First Day!

Well, so far things have gone really well! My host family has been awesome. Dave, the dad and pastor of the church, is a real character. He's Canadian and has both that accent as well as a Mexican accent thrown in there sometimes. He loves telling stories and he has LOTS of them! He's very fun to listen to, although sometimes it makes us late for things.... not too unexpected in the Mexican culture! His wife has really made me feel so welcome. It is great getting to live with her because she is Mexican. It will help me understand the culture much better and learn the language. Their two daughters are super cute and full of spunk. They give lots of hugs, which is the best medicine for homesickness :). My roommate, another intern, is really wonderful. She's very easygoing and laughs a lot and we've had some great conversations so far. I feel really blessed with my new family!
One of the things I've heard helps someone adjust to a new culture is picking a name that is common for the locals, especially if your name is difficult for them to pronounce. My name isn't a usual Mexican name, so instead I picked April. It sounds almost the same, but is much easier for them to remember. It's kind of a pretty name, so I'm down with it!
Today was the first real day working with the church. Yesterday was pretty much all about settling into my new home and going to the local Sam's club with my host family to pick up their groceries. Anyway, today I helped out with a breakfast they had for a team that is visiting to help with the church. I cut up lots of platanos y bananas and also washed dishes. It was great to feel useful so soon on this internship! I got to talk a little bit with the Mexican couple that I worked with in the kitchen. It was good to get some practice with my Spanish. I'm realizing how little I actually know and how much I need classes!
After helping with the breakfast, my roommate and I went with one of the missionaries to the colonia she ministers to. We walked around and made some house visits and prayed for one of the ladies whose husband is mentally ill and lives on the street and her daughter abandoned her two children for this woman to care for. Another house visit we went to was a family that has 2 boys, both with Muscular Dystrophy. They had another son who already died from it around age 15. One of the boys is 15 right now and can't even stand up. He is so thin and frail, but has the biggest smile. It breaks my heart knowing that his life is deteriorating very quickly with no cure. I can't imagine what his mother must be going through, having already lost one child to this disease and then knowing that her other two will die within the next couple of years. Please pray for them, if you think of it!
After the house visits, we walked back to the local church building in that colonia and then held a small service with about 15 of the neighborhood kids. One of the missionaries gave a little Bible lesson and we sang some songs, danced, and played games. It was so much fun! We did a potato sack race, which the girls won... yeah! We had a GREAT time!
Tonight for dinner my roommate, Dave, and I went over to a missionary couples' house and discussed the plans for our internships. It was good to get some things nailed down a bit. It looks like I will most definitely be a part of teaching English as a second language, the worship team, taking Spanish classes, and also helping out with various needs in one of the communities. I'm really looking forward to everything!
As for now, I'm off to dream land... Blessings friends!