Fútbol, Frijoles, Freezing Showers, and Falling in the mud. . .

As you can see so far, we have been having quite the adventures here in La Unión. Since you have been up to date on what has been going on I thought I would share some of my thoughts and feelings since being here. First, I will explain my pics =) The first one is after we climbed up the gigantic mountain on Saturday. Off to our right you can see La Unión and while up there we actually found our compound where we are staying and the school we are working at. It is crazy how high up we were! It was one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had. After reading on the mountain side for a couple of hours I still couldn't believe where we were. It was most definitely the most beautiful view I have ever seen and it was great to take in God's beauty. On the way down however, Leslie and I both took a spill in the creek. I bashed my knee on a rock and Leslie's bottom half was covered in mud. Several people came back with muddy shoes but I think the overall consensus was that it was definitely worth it! The second picture is the first Saturday we were here when we worked half a day at the school. This is most of our group in front of a couple hundred concrete blocks that we moved that day! The third pic is just some of the gorgeous foliage here in La Unión. Pink is my favorite color so naturally I found these flowers beautiful =) The last pic is the view from the school. There is no way I would get anything done if every time I looked out my window I saw that. As you can tell, it's absolutely gorgeous here; the pictures don't do it justice.

Overall it's been awesome being here. There have been days where I wake up feeling sad for different reasons, missing friends and family, lamenting a hot shower, heartbreak for some of the people here. But I have loved living in a Latin American paradise, getting to know the people here. Some of the translators that the group last year had, Kevin and Darwin, have been hanging out with us a lot and hearing their stories is very humbling. It's crazy how similar life stories can be from different countries. Our group was discussing that often times as people from a very privileged country we tend to make people of third world countries very simple; we minimize the needs of their heart and just focus on the physical need of not having clean water, enough nutrition, a roof over their heads, etc. But the people here need Jesus just as much as we do; sometimes I think they understand Jesus' love better than most estadounidenses (people from the U.S.) Kevin and I were talking yesterday and he was telling me that while he has a very broken family he desires to raise his children in a loving a caring home and that he wants to look to families in the church as role models. He's 18. Not many 18 year olds have that kind of maturity. I was shocked at how humble he was and what a leveled head he has. It was an awesome conversation. As Americans we so often judge those who don't have as nice of things we do, even if we do it unintentionally. But they are people. People with broken hearts, who need lots of love, just like us! While being here Jesus has showed me that more and more everyday and I hope to bring some of this realization back with me.

In a nutshell, Jesus has been working in all of our hearts while being here. The only word that I can think of that comes close to capturing how this trip has been for me is humbling. God's creation, God's people, it's all very humbling. I could ramble on for hours but I'll stop now =) We can't wait to show you all pictures and share stories! Thanks for your prayers, keep praying!

Mucho amor!