"I don't get high fives, I get hugs!"

Well, everyone, it's been three months here in Camden, and I can confidently say that if I have it my way, I would love to be here until July 2013, another year beyond my current commitment.  This isn't Burger King, though, as my friend Mike told me in the spring, and it remains to be seen if I will get it my way or not.  And if God has anything to say about it, who knows if, eight months from now, this will still be my way.  Curiouser and curiouser...

I have to say, my blogging has not been terribly faithful.  This is a good thing from my end, because it means I am busy and doing well keeping up with all of my commitments here, but it doesn't really help any of you to know what I am doing.  I even failed my own personal goal of a post a month.  Like I said, from my end, it's a good thing...

The third grade is putting on an Advent pageant this Friday.  The kids are so excited - it gives them a chance to shine and have fun, and here at St. Anthony's, I am all about letting the kids shine.  I hadn't had time to get involved with the pageant, though, with all of my other commitments, until this past Friday when I accidentally walked in on rehearsal.

There were about five narrators, and each had a few lines before the next would go.  Then it would be back to the beginning again.  Meilanie, one of the third graders, was a narrator.  She has a booming voice, compared to many of her classmates, and especially for a third grader.  Each time that it was her turn to speak, she would bound up to the podium and proclaim her lines with the gusto of a seasoned public speaker.  It was phenomenal.

Meilanie also happens to look distinctly like Rosalia, one of the children from the Working Boys Center in Ecuador to whom I became rather attached.  Every time that I see Meilanie, I am reminded of Rosalia.

When the kids were done with rehearsal, some of them came over to say hello to me, their audience.  I give high fives often, because I think it's a good way to connect with them.  After giving a few high fives, it was Meilanie's turn, upon which she proclaimed, "I don't get high fives, I get hugs!"  Arms around my neck (I had been sitting), she got her hug.  That gusto, too, is reminiscent of how I remember Rosalia, who declared that she would be first on the list of names that already had four girls on it.  "Estoy primero!"

I have the best job.

Peace and all good,
Rachel