The happenings in the Salv:
Daily we learn to love the people that surround us in a more intimate and true way. Initially we were enamored with the children's beautiful faces and infectious giggles, but as time has passed we have been able to start building relationships. It's so hard to communicate when the person you're conversing with speaks an entirely different language, but why should that stop us? All throughout the bible God gives numerous individuals the ability to converse with different nations in different languages. That hasn't actually happened here (not for lack of prayerful begging) however, we have been blessed with the gift of Google translate. So bring on the Spanish!!
You always know that relationships are about to be taken to the next level when a racer heads to the boy's house (where the WiFi is) child on one hand, and computer in the other. They're about to get their goog on!
Google translate has become the biggest blessing to my team and I this month. We yearn to grow closer to the children and love them in a way that they will never be able to forget. We want to hear their stories and know where they come from. We want to have casual conversations and affirm them whenever we are near. This is something that is so easily done in the states, something that we completely take for granted. It is as if now that it is nearly impossible to converse in depth, it has become our hearts deepest desire.
But there is always a way. Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Our hearts desire is to know and love these children, so that is what we are doing, thanks to the goog.
Irving was my first goog partner
Some of our other desires (not necessarily of the heart) include: peanut butter, coffee, warm water, alternative food options, and the ability to never get lice. Unfortunately, we are currently residing in lice dream land. Infinite heads of hair in an incredibly confined location…. however, rumor has it that lice aren't drawn to dirty hair, which is one of my specialties. All of the girls in the orphanage, on the other hand, have very clean hair. Which is awesome, until lice come around.
I know that I am really loving these kids because for four straight hours my teammates and I sat in the living room to pick out the "animals" from the girls hair. We put on music, laughed, screamed, and had ourselves a fun little lice party. Finding joy in trials– check! We checked our own hair, covered ourselves in tea tree oil, and prepared ourselves to do it all again the next day.
The next night we googled (coming up huge once again!) how to get rid of lice and learned about the magic of gasoline. We doused all of their beautiful hair, gave a wide birth to anything dealing with fire, and combed like crazy! As first time exterminators, we moved slower than they are used to, which gave the gasoline time to do its job. There is no way that anything is living in that hair anymore! Unfortunately, the smell of gas lingers, so hugging the children is not as pleasing to the senses as it once was. Realistically, I feel much better about holding the beautiful gas-smelling children than I did about holding the beautiful lice-infested children. But let's be honest, not even lice could keep Hephzibah away from our new family.
So, here we are. Exactly half way done with the month. My stomach turns at the thought of goodbyes. My heart is pained just from thinking about the fact that two weeks from now, I will walk in a door and Juancito will not be there to run into my arms screaming "Jesfs", my new favorite name (Sage is difficult for Spanish speakers). But I cannot let myself be consumed by these thoughts right now, because I know that there are relationships to be had and grown and invested in.
And I know, that with the help of Google, these relationships will thrive.
