HADIME

Happy New Year, and all that.
So this last week HADIME started. It is similar to TREK in that it has a training time, with teachings, work projects, some free time, a silent retreat, we eat all our meals together, there are smaller groups of 3 or 4 to debrief with, etc. It is dissimilar to TREK in that training is 4 days instead of 8 weeks, and outreach is one week. We are also not going overseas, only about 4 hours away to a small town near the coast. In this town we will be doing more work projects for the people there, as well as spending time with the youth and various other things. I'm not entirely sure of the itinerary. Please pray for the trip though, that we would be able to make a difference in this town that we are going to, but also that we as a team would learn a lot and serve joyously. There are 12 Mexican youth and 2 Canadian youth, of which I am one, as well as (I think) four leaders.
These last four days were the training time, and they were really good. Sometimes I was frustrated, because everything was entirely in Spanish, which meant that I did not get to be part of most jokes. It is quite frustrating when you want to be laughing uproariously with everyone but you have no idea what was said. On the other hand, praise God, because I understood over half of each session led by a Mexican and the entirety of the sessions led by Spanish-speaking Canadians. Please continue praying that I will be able to understand more and more, and be able to talk as well. (I understand more than I speak, and I want to share in the discussions.)
Yesterday, we went to San Jose del 15, which is a very poor area of Guadalajara, and there we put on a program for children, as well as did a thing for the women. A lot of people showed up, which was really cool. I got to be part of the puppet show. We put on Daniel and the Lion's Den, and it was a huge success. I was the lions, because I roar very well and speak Spanish less very well. In actuality, one of my puppets was a lion. The other was a duck that we did our best to make look like a lion.
Here is something I wrote during our silent retreat:
You made the stars for us... look how they shine for me tonight
To see how much You love me
Count all the stars
And that's not half
He holds them in one hand
He knows them each by name
What am I, that You should love me so?
Smaller than a star
Dark until You found me
Yet You love this wretched child
Much more than all the heavens

There is a song we sing in church here that I love, and the chorus goes like this:
Y no podría estar ante ti
Escuchandote hablar
Sin llorar como un niño
Y pasaría el tiempo así
Sin querer nada mas
Nada mas que escucharte hablar