The rain is so soothing. It drowns out the noise and other distractions so only the pang of the water against the roof is audible. Sara said winter sometimes falls in July....I think this is definitely it.

We finished painting the pantry and several of the bedrooms at the kid´s home (pictures and more details to be posted later). I was painting yellow on the walls of one of the bedrooms that was originally green along with Dan and several of the children, all of whom were so enthusiastic to help! I learned a valuable lesson after we had painted about 2 coats and the wall still showed a strong tinge of green: if you put primer before painting a lighter on top of a darker shade, you don´t have to put on multiple coats. However, since we didn´t do this, we painted about 5 coats (we lost track after awhile, haha). Sounds frustrating, right? Actually, this gave the children an opportunity to paint with us. Some were really meticulous and even picked up the habit of cleaning the paint drops on the floor with a rag, while others painted their hands and made handprints on the semi yellow wall. One aspect I love about this project is the way it facilitates conversation and relationships despite the communication barrier: one girl told me that she loved to sing, and she sang me her favorite song (su voca es muy bonita!!), and another girl dished out about her quincinera and showed us pictures in which she, donned in a beautiful blue dress, was surrounded by her court. After we had finished for the day, one of the twins asked me to carry her. Those of you who know me well know that I haven´t held many children in my life, but when I carried her in my arms, she hugged and clung to me like a teddy bear and I felt a surge of adoration for her from my heart. All the children are, like her, so warm, so loving, so pure, so good to hold.
As we were cleaning up, Tia and the family cooked us delicious pudding bread. They are really spoiling us!

The love that binds Tia and her family and the love that they show us every day is a direct reflection of God´s love for them and for all of us. Michelle and I were talking about how we would be filled a need to clean a restroom if we were to see mold and grime accumulating in our bathrooms in Los Angeles. But here, I find myself caring less and less to the point where things don´t burden my heart the way they used to: about whether bugs will eat us up, whether I will break out, whether things are clean, etc. Instead, living in the moment and witnessing how God works on a different time scale and a different space unfathomable to the human mind are experienced during meals, interactions, and life. To echo Drew's blog from yesterday, God telling us not to fret is not a matter of worldly circumstances but is dependent on one's relationship with God......having peace and finding rest not because one's external circumstances are OK but because you put your trust in Him (http://utmost.org/one-of-god%E2%80%99s-great-don%E2%80%99ts).