the day started with me waking up and walking out of my room to find katie and ana, my two housemates, stringing up to scream happy birthday with a house full of balloons and decorations. it seems that they got up early to decorate and then waited for quite a while until i woke up so that they could surprise me. then, moments later i was greeted by katia, our “mom” and her little boys to a great rendition of “cumpleaños feliz” (the song) and then a really beautiful birthday cake for breakfast that the girls had gotten me at a local bakery.
since there’s just girls in the house now, we’d decided it would be great to make my birthday into a girls’ pampering day, so after getting ready, we set out to look for some sort of a spa. we went to one that katia had told us about only to find that their most basic massage was $25, which by bolivian standards is ridiculously expensive, so we ended up going to another place that did manicures and pedicures that was down the street. we all got complete manicures and pedicures (my first manicures and pedicures ever!) for less than $15. after being pampered, we went to this Italian restaurant we’d read about in the lonely planet book called la bella napoli which was really really good. after that, we were tired from all the food and pampering, so we came home for a bit, then went to a café so that katie could meet a friend, did some souvenir browsing, came back for more chilling out, got pizza for dinner at our favorite little pizza restaurant, and then finally finished the day by taking turns pinning up our hair to sleep on so that we’ll wake up with curls (also a first for me). none of us are very girly girls and not accustomed to doing silly things like we did today, but it was really fun to just be goofy and girly for a whole day. oh how great living with girls next year is going to be!!!
so yeah, that was my birthday! it was just a bunch of little things, but my sweet housemates really made it a special day. they were so thoughtful in planning ahead and going the extra mile to make my day memorable and prevent any temptations to be homesick.
in other news, it seems that we’re supposed to get two new volunteers in this week. we don’t know much about them except they’re a boy and a girl and they’re supposed to get here wednesday and thursday. i won’t completely believe that they’re coming until they’re actually here, b/c they say people are coming sometimes when they’re not, but it will definitely be interesting getting new people here. it’s such a weird thing having this somewhat constant come and go of people. just as soon as you get used to a certain dynamic, it changes as a new person comes or old ones leave. keeps you on your toes I guess and keeps things from being boring.
well, i’ll leave you with a prayer/quote i read a couple of days ago in a.w. tozer’s book the knowledge of the holy:
“teach us, o God, that nothing is necessary to Thee. were anything necessary to Thee that thing would be the measure of Thine imperfection: and how could we worship one who is imperfect? in nothing is necessary to Thee, then no one is necessary, and if no one, then not we. Thou dost seek us though Thou dost not need us. we seek Thee because we need Thee, for tin Thee we live and move and have our being. amen.”
thank you Lord that you don’t need us, that you can do anything and everything without us, yet You still choose to love us and use us and delight in us, who mess up and are so imperfect, yet your grace covers all of that. that simple fact blows me away…
p.s. i got some photos uploaded! more to come, especially after i get some of the kiddos, but enjoy!
steve and i on their last night.
ana, myself, and katie at a restaurant called la bella napoli where we ate great italian food for my birthday.
katie and ana in the plaze in the middle of santa cruz.
No comments:
Post a Comment