Fumbling in a Cloud

Man, it's been a long time since I've blogged. Thank the good Lord you don't forget how to type in two weeks, although my fingers aren't finding the keys as rapidly as they once used to. Or should I say as "rapido" as they used to. That was a little Espanol for all you folks out there.

It's always strange coming back from these trips. I go away and am surrounded by incredible people for a period of time, and I have to work to find time for myself...but whenever I really want to connect with someone and have a great conversation I just have to walk into a room or down a dirt path, or sit by the bathrooms and conversation will be had. If I'm down people notice and they care, and if I'm up people are there to share in my happiness. But coming home...hmmm...it's lonely. I've been sitting my parent's house completely alone all day, and instead of feeling relieved/content all I feel is lonliness.

Anyway, the trip was amazing!!! God really did some awesome things not only in the kids' lives, or my life, but in the lives of the Mexicans we connected with. Our Linden team split into two groups and in my group we had 5 Mexicans join our team. 5 of the most hilarious and brilliant people. I miss them dearly. They didn't speak English and we didn't speak Spanish, but within 5 minutes of us being together the mockery of me began. I really think that was what brought unity on the team...my name changed to Jessico (please notice the Masculine ending on my name), and they proceeded to give many adjectives that would describe the new being I had become while in their nation. Gordo (fat), fallo (ugly), peluca (wears a wig), peluda (is hairy), hombre (am a man), I have a moustache, drive an ice cream truck, and own the ugliest car in the world. I think cannibal was in there somewhere as well.

I can't believe the amount of things that we did for the short span of time that we were there...we helped build a room for a drug rehab center...a room that's sole purpose is to teach the rehabilitated a trade so that they have jobs. That's awesome! We also had a Mexico vs. Canada football match. I don't know that I really want to call it a match as much as a masacre. We got slaughtered, and they were generous by allowing a bunch of Mexicans to play on our team. Any of the goals that were scored by team Canada were not scored by any of us. Every evening we did a huge service where we would play music, the kids would share their testimonies and do dramas, and someone might even preach. My team did incredibly well! I know how uncomfortable it is for most people to get up in front of a crowd and speak, and these guys did it everyday!

I made a brilliant language mistake while talking to the pastor one day. I had heard that their winters could be cold and could get snow, so I asked him, "In Mexico, infuerno mucho frillo?" He gives me a blank look, and responds, "No...mucho mucho caliente".
I then go on to say, "Well, in Canada infuerno mucho frillo". All of a sudden a light came on in his head and he began to laugh loudly and heartily. It turns out that the word for winter is "inbuerno", and the word that I was saying actually means "hell". So I was asking him if hell was really cold in Mexico, and then proceeded to tell him that hell is really cold in Canada. Well done Jessico, well done.

Perhaps it's a good thing that I'm alone today so that I have time to process everything, and think through all the stuff that happened while in Mexico. I don't really know what I need right now...maybe just someone to sit in a room with me and not say a word. I do know that I've been sleep deprived in the last few weeks, so perhaps a good, long nap won't hurt...