Paciencia y Fe

Paciencia y Fe

        Outside of being an incredible song from the musical "In the Heights", I have found that the phrase "Paciencia y Fe" carries significant meaning. These three words directly translate to "Patience and Faith." I have found myself unintentionally saying this phrase quite a few times for a while now. Every time I say it, I am not only trying to communicate a message to the kids, but also trying to take the meaning for myself.

   Fighting fires, finding water, waiting for power, cooking meals with limited resources, taking care of 13 boys, sitting in 110° weather, and much more. This is what the last 2 weeks of my life has looked like. When these out-of-the-ordinary scenarios happen, everything around me starts to feel like it moves 100mph. At these stressful points of the day, the boys seem to have the most questions for me,  do something they know they can't, or get in a fight. Of course, this means that I have to deal with the situation at hand on top of what is going on.

When all of this happens and I am ready to blow my top, I simply tell the boys or myself, "Paciencia y Fe." Trying to convince my organized and neat freak brain that what is happening in the moment may be going according to plan is a hard realty. 

Paciencia:

Waking up on Sabbath October 21 was just like the last 3 weeks had been. A thick blanket of smoke laid across our area as we all prepared for church and struggled to breathe. Sean volunteered to make pizza pockets for Sabbath lunch which we all looked forward to. At around 2:00pm all power across our region went out. As always, this is normal around here.  I went out to check if it was our breaker, flipped some switches and nothing happened. This meant it was out for the whole road. We fed the kids lunch and prepared for a quick Sabbath nap while the boys watch "Superlibre" (bible stories with a little robot). The day was strange but normal.

 Suddenly, we had 3 neighbors call us and ask for help with the fires burning their properties. We sprang into action, grabbed our buckets, put on protective clothing and ran to help. I was directed to take my boys about a half a mile down the road to a mango farm. The farmer was clearly in distress and trying to protect his crop. While there was some water from previous fires, power for the whole area was out, therefor we could not pump any new water. All of the water had to be trucked in which was a rather slow process. Each time we had the chance, we grabbed our buckets and dosed the ground to prevent the fire from spreading. After an hour of fighting this fire, it finally settled. 

Familia Feliz on the bottom and some fires off in the distance. If wind changed direction, we would be under serious threat.

I was so thankful that we had a group of people to fight with. This meant that I didn't have to give directions in Spanish or try to direct anyone. While I was thankful, we were not done fighting these fires. We bounced around for the next 2 hours fighting fire after fire after fire. Obviously fires are a big deal, but not having water is worse. We still had no drinking water with easy access. I had never been so thirsty in my life. Finally we were able to contain all the fires in our area and we all walked  back to Familia Feliz.

Water was the only thing on my mind. While we were gone, one of the neighbors brought a ton of clean drinking water to campus for our kids. As soon as we arrived, we all took cups and bottles and drank so much water. My body was tired. It had gone through some crazy stuff that day and was ready to just sit for a second. Even thought they are not allowed on campus, I took a Coca Cola, sat behind a door and took a few moments to simply rest and pray.

After a few seconds of caffeine bliss, we all walked out to the center of campus for Sabbath worship. Everyone was smokey, covered in ash and dirty. However, we worshiped and told stories from the day. Fires were still burning in the distance, but they were far enough away to not worry about. It was a beautiful moment...until it was time to wrap up. Our director Melissa got a call from the power company with not great news. The box that had provided power to our area had blown and they did not have another one. This meant we wouldn't have power for the night and possibly for an indefinite amount of time. 

After heading back to the houses, chaos broke out. While not having power is a terrifying and stressful reality for the house parents, the kids LOVE it. They can run around and play tag in total darkness...so much fun when you need to keep track of 13 boys ages 5-15. We had buckets of water for them to shower with and lots of popcorn and drinks for them to eat that night. The amount of energy it took to get all of the boys ready for bed was more then I ever expected to spend. As soon as the were done showering I started a movie up stairs and let them unwind a bit.

My body needed a break. I was unbelievably tired and shocked. I thought about just how different my life was 4 months ago. I had no idea what I would be getting myself into. I sat on my back porch and stared at the faint glow of fires on the clouds. I couldn't do anything but sit and think. This is when having other SMs with me is so important. Sean and I talked for a while as the boys were entertained. Eventually the movie ended and it was time for bed. I prayed with all the boys and put them to sleep.

It's days like this that remind me why I'm here. They tend to always reset my perspective a bit and help me remember why I am here. These kids need someone to take care of them, this property needs people to protect it, and the ministry that happens here carries more meaning then I ever would have thought.

Solo Parenting:

Something I failed to mention earlier is that while that hectic day happened, I was a solo parent. Something we get used to around here is changing schedules. My co-parent Zoro suddenly had to travel to Santa Cruz (20 hour bus ride) to get his official workers permit. He was supposed to be gone 3 days but ended up being in the city for the whole week. Being a solo parent was exactly what I imagined it would be. It meant that I didn't have the ability to go into my room for a quick break or rely on someone else to make a meal. It all was on me.

A huge portion of the job here is cooking. I did not want to lag behind on that while he was gone. While my cooking has significantly improved during my time here, the boys like Zoro's food more. Therefore, I made a declaration that my food would beat the par set by my co-parent each day. 

It was not easy, but I am rather proud of the food I made for the kids.

Here are a few of my creations from that week!

The Fluffiest pancakes you've ever seen!

Asian fried rice.

Pizza baguettes!

 

Finally made perfect dinner rolls.

Turmeric rice with arepas.

Cooking has truly turned into a therapeutic part of life for me. I absolutely love sitting and preparing a meal for all of my guys. It has also challenged me to think outside of what I am used to. Nearly all of the food I cook with is raw. If we want peas, we have to split the pods. If I want shredded carrots, I have to shred the carrots. If I want to make hashbrowns, I have to sit by the stove for 3 hours while I cook WAY too many of them (yea that was a lesson learned).

While I love to make food for the kids, I have also learned that I can't make everything that I want to make. I find myself staying up late at night to get enough internet so I can look up recipes and watch videos on how to make something new. Quite often recipes call for things we don't have access to. When I make bread, recipes sometimes say that I need to "store in a cool, dry place." I am 99% sure there is not a cool and dry place in the country. Much less on our property.

Here are a few things we don't have easy access to.

• Cheese: There is only one kind of cheese and it behaves in a strange way when cooked.
• Beans: We only get these when funds are sufficient.
• Butter: It is hard to get butter simply because its expensive.
• Eggs: We only get these when funds are sufficient. We also use so many that once they enter the house, they are gone very quickly. 
• Parchment paper: Practically every recipe to bake needs this, yet we just use oil.
• Oils: We only use soy oil. I am rather excited about using my Trader Joes olive oil when we get home. (we realized that we had never checked what kind of oil we use and one of the SMs immediately said "Its probably motor oil." we all laughed.) 
• Tin Foil: Nope
• Plastic wrap: Nada
• Liquid milk: We cook with powdered milk because it can be used more efficiently. 
• Stand Mixer: This one is obvious, but we only use our hand to mix. It has turned into a fun activity for me.

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The last month has been very busy, therefore I have not been able to write as much. Taking care of the kids and working on the campus always comes first. I have defiantly found that writing is something that I enjoy more then I thought I would.

It makes me think about what I am doing. 

It makes me remember the good, bad and ugly from the past weeks.

 It makes me treasure this experience just a little bit more.

The last few weeks have been full of things to do. Here are a few pics!

Water during the fires.

Pizza Baguette with pasta.

Pancakes with butter, peaches and honey. A very special treat.

Made a little friend at a local restaurant.

My little ones excited to use their new towels!

Made tortillas! Took a while, but I was pleased with the outcome.

Taco night!

Another special meal.

More pancakes.

A delivery of bananas and plantains.

More pizza baguette!

Dinner rolls with potatoes and a salad.

My favorite coffee place in Rurre. Roots.

A man walking down the street with a cow head.

Everything is a toy!

Excitement for food.

Preparing for a hot week with no rain in sight.

Trees must be climbed.

DIY seesaw 

Luis wanted to get creative while cleaning his clothes. So he decided to use his feet. He got down right after the photo was taken.

Dinner roll progress.

Almost there

Perfect!

I try to give them cereal on Sabbath. They love it and it makes life easier for me.

Group photo after church.

Fires across the street from Familia Feliz.

Was a long day.

Homemade granola! If anyone has recommendations on how to make it more clumpy, please let me know! 

One of our cool guys hanging around campus.

Made a little friend at the Lillas home.

Incredible food made by Hermana Ruth. She calls it "Veggie fish"

Banana bread with Leonel.

One of my boys figured out how to solve a 4x4 Rubiks cube by himself. I don't know how that's possible, but he did it.

Our campus German Shepard helps me bake. (eats leftovers)

Joel and Leonardo playing with tops.

Knowing that God is at work is essential to being here. This applies to everything; volunteers coming and going, kids getting sick, and all of the other complicated parts of daily life here. We can't be in control of everything and we have to adapt on the fly to almost anything.

When you pass through the water,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isiah 43:2