After 20 days of nothing...

Maybe it´s the sun, or maybe it is the relaxed pace of everything around me, whatever it is, I have not posted on this blog in 20 days. I had realized that it had been a long time and my goal was to make it to the internet one more time before the end of July. I´m barely squeezing it in! I guess I have a lot to fill ya´ll in on.

T.E.A.M.s and CHI
When I last wrote, I was working with a group from Pennsylvania, it was raining, and the new intern had recently arrived. Since my last post, CHI has hosted three more TEAMs, one from Colorado, another from Kansas, and the current TEAM here is a large group from The Woodlands, Texas. (The youth leader of this group is actually a friend of my mom´s good college friend Jon, small world.) We´ve been putting in a ton of work here and it is so incredible to see the changes. BJ, the ¨new intern¨, was such a blessing to me and to this organization. He is a sixteen year old whose Spanish far surpasses my own. I learned so much from him this last month with the language and so much more. We miss him a lot! The Children and TEAM members are currently enjoying swim time and tonight as a last get together, the group is serving everyone Ice Cream Sundays! Yes. Moving on.

My BFF Dolly
So, many of you heard about and know of the friend that came raging through the coast last week. Hurricaine Dolly arrived in Reynosa midday on Thursday July 24. We had a small group from Kansas that week, 10 amazing youth and leaders, who were game for everything. We all worked up until the point where it seemed dangerous for us to be out and about, and then we spend the afternoon and evening in the dormitories. As far as weather goes, being from MN, I have never experienced a hurricaine, and once was probably enough. I am under the impression that stateside got hit worse than we did, but Í haven´t been there since, so I don´t really know. As far as damage goes, a few trees were knocked down and a few doors were broken off of hinges, but now serious damage was done. Most importantly everyone was safe. One thing that did happen however was the loss of electricity. We lost electricity on Thursday afternoon, and we went without electricity until Saturday night at 945. I will never forget the squeals of glee and the shouts of ¨llega la luz¨ THE LIGHTS ARE HERE! Everyone was so excited, I wish that I would have had a video camera so that I could share it with you.

Whatever else...
My flight will leave McAllen, TX one week from today. I am completely floored by how quickly this summer has flown by. It honestly seems like yesterday that I was here by myself waiting for two families from North Carolina to come and serve. I still have trouble finding the right words to say to explain how I feel, all I can think of is excitement. I cannot remember a time where I felt so excited about my life, and more importantly, excited about what is to come after my life has ended. I am excited to see where this organization is headed. I am excited to be in Minnesota with all of the people that I love. I am excited to see where God is going to take me, wherever that is, I´m along for the ride.

I did my best to fill in some of the gaps of the last 20 days. I will be seeing many of you soon. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts!

Dios le bendiga.

Love Eliza

Colonias

I've been here for over a month and I have yet to report on an extremely important part of the CHI ministry. Every Wednesday as a part of the T.E.A.M. program, we travel to a nearby Colonia and hand out food, clothing, little toys, etc. to areas stricken by extreme poverty. I don't have any photos on hand, but to those who have seen the Colonias first hand, they know that these images stick with you.

This week southern Texas and the Reynosa area experienced six days of rain. While this is a common occurance in Minnesota, here, not so much. At one point we didn't think that we would be able to make the Colonia trip with this group, it would have been too much of a risk to lose a vehicle in the mud. But God does provide, and Tuesday afternoon, the rain stopped and the sun came out, so by Wednesday we all loaded into the vans and headed off to a Colonia with our "it's-okay-if-these-shoes-get-so-dirty-that-I-won't-want-to-wear-them-again" shoes.

We handed out coloring books and glow-in-the-dark bracelets to the kids this particular week, simply saying "Cristo te ama." or "Dios le bendiga". (Jesus loves you, and God Bless). I have gone to the Colonias with every group, and each time it doesn't necessarily get easier to see, but I am less shocked by the living conditions.

One thing that hits me every single time is the varied personalities that we meet. There are the people that try to trick you for one more bag of rice. I can't say that I blame them. But the overwhelming majority are people with beautiful hearts. They remain honest when offered a second bag of food, saying that they have already recieved their share. A women this Wednesday, when a group member managed to say "God Bless You" in their broken Spanish, replied "And you, God loves us all equally." This simple statement amazes me still. We come to the Colonias with our simple gifts, attempting to make better the lives of a few that have had a hard road. But God loves us all equally. It doesn't matter what we each have done to get where we are. God loves us all equally. The last shall be first and the first shall be last.

I know I've rambled on and I don't know if this makes any sense at all. All I know is that I have faith in our creator and I am excited to see what plans he has in store for me for my remaining weeks here.

I love you all and will see you soon.

Eliza

My land of 10,000 lakes

So, I've been here for over four weeks, and one of the things I miss greatly is WATER! Lakes, Rivers, Rain, water from a faucet that I can safely drink... Since I've been here I've told so many people that I missed Minnesota and how fresh and green everything is.

Then yesterday, I woke up in the morning and the sky was extremely overcast. (A welcome sight, when a big day of outside work is ahead of you). Throughout the morning we would feel sprinkles on and off. But then around noon, there was a down pour. It rained and rained and rained. For almost three hours. Reynosa and CHI don't see rain like this that often. The ground is so hard from being baked in the sun that the water just collects and runs into the streets. After the rain stopped, I went outside with some TEAM members, and there were my lakes! For the time I was there, I was surrounded by water, the air was cool, and in a weird way it reminded me of home.

I hope that you all have a happy and safe 4th of July... I'll be stateside, so maybe I'll catch some fireworks.

Love Eliza

The first jump into the pool!

The new and improved photo wall at the CHI office in Pharr. (My job for June!)

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming....

LA PISCINA ESTA ABIERTA!!!

I have just finished a refreshing swim in the newly painted CHI pool! Honestly, I never thought I would be saying that. Little did I know in 2005, when I was tearing out the pool floor with a hammer, that three years later I would be enjoying this scene with so many new friends.

I´ve been reminded recently that every decision you make will change your life in some way. I find it so interesting to imagine how the decisions I make every day will affect my future.

Today is the final day for two of CHI´s house parents, Camerino and Dina. Tonight there will be a devotional service and good bye party. I wish them well... and thank them for their service here. They have blessed the lives of so many, may God bless their futures.

Adios y Gracias a Dios!