The Week After

Our apologies for not putting more on the blog. Since last I wrote, we spent some much needed time recovering as well as preparing. We moved into the second half of the camp and said goodbye to about ten students who were going to go on vacation with their families. We also did a lot of laundry as well as cleaning of our room. We essentially have a room with wall-to-wall bedding. Since we mostly use the room for sleeping and storing our clothes, it suits us just fine.

On the 15^th we had a talent show at the camp. It was the final day for a number of the students and the talent show has become a tradition. The kids love it and they especially loved Naphtali’s dance solo. They even chanted “Tilly! Tilly! Tilly!” as she grinned, twirled and waved her arms to one of the songs they had all performed to during the show.

That's right. She danced to the whole song.

The evening of the 16^th, Melinda and I got to go on a date. The girls who are also staying with Hector and Lilly, Aimee and Torrie, agreed to sit with the girls while we went to dinner. We went and watched the sun set from the Egyptian temple from Debod and then went to dinner at a pizzeria just off the Plaza de Espana. The nicest part of it was just being able to spend some time together.

After church on the 17^th, we visited the Retiro, a large park and cultural center that used to be a royal garden. There are two museum buildings that house special exhibits, as well as an artificial lake complete with rowboats. It was beautiful and impressive.

On the 18^th, it was back to the camp and the campers. I owe thanks to all who were praying for me/us as we continued to struggle in our interaction with the kids. Things kept improving throughout the week and I began to let go of my need to always be in control. The kids seemed more willing to communicate with me even though my vocabulary is not much larger than Naphtali’s at this point. Last Friday was especially memorable. A very difficult six-year-old girl, who is as dramatic as Ainsley and even bossier, has been struggling as her parents are going through a divorce. She acts out a lot and tends to disobey most instructions. On Friday, as she was leaving for a long weekend with her mother, she came back down the hallway to tell me that she would be going to the "playa" for the weekend and would not be back until Tuesday. She then pulled me down for a hug and a smile that would melt anyone’s heart, even a cranky old director.

I love these kids, and I truly hope that they feel Christ’s love during our remaining time together.