joy, love, hope.

i don't know why it has taken me so long, but i think it's about time that i write about my most recent trip to mexico. now when most people think about mexico thoughts of tacos and mariachi and deserts and such come to mind. and more recently thoughts of drug-trafficking and kidnapping and murders and violence. and especially when the border city of tijuana is mentioned, thoughts immediately jump to drugs and violence, and rightfully so. the city of tijuana is considered as the second most dangerous city in all of mexico and plays a huge part in all the illegal drugs that are brought from mexico to the u.s.

but for me it is a different story. instead of thinking of all that my mind immediately goes to this place:

and to these people:

these beautiful, wonderful, kind, caring, loving, friendly, funny and inspiring people who i have come to know and love over the past four years.

let me share with you some of the people that i have gotten to know.

--m. is reserved, loves joking around, enjoys history and is a good cook.

--l. is a sweetheart who loves to have fun, and can also be dramatic.

--a. is very friendly, a good conversationalist, and a good cook.

--r. is a hard worker who cares about and loves his family very much.

--k. is a typical boy-crazy 15-year-old girl who is overdramatic, she also has a kind heart and loves her family.

--y. is a mature, trustworthy young woman who is gentle and kind with a great laugh.

--c. and j. love having fun, being silly and laughing.

--e. has a sweet heart, a caring personality, and a beautiful smile.

--m. is quiet and mature, and he likes to just spend time with us.

--j. is quiet, but very funny.

--m. is smart, patient, helpful and fun.

--c. has a gentle nature and is also very friendly.

--m. is such a sweetheart, but has a bit of a temper when he doesn't get his way.

--b. is a little jokester and loves attention.

--a. just likes being silly and having fun.

--n. is a diva

--a. is stubborn but has the most adorable smile.

--p. and m. are strict and firm, but they really love the kids and what what is best for them.

--c. seems scary and serious, but she loves joking around and is very patient.

--s. is a little punk who is good at sports.

--j. is quiet, kind and has a beautiful smile.

--e. is a gentle, godly man who cares very much about people.

of course that is not all of the wonderful people that i associate with mexico, but it is a start. it's just a little look at what and who and why i have fallen in love with a country that people are scared of and don't know what to do with. but i have figured out what to do with mexico: love the people. love them in all of their brokenness and pain and hurt. and love them for what they are doing in the midst of such suffering. thats what i love about la casa de la esperanza en tijuana - it's joy in the midst of pain, it's love in the midst of hatred, and it's hope in the midst of despair.

waking up to a winter wonderland.

maybe it's naive or immature, but i still think that there is something almost magical about waking up on a snow morning, peeking through the blinds and seeing your world covered in snowy whiteness.

that is what i woke up to this morning. after a 6 am text message and phone call from gordon letting me know that all classes before 11 am are cancelled. can you believe that? i'm getting snow days in college. never thought that would happen. but it does, and actually quite often. last week my second day of classes got cancelled, which was a nice way to sort of ease into the semester. but even with a rather slow start, i am already overwhelmed by all the work i have. but that usually happens at the start of a new semester. you get the syllabus with all the work and assignments for the whole semester, no wonder i got overwhelmed. so i just took a step back, and realized that i don't need to worry about everything at once. so i'm just taking it one day at a time, making a list for the day and focusing on that. i can't handle any more than that right now.

on the road again

i've been home for 23 days now, i think its about time to get out of here.

don't you think so?

so i'm heading out tonight to meet up with the mexico outreach team from gordon. we leave boston tomorrow morning to fly to san diego. we'll be working with habitat for humanity for two days in san diego then crossing the border into tijuana and we will stay at the orphanage la casa de la esperanza for a week. i don't think i can even begin to describe how incredibly excited i am to return to la casa, to speak spanish again and to see some of the kids.

some of those wonderful kids featured here in a video from two years ago:

la casa de la esperanza is one of my favorite places in the world, and i always just feel right when i'm there. so i'm off to go love on some niños and feel right about myself.