All I can think about since getting back from Mexico is... Mexico. In my head I am always seeing
those
precious little faces smiling up at me, and those kids speaking rapid
Spanish to me, and then their eyes lighting up when I understand them. I
miss playing with my friend Cesia in the hot Mexican dirt (we were
pretending to cook things). I miss blowing bubbles with Jessica and
Brenda. I miss Briyan's sassy attitude coupled with his sincerity. I
miss Erika's
hugs and hearing her say "te quiero". I miss racing while giving piggy
back rides and then hearing the kids say "¡Otra vez, otra vez!" each
time I set them down again. I miss the hot Mexican sun, and the wind,
and the palm trees. I miss those few days when I spoke in Spanish more than I
spoke in English.
I fell in love down in
Mexico. I fell in love with the country itself, despite it's multitude of problems. I
fell in love with the Mexican people and their beautiful selves and
their passion in everything that they do. I fell in love with their
language, and I fell in love with their loud church services, with all
the
clapping and dancing. I miss being able to buy Mexican pop whenever I
wanted to (which is 1,000 times better than any pop America has to
offer). I love each and every one of those little kids
that I talked to and hugged. And while I was down
there, I also fell in
love with... love. God's love. I fell in love with His love and its
ability to bring so much joy to people who have so little. It was very
powerful to witness that during the week I was there... The Mexican people may not have
much, but Jesus is everything to them, and they are passionate about it.
I felt more alive down in Mexico than I have in a long time. The
laughter and love of the kids that I worked with lit within me a fire-- a
burning
fire of love and thankfulness.
America is my country, and Nebraska is my home-- it always
will be. But I left a piece of my heart down in Mexicali, and it's
staying there forever.
