Let the Tren de Chocolate begin!

Intense portero (goalie)

A few relatively uneventful days have passed since I have last written. The printer and I have become very acquainted as we were preparing for Tren de Chocolate. Tren de chocolate, is the summer camp for the children at the hogar, sponsored by an OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center) team. Tren de Chocolate or, the chocolate train, is a popular children's song in Latin America about a tren filled with caramels and sweets! In the hogar's version of the tren, stations are set up around the property for different activities, each station represented by a country (Guatemala, Holy Land, US, Mexico, and the Philippines). They will be making crafts, watching biblical tales, learning how to bake, and much more! This will be my first tren adventure as well, and I can't wait to get started!

The OCMC team, lead by Father John Parker of Holy Ascension Church in SC, arrived yesterday in the rainy afternoon. After evening prayers, while still in church, each missionary stood up individually, and said their name and what parish they were from. Every single one tries to present themselves in Spanish, and I was very impressed! It is a team of 10

from all of the US (and one from Canada). I had the opportunity to get to know a few of them last night. They all seem like very genuine Christians with good intentions for the tren and its passengers. I talked a lot to Father John, and Deacon Mark from Dallas during dinner. I have heard really good things about Fr. Juan and the children adrore him, so I am very excited for this week. Deacon Mark and I talk about the difficulties in unifying the Orthodox Church with regards to existing pride and whatnot. I can tell he is very passionate about his faith and speaking The Word, and making sure it reaches his listeners. I always feel a little guilty when I meet a team, because yhey already know each other, so they ask me about myself; I feel as if I am talking too much about myself. I just try to explain that I think this is God's will for me and it has been a blessing every day I have been here. It is kinda cute with the little ones though; even the ones that aren't usually affectionate towards me cling to my side when all these new strangers entered their home. These are our friends, I tell them, and besides, they will give you lots of love and special treats!

As I was informed in December, I have a lot of solitary time. During these hours of chores and schoolwork for the kids, I spend my time doing some spiritual reading Madre has given me. It has been very rejuvenating filling these hours with good, strong text instead of TV (well, besides futbol recently) or facebook (don't worry, I still check it). I hope that when I get back from Guatemala and return to school, I will have enough discipline to continue this routine in the much less encouraging environment.

The girls have also taught me how to make Kombosquinis or prayer ropes. It is a precise 9 step, 3 part process that takes a lot fo patiences and prayer. The Jesus Prayer (English or Spanish) goes along with each step, and concludes with pulling each string through 3 times for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are some girls that know how, but are not permitted to teach yet. It is an honor and you must earn the right to teach. My "teachers" (bad idea to have more than one because that all have slightly different techniques and it is easy to confuse them) said that I picked up the steps very quickly. Now I need to work on the technique to get each know smaller and tighter. When they finally approve of my technique, I can graduate to making a real Kombosquini instead of just practice knots. I am not nearly as fast as these girls, but some have been at it for 10+ years. The girls tell me that whenever they are bored, they just turn to Kombosquini making. They sell them in the hogar store for their personal bank accounts (let me know if you are interested in owning one). Most are wise enough to save their money up for college. Now that I understand the discipline of Kombosquini making, when I am using the prayer rope in prayer I have a lot more appreciation every time I move to the next knot.

Speaking of knots, here is a human knot!

Today is the big day! I think the runner-up game is a bigger deal here than the final game will be--because of the teams that are playing. The two losing teams, Uruguay and Germany, will play at 12:30 Guate time. I think the hogar will be split right down the middle. I am for Uruguay. Like I said earlier, I really watch more for the kids' reactions. I will try to video tape some later. I think the group tour is about over, so I should get back to the team now. Nos vemos pronto!