my morning route

Meet Moma, a spunky little four year old who likes to run crashing into me with her arms wide open. Her older sister, Lorleli, has been in my class both years and has the same smile as Moma.

And Leo, a little five-year-old who rarely smiles but gives great hugs. He always tries to catch my attention before doing something daring like jumping off a three foot ledge or running as fast as he can down the street.
Leo and Moma are two of the children that Juan and I pick up on our Thursday morning route. There are about 12 kids in total that we pass by for.

I can be a little down on Thursday mornings, but seeing these children and their smiles, or receiving their hugs and talking with them, never fails to warm my heart.

Halloween

Most kids dress up as skeletons or vampires. Witches, ghosts, monsters of various types. They start walking around a few days before the 31st, asking for a "muertito" or a "little dead one." They mean candy. Up to a week before and after Halloween, children go to school, walk around the neighborhood, dressed as little fiends.

Sometimes I see a bride, but she's usually Frankenstein's or Chucky's bride; fake blood dirtying the dress, wan face with painted scars.

Dark eyes. Black makeup thick around the eye sockets.

Even the littlest children, dressed as plump pumpkins with leggings have the dark eyes looking out of a listless face.

I felt this year that there was so little variety or creativity in the Halloween costumes I saw. But perhaps the idea is to dress up in theme with "Día de los Muertos" (day of the dead) instead of coming up with an original or entertaining costume - often having nothing to do with Underworld themes - which was the custom where I grew up.

Frankly, it's kind of depressing, I think. Even the next day, when their faces have been washed, many children still have a pale, sickly tint to their faces where the makeup didn't come off completely. I ask them if they are feeling alright and they say of course - it's just the makeup.

¡Lo siento!

On my club visit this evening, I played Sorry! (translated: ¡Lo siento!) with four children, one of them - Nelson - being what would be termed in the US "special needs."

To start out, I gave each of us three pieces, instead of the normal four. I've learned a few tricks in my time here, and one of them is that sometimes you don't really need to go by the strict rules.

As the game went on, and Nelson grabbed board pieces and turned over all the cards and laid his head down in the middle of the board, I realized things could get messy. I didn't want the game to go on too long so that the other kids got frustrated, so after it had degenerated to the point that I completely stopped my and Nelson's turn, I said "did I tell you what the point of the game was? Well, the first person to get one of their pieces in their "home" wins!" A couple turns later, two of the boys were within spaces of this goal. I wasn't sad when the game was over.

Not all of my visits are that crazy. And something about Nelson tugs at my heart. I wish that I had had more time to talk with their mom. They got involved in club through Torta this past summer and Nelson and his cousin Gabriela are in my club class.

Well, the pizza is done, so I'm going to go eat with my roommates.

My Saturday

Half of my Saturdays in any given month are spent doing the Torta, but the other half is open for the various work I have to do.

Today was particularly interesting.

I visited two twins who are in my club class. They live in the messiest house I have seen here. I think I sat in pee on the bed and saw a mouse (I think) scramble from one pile to the next. And yet the two girls always seem so carefree, with gentle smiles and contagious laughter. It is their older sister who is serious and pensive. I don't doubt that a lot of the daily caretaking falls to her, especially as their mother is sick.

Gloria invited me over to eat and we had flautas. Both she and Ernesto are working currently, so the food I brought with me went into an already full fridge. I am glad for that. As we talked she told me about the rent (350 pesos a month ~ $27USD) and how it would cost 10,000 pesos to buy a piece of land of their own. I said that's just over two years' worth of rent. She said, yes, but she can't imagine having 1,000 pesos together let alone 10,000. I didn't have an answer, as I had 1,000 pesos in my wallet. I don't usually have that much with me; I had brought it up to the ministry building to make change.

Making copies at the copy shop the young girl asked me if we still had the guitar classes at the church. I said, no, right now we're giving piano classes, and the music was for that. I asked when her birthday was - last year I went to her quinceañera sometime in the fall. She said the 19th of this month. I told her about a young person's group we had started at the church and that she was invited. She said she'd see.

Nancy never comes to club, but she's often around and in the past 15 months has stolen my heart. I played Mancala and Go Fish with her. Later we read the story of the Lost Sheep and colored a picture of how Jesus is our good shepherd. She was wearing a bright orange short and tank top set - with a little navel showing. She wears this often. And her hair is thick and loose. And her little's sister's hair is growing back. I think they cut it because she had lice.

You're not supposed to clean up Black Widow nests until you kill the spider. This is because the spider hides during the day, and if the web is gone it will simply move somewhere else. I noticed a few this afternoon, and was waiting until dark to get them. The first one I couldn't even see so I moved to the second web. I'm not a queasy person around nightcrawlers. But this was such a Big Black Widow. Felicia and I worked up our courage to smash it with a shoe. We couldn't use Raid because they're quite impervious to the stuff. And as they move quickly, you have to smash hard and fast. After we killed Shelob we moved back to the first web. There it was! so tiny and seemingly harmless compared to the other. But we killed it as well.

leaves

I was visiting with two club kids - this meant that we were sitting on the stoop playing mancala - when the wind picked up. I noticed I heard something very familiar, and yet normally absent. It was the leaves of a very tall tree rubbing together, making that characteristic rustling sound.

There aren't many trees around, and this one was especially tall for the aridity of Fresnillo. At one point in the visit, the little girl had to go get her younger brother (who was getting into mischief) and her friend went to the store to get a sucker. So I just sat there for a few minutes, waiting for them, listening to the tree. I realized how much I miss that sound, and how restful it is to my soul.

visit visit visit

At times, the invitations seem to pile on each other.

"we're grilling today, come over!"

"we're going to have a lunch at my house to celebrate my daughter's baptism!"

"why haven't you come over? it's been so long!"

I really like being invited over, but when they all come at you on the same day; I can't really handle that.

Usually, if I have already promised someone that I would go visit them, I use that as an excuse and only attend one thing. But sometimes I'm just feeling tired and want to go home and rest but don't have a great excuse. That's when I get really stressed out.

Sometimes I still go, and just get exhausted. Other times I decide that I'm tired enough and don't show up. But then I hear my friends talking about it, or I see someone at the market and they ask me why I didn't go.

Then I feel lousy.

The little camels

There are four age specific groups for club, (3-4; 5-6; 7-8; 9-10). Each year the teachers pick an animal, and that is the name of their class. For instance, last year we were the giraffes. I'd been thinking about what we should be this year (the tucans was a favorite of mine). but then I heard what the other classes are.

There's the Lions, the Eagles, and the Sheep.

ahhhh...so very conspicuously Biblical.

And there's not really another animal that has such a strong Biblical presence as these.

So this put me and my co-teacher to difficult thinking. We came up with the Camels. Los camellitos (the little camels, to be exact). Very Biblical, right? Isaac and Rebekah; Eye of the Needle.

I'll try to take some pictures in the ensuing weeks and post them here so that you can meet my camellitos

Love always hopes

I was leaving the house of a lady in church and getting into one of our vans when I saw a guy down on the corner leaning into an open mouthed bottle or cup. I am pretty sure that he was huffing glue. Every time he raised his head, his shoulders sagged and his head leaned a bit.

There are a lot of drugs available in Mexico, and industrial glue is often used, especially by the underclass.

What a way to destroy yourself.

I thought of the children in club, especially the young boys, and the challenges placed in front of them in their lives. It would hurt to see them wasting away in the same manner as this man.

Then I thought of a certain young man in our church who had come to club and youth group some, but then stopped coming to church about four years ago. Once I was with him when someone asked about the time he spent outside of the church. Among other things, he said he had used glue. But now he's back in church; he's following the paths of the Lord. He's faithful again. I think it would have been hard to have worked with him before and to see him fall. But then, to see the restoration Jesus Christ brings; the redemption; how he brings us out of the pit and sets our feet on a solid rock: that would be worth seeing. Our hope for these children isn't based on their odds and the obstacles placed before them, but on the saving power of the Lamb who was slain.

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love always hopes.

Hola Hooge!

Juan has taken to calling me by my last name, "Hooge." It's definitely not a Mexican last name, but when it is heard, and not sounded out, it sounds like "Huggy." Like the diapers. Juan insists that he doesn't think of Huggies when he calls me Hooge - well, maybe when I had just arrived a year ago, but not now - he just likes the way it sounds.

I haven't had many nicknames in my life, but I have always enjoyed being called Hooge, or hoogey, or hoog. I think that's because it, more than other types of nicknames, connects me with my whole family.

cattle on the hills

I would like to say a big Thank You!!!! to my supporters - financial, prayer, and emotional - for 2008-2009.

Our fiscal year ended in July, and I am happy to say that I was able to raise sufficient funds for this past year. For 2009 -2010 I will again be raising $21,000. This money pays for my daily living expenses, insurance, taxes, airline tickets, and my Mexican visa.

When I decided in April of 2008 to come down to Mexico and spend a year here, finances were one of my biggest concerns. I was just about to graduate from Wheaton with a normal amount of student debt, and was feeling pressure to find a respectable job and not have to continue relying on others. Additionally, I thought, "I don't know super-wealthy people; how am I ever going to raise this money?"

I may not have super-wealthy friends, but I do have faithful friends, and I serve a faithful God. The required funds have come in so steadily this year and I have been incredibly encouraged by the many people who have given this year. I still have a desire to support myself, but this year has been so beneficial in terms of learning how the Body of Christ relies on each other, and how we support each other. I have also been encouraged to be more faithful in giving of my own money to other friends who are missionaries.

So, for this coming year, if you'd like to get involved and support me, there are several ways to do that. You can send a check made out to CFCI (Christ for Children, Int'l) to:

CFCI
PO Box 260
Wheaton, IL 60187-0260,

Include a piece of paper saying that it is for the ministry of Karen Hooge.

Or, you can donate electronically through the Christ for Children International website.

I have been humbled and deeply encouraged by your support this past year. Thank you.