Mano Arriba

So long week... I’ve been trapped on church campus all week long. Haven’t left in five days. It’s 7:15pm on a Friday and I’m listening to the awesome tunes of Don Omar: Danza Kuduro. You need to listen to this song. It’s sooo good. You won’t stay still. I’ve been dancing around the kitchen with Laura as we listen to it over and over again. ANYWAYS enough about this awesome song. I had big plans for tonight. Don’t get me wrong, the night is still young, but still, I had big plans. I was gonna play in downtown for a bit, then go to the dueling piano bar then go to one of my student’s football games to see her perform in the band. Well, none of this happened, thanks to rain and late mail. ANYWAYS, the night is not over my friend, because I am still going Salsa dancing tonight!!! YESSSS that is correct. This one is escaping the confines of the church gates...FINALLY.

I’ve been extremely busy for the past three weeks and will continue to be until Christmas time. The Social Service Office puts on a Thanksgiving food drive and a Christmas gift program every year. Right now, I have over 200 families registered. You can imagine how much time it takes to make sure paperwork is right, the details don’t get overlooked, and you stick to deadlines, plus everything else that goes into running these two programs. Good thing I love to plan and organize :)

When the work week is done, I like to spend my time with the people who make me feel the most alive....the youth. I love the youth of this parish. They are beautiful children of God. Yet, they have a hard time recognizing just how deeply precious they are. My heart shatters when I discover the struggles they live with. Why, whyyyyyyy do my kids have to go through struggles where they feel alone, unloved and unworthy of anyone’s attention? So here I am, determined to love them with all that God gives me.
And when you love them, my goodness, what a transformation it makes! They make me so proud. To see them succeed, ask questions, discover the truth, walk away from peer pressures, laugh, care for others, have confidence, and believe in themselves. DANG. That’s God right there.

Here are a few other highlights from the past couple of weeks:
--Julia came to visit before heading to El Paso for a year. It was awesome that I got to spend time with her, after not seeing her for over a year!
--Kelsey and I also got to hang out with Dr. Lum who was here for a conference! Man, you can bet we had some good sociological conversations ;)
--I discovered a fair-trade coffee shop down the street. Rock on.
--We had a Latin dance par-tay in our kitchen...no explanation needed
--I’m building confidence in myself, in my beliefs and in my goals...the process has been very rejuvenating and challenging.
--Spending time with Pearl and Carlos (thats always just going to be a highlight)

I’ll finish up with some powerful words by Father Marshall. He told us, above all else, we are to LOVE WITHOUT FEAR. What would that look like in your life? I can tell you that life would not be the same.