Today was amazing...

Today was a humbling day. So many times I was brought down a notch or two. It's so easy to get comfortable, to speak the language, to make friends, to seem as though you belong. But essentially I don't and I never will. I will always be a foreigner. I will always have white skin, blue eyes, my first language will always be English and I will always be at least 2 feet taller than everyone in this place. This was my constant thought today as I made my way through the villages interviewing widows and visiting past widow houses. As much as we try, as people, as a ministry, we must always remember that we're on their turf, we must play by their rules. So with that in mind, today I tried a little harder to be exra respectful and step a little more carefully than maybe I normally would.

To back track, today I went to almost 10 families to do a kind of progress report which was aweome. Very rarely do we get to go back and witness the outcomes of the gifts we give these women but today I got to do just that. It was a gift and a blessing to say the least. I had mixed reactions though, some kids hated me...

Others loved me. The baby in the above photo had never seen a white person, neither had his sister. His sister ran and screamed when she saw me and well you can see how the baby reacted. But I also had families that thanked me for visiting and told me to come back anytime. One lady even said she'd cook for me. Oh goodness. Haha.

So that took up most of my day but the new team came in today. Another week is upon us and I'm excited. These kids are all middle schoolers with a parent with them. What an experience this will be for them. I hope they get a lot out of it.

So tomorrow is all about cleaning Monte Flor. We've had really bad storms and needless to say this is just a small bit of what happened...

It was soooo not a good morning. Haha.

Daily Shout Outs

• Matt- I'm loving the fact that you have skype AND facebook. It makes my life. Haha love you darlin. Talk to you in a few.
• The Douglas Family- Reed, you are constantly in all of our prayers. Keep fighting little buddy, I promise this world is worth it.
• The Boyd Family- I love ya'll and I hope ya'll are well. Give the kids kisses for me. Hugs to everyone!
• Mom and Dad- Just wanted to say I love you.
• Kristen- Keep your head up. Take a deep breath, it will all be fine.
• Erin- You are beautiful and no boy defines you. Always remember that. I love you honey.

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit"