I Wake Up to Singing in the Shower

But really...the boys sing in the shower every morning. It is funny and precious all at the same time and such a joyful way for us to be woken up.  This weekend has been yet another learning experience for Laura and I.  We were told by Ronald when we first arrived at Jovenes that the weekends are often the more difficult days for the boys.  Saturdays are the days when family members are allowed to come visit the boys.  Ronald also takes some of the boys into the city to spend the day with family.  But you can see where this would be difficult for the boys who don't have family anymore or who don't know who their family is.  After several hours it was already obvious to Laura and I that the staff tried their very hardest to make Saturday's very fun for the boys!

Swatting beatles...the nightly activity when it doesn't rain

The massacre 

So, first thing on the agenda...swimming with Casa Rosada!  Looking back on this time, we feel like this was when the boys really started opening up to us.  We started to see individual personalities form.  Like Johan and how he was constantly saying, "Mirame, mirame, mirame!" He wanted us to see all of his tricks; and Noé acting like he didn't want to be thrown in the pool but at the same time he was slowly taking off his shoes and emptying his pockets; and Fernando wanting to talk to us so bad that he quoted the only Bible verse he knew in English.

Another thing was noticed was how...normal the boys are.  If you can just get past the language barrier, you realize that people in other cultures are really no different than us.  They laugh the same, the joke the same, their pains are the same, and they want to feel special just like we do.  So often we focus all our preparation on how different things are going to be when really our focus should be on how to communicate those things that are the same.  And once you can understand this concept, it is so much easier to understand and connect with the boys.

Me and one of my new favorite 11 year olds, Pancho!

Today, we were blessed to be able to sleep in...till 7:30.  Just like in the US the weekends are a little more laid back.  Every month, a different house is in charge of the worship service.  And...surprise, this month is Casa Rosada's turn!  We walked downstairs to 55 little boys all dressed up in their "Sunday best".  The service was very formal, with lots of practice from the boys the night before.  It was such a blessing to hear all the boys singing their hearts out and participating in worship.  The rest of the afternoon was spent playing sports.  Laura played soccer while I played several games of "burro" (horse), and a two-on-two game of basketball.  I haven't played that hard in a long time.  Needless to say, we need more exercise.

We are trying very hard to be polite when it comes to eating the food, but tonight it was...rough.  The menu consisted of hot-dogs (made from a mystery meat), onions and cabbage with some sort of sauce drizzled on top.  Possibly the worst thing we have had so far.  It made me miss beans (and I don't even like beans)!  So, obviously, we are still adjusting to the food situation here.  After dinner we watched a 2 hour show called, "Pequeñas Gigantes", some kind of game-show that mixes singing, dancing, relays, and little babies.  The boys loved it and we found ourselves cheering right along with them (especially for "pequeño gordito" as the boys liked to call him).

Watching Peqeñas Gigantes

We had a great weekend, and we are ready to start a new week.  We are walking the boys to school in the morning and we are really looking forward to it, even though that means we have to be up and ready by 6:30.  Hope this weekend brought as many blessings to you as it did to us.  We love hearing from you and staying updated on what is going on at home.  We love and miss you all!

Hannah and LauraBeth