Yesterday was a no-work day again, but that changes tomorrow. Today is a meeting with all the parents. Most of the kids have been on vacation the last few weeks; they've been with some relative or another for the holidays, but not all of them had somewhere to go. There were 21 here. By tonight, there will be 71. They started arriving yesterday with parents. We spent a good bit of time talking to Dori about the kids and what we'll be doing.
Part of what we'll be doing is getting the boys ready in the morning. There is a tia who is in the house that the smaller guys stay in, and we'll help her. They leave by 7:00, dressed and having eaten. So we'll help with the getting ready and getting fed and then have down time until they get back. Then we'll help with homework or whatever needs to be done. We're also going to run and say morning prayer in the mornings. We've been praying, but not running. We have done a pretty good job about getting some exercise in each day, though. Yesterday we walked down the dirt road across from the Hogar and back, which was about 70 minutes of walking.
Right now final cleaning preparations are being made. People are sweeping and mopping. Yesterday we did dishes at lunch and dinner and helped cook dinner. The tia was off for the night to go to a wedding. There wasn't an after-dinner movie last night so I went to bed pretty early. I read some. I've started Absolute Truths by Susan Howatch. I'm reminded that Charles Ashworth is very much not my favorite character in this series. I'm taking some time now to blog and do interwebby stuff before I go read and am present with the children.
I'm really working on spending down time being present here. I'm glad that there is down time and that I'm not just dead at the end of the day, and Dori said that that should continue. Yesterday we met some of the parents and grandparents. My vocabulary is very small, but what I'm understanding as people speak is really growing. Some of the children are starting to systematically learn English and we've said that we'll help them if they help with our Spanish. I'm so thankful Stefanie is here to help with the language that I don't know.
Yesterday was in all a chill day. Web, reading, hanging out, chatting with Dori and parents. I was kind of furious at some of the rhetoric after Rep. Giffords's shooting. All-in-all, though, it makes me sad. I'm not comfortable with some of the stuff I've seen from right wing Christians/Christianists, particularly yesterday. A blog I read advocated a book about capitalism being the solution and actually being the result of what Jesus taught. Comments are disabled or I might have asked about Acts 2. But the violence just makes me sad (and the violent rhetoric does, too). This "Christian nation" isn't so good at turning the other cheek, no?
Well, that's all of my recap of yesterday. I'm feeling kind of sad about violence against elected officials and appointed ones (the federal judge). I'm excited to see the rest of the children here! Pray for them and for us as we do the work that has been given us today. We're working on some songs to teach them for their eucharist(s? - the number is unclear). I think Dori said last night that I'm the choir director? That was unclear, too.
Christ is our guiding light, come let us walk in the way of peace.
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