!!Buenas Noticias!! (good news)

Hello one and all!! wow, what a lot i have to tell, God has been directing my path in such surprising ways, i am really just along for the ride - and what a lot of fun it is!

as you know, my planned departure date is coming up really soon - may 24th - when i will go back to the states and settle for the summer, work for some college money, and then move out to iowa for the fall. but as the day got closer and closer, i felt no peace about leaving this place and all these people who have become my dearest friends. so, as i wrestled through my feelings, trying to prepare myself for a summer as a waitress, Leona said to me 'allison, why don't you stay?'. and i really hadn't thought about it, but once i did, it made so much sense! the only thing that i had trouble with is the fact that i really liked the idea of having so much time with my family, which i obviously wouldn't have if i wasn't there. but the pieces just started falling into place - i had left over funds in my supporters account for exactly this amount of time, i'm moving in with tracee and leona (some canadian kids' alive missionaries), and there are of course more than enough jobs for me to do here this summer! and another neat thing is, God has still worked it out so that i will be able to go home for a week for my brother kyle's graduation, and be with my family, and of course stock up on some chocolate for everyone here. : ) so as of right now, my plan is to go home on may24th, i'll be there until the 31st, and then i will be able to come back to this wonderful missionfield until july 17th!! praise God for always giving me such clear leading in what is the next step!!

other than that, there's been lots of office work to do here, we're training nate to do sponsorship while he learns spanish, and the biggest project right now is the child update. that's been a little crazy, as i need to interview each teacher about every student that is sponsored at anija - about 160 kids! so i would really appreciate prayer for that, that i would be diligent and helpful, and get it out in the next mailing day! pray also for the summer, as it sounds like i'll be stepping up in responsibilities: i will continue with sponsorship in ANIJA, but then also be working with the teams and interns that will be here this summer - following them around, translating, organizing some food, and just filling in holes for whoever needs it. it'll be a busy summer, but definitely a fun one! so praise God for His work in my life, which continues to be done in His own special and unexpected ways. i pray that God will be daily revealing himself in all of your plans and pursuits as well! have a wonderful week.....

......and enjoy another video of playground fun! : )

A Musical Performance

hello again! just thought i'd upload this really fun little video of the kids at recess; two of the boys - pedro and pablo (yes they're identical twins) - were playing thier little drum and scraper dealy.......anyways, it's pretty fun, and the rest of the kids are singing a really popular spanish praise song. enjoy the window to another world!!

The Blessings Come Back

Afternoon, readers. well, i actually just want to throw something cool out there for you all, before i get to pictures and life. there's this search engine called www.goodsearch.com and you can basically use it like google. but every time you search, goodsearch will donate a penny to kids alive! so, if you'd be willing to use that as your search engine, that would be great! just specify Kids Alive International in the charities category (you don't have to do this every time, just once). thanks, we'd really appreciate it!!

alright, so! well, things go as they go down here, life is so tranquil and wonderful. everytime i go to visit a student's house, we just sit with the family in a barrio (which usually includes extended family), and drink coffee or soda and watch the traffic go by, and talk about whatever comes to mind. i'm really just drinking in the life, the culture, the people that i've become so accustomed too, and it seems that i'll be leaving it all behind much too soon. the slowness and simplicity is never to be taken for granted - there isn't much here, so they enjoy people, eachother. what a lot i could learn from that!

this saturday, our new intern Nate Kosirog flew down here, to learn spanish and be trained to do my job when i leave (sad!). i know him from college church in wheaton, what a small world! but we're having fun getting to know him and bringing another person into our ministry. aside from that, i'm still working on my child update project, it's a pretty big one, but it's fun because i get to talk with the teachers about each one of the kids. today in class, we had a birthday party for the 5th grade teacher. the kids down here always surprise me - 5th grade is one of those terror classes, they misbehave, they're loud and crazy, and they always seem to be getting into some kind of mischeif. but then, they turn around to be the sweetest, most caring kids, and some of them just need some more patience and attention. like i said, they came together and planned a huge surprise party for their teacher, on their own initiative. then miriam (the principle) detained their teacher in the office while they put up balloons and posters that they brought, and laid out a cake, candies, and soda that they all pitched in to get. someone even made a pan of brownies!! then they waited in silence for their teacher, and screamed "sopresa! feliz cumpleanos!!" when she came in. haha, the language didn't make any difference in her surprised and joyful reaction, that's for sure! : ) so we all enjoyed laughs and smiles, candy, and all the kids going around the room to tell her what a special teacher she was to them. it's always an extra-special thing when one of the children suddenly shows their gratitude for all the work you put into them.

God bless you all, and may you too have a special week, where you see Jesus in the face of every person you serve.

~allison