week 31: today is my favorite day (january 12-18)

this week was pretty relaxed. sydney hung out with me at the orphanage until thursday (and then headed off to keep traveling by herself). so, she got to see my normal weekly routine and how things work here. it was so good having her, but other than that it was a pretty normal week! so...

victor amable: i thought i'd take this time to share about one of my favorite kids here at nph. his name is victor amable... yes... that is his real name... i thought it was a joke, but it's his name. (amable means "nice" in spanish). but he really is just one of the sweetest kids here. he is 13 and lives in the house with the oldest boys. he is the smallest one, but it doesn't bother him one bit and doesn't stop him from being one of the most vocal and outgoing kids in the house. he has this great smile that goes from one ear to the other, with these perfectly straight white teeth and he is just constantly full of joy. (sometimes we call him "sonrisa" which means "smile") and he is just one of those kids with built-in charisma. he knows what to say and when to say it and who to say it to... but in a sweet way (even though he does know how to use his charm to his advantage when he can). back in october the kids used to have group bible studies in the afternoons and one afternoon everyone was being quite rambunctious and victor was trying to talk, so he just quietly and confidently stood up (i don't think he even comes up to my shoulders) and said to this group of 25 older kids, "if you could all please be quiet, i am trying to teach you something." and then he sat down and continued with what he was trying to say about that day's scripture. i keep telling him that i am going to come back and visit him one day when he is president of this country! but, my favorite story of victor comes from thanksgiving. he was walking around with kelly and i before dinner (he was one of the nine kids that was invited to our thanksgiving dinner) and kelly was telling him about how thanksgiving is her favorite holiday and how she just loves this day. so, i asked him what his favorite day of the year is (most kids answer christmas or their birthday), but victor said, "today". and kelly and i looked at him and asked why... no one in this country celebrates thanksgiving. and then he said very matter of factly, "well because i'm alive." and kelly and i kinda looked at each other and smiled and he said, "well it's true right? tomorrow we could be dead." i was speechless, and just said, "well yes victor, that is true." he's just one of those kids that puts a smile on your face and gives you hope for a world that sometimes doesn't seem to have too much. for whatever reason this kid that was orphaned and lives here with no brothers or sisters, finds a way to get up each morning with a positive outlook on life and puts a smile on his face... and somehow finds a way to share it with others.

our lady of altagracia: one interesting thing we did this sunday was drive to this basillica in a town called higuey (about 2 hours northeast of here) to go to mass. we only have one bus, so only about 2 or 3 kids got to go from each house (the rest went to mass at home). but one of the reasons we went is because next wednesday is the feast day of our lady of altagracia (the patron saint of this country). now this city that we went to, higuey, is famous for this basillica and it is pretty impressive looking. i've driven by it several times and always have wanted to go in, so i was excited for the opportunity to go to mass there. let's just say it ended up being a very interesting experience. these people in this country are catholic by tradition, but a lot of the reverence has been lost in many things. apparently this is a very big holiday and the church was absolutely packed (i can only imagine coming on wednesday, the actual feast day). only, it felt a little more like a concert than a mass. the parking lot was full of huge vans that had brought people from all different parts of the country, but also full of venders selling pizza and soda and other food and random religious paraphernalia. it was a really strange atmosphere. then inside during the mass, it was just so weird. people were every where. we had to stand in the back because there were no seats and there were people behind me giving confessions during the whole entire mass! and we were standing in front of the adoration chapel and people were walking in and out... a dog even walked in at one point!! plus the dominican people are just really loud and there were people talking and texting and moving about the whole mass... it was such a surreal experience. i seriously felt like crying, but i just tried to pray and focus. i was so disturbed by the time the mass was over and i was just trying to justify what just happened... i mean this can't be normal, right?! anyway, i had to just let it go and after mass we all went outside in these grassy fields and ate the rice and beans we had brought. then we ended up playing tag and leap frog for about 2 hours... it was a ton of fun and made me forget (sort-of) of the experience i had earlier at mass!!

"it is better to light one candle than it is to curse the darkness." - rob riner