He's Getting His Spidey Senses Back.

First of all, can I just admit to myself and the world that YES, I AM PRONE TO MOODINESS. Today was no different, but I am pleased to also admit that I was moody with good reason. Having said that, our day was amazing. We headed to the church to pick up our Spanish teacher, Sylvia, and her two year old son, Daniel. We waited at the church for about half an hour, so we spent that time playing basketball and soccer with the students. Something about these kids makes you just crazy about them. They have so much energy and enthusiam and I love that they never do anything halfway. They truely get all there is to get out of life.

We headed off to the beach with Slyvia and her adorable Daniel in tow. This child is so sweet and social you just want to scoop him up into your arms and make him giggle until he's pink in the face. The first thing I notice about the beach is the sand. It's black and glitters with gold flecks of something beautiful. I've never been near the Pacific Ocean, and I've never seen waves quite like that before. I'm talking fifteen to twenty foot waves. The area we went to the beach on was part of a complex of rental houses, which was lovely.

The complex by the beach.

Before we went home, we stopped at an outdoor mall on the ocean. This is where the moodiness comes into play. Looking out at the ocean and seeing the monsterous waves crashing onto the shore below me made me go into pensive mode. I wanted to breathe and just soak it all in. We walked down a pier to get a better view of the sunset and I experienced my first moment of unhappiness since coming here. The pier doubles as a fish market and the people there just looked so desperate for business. I fear that if I take every person's pain personally I'm going to drown myself in these heavy feelings of sympathy. I did however take that moment on the end of the pier to just bask in the glory of God and how magnificent his creations are. Kaylie gave a local boy her "I <3 Jesus" bracelet and it just tore my heart to pieces watching how easily she shares her heart with people. The word beautiful has a whole new meaning. What I found beautiful before this place seems to dull in comparison. I didn't know what beauty really was until God opened my eyes.

The pier in comparison to the waves.

We had a really tricked out van today as our ride and we watched Spider Man during the car rides. Of course it was in spanish, so Kaylie took it upon herself to provide her own script. I can honestly say I've laughed more in this week than I have in a very long time, which is saying something because I laugh so easily and readily.

At dinner we went over the house rules, such as a schedule for who helps with cooking and cleaning throughout the week. It truely makes me feel at home in a foreign world and I have never felt more sure about this being the right decision for me. Johnny is leaving tomorrow. It's saddening, mostly because I have gotten to know him in this week and my respect for who he is has mulitplied exponentially. He is an incredible man and God speaks through him in wonderful ways. As Jorge says, "Give it up for Joney!" He challenged us today to make the most out of our experience here, and to talk to him at the end of the year and proclaim that we did everything we could learn and come away with this with no regrets. Amen, Johnny Condrey, amen.

All for His Glory,
 Taylor