There is work to be done!

There are many opportunities for us to tackle some practical projects here at the home: replace a boiler (hot water heater), paint, sort through and organize clothes and other miscellaneous items left behind by other visiting groups, clean, repair parts of the playground, etc.

We also have a part of our team going to the Reynosa BIC Church to paint and do some rebar/beam work (unclear exactly what that will entail at this time). That group will likely be there most of the day and return again tomorrow.

Speaking of church, they held a service last night at the home. WOW. I was immediately drawn in by the music. I did not recognize the first couple of songs, but they clearly resonated with my spirit as everyone lifted the hearts and hands in praise and adoration. Then, they started into a familiar chord progression and Sherry and I exchanged knowing looks as they started into "Revelation Song" by Kari Jobe. It was an amazing thing to sing together with our Mexican brothers and sistes. "Santos, santos, santos... (Holy, holy, holy)" Powerful.

For the musicians following this blog, they had a full band... drums, bass (both were youth from the home, I think), acoustic and electric guitar, keys, a lead vocal and a couple of BGVs. Very beautiful, and the room sounded absolutely huge even though it was rather small. And it was loud, something Sherry approved of... "I could sing at the top of my lungs and no one could here me!" (She said that was a good thing.) :-)

The schedule here is interesting. The meals are as follows:
7AM Breakfast
2PM Lunch (the big meal of the day... more like dinner)
8PM (+/- an hour?) Dinner (a light meal)

The children have varying school schedules. Some go as early as 6:30AM. Others go in the afternoon. Others (high school) go in last afternoon and return as late as 9:30 or 10 PM. Some go to school in the day and then to a skill/trade school at night.

A good example of this is Oscar. He is the son of Aurora, one of the house parents. He goes to regular school in the day and then to auto mechanic class in the evening (not every evening, though). He is also the drummer for the church's worship team and is pretty good despite only playing for a little more than a year.

For the soccer fans among us, many of the children here have incredible foot skills. Both our children and a number from the home have been playing "futbol" almost constantly since we arrived. It's been a good way for them to develop some rapport. Chris Selkirk has jumped into the fray regularly and has earned the respect of the locals already. He exchanged a hand slap of mutual respect with their best player. This same high shooler also dished out a "Good job" to Nate Hopkins after one round, as well.