A different type of Tren then back to the grind

July 20, 2010
5am before the sun or the roosters even stir, AmandaEve gets picked up by Charlie, a friend taxi driver. Father John, Stephan, and I bid her farewell at the gate, and return to our rooms for a few more winks of sleep. Before morning prayers, we said our goodbyes early to another team member. It was very eerie during morning service. The kids, even los chiquitos, knew that we would be 10 less in just a few hours.

After the final "Father Bless," the team lined up along the outside of the church. The children, age and height order facing the team did the same. This is where the different type of tren comes in: it was a train of tears, hugs and kisses. A few missionaries at the end handed out crosses (which they are still proudly wearing) and stickers. After the children dispersed, Madre Ivonne had the final meeting with the team, and gave them a tour of the mushroom clinic, and the older girls' living quarters. The team then acted like Saint Nicholas handing out little chocolate goodies to the staff as a gesture of thanks. I even shed a few tears when giving the despidas to some of the team members. I have heard some touching and inspiring stories and have shared in great conversation with the missionaries this past week. I was talking with one of the girls as we were sitting under the bells, watching the bus pull out of the hogar. She was in tears as well and told me that it is hard to hear them say that they will write, or return, because most never do. She said to me that at least I live in the US and could visit if I wanted. She doesn't have that option here in Guatemala. My heart broke a little more.

The little ones got a hold of the giant balloon Stephan brought for them. This game lasted about 5 minutes before they were too rough with the rubber, and it popped. Another reason for tears this morning.

After catching up on some well-needed rest, it was time for lunch. It was really weird how quiet the comedor was. Ivan, a volunteer and son of a good friend from Switzerland of Madre's, and myself were alone at the missionary table. We didn't talk much because we were both still in shock that we were 10 less. I did some office work, and then watched Sinbad the pirate with the little ones. When that ended, I took the children I have been tutoring for a little study time.

We had some free time before dinner. I played a very organized version of "house and school" where I was the mean maestra who gave too much homework. My students wanted to "soften my heart" so they prepared a suprise dinner of Pollo Campero and homemade tres leches cake (all invisible, pretend, etc.) for me. It was so incredible to see structure even in their playtime. When it was "time for school," the kids would automatically line up in height order. When I sent them in the corner for not doing the HW or misbehaving, through soft giggles, they obeyed. Imagine that!

After dinner, two of the preteens read to me. They were reading their favorite fairy tales, capurcita roja, and la princesa y la molina, etc. This was very valuable time, not only to obviously spend with the girls, but to see their levels of reading and comprehension. I cannot go into details about any specific child, but some are years behind where they should be. Thank God they came to the hogar when they did or it could be worse!
Wednesday, the older girls will be going to a water park (aprox 5 hrs away) until Friday. Talk about a full house to a ghost town!