Nich Post 2

Now that we have the blog up might as well write, am I right, We spent today with some more working on Agape and then spending time with the emmanuel house.

THOSE KIDS ARE SO ENERGETIC.

All caps might seem a little more than necessary, but when you get done introducing yourself and the first thing one of the kids says to you is "wanna play tag?" and you say yes, you will be running for the next forty five minutes. But be warned, the game might switch from tag to soccer, to some game where three kids run top to you and start hitting you with large balls that they sit and bounce on. Then its back to tag. So much fun, though I had to repeatedly stop to catch my breath and tell them "Uno Momento". This boy Gabriel was fantastic with his english and he happened to sit across from me during dinner, so we talked about soccer and the team he plays on, how he enjoys living in the house, and his other interests. We spent a lot of time talking over dinner and then playing soccer in the yard, really a game of keep away. He came over before I left and we played tether ball and I thanked him for spending so much time with me and talking with me. He likes American football, a surprising amount of boys at the house liked American football. I got a couple laugh when we were throwing one back and forth and I yelled "Tom Brady" and threw it across the yard. But probably because I looked ridiculous. One of the new boys, Jose, did not have a good life prior to Ninos, and he came a month ago, yet it is amazing how he is open to playing, and laughing, and wanting you to play and laugh with him. At one point he asked Colby a question and Colby told him 'Uno momento' which I then said in a low voice, he thought that was the funniest thing. So we proceeded to do that for the next 10 minutes. We also played a fantastic card game where you get some cards and you all have to place one down, then randomly grab them back up until you have all of them. I won once and gloated quite a bit. Today also marked the return of tether ball, which I think is the reason for all of the swollen bruises on my forearms but Im not 100% certain.

Spending time with all of the boys really made me think of my brothers and my family and miss them. But I felt like realizing that they were like my brothers helped me reach a point that I could love them at a different level than some kids we were hangin out with for the afternoon.

Tomorrow is a tourist day which I am very excited for, but tomorrow also marks the mid point of the week. The past two days have gone so fast, part of this just feels like I am at camp if I am honest, I have roommates who we laugh about everything, we are staying in a house, far away from my home. You even look forward to the smell of sewage when you walk out of your room in the morning, think of it as leaving your old cabin and getting a wife of the fresh pine air. Only this pine air makes you a little queasy to your stomach at times. Im not certain how I am feeling, most of this doesn't feel real, and I know it will be over before I know it.

I look forward to down time to journal about my day. There is so much I want to put in here that I can't find the words for, yet I routinely fill five or six pages a day putting down thoughts and just recording the day.

At this point I am just rambling so I will cut it short as I need to go to bed, I haven't been sleeping well, mark it up to a couple different reasons but I am hoping tonight I can sleep through the night.

SAM- Thank you for your note, it was much appreciated. Tomorrow is wednesday and then it is just a quick blink before I am back home. and yes I wore that hat all day while working. I can't wait to see you and tell you about the trip. I love you so much, I have so much I want to say and I can't find the words. Mark it up to the tiredness, or the jumbled emotions I am feeling as I write this. But I know I can't wait to see you. You are a freaking rockstar, and I bet you are killing it this week. I hope the letters are  helping a bit. I love you so much. Can't wait to talk with you again.

Until next time,
Nich