Mi Familia (by Marcy)

Hola everyone!
I've been wanting to share for SO long, but everyone on our team is just so eager to share and it's been difficult to find time to blog. I'll try not to be as long-winded in this blog as I usually am when I write. I've already earned the reputation of being the most journalistic person. (I was congratulated for stopping at 10 pages last night!)
So obviously there is a lot to share. I could tell you all about stucco and how painfully it is once it dries on your skin (and the fact that it turns your skin yellow if you're wearing sunscreen). I could tell you about how proud I am of the others on this wonderful team. All of their hard work. I'm going to have to bribe Ian to put up pictures of the murals we painted. I could tell you about how wonderful it's been to finally use my Spanish and not have everyone in the room tell me to stop.
But something just happened within the last two hours that blows all of that out of my mind. Therefore, I'm going to share that story with you now, and then ramble at all of you for hours when I get home. (I miss all of you, by the way)
I've been having a surprisingly easy time communicating. Of course, it's not like I'm having deep theological conversations, but I've been able to actually converse. It's been nice. Tonight, I actually found it really hard to communicate. For the oddest reason. We went to Bosques for a worship service and it seemed like no one knew a lick of English. Maybe a tiny bit, but I didn't hear anyone use it. Bosques has a really small (small) room that they use for their services. We were all squished in this room, and lucky me, I got a seat. Two beautiful mexican girls sat behind me, and within minutes of sitting down, I was startled to feel them start playing with my hair. I turned around on reflex, and then tried to communicate that it was "okay." Silly me, I tried to tell them in english. But they resummed their playing after a while. When I got up to go sing, they'd braided strands of my hair in random places, but they hadn't finished whatever they were trying to do. They laughed, probably because I looked silly. When I sat down again, they played with my hair for the rest of the service.
And it hit me. Earlier I'd been thinking about how God speaks spanish. Isn't that amazing?! But just in the past few hours it hit me that someday I'll understand these girls too. I realized while they brushed their fingers through my hair that these girls are my sisters. And someday I'll be able to speak plainly with them. For the first time tonight, I had enormous difficulty communicating, but I realized that it doesn't matter. A smile is universal, and the One we share in common is even more beautiful. Jesus Christ holds us together, and these girls are my sisters.
I did devotions yesterday and I'm learning so much about two of the verses.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
"For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy."
Yes, I could tell you about the things we are accomplishing here. I could tell you that the VBS in Matamoros was AMAZING and that I'm so proud of the group that stayed behind at Gilgal to cut out 600 foam feet (mindless work!). I could tell you these things, and I probably will ambush all of my loved ones with that information when I come home. But what really matters to me is the people that I'm creating relationships with down here. I've made so many friends. And I really do love them. They are my crown. They are my hope. They are my joy.
I love you guys, and I miss you. I'm not ready to come back just yet (good, since we still have until Sunday) but when I do, I'm definitely ready to tackle you all in breath-knocking-outing hugs. :D

Te Amo!
-Marcy