adjusting

It has been a little over two weeks now since I've been home from Belize. The days have gone by so quickly sometimes I think to myself, "did it really happen?" I had a few days to rest before getting back to work and once back to work it was "go go go." Work was so busy, and that was really good because I didn't have time to think about where I still really wanted to be.
On the flip side, I feel like I did a lot of reflecting those first few day and off and on last weekend, but this past week has been less reflective. I think it was because outside of work I was really busy too, having house-sat for the Adlers again. I don't like sleeping at their house because it is big and there are lots of noises so I had to juggle time and figure out how long to be with their pets at night. It was busy to say the least.

Now I sit, trying to decide what I want to say about this trip that made an impact on my life. I still don't quite know where to start. In the first blog I wrote about how there are similarities between Belize and Haiti. I don't know how to explain it, but I love Haiti in many ways and Belize in many ways. Some of them intersect... for instance the most important part of each place is the people who have made an imprint on my heart. I love the whole village of Tricote in Haiti because the whole village is a family and for the most part they are working together, but Hopkins Village, Belize there are select places that I love because the feeling that the whole village loves you is not the case. In Hopkins it is more technoligically advanced and people seem to fight for themselves, unless they are involved with Herdie's church. I don't know if I've explained this well, but to say it simply, Belize is another place that I've let into my heart to share with Haiti.
The Ariola's are the family with the Brittle Bone Disease kids, Raheem Cindy and Destiny.. they also have two other siblings, Sarah and Josiah(or Jo Jo). These children have a joy that comes from Christ alone. They are beautiful, all five of them, and have two wonderful parents who love them from their toes. Their mother is Vicky, she is only about 27, only 2 years older than myself. Last year we connected just a little bit at the end of the trip, and I wondered what it would be like this time around. She has been through so much it's sometimes hard for her to accept help and love from others, but clings and trusts God ruthlessly and I had the priveledge of hearing her story on the last day. We took a long walk on the beach and around the village, it was as if I was with a girlfriend from home just exchanging life stories. I wish we had been able to have more of those times because I feel like I made a new friend and now won't see her for a very long time. I thank God for the times I had with her and pray that their might be more in the future.
There were really fun times with the kids on the team as well... and as for my prayer about bringing us together as a team... that happened right away when we got there. If you read the Belize blog: www.teambelize.blogspot.com , you know that we had a slight problem with the bus that first travel day. We were stranded in the jungle on Hummingbird Highway half way to Hopkins Village. The whole team got off the bus and walked up the hill, huddled up and began to pray. Our hearts and minds were unified bringing our situation to Him and trusting that there was a reason for what was happening. It was an awesome adventure from the beginning and made this trip completely different not even able to compare with last trip, they were each great and unique.
The girls in my cabana were hilarious... I really got to know them better and vice versa. While being with people on a daily basis you get to see the many sides. I think it shocked one of them and it helped our dynamics a lot! She now can see me as a normal adult person who goofs around and has fun. It's hard to pick up on all the sides when you only get an hour and a half on a wednesday night. So, one of the nights we stayed up talking(well, 3 out of 4 of us) until 1am and laughed a lot, but also had conversations about life, love and other mysteries. (sorry, for those of you who know of the Point of Grace song... it just flowed. :)) It was a good bonding time! :) I love the senior girls!
We had a lot of rain-out days... one such day we all hung out in the guys' cabana doing various things... talking, making flyers for movie night, writing encouraging notes for each other(we had a wall with little bags with each of our names on 'em to put little notes in). Another rainy day some of the kids went to the "Innies" restaurant where we had our breakfast and dinners and played with their kids. The rainy days made it hard to do our crafts, which was frustrating to me because I planned all this stuff to do and there was no place to do it well in the rain. :( All I know though, is that crafts are not my thing, especially with kids that are hard to control. Each time we would get ready to do them, I'd think of ways to make it less chaotic and none of them worked. It would start out well, but then be crazy at the end!
Another cool thing about the trip is that the leadership was really great... we all had different strengths and I think we all complimented each other well. Especially Leah and myself, and we also got to know each other better which was super cool. I feel like I have another new friend!

So... I think that's about all for now... I still have boxes sitting in my room that are calling out to be unpacked. The sun and pool are also calling out, maybe they will get my attention first... we shall see. Oh, and another note... I bought a bike last week... so if anyone ever wants to go biking give me a ring!! I even have a bike rack(well, a friend is letting me use it since it won't work on his car) so I can take it places... it holds two! :)