Miércoles in Mexico

Wednesday (miércoles)
Another great day today, of course. But it was tonight that I realized we are almost finished our work here at Manos Juntas. If you have no idea what I'm talking about I suggest the last two posts to catch up. But I think it's sad in many ways because I've only just begun to form and strengthen friendships here. I've only just skimmed the surface of the work they do here and I find myself wanting to know more, to do more. I like it here for a lot of reasons. Their philosophy aligns a lot with my beliefs that the church must first be involved in the community and forming relationships before faith is brought into the conversation. The Church, as in the global church, has a negative connotation for some people or is approached with apathy. But if we work in and with people in the community to form relationships first we can show we are Christians by our deeds and our love. The faith comes easy after that. I'm not sure that is exactly the philosophy here but that's the impression I've gotten. I want to see our church move outside our walls and into our communities because that's where we belong and I think that's what they've been doing at Manos Juntas.
I started my morning extra early with some of the others and went for a walk while the sun rose. I'm not really a morning person but the fellowship and the exercise were worth it and I'm glad I went. This morning was more delicious breakfast foods followed by a brief devotions led by Tom looking at how to make short term missions helpful not harmful, looking at our goals for the trip and what we think of when we think of poverty.
This morning we went to an elderly couples house over by the second community center we had visited the other day. Their house was drafty and the bed had broken so the team added a board to the roof to eliminate some of the draft and they helped install a bed frame created by the carpentry class. The old lady was so cute and so thankful for the work provided. Very early on in this process I realized there were too many cooks in the kitchen during the construction process so I went outside the tiny house. While outside, Willie's wife Veronica was looking for some people to help sew some pajamas for the woman. Kathleen, Rachel and I volunteered to go over to the community center to help with this. I'm grateful to my parents for putting me in all those years of sewing classes because it came in handy for this. We used a really fuzzy fabric to make the pants and a fleece to make the top. We did all but the elastic and the hem of the pj pants and we did the collar and shoulder and arm seems of the top. This was a nice opportunity to use more of my Spanish since none of the translators came with us. Luckily one of the teachers there was fluent so he helped us a couple times when the instructions were more complicated but for the most part I think I did ok. The sewing was second nature to me anyway. It was nice to feel productive. And it was nice to know the old lady would have warm pajamas. When we first got to the house she was wrapped in like 3 or 4 blankets. Apparently when they finished setting up the bed she crawled in and said she was going to sleep right away! I don't think the pajamas are finished but Veronica promised to show us pictures of the finished products.
For lunch, we took a trip to the next town over, Reynosa. They showed us the factories and other important parts of the city. We parked at El Buen Pastor (the good shepherd/pastor, you decide) UMC, the largest United Methodist church in the area. The facility they have is not that different than the new addition we are planning to build in Medford. From there we walked a few blocks to a central plaza, which if you stalk my Facebook you can find a selfie of me there in front of the Reynosa sign. We got tacos at a restaurant on the plaza which were so good. Squeeze a little bit of lime on top and they were perfection. The plaza was still decorated for Christmas but it was also dressed for the festival of 3 Kings Day, or Epiphany. After lunch we drove a bit more around town. We passed the school where Victor learned English and he also pointed out where he currently went to school. We drove right next to the international bridge to the US. Around the bridge were a few facilities to deal with immigrants. This especially resonated with me given my previous mission experience in San Antonio last spring. It turns out that Mexican immigrant policies aren't all that different from US ones. They aren't super friendly to the refugees fleeing the Central American countries. But the deportation is less realistic. Still, they talked about how the smuggling of people across the border has been taken over by the mafia. Sometimes 60 people are squeezed in a small house with 1 bathroom until the mafia takes them across. And it costs everything these people have. And knowing what happens across the border and the treacherous journey ahead of them my heart just aches. There's no easy solution to such a complex problem but being so close makes you realize the human lives involved. Each one of these people has a family and people that care about them and yet they cannot find a safe home where they can flourish. If immigration to the US were easier would it mean less deaths? Less money in the hands of the mafia? Maybe, but there's so much more we could be doing to help these people who have only found rejection everywhere they try to run which can't be right either. I don't know. The whole thing just makes me sad. Maybe I'll write more about that later.
This afternoon was lots of fun. We got to work in the carpentry class. While we were babied a little by the instructor, we were able to successfully complete two bedside tables and help finish one of the bed frames. It was funny because so many of us had experience in a wood shop but the instructor insisted on showing us how to do everything. It was good though. And easy to understand him even without translation. Lots of numbers which are easier. I got to use the chop saw and the drills so that was fun. Right up my alley.
Tonight for dinner was a chicken in mole sauce, which if you've never had is a chocolate spicy sauce. It's hard to describe if you haven't had it before. But it was very good on a tortilla with rice. Tonight to celebrate 3 kings day we had a special sweet bread with fig fruit and iced toppings. Inside is hidden a plastic baby and the person who get it has to bring the tomales on February 2. Why? Not really sure but it's a thing. Needless to say I did not get the baby much to my relief. Nobody would want to eat my tomales.
For evening devotions Alex was able to join us for most of the time. We opened in song and then reflected on our different perceptions of a mission trip. We then shared our highs and lows. It was a long day but very rewarding yet again. I look forward to tomorrow, but hope it doesn't go by too quickly!

Martes en Mexico

Tuesday (martes)
Hello friends. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read my post. I'm sitting in bed exhausted from the day and yet still full of energy. You know that feeling you have after a really great day? Satisfied and content. That's me right now. And I'm so grateful because the last time I took a mission trip of this kind I was very frustrated at my inability to do anything tangible.
We started the day with breakfast at 7:30am. Some beans, cheesy eggs with sausage and hotdog bits in salsa. I'm pretty sure I will love everything they feed us here. This was followed by a brief devotion with Kathleen about whether or not we would choose a broom or a vacuum to clean the room we were in. The point of this seemingly random question? Well culturally more of us would vacuum a room than sweep a room but here they might choose differently. Just something to think about as we approached the day.
This morning was spent touring the different sites and facilities Manos Juntas runs. Another group here from Oklahoma was building a casita or little house for one of the workers at the community center. Another group of them were working a few houses down to complete a building to become more classrooms for the children. At the community center we peeked in on a preschool class, a 1-2 grade class and a 5-6 grade class. The preschoolers were about to color pictures of farm animals (or at least that's what I read on their papers). The 1-2 grade class greeted us in Spanish and then the teacher chided them and asked them to do it in English, which was adorable to say the least. So then we responded in Spanish because we were trying to learn Spanish!
We finally made our way to the community center where there was a sewing class going on. We were able to join the sewing or do some loom knitting. Some of the group used the classroom there to do a Spanish lesson which I'm told was very impactful and at least a little bit helpful. I joined the knitting circle with my own project I brought with me from home and enjoyed the conversation. We are getting to know each other pretty well and are learning lots from out interpreters Victor and Alex. I think knitting is very much my element and it is so calming and cathartic to be able to take time out of my day to do it. It was a great morning.
We returned to the main center where we are staying for lunch. Entomatadas were on the menu which were kind of like Spanish manicotti. Topped with queso fresca or fresh cheese they were again delicious. I could probably write a whole blogpost about how good the food is.
After lunch there was time for a quick nap and then we were back in van to accompany some of the carpentry students dropping off a bed frame. They had made it in their class and we're giving it to a family whose house caught on fire. The children were staying next door at the grandmothers when it happened but their mother unfortunately died. This was a way for the students to be able to see that their trade is not only a way to earn a living but a way to connect and give back to the community. We weren't there to give the bed frame to the family but to observe the impact that the programs at Manos Juntas had both on the students and the community.
The afternoon was spent back at the community center. They celebrated three kings day or epiphany today with us. There was a kings cake of sweet bread with plastic babies hidden inside that we all got to have. And the kids got to watch a movie after their exam. We also saw a slideshow of pictures of the center before the movie. We heard more about their programs and what they have been able to accomplish now that they had that space and the resources.
One of the things I'm trying to do is use my Spanish a bit more. I get really nervous speaking to people who are so fluent. But Victor (our translator) was nice enough to try a conversation with me in Spanish when we got back to the main center. Hopefully we can continue to practice so I'm not as awkward and shy talking to people throughout the week.
I followed that conversation by taking up residence in one of the rocking chairs in our common area. It's quite relaxing to come home to a rocking chair. In fact I'm currently writing from a rocking chair. I started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone because we had been talking in the van earlier about Harry Potter. Kathleen has <gasp> never seen the movies and we were discussing ways to have a movie marathon including the possibility of turning it into a bible study culminating in seeing the new film coming out late this year. Anyway, before long I had friends come sit by me and disturb me from my reading. But in a sense that's probably a good thing as its more social to have a conversation.
Dinner consisted of beef with potatoes and more beans. It was of course very delicious. I'm not sure how the conversation started but we've been talking about churros basically since we got here. And all of a sudden at the end of our meal we are talking about churros. So Willie says we should all go out for ice cream and churros. Needless to say we were only in it for the churros. We piled in the van and drove downtown in search of churros. Tom treated us to the churros of three kinds, condensed milk, caramel, and chocolate, which is just what was drizzled on top. They were really good. The churros stand that we found was sitting outside of a carnival so we decided to walk through. The lights were so bright and colorful. Possibly from the sugar high, probably from the fact that I had such a great day, we reached the end of the strip and asked if we could ride the bumper cars. I believe 6 or 7 of us did and it was an absolute blast. We kept joking that this must be the youth mission trip because our inner child was coming out! I was screaming and laughing as we rammed the cars into each other. Just pure joy. And of course afterwards I was still happy and on a high which is just a wonderful feeling. Overall a great night out.
Tonight, Chelsea and I ran the devotions. I led the Branches song that I learned from Paige in the Philippines because no one from this group knew it. So everyone was up singing and doing the motions. Chelsea led the part where we shared our most impactful part of the day. We closed in prayer and headed off to bed. Well I wrote part of this first and finished it in the morning. Apologies for the lengthy post.

Brielle in Mexico!

Monday (lunes)
I finally got to Mexico! For those of you who don't know I'm with Medford UMC young adults in Rio Bravo Mexico working with Manos Juntas. What are we doing? You'll find out when I do! This post is a bit run on but hopefully it works.  Let's just say that yesterday was a long and harrowing day of airport travel. It was awful. And I wasn't really in the right mind frame to deal with it. But after a shower and full night's sleep I was ready to start today fresh. We flew the last leg of our trip to McAllen and picked up our luggage without any problems. Then Willie and his wife and Matt arrived in the van to pick us up. A few quick stops later and we were crossing the border. Seamlessly I might add. It was very quick and easy. I love looking out the windows at the surroundings. The roads are rough so I insist on riding in the first row of the van. The houses are lots of bright coral colors. I'm trying to read the words on the signs to practice my Spanish. We arrived to a welcome party of friends. The room we are in has several bunk beds in three separate areas. All of the Medford girls are in the outside area. Kathleen has her own room and the other girls have the last room. The boys are in a separate building. There are lovely white rocking chairs out on the common area outside our rooms. Lunch was tostadas which were amazing. All of the food here has been great. After lunch we discussed briefly an article about American cultural values and how we have to remember they are different here in Mexico. Then this afternoon we took a van ride to the community center run by Manos Juntas. They have an after-school program for kids to get extra help with their school work. They also teach kids who aren't able to get the help they need in school, like kids with special needs or disabilities. They asked us to help the kids but there were a lot of us and not a lot of them. Also the language barrier was difficult. But this is the first time they are bringing in a group to work with the programs here an Manos Juntas. So it's new for all of us. I sat by a couple kids and read the workbooks they were doing. I think not having something to do is going to be a theme. When I was in the Philippines a lot of the trip was listening to stories and that was hard to cope with. I think that makes coming into this trip a lot easier. This is a trip to listen to stories and figure out how to further develop the relationships I'm making, and the relationship our church is making with Manos Juntas. We did get a quick reprieve from watching the kids and toured the carpentry shop out back. For the remainder of the time at the center me and a few others quizzed Alex and Victor, our interpreters, for translations to Spanish. Alex is Willie's son and Victor is a student studying to be a doctor. When we got back to where we are staying I got the chance to sit out in the common area in view of the palm trees and sunset and do some knitting. This morning the group that got here did some sewing and I've been told I will get to do this and knitting tomorrow! I'm very excited! I feel somewhat qualified for this job. Dinner was equally good, chicken and zucchini, rice with tortillas. After dinner was devotions and then to bed to journal and sleep. Which is what I'm about to do right now. Considering where I started this trip I'm doing much better and I think I'm finally ready, spiritually and physically, for this trip.

Thoughts from San Antonio- The Issue of Immigration in the US

Hello lovely people who may stumble upon this blog post.  I had the opportunity to spend this past week, my Spring Break, in San Antonio through DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection).  So while I'm no longer in Manila, this seemed like an appropriate platform to share my experience.

So what have I learned about immigration? Well the first thing is that it's a super complicated issue.  It's not just, "We should let everyone in, " or "We can't let anyone in," but rather a compromise must be reached.  Mostly who we dealt with on the trip were women and children seeking asylum in the US.  Most of these people come from the Northern Triangle, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The gangs and other injustices drive people to flee their country to take the potentially deadly journey to the US border. So this isn't a decision people take lightly.  We visited Brooks County, the county where the most migrant bodies are found each year.  While you may think that crossing the border is illegal, the sentence most surely shouldn't be death.  The most common cause is dehydration from the hot and dry climate in this area of Texas.  We were able to spend one day with the South Texas Human Rights Center learning about the situation in the morning and then placing new water barrels in the afternoon.  The water barrels are giant blue drums filled with 8-10 gallon bottles of water that any passerby can use.  They put up a big red cross flag to mark it.  This effort was started by the center in an effort to decrease the number of deaths of migrants.  We checked up on a few of the other containers and restocked the ones that had been used.  I really enjoyed helping out with this ministry.  It's probably the closest I've come to feeling like I'm saving someone's life or at least having a meaningful impact.

But the dangers of crossing the border don't end there.  On the first night, we cooked dinner for a group of boys who had crossed the border as teens, but had aged out of the foster system.  We heard their stories of why they left their homes.  For one boy, it was join the gang or be killed by the gang so he fled after refusing to join the gang but before they could kill him.  For another, the option was to sell drugs for the gang or flee.  One didn't even tell his parents before he fled.  Some of the women we talked to had similar stories.  Some had an abusive husband or other male figure in the family who had threatened their life or the life of their children.  And with corrupt governments and police officers they come to the US to seek asylum.  In some of these places, women are still their husband's property and they have no way to seek justice for the abuse.  The journey for women is especially dangerous and a lot of women are raped along the way.  I got to talk to a mother and her child who had just been released from a family detention center(in broken Spanish). The mom was just 22 and her child was 4.  We were just two years apart in age, but were living very different lives.  I can't even imagine some of the terrible things she had seen, terrible things she had experienced.

I don't know how to fix the system.  I barely know what's happening with immigration policy.  A lot of it goes over my head. But talking to these people, putting a face to the issue changed my perspective.  It's very easy to fall into the trap of generalizing a people.  And from there it is very easy to dehumanize them. I live in a country founded on the belief that we were all endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.  People deserve to live, not die in a desert of dehydration. They deserve a chance to seek asylum from their oppressors.  And they deserve the chance to pursue a new life, one filled with happiness.

There's so much more I could say, so many more stories I could tell. Perhaps another time.  But I'll leave you with this reminder:

Leviticus 19:33-34New International Version (NIV)

33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

PICTURES!

To supplement my last post, I'd like to add some more pictures and a video I took while at the SONA protest.

In this video, I tried to capture the beginning of the march.  You can see all the different people with flags and banners.  At one point you can see the giant float of the President with a pig face holding to pistols to the air (only from the back but I can assure you that is what it is).  If you look in the background, you can see that they are on a regular road with traffic still trying to pass on the far side.  The jeepneys were used to block off more and more of the road as more people arrived.

This was the legal team.  They were the ones to brief all the foreigners on their rights and what they were and were not allowed to do legally.  However, everyone was ultimately allowed to decide in what capacity to participate in the march.

 The people in the middle in all white shirts with white flags are the religious group.  The priests made a wall around their marchers and were trained with how to handle the situations they could face being a part of this march.

There were plenty of great signs at the march. These are some of my favorite.

                                      

To leave the protest, we went up over the overpass to get to the opposite side of the road.  It was from there that I got some great pictures to put it into perspective.  

                                  

As you can see from above, the march goes in front and behind where I was for a fair ways each direction.  The crowd is decorated with banners, flags and signs.  The traffic is at a standstill right beside them because the line of cops has stopped them to also stop the marchers.  It's hard to see in the pictures, but the police have created a barrier up at the next overpass (thus our departure).  The police lined the side of the street in an attempt to keep the protesters confined to that side of the street and prevent them from continuing past the barrier on the other side of the road.  Many people came to the protest and this was only one of several protests going on throughout the day all over the city.  I forget the exact statistic but I believe somewhere around 10,000 police officers were brought in from around the provinces just for this day.  I am so grateful to have had the chance to walk with these people as they speak out for their rights.  I hope that by sharing this, you might consider how lucky you are, especially if you're from the US, to have the right to peacefully protest and the right to stand up for what you believe.  I hope that this opens your eyes to the injustices facing the Philippines. And I hope you enjoyed looking some of the pictures I took (and ignored any issues with the spacing...I tried)! I only went through my whole camera battery, my whole phone battery, and most of my iPod battery to get them! Hopefully more posts with pictures will come soon! :)

A Reflection on Two Marches

And you thought I was done writing. No, I happen to have put off writing about two very important experiences until I was well within the safety of my country's borders.  It wasn't anything that extreme, but one can never be too cautious. This is one of them. I apologize in advance for the length, but to leave it shorter would do it an injustice.

I think it took until today to really understand and reflect on my experience in the Philippines.  Today, I attended the People’s Climate March in NYC in response to the United Nations meeting to discuss climate change. 310,000 people attended at first estimate.  And I was one of them.  It takes about 5.5-6 hours to get from Ithaca to NYC by bus. One might think that I have better things to do with my Sunday than spend my day on a bus for only a few hours in the city. In my busy life there are exams to study for, homework to be completed, and social/club obligations to meet.  But when I saw my pastor, Taryn, post an article about the climate march, I knew I was called to be there. 

I walked with hundreds of thousands of people to show that this is an issue that I care about, that we care about, and that you and everyone in power should know we care about.  After all, true change should really begin with the people.  So I walked for those who couldn't.  I walked for God’s great earth. I walked for my future.  And I also walked for the friends I left back in the Philippines.

I don’t care what you think about climate change or how you think we should go about taking care of the issue.  That’s not the point.  People today held signs that I didn't agree with.  And that’s okay! We were united by the fact that we all want something to be done about climate change, something I witnessed first-hand in the Philippines. Just this week I read about more devastation due to another typhoon in the region. The science is there to show that the climate is changing. Whether it’s part of a natural cycle or not, the pollution that humans create is not helping.  Just yesterday I was working on some homework about SO2 scrubbers for a coal combustion reaction.  I really think that I can find a way to serve the environment using my gifts and skills as a future chemical engineer. 

I wouldn't have considered attending this march before my summer in the Philippines.  I grew a lot this summer, but I also learned an important lesson.  My presence alone can be a powerful tool.  I’m not a politician, but I can affect political change by using my voice and my presence.  I stand in solidarity with people, and I know that makes a difference because I spent most of my summer doing that.  I know what I care about and I want to make a difference.  In all honesty, if I had rolled over in bed after I shut my alarm off at 5am, it would not have made a big difference to the march.  But if everyone there said that, then there would be no march.  There would be no movement and no change.  The great thing about events like the climate march today is that I wasn't standing alone.  I wasn't one person, I was part of 310,000 people.  That is powerful.  And it gave me the courage to go.

It was a very different story a couple months ago in Manila.  The State of the Nation Address (SONA) is much like the US President’s State of the Union.  But the political climate in the Philippines is much more volatile.  There is a lot of corruption and ineffectiveness in the government.  The SONA tends to focus on the successes of the government.  The protest, where I went, tries to tell the other side of the story. 

At the end of the People’s Climate March, there was food, art, and music. 

At the end of the SONA Protest there was a police barricade.

I, as a US citizen have the right to peacefully protest my government.

The Filipino people do not have that right.  (Nor did I on my travel visa).

Knowing that we were not allowed to participate in anything political made me a bit wary about attending the rally in Manila.  But we were there to attend the worship service in the street before the marchers left, nothing more.  Once we arrived, I realized just how many people had come out for the event.  They were everywhere, slowly taking more and more lanes of the road.  They came from all walks of life.  And the best part was that I knew and recognized so many people there.  Migrante International, the migrant rights group we worked with was there.  There was a group representing the indigenous people, like the Aeta we visited.  There was a group standing behind a handmade set of prison bars representing the political prisoners we visited. (I promise I will write about that.) There were the people we had met at Hacienda Luisita. There were people from the NCCP and other missionaries and church people we recognized.  On top of that there were labor groups, women’s groups, professionals groups.  Everyone was represented in the protest.  This wasn't a problem faced by a few Filipinos.  This was a problem faced by an entire country of Filipinos.

After joining a worship service led by megaphone and witnessing the growing crowd, Nicole and I asked if we could stay and walk with the people.  We got the green light and were briefed by the legal team.  After a surge of foreigner presence at the protest last year, the police were on the lookout and could be taking pictures of us. However, there is nothing illegal about being a tourist on a tourist visa.  So while we were told it was unwise to walk in the protest, we were allowed to walk alongside and take pictures like a tourist.  So with my camera at the ready we set out along the route.  We weren't able to go all the way because there were often physical altercations when the police barriers were reached.  When we got close, we walked up over the overpass to the other side of the road.  From there, we could see the police line and the police all down the side of the road too.  But you could also see the long line of people back along the route.  And even more arriving throughout the day. 

I don’t think I can accurately convey the impact this experience had on me.  I know I've written a lot already, but I don’t think I could do it justice to say any less.  I now know how lucky I am to see police officers today and know they were there to help me, not stop me.  I realized that if I have this right, I can’t waste it.  When issues as large as climate change, human trafficking, and social injustice present themselves it can seem overwhelming to tackle them.  But never doubt the power of just your prayers and your presence.  Change doesn't come easy, but it can come.  And it starts when you decide it’s worth it to get out and do something.  

Hopefully these pictures come out okay and I can share more photos in the future!

Typing Up Old Blog Posts: Last Days in Aeta

July 24

Today is my last day in the Aeta community of Camachili.  We leave to go back to Manila tomorrow morning.  As sad as it is to say goodbye to the new friends and greenery, it will be nice to go back to the familiar and rest a bit. 

Yesterday, we went to visit another Methodist Missionary church in the area.  We started out with a wet walk down to another church, Evangel Christian Church, to wait for our jeepney driver (who is also Pastor Leslie's brother).  Then we set off on the most fun and interesting jeepney ride to date.  It was a bit like what I imagine and African safari would be like.  Not in the sense of spotting animals, although there were plenty of caribou, cows, goats and more.  But more so in the ride, fording giant puddles, bouncing up and down on the uneven roads, and having reeds and branches come in the windows and whack us.  It was quite the adventure. 

After driving as far as the road would allow, we set off on what would be an hour long hike through the mountains.  The views were incredible! It was muddy and we had to cross the river a couple times, but overall it was a fairly easy hike.  Every so often we'd come across a caribou or a cow just off the path.  Upon our arrival, we were able to wash our feet off and meet in the sanctuary.  We all needed the rest.  We ate some corn on the cob (not as good as in Jersey) before sitting down for lunch in the pastor's house behind the church. 

Pastor Arlene and her husband Aron were recently married.  The banner for their wedding still hung on the wall.  Pastor Arlene is only 25 (I think) and yet at such a young age she new she was called to be a pastor. 

After lunch, we split into two groups to visit members of the congregation.  They didn't speak English and the young girls leading us around were rather shy with their English so we mostly just greeted the families, saw their houses, and left.  One man owned and raised 41 goats.  At another family we met the Lola, or Grandmother.  She was 79 years old and had lived there all her life.  She also had inch thick glasses that were cracked and taped together on one side.  At that house I also met my kitty friend who I played with.  We left the house and he (or she) tried to follow, but was unable to.  I can still here him (or her) meowing goodbye. <tear>

We walked back to the church for a break and then said our goodbyes and headed back.  I found little pink/purple flowers to put in my hair.  I found one for Nicole to pin at the bottom of her braid too.  On the hike back we also found some red hibiscus looking flowers.  The guy who owned the house let me and Nicole each have one.  After getting tired of carrying it, I put it that one in my ponytail.  Nicole followed suit and twisted her hair up into a pretty updo with the flower on top.  I eventually let my flower float down the river that night when we returned and went swimming.

Today, I spent another day with Teacher Juliet.  This time kids actually came to class since it wasn't raining that hard.  They were learning body parts.  She was teaching them the English words while I was trying to pick up what they were called in the local dialect.  They sang the national anthem (at least I'm pretty sure that's what it was) before they started.  They also prayed, repeating back what Teacher Juliet said.  They had play time and story time.  I wanted to teach them the song Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, but I didn't want to interrupt her.  So when she asked if I wanted to teach a song for the afternoon class, I knew exactly what I would teach.  The 4 year old class is much more responsive and engaged than the 3 year old class.  They picked the motions up, but I'm not sure the English words came across well.  Later, Nicole showed up from her homestay and together we taught our go-to song which I'm going to call Paige's song because she's the one who taught us.  We did Head Shoulders Knees and Toes again and then called it a day.

We finished by swimming in the river for the last time.  I'm so glad we were able to have this escape and relaxation time in the river.  I look forward to heading back tomorrow.  They promised we would be able to stop and pick up some local peanut butter and local root plant cookies to take back with us.  I haven't personally tried the peanut butter but I've been told it's excellent.  And I can vouch for the cookies with the empty container we left in Pastor Leslie's kitchen!