Things are going great. Sure I have days when I am exhausted or down, but don't we all? I am 100% thankful to be here and share the experiences I am having with the kids here. I have all but thrown homesickness out the window, not because I don't love and miss you all back home, but I think God's been teaching me a new level of humility. Every time I'm tempted to complain or to sigh about missing someone, I'm reminded about the lives of the people I interact with all day. There is no way whatsoever I can complain about missing someone to children who may not have seen their family in over ten years...and they are fifteen, or to someone who may not even have family.
That said, it is sometimes sad and always very humbling to be here. I feel so thankful for my loved ones but so thankful I can be here and love and be loved by these kids. They are incredible. Whenever I start to feel sad about the rotten things in this world that lead to the need for places like NPH, I am reminded of how much more beautiful it is to see these kids succeeding and turning into more hilarious, more talented, more intelligent, and more beautiful people every day. I wouldn't change this opportunity to be here and share their daily lives with them and maybe not be someone important for them, but be someone here for them, someone present with them for the highs and lows that come with being a teenager.
Some days, when I'm sitting watching the kids play pool or dancing like a maniac with them during Zumba, or greeting them as they come through the food line at meals, and I'm particularly tickled by something they say....sometimes at those moments I'm tempted to think about all the awesome moments their parents are missing from their lives. But it's at those times I'm reminded and so humbled and thankful that I could have this almost sacred opportunity to be a witness to their lives and to be able to know without a doubt that they are caring, funny, quirky, amazing people.
One phrase came to my mind the other week when I was in the shower (the place where all of the best ideas surface, no?) and was reflecting on my life here at NPH. Despite frustrations or tiredness some days may bring for me here, I can't say I'm not loving it because let's be honest, I'm living my dream. The simple thought that came to me is "living a life of love is loving the life you're living" and I think it's absolutely true. No one has to move to Mexico to see the truth in this, but I think being here has given me a new clarity on what's really important. If it's loving, check, do that thing. If it's not, ehh, maybe don't do it!
(Side bar, an awesome 2 verses to check out---> Ephesians 5:1-2. We don't have to make up how we should love from scratch, God and Jesus paved the way for us and showed us how by loving us first...it's so much easier to know how to love someone else when you know that you yourself are loved!)
Well, that's my update for now, but I'm working on my "real update post" where I'll have some more details of what I've actually been up to all this time. LOVE YOU!!!
