5-27-10

So for some reason I can’t sleep in past 8am which is totally unlike me but I guess with the time change my body is still getting use to it all. Well anyway I got up and lucky for me Phil was going into Ensenada (which is the big city near el Porvenir) to do some shopping. Since my shift doesn’t start until noon he asked me to come along to see the city. The first place we went was the bank so he could take care of the pay roll for the orphanage and the daycare. We then ran a couple of more errands and then he took me on a tour of the city. Ensenada is so beautiful and I can’t wait till the other interns come down so we can go explore more in Ensenada.
I learned a lot about ninos de baja and Phil and Allison. The drive was about 45 minutes so I asked him what made them start the orphanage. The Drains (Phil and Allison) lived north of Los Angeles before coming to el Porvenir. Phil was a contractor and Allison was a kindergarten teacher then a principle. Phil took some trips down to Mexico to build houses for people involved with a ministry. The Drains then became involved with the previous orphanage in el porvenir. To make a long story short they decided after their last son graduates from college they were going to sell their house and go into the mission field. Allison graduated with a degree in Spanish so they decided to go somewhere where she could use that. They ended up in el Porvenir and have been serving at Ninos for five years now. They started this ministry with only one house and it has grown so much. Their property consists of a daycare, an orphanage, 2 guests house, an intern house and other houses that people in the community live in. They are currently working on other projects and are hoping to expand this summer when all the churches come down to help.
After I got back from Ensenada I went to work my shift in the orphanage. My shift is 12-7 and during this time I help feed them lunch, play with them outside, bathe them, and then feed them dinner. My shift is what Allison calls the crazy shift ha ha. The kids are anywhere from 1 to 8 years old and they don’t take naps so by the time 4 o clock rolls around the kids are very whiny and crazy and there is nothing you can do to stop them. The kids are very patient with me since my Spanish isn’t very good and so that is a big help. Today I drew pictures with one of the kids his name is Brandon. It was so funny the way we were communicating together if I didn’t understand something he would make noises or try to describe it using other words and it was so cool to me how language was not an obstacle.
After my shift at Ninos I went to my first official Mexican soccer practice. I went with Kari (the director of the Ventana ministry) to the practice. It was so great getting to know her and she is an amazing woman with such a big heart. Practice was very interesting; we play on a concrete indoor/outdoor court. They call it the indoor court but it has no roof so to me it is an outdoor court. Those girls were kicking my butt haha because I have never really played on an indoor court and they know exactly where to kick it on the wall to get it perfectly where they want it. To me soccer is all about controlling the ball and passing but here it is all about speed and kicking it off the walls. So it is definitely going to take a little getting used to on my part. So yeah that was my wonderful busy day 3 in el Porvenir and now I’m sitting in my big house all by myself so I creeped over to the Drains house to get a movie so it wouldn’t feel like I was all alone here haha I am such a baby but really I can’t wait till the other interns get here so I won’t have to sleep out here all alone.