all the difference, Is the easiest and hardiest thing to do. Painful, but liberating.

"The just walk by faith and not by sight."

Paz ( Peace in Spanish)