Today was a special day at the Hogar. It was a blessing to be able to celebrate Liturgy with a priest and a deacon, both who are a part of our team. It had been two weeks since the last liturgy, since there hasn’t been a visiting priest here to give communion.
Mother Ines and Mother Maria also came this morning and I was so happy to finally meet Mother Ines, who is the abbess of the monastery. There is no good way to describe her except to say that she just radiates with the love of God. She loves the children so much. It was wonderful to see Mother Maria again and after she embraced me with a warm hug, she looked me over and said, “You’re too thin. You’re not eating enough of your abuela’s (grandmother’s) food!” She has such a great sense of humor and is so fun to be around.
The highlight of the day was the final game of the World Cup between Spain and the Netherlands. Last night after church Mother Ivonne was telling the children that it was important not to rush through church because of the game. “So many people put everything else before God. TV, movies, everything until finally there is no room left for God. That’s why the world is this way. So we don’t rush. First God, then futbol.” It was so much fun to watch the kids as they each cheered for their favorite team. Since it was a special day, they were treated to Domino’s Pizza and hot dogs and got to eat lunch in front of the TV. After an intense game, Spain finally scored the winning goal in double overtime and the victory celebration began.
The whole room erupted into one giant ice cream-fueled dance party. The nuns even joined in briefly and it was one of those moments that you wish you could just capture and keep forever. We danced to the same 4 songs for well over an hour and I think Shakira’s Waka Waka song is permanently stuck in my head. For that short moment, it didn’t matter what was happening in the rest of the world. The past didn’t matter and the future didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that we were having fun together as one big family. I can’t imagine anything else in the world that I would have had more fun doing.
Fiesta de bailando con los niños:
Me with Jorge and Elmer
Me and Kevin
