Abundance.

"The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. ...For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints ... for by strength, no man shall prevail...but He will give strength and exalt the horn of His anointed" -1 Samuel 2:7-10

I love that no matter what - the power of God's love and wisdom and strength overcomes every.single.thing that life brings. And I love that His grace fill every moment of my life. - Over the course of my life, God has filled me with promise - "only after you cross the bridge - will it break" - "I will take the names of the Baals from your mouth and you will remember them by their name no more" - what beauty is this - He blows my mind.

My days at Hermano Pedro grow longer as it seems that there is little else in Antigua that captures my heart as much as the people I find within these walls. Tomorrow I take the older boys swimming with the therapists... I'm excited - the pool is always a delight for the kids in HP. And any crazy fun I can have with them is always a plus. - I was actually thinking today - what would it look like to take some of these kids to the zoo in Guat city...? - it might be a stretch but MAN would they have a blast. - I feel like I'm finding my niche here ...the Belin ward in the morning to help with feeding, brushing teeth, and cleaning - with my little girl's help of course - Sonia (14?) and Veronica (10) are my little buddies...eager to help at any and every turn - in fact (interesting situation) - we had a bit of an argument...well they did anyway - about just WHO would get to hold the bucket with the toothbrushes in it following behind me as I went about my job of brushing teeth - I tried to keep a straight face ....but picture two little girls tattling on each other to me (who speaks the WORST Spanish I have EVER heard) - and me responding in Spanglish ... oh it was a sad sight! Luckily we got through it ...and moved on - Veronica was promised that she could clean the brushes - and Sonia would have to settle for only getting to hold the bucket during teeth brushing time. - Oh but I love, love, LOVE my life here - I love my children. They bring me such peace. I adore walking in each morning and calling out, "Buenos Dias!!" - and hearing Veronica screeching my name in response "MARIA!!!! - do I get to help you today?!?!" - or (David (14) give me a huge grin and say "Hi. How are you" (He's incredibly proud of his English, btw) ..."fine, David - thank you, love!" *smile* do they get any cuter? - Another bright spot of every morning is Huber - that boy is pure delight. We were friends right from the start....

One thing I need - SPANISH SCHOOL!!! That's the one thing that drives me nuts - and even a taaad bit crazy (which is really the same thing - but whatever) The women I work with... I love! - they are amazing. One in particular, Christy - she's kind of become like a mother figure to me ...and despite the language barrier - we've grown to really love each other. - but the thing is ...I feel like I'm missing on amazing relationships and I hate that. So language school perhaps after the camps for the kids (sometime mid-December).

*Pictures coming soon* =) I got to climb Pacaya several days ago with my good friend Melvin who has been amazing at showing me things and places I didn't even know existed here in Antigua. Loveliness!

I miss my violin. I miss playing SO badly - it's only been a month and a half - but without it, part of me is definitely missing. - I'm so grateful for the gift of music!

More soon!