The Girls...

From L-R: Me, Favi, Mili, Sandy, Lupe

Soooooo...I am long overdue for an update on here! Well, the Pijamada (Pajama Party) went well last weekend! I picked up Sandy, Mili, and Lupe on Friday night and brought them back to my appartment here at the base/church. We had all kinds of fun doing girly things and having girly talk. We started off with doing our nails--always a must at a girly party! We watched movies and had dinner and watched more movies and talked about boys and dreams and all that female bonding kind of stuff. Oh, and we played truth or dare--a game I never enjoyed as a kid. Now, I know why! HAH! I had to eat a huge spoonful of chile sauce and one of mustard. Then I had to chug a full glass of coke without taking a breath, and finally I had to eat a heaping spoonful of peanut butter. The last was a favor for me really because I like peanut butter and have no problem just eating it. Mexicans however, have a REALLY hard time eating it because of the texture and stickiness. Peanut butter to them is like eating that chile sauce for me! So, be assured I retaliated with large spoonfuls of PB! I had a stomach ache for two days, but it was worth it. We had a good time! We went to sleep REALLY late, even for me--3 am--and we got up really late--11 am! Lots of fun! I took them back home to Arrayanes around 3 pm on Saturday. Sandy sat in the cab of the truck with me while the other two sat in the back with all the stuff. On our drive back to Arrayanes, Sandy told me that she now has a best friend--ME! She has told me several times before, as have the other girls, that people here just aren't the kind of friend that they seem to have found in me--someone they can trust completely and who is faithful and honest and real with them. But Sandy has also told me before that she has NEVER had a real friend outside her sister and cousins and certainly never a best friend. So, when she told me that she now had a best friend and that it was me, I felt this rush of humility and honor and blessing and responsibility all at the same time. All of them are truly precious, and I'm so blessed and honored to know them and to be brought into their inner circle the way I have been, and so immediately too!

My mind and heart have been reeling ever since that conversation with Sandy. There is such an incredible void here when it comes to women's ministry. There are resources for kids (regular sunday school classes, STM outreaches, etc), for families (family groups), for the church as a whole (navigator's 2:7 class for adults and for youth, but it's co-ed, sunday school, etc.), for the youth in general (youth group, STM outreaches, 2:7 class, etc), and for the men specifically (discipleship, men's ministry, etc.), but there is nothing just for the young women around here. There is no ministry or discipleship outreach actively seeking out these young girls. There isn't even a formal friendship outreach with them....Until I showed up....And I can't seem to get enough of them. This week I have gone to Arrayanes 3 days in a row (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), and they will all be spending the night here on Saturday again--including Favi this time too! I have had a chance to spend some time just with Sandy this week, digging in to some of the stuff she's dealing with right now and getting to know her much better, and I'm hoping to do the same with each of them.

Please keep these girls in your fervent prayers, and me as well. I need wisdom as it's coming up on decision time about whether or not to return, and how to proceed depending on what's decided. I need wisdom in how to navigate these relationships, how to make sure that each one of them knows that I am here for them individually and equally and not just for one or two or just for the group. When you're that hungry for that kind of relationship, it's so easy to get jealous, and I've already started to see a little of that. Please pray that the Lord would protect against that kind of attack, and that I would have the wisdom to know how to proceed with each one and with them all as a group. Please pray for these girls that they would know that the Lord hears their cries--each of them individually--that he hears them and answers in tangible ways, not JUST abstract ways. They are all Christians, so pray for hope and growth and maturity and a deepened love between them and their Heavenly Husband. And please pray for their families, especially the dad of Mili and Sandy--His name is Benito, and he is not a Christian (their mother is). Please pray!

And now for some pictures from another nail painting experience this week:

The girls had a good time doing my nails--a french manicure where 9 of the tips are the Mexican flag and one is the American flag. This was Sandy's idea after she had Lupe do hers with 9 American flags and 1 Mexican.

The result. You can barely see the American flag, but it's on my thumb, and underneat it says "MEX".

Mili and her nails painted by Lupe on Monday--little flowers with a couple of stripes. Lupe is really quite an artist!