When I got out of the car to go talk to them Lorenzo was not with the rest of the crew. I asked where he was and everyone pointed to the pulperia nearby. After he made his purchase he came running to me full speed and leapt into my arms laughing. It was awesome. Man I love those kids.
We talked a little and they kept asking when they could go with me like Erika does. I told them Erika and I will make plans but it won't be for a few weeks because I am busy on the weekends and they have school during the week. Then Erika and I decided we will surprise them and pick them up on Thursday after school. We are going to go to Popeyes and get chicken. They can play at the playland there. Since none of them have ever been to a fast food restaurant, except now Erika, I am sure it will be a big hit.
It shouldn't be too expensive to share a bucket of chicken. I am realizing that the costs of doing ministry outside of a church, where they provided everything, is much more expensive. But Erika is not asking for anything more than time. I chose to take her to Wendy's the first time we met together so we could talk, once when we were out doing errands we had a smoothie, and today we went to Burger King. Can you imagine nobody in her family has ever eaten fast food before this! Good for them. I think of kids in the US and no matter how healthy they are, they still end up with some chicken nuggets and fries here or there. It's hard to comprehend the idea of a 16 year old who has never had McDonalds or Burger King in her whole life.
Today we made plans for the immediate future, a one year plan, and a five year plan. Erika will enter 7th grade when she starts school in February. I told her I know a place that she can complete 2 school grades in one year. I suggested that we start on a regular schedule and if she feels like she cab handle it, she can do the 2 years in 1 for the second and third year of her studies. It would cut out two years of studying, but Erika thought it would be too overwhelming. She said she is fine with graduating at 22 years old. Many people here graduate a lot older than 22, so she won't appear out of place. She will keep it in mind as an option though.
We talked about hopes and dreams. I asked if she imagined herself married with more kids one day in the future. I thought for sure she would say yes, but her face spoke as loudly as her words. She said very seriously that she does not want to be married or have more kids. She did not seem bitter or hurt from her last relationship with Marjory's father. (We talked about that too.) She said she just doesn't want to be married unless God puts a good man into her life. But she doesn't seem very hopeful for that.
Erika said that for now she is happy with the support of her family to raise Marjory. She is not interested in boyfriends. That sounds great to me! I told her if she changes her mind, that she can feel free to talk to me about it because that is part of walking through life together.
We decided we are going to read a book together, although I haven't found the right one yet. And we will get together to discuss it. Once she has a bible, Erika would also like to continue doing devotionals. When I was at the church she really liked the devotional part of the class, and reading biblical verses that pertained to the devotional. I already have a devotional book for her, but we went shopping for bibles and found that they are $40-$55! So we are still working on that part.
I had made a list of all of the things I appreciate about Erika - her timeliness, her positive attitude, her ability to continuously exceed my expectations, the fact that she is a great mother, the fact that she asks for nothing but my time, the fact that she likes to spend time with me and if I offer to let her have a few days off she'll say she wants to meet sooner. Those were some of the things I told her. I also showed her the personal goals I have made in regards to walking through life with her, which ranged from getting to know each other better, to buying a car seat and having "the talk".
We've already completed a surprising number of goals, considering we've spent less than three weeks together. Part of that is due to her disposition. She is always willing to get together and get things done. I told her I thank God that He chose her to be the first person I work with in my new ministry. There is nobody else I would rather walk alongside than Erika right now. But I am keeping my eyes out for people He will call me to serve in the future.
I go to bed tonight with a content, peaceful heart and a smile on my face. As I think over my time with Erika as well as those awesome hugs and kisses from Lorenzo, Junior and Carlos, I know that I am loving the people that God called me to love here in Honduras. What a great feeling!
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| Marjory enjoys Burger King |
We learned today that Marjory loves french fries. She eats them from the tip down until there is just a stub and then uses her whole hand to shove what's left into her mouth with her palm. It's pretty funny to watch. She is saying mamamamama and occasionally papapapa, but never dadada like babies in the US. I thought that was strange. She imitates sounds sometimes and is babbling a lot. She is also taking her first steps. Erika said that she wraps a towel around Marjory and let her practice walking. Today Marjorie ate french friends and little bites of Erika's sandwich (Erika always gives Marjory the first bites), then fell asleep nursing. She is a sweet baby with a good mommy.
