Sunday, June 7, 2009

Happy (belated) Mary Help of Christians Day!

May 24th is the biggest celebration next to Easter for us here. It is the Celebration of Mary Help of Christians, who is the ´patron Virgin´ of the Salesian order. It was like a second Christmas at the home. The girls stayed home from school, they busted out the party dresses, there was a special Mass, a really nice lunch with 4 courses and lassagna, and gifts and candies for everyone. The girls put on a wonderful recital the night before with poetry, dance and a little play. We have been working on a ballet with some of the girls for the last month and a half and they were all excited to put on their costumes and do up their hair. The practices were a bit chaotic which made me a bit nervous, but when it came time to do the performance they transormed into elegant balarinas. You´ll have to check out the pics. Now we´re starting up with a Yoga class for the girls to try for some ´tranquility training´ in the form of soft music and meditation! Wish me luck :).

It´s been a nice month. With the day to day we´ve gotten more comfortable in our routines, Matt working in the kitchen, me with the girls and their school routines, and lots of mopping floors and washing dishes. Each day we get to know the girls a little more... they share their successes at school with us, talk to us about their families and their desires to return home. So many of the things they talk about and their struggles are the same struggles all children go through, another kid took their toy, playing with the hose and getting their clothes all wet, struggling with Math. Other parts are distinct, like their challenges in focusing on their studies with so much instability in their lives, the intensity of the home environments they come from, and the challenge of competing for the attention of 3 adults with 14 other kids.

The youngest and newested addition to our family at the little girl´s house is 4 years old. She can throw quite the tempertantrum, and on the flip side she is always giving away hugs and kisses. I take her to preschool 3 times a week and it´s been so interesting to watch her grow and try to find her place in this new environment. One of her first steps was to try and figure out the role of mom in the context of the home. Who has moms and who sees their mom. A young man in his 20´s was walking down the street and she would say, look, he´s going to school all by himself without his mommy. Right now she´s working on figuring out the new relationships she´s building with the ´Aunties´ at the home, but isn´t sure exactly who is part of this new ´family´ and who isn´t. Her whole understanding of the world has been turned upside down. It is such a big challenge for such a young child. Some days it can really hit you.

In the evenings we go with the bus driver to pick up the girls that go to school in the evening. One of the girls that rides back with us has built a special bond with Matt. She always makes sure to tell him goodnight and give him a kiss before headding to her house. She is a bit quieter, and more reflective than a lot of the girls at the home, and has such a sweet sincere smile when she is connecting with you. She told me the other week, ´you know what, I pray for you and Tio Mateo every night.´ For some of the other girls, I would have chocked it up to brown nosing, but coming from her it was genuine.

In the evenings we get together with the other adults and cook up something simple, eat lots of bread and drink lots of tea. We´ve gotten addicted to Chilean telenovelas. The one we´re watching right now is called ´Donde Esta Elisa?´ or Where is Elisa? supposedly it´s about a girl who goes missing and about her family´s search for her, but really it´s about this big family who all work in the family business. They´re all cheating on their spouses and slowly but shurely everyone´s finding out! Drama of Dramas! It´s good for a good laugh, and some ADULT time without 15 kids running around.

Well, I´d better get going. It´s back to the grindstone for the week. Hope all is well in the States. I haven´t been good at keeping up in touch with everyone individually but know that your cards, emails and love you send keep us going down here and it´s so wonderful to hear from you all. We continue to keep you in our prayers and thoughts. All our love from Chile, Janelle and Matt