Te Amo Tía

"Te Amo Tía GiGi"
(I love you Aunt Gigi)

Precious precious words. This particular blog started with me pining away for blankie. You see, blankie and me, well we've been through a lot.... going to college, finding love, losing love, moving, traveling .... it seems like everywhere I go, my blankie has gone with me. As I lay here trying to remember some of the fondest memories I have of my blankie, I am immediately taken back to Nicaragua. I started doing mission work there every year approximately 10 years ago. One of the few possessions I kept from when I lived in a dorm room my freshman year (for a semester) was blankie. This means that the majority of time I spent in Nicaragua - every night I was able to lay my head down on blankie and thank the good Lord for blessing me with the ability to travel and do mission work. This is my passion.

So my attachment to blankie was a conscious decision. We traveled a lot in Nicaragua, and while I did not always know if there would be a bed for me to lay in at night, I would always have my blankie. Further, there is nothing sweeter than wrapping up with one of the niños for story time with blankie. So I'll just throw the pathetic plea of this particular blog in that I left it in Oklahoma 2 weeks ago. This is the longest I have gone without him. I'm trying to convince my cousin to overnight it to me, but I can't blame her for being busy. And so, instead of whining about how I'm not sleeping as well, I am going take joy in the great memories I have.

Back to Central America. I have done all kinds of mission work there: door-knocking; cooking; VBS; medical work in pharmacy; dental work; construction; and working with the children's home. The last is what really took my heart and gave me my passion for the mission field. While I have fond memories of working on the medical trips, etc. there is nothing as sweet as hearing those precious words "Tía,Tía!!!!!" when you've been gone. It doesn't matter if you were gone for 20 minutes or 10 months. The
niños taught a precious lesson of love. It was an automatic acceptance of us as family (tia- aunt) with no question. There were no expectations, limitations, etc. Being able to connect with others through the common bond of Christ is such an awesome thing. My heart pours love out for these children and this work. The diverse backgrounds they each come from, most of the horrible beyond our imagination, and yet they trust us and love us so openly. That truly is the power of God.

I grew so fond of this work, that I almost deferred law school for a year so I could go work down there on a permanent basis. However, it did not work out as planned, and so law school it was. However, I still managed to make 2-3 trips a year down there. Unfortunately the summer I had to start studying for the BAR exam, well.... that was the first trip I missed. It feels like it's been ages since I was down there to visit. There are a lot of reasons why I have not been able to go back, yet. Right now I am in a mission field, I am working with students on a university campus, and I love my job. One of the requirements though, is not that I can sing Father Abraham in spanish :)

So while I grow accustomed to a different blanket as I wait patiently for my blankie... I will reflect, rejoice, and renew my passion for the mission ministry that I was so involved in. We are leaving to go to New York in two weeks for a mission trip. My prayer is that we will be successful, safe, and serve the Lord, and that blankie is with me for it. I know that when I travel internationally, blankie will be there with me as well.