It was another great day! This time we didn't go house to house. We went to our field office (we have a main office and an office in each neighborhood we serve) and the kids met us there. It was much more efficient, and I didn't end up sunburned today, but I do like walking around in the communities.
Since all of the kids came in at once, I got to do a share of the interviews today. The questions start out asking about school. Every kid I interviewed was 13-16 years old and had only completed 4th-6th grade. A little more than half are still in school. One said he is not in school because he can't get along with the kids there. (I am thinking maybe gang problems but we weren't supposed to ask them anything except the specific questions on the "interrogation" - that's how questionnaire translates in Spanish.)
It was interesting because we asked if they thought it was appropriate for kids their age to drink alcohol. All of them, every single one, responded very firmly NO. The next question was if they believe it is okay for kids their age to have sexual relations. On that question all of them wavered.
They talked about how things are going in their home. All of my kids said they feel safe, someone asks where they are going and with whom, they have rules, and somebody cares about them. One of the boys who was interviewed by a co-worker said that he has nobody to go to with problems, nobody he can trust, he has no dreams for his future, and does not believe that the world he lives in can change. That was so sad to hear.
The psychologist has tried to meet with that boy. He comes faithfully to the boys club, but he doesn't want to see her. He says it's because he gets food at the boys club. In fact the leader of the club gives him anything that is left over because he often goes for days without eating. The part that bothered me most is that he lives with his mother and she works. So many families don't have food because they can't find work. Apparently she does not share her earnings with him. In fact they say she doesn't seem to care about him at all.
I saw some kids that reminded me of certain kids in Los Pinos at a glance. My heart would get all excited, thinking it was them, and then I remembered I was not in the right part of the city to see them. I look forward to the day when I will know and care more deeply for the kids I am serving now.
Tomorrow we have to be at the office at 8 a.m. We'll spend the morning going door to door again. In the afternoon we will go back to the "club" and interview a group of girls. This area has five different clubs of 25 kids each, so we will be there Friday and Saturday too.
After the day was done we had time to sit around and talk. The psychologist talked about working with a girl who was infested with lice. I thought to myself, in Los Pinos every kid is infested with lice. We talked about the kids who weren't full of lice. They were the ones who stood out in Los Pinos.
My co-workers have lots of questions about the US. They think we all live on hamburgers and french fries. Especially from McDonalds. When I explained that is not accurate, they said, "Well, that is just you because you like healthier food. But the rest of the people in the US eat McDonalds often, right?" How do you explain to people who don't have enough money for a cheese burger at McDonalds that in the US people who live on McDonalds, generally do so because they can't afford healthy food?
Something really, really cool happened this morning in Los Pinos. One of my co-workers witnessed it and showed me photos. I can't talk about it here because it could put people's safety at risk. I wish I could!!!!
I am looking forward to tomorrow. My co-workers teased me because it is not their idea of fun, walking from house to house in the hot sun, but I am eager to go. We'll have about a two hour break at lunch time, if we are able to see all the kids in the morning. I am invited to go to one of their homes for lunch.
I'm working on the message that I have to preach in front of my class on Sunday. I sent a text to Pastora Ruth today and asked if I can have a translator. She said no. I need to preach in Spanish. She's right. If this is where I live, I need to be able to talk to people in Spanish. But it would be so much easier in English. So far I am not nervous. I will study and pray. God will give me the words when it is time.
Bummer of the day: I bought a Costco sized box of cereal, ate one bowl last night, closed it up tight and put it back in the box. This morning the bag of cereal was swarming with ants. I really don't know how they squeezed their way in there. Want to be grossed out? I didn't through it away. I put it in the freezer. I am hoping the ants will die and all fall to the bottom of the bag so I can still eat the cereal. The things you do when you live on a tight budget in a country full of ants.
