Una memoria hermosa

Today was fun!  It was cloudy and sprinkly all morning, and it’s been rainy since midafternoon. We’re definitely getting hit with the edge of the weather effects from Hurricane Paine down south.  Gracias a Dios (as Juanita would say), the rain has been coming steadily but pretty lightly the whole time, so it’s allowing the ground to absorb the moisture and the hillside buildings aren’t in danger of mudslides.

This morning Juanita did hard-boiled eggs, yogurt with fruit, and carrot-cake muffins, which made for a well-rounded and very yummy breakfast.  I was a tad late coming into the kitchen—I couldn’t get myself out of bed quite on time this morning—and when I tried to apologize Juanita told me I don’t have to feel obligated to get up so early every morning.  But I don’t mind.  It’s nice to get up and be in the kitchen early, when things are peaceful and quiet and Mark, Oscar, and Juanita (and Oscar’s dog Frida) are the only other ones in there.  We have coffee and chat, and it gives us all a chance to ease into our day.  I like that aspect (not to mention the killer sunrises most days) so I’m willing to get up a bit earlier while I’m here.

It was fun to watch Trish teach Bible class this morning.  I learned a lot more signs today—some animals and a few other random ones.  Also am trying to learn numbers 1-20.

Got to spend lots of time with Juanita this morning too, which was great.  My brain is now starting to actually get stuck in “Spanish mode” (I’m becoming like Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 3!), and I keep accidentally saying English words with a Spanish accent or addressing my fellow English speakers in Spanish.  It’s great to know my brain is doing that.  Juanita and I talked plenty today because there was a lot of prep work to do (we had to do everything for the lunch and also for the dinner soup for later).  We also made roles de canela (also known as CINNAMON ROLLS!) for tomorrow’s breakfast.  Joanna, we did them just like they do at Cinnabon—I’ll teach you how when I get home!  Juanita had some worship music on, and a Spanish version of “Fire Fall Down” by Hillsong United came on.  I told her that I love that song because it always reminds me of the year at winter camp when God first spoke to me and revealed Himself to me.  I was in one of the worship sessions, and that was the moment when I realized God was real, that He was present in the room, and that I needed to follow Him with everything I had, for my whole life.  When I asked Juanita what her story was, she said that she was 28 years old and was at church with a friend, and while everybody was praying at the front, she heard the Holy Spirit speak to her in such an audible voice that at first she looked around to see who was talking to her.  She said God told her, loud and clear, that she needed to not go back to her life in Durango but stay in Guadalupe instead, because she needed to be like the nation of Israel when they were called to leave Egypt and separate themselves from the worldly influences there.  She needed to purify her life for God.  At first after she committed her life to God, her husband wasn’t a Christian, but as time went by he started going to church with her, and eventually he got saved too!  It was a pretty neat story.  We talked about how crazy it is to hear God speak to you like that, and how at the time you don’t always recognize the significance of what is happening.  But now, I told her, when I look back, I can see how that was the defining moment when God changed my heart, “y ahora cuando yo pienso en ese momento” (and now when I think about that moment), I told her, "es una memoria . . .”

“Es una memoria hermosa,” she finished for me.  “It’s a beautiful memory.”  That pretty much sums it up. 

I went to the distribution center after that, but Josefina was working in there today and she said she didn’t need any help and that I could have a free day because today is her day to organize things in there.  So I just let her have her space, because she has her own method of doing things, and it can be kind of scattered.  I figured it would be nice to have an afternoon off from linen room duty, especially on a rainy day.  A side note . . . I love Josefina so much!  (I love all the staff, of course, but she’s absolutely amazing Despite all the crazy things she’s been through in her life (not only is she deaf, but she had a debilitating brain hemorrhage about 15 years ago and only survived and recovered by God’s healing power), she is still so smart, and so sweet and affectionate and genuine to everyone.  Her smile lights up her whole face.  She’s one of those “shiny” Christians for sure—God’s love and joy just radiate out of her.

So anyway, I went back to the kitchen to make a new batch of school snacks, which kept me busy till lunchtime.  Poor Juanita kept trying to sit down and relax, but things at her house were crazy and her kids kept calling her every five minutes.  Made me think about all the house chaos I’ll go home to next week . . .

Get a load of this beautiful scenery! (about 10 minutes pre-downpour)

The sky was whited out with all the water coming down!

The afternoon was nice.  After I helped Trish and the boys clean up the kitchen, I decided to take a second walk (I had done one loop in the morning after devos) because it was so nice out.  Cloudy and humid, but cool enough to be pleasant.  I was really admiring the beauty of the hills with the mist and clouds behind them, and for the first five or ten minutes it was perfect walking conditions.  Praise the Lord I took my umbrella, though, because just as I reached the front gate it suddenly started dropping big fat drops.  I barely had time to get my umbrella unfolded before it turned into a full deluge.  My walk instantly turned into a puddle-jumping sprint, trying to hold the umbrella over my head, while I made a mad dash up the driveway (man, is it long!) and across the soccer field (which isn’t a field at all, just a plateau of dirt) to the shelter of the staff house.  I think I was out in the downpour for two minutes tops, but as it was, I got pretty wet.  After drying off, I decided I’d have to spend my afternoon indoors.  So I did some artwork for a while.  Super pleasant with the rain coming down (it didn’t let up for a long time, by the way, and it’s still drizzling now as I write at 9:12 pm).

Helped Trish with dinner.  Super simple . . . Juanita and I had prepped a jicama and cucumber salad and a chicken vegetable soup with carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and zucchini.  Delicious for a rainy night!  After dinner, the normal playground hour was used as a board-game hour in the chow hall.  Now here I am back at my room, writing this lovely little blog post.

Just for fun . . .

Meet some of the Ranch critters! 
(Sorry for no photos . . . they won't stay still long enough for me to get any.) Most of the pets at RSM are adopted street animals, so a lot of mutts here!

• Doug and Peggy have two dogs named Max (an ancient golden retriever) and Auggie  (a pit bull mix, I think).  They always bark and/or whine at me when I walk past their screen door or their side yard.
• Janet and Howard’s dog, Zuma, is a mid-sized mutt with pointy ears (like a coyote) who is also ancient and has arthritis.  He likes to bark at visitors too, even the ones he knows.  I call him "the doorbell," because he barks every time I come near Howard & Janet's door. 
• Johnny and Amber have a very mischievous pug-looking mutt named Buster.  He always, always finds a way to sneak into the chow hall and get in everyone’s way.  
• Oscar’s black Chihuahua, Frida, is the exact opposite of Buster.  She is a master escape artist.  Every morning Oscar tries to keep her inside with him while he has his coffee, but she always manages to sneak out the open kitchen door at least once.  The other day she got out and a falcon was eyeing her!  Oscar had to rush to the rescue before she became breakfast!
• Goldie is like the youngest child--everybody's favorite and probably the most spoiled.  When she first showed up at the Ranch she was still a puppy, but now she's reached full size (which is still not very big). Her name came from her short golden coat.  She doesn't "belong" to anybody, but there was a long list of regular visitors (including a couple from our church) who called dibs on her at one point or another.  No adopted family yet, though.  She just runs around, wrestles with Buster, and adds to the overall havoc of the menagerie.
• Three dogs live at Luke and Josefina’s house.  I can’t remember all their names, but the biggest one, a shaggy mutt called Java, is Sammy’s dog and she will defend him against anybody at any cost.  I know better than to get too close to her--she almost bit me once on a weekend trip when I got out of the church van!
• Mark has a dog named Roy, who lives in the yard next to the boys’ dorm.  The RSM cat, Diana, has been around for a long time and is most attached to Mark.  We all give her scraps from the kitchen now and then, but Mark is the one who shows her the most affection.  She is super cute--all black with white socks and a white-tipped tail, and she always sits outside the kitchen windows and meows to be let in.