last day @ Sabinas

We woke up to the usual morning routine, but then realized that this would be our last day at Sabinas. We had breakfast at 8 am as usual and then quiet time and small group time. This time we sat up in the middle of the children's home by the fountain, where the cats still came to love on us. During small group time we talked about character over comfort and talked about how rewarding it is to sometimes be in the background and to sometimes be doing the dirty work. We read Romans 12:6-10 where it talks about all our gifts and how we can use them. We then reminisced on the past couple days and the way that we had impacted each other and how the kids had impacted us.

We started work at 9:30 am as usual, and everything left to do was just simply touch up work. We were putting the second coat on the big room, bathrooms, and the laundry room, and the edging definitely needed a second coat as well, so that is what I did the majority of the time. Greg, Katey, and Rodo helped with scraping and smoothing the windows, and then started with the black oil paint about 45 minutes before we were finished working. Greg told us at about 12ish to start wrapping things up, because he wanted us to spend the rest of the time that we had with the children. He wanted us to be cleaned up and ready to play by the time they arrived home from school.

The van pulled up and I felt a sinking feeling as I knew that this might be the last time that I would see a lot of their shining faces... but there was joy knowing that other groups would be able to come and invest in their lives just like we had done. The kids piled out and many of them ran up to us and gave us hugs before they went to change out of their uniforms. We had lunch with them one more time, and it was similar to beef stew with the usual rice and tortillas. The girls saved me a seat once again and for the last time. At the lunch table we quietly discussed our eye color with the girls and then I had to convince Angelica that I was not Lauren's sister. Angelica also was prone to forget my name. After a while though I think she was just trying to joke around with me. We finished lunch and the kids started to get into their usual play routine. I went and sat with little Jeremy for a while and laughed with him about how much fun we had the day before and how much he loves airplanes.

We then decided that we would hand out all the candy donations that we had brought. This meant a lot of air heads, starbursts, and laffy taffy. There was so much candy that I was practically throwing it at the children. They did not have any opposition to the action though! We also gave candy to the adults and the directors of the children's home. After we finished passing out the candy and started to say our goodbyes, the directors called us into their office. They gave us a car window sticker, bracelets, their business card and a magnet all for Casa Hogar Douglas in Sabinas. We were all very excited about this and just about speechless. They thanked us in Spanish and Rodo helped translate. Greg asked if we had anything to say, and I asked Rodo to just tell them thank you for all that they do for the children and thank you for letting us come be a part of God's work that is going on here! Tears were beginning in my eyes as I saw their faces light up in response to my thanks. They told us to come back PLEASE! And we said we would be back soon and would stay forever if we could.

We left with the normal Mexico greeting and goodbye, a handshake and a kiss on the right cheek. The directors were truly an inspiration and their faith and stamina is beyond expression in words. We left the office and so began the goodbyes... Most of the children were doing their homework or playing, but they stopped what they were doing to come say goodbye and get one last hug. We went to the girls room where they began throwing their belongings at us. Nanci gave me what looked like a little Mardi Gras bear, and Juanita handed me a bracelet for the one of the Monterrey soccer teams. After this I gave Sara a hug and as we were hugging I said dame un abrazo grande, which means give me a BIG hug! And so she did. She gave me about 6 more hugs, squeezing me tight and making me and all the other kids laugh. I hugged all the boys, and gave Jonathan a pat, because he was too cool for a hug. Then I had to say goodbye to Angelica. She held me tight for a good two minutes and then released me so I could say bye to some of the other children. Little Elliot ran up and gave me a huge long hug and I told him to be good for the directors.

Greg yelled to us from the Suburban and we began to make our way down the hill to the vehicle. I turned around to see Angelica standing there watching me leave. I opened my arms and asked for one more hug. She ran to me smiling and we had one last moment before I had to go. "Te quiero mucho," is all I could say without balling my eyes out. As we trekked our way down to the Suburban, it felt like an eternity. I found myself finally letting the tears out, and as we left no one said a word. Lupe and Julio opened the gate for us and we waved and said goodbye to them one last time. Then we were off, on our way back to the facility. The trip home was somber, and we talked about our experiences at Sabinas... thennnn, someone mentioned something about how much fun Catch Phrase was the night before, and suddenly Greg is holding the game in his hand. We split into 2 teams, and our trooper Greg played while driving. It was hilarious and a little scary, but we had fun. After some time we realized that we had gone through most of the clues so we decided to stop playing and take the rest of the trip to relax. We only had about 45 minutes left to get back anyway.

We got to drive through the downtown area which was very pretty and busy, and it was a relief to finally be back to Back2Back. Once we got there though we had to go through the lice shampooing process, and make sure that all our clothes were tightly sealed in the garbage bags that we were given on Sunday. Back2Back didn't want an outbreak at the facility, so it wasn't really a big deal. None of us were infested, but it was good to be cautious. We enjoyed our time in the yard by the faucet, with the stinky lice shampoo and tiny combs. Cathy then told us that we could take a break and shower and get settled back in, and that we wouldn't have to do anything until dinner at 6:30 pm. This gave us about an hour and a half, which we were excited about, because we didn't have to bathe in the tropical oasis!

We showered and checked emails and whatnot and then had an AMAZING dinner in the LBM. It was beef soft tacos with scrambled eggs and potatoes. I just about ate my hand, because I scarfed it down so fast. We sat with Todd's brother and his son and talked to him about Back2Back and how we found out about it, and what we did at Sabinas. Then Cathy told us we would have debriefing at 7:30 pm down in the big palapa. So we uploaded pictures, hung out a little and talk to the Austin crew about their trip to the Rio, and then headed down for debriefing. At debriefing we received a piece of notebook paper and a pen, and after telling Cathy some amazing stories from our trip she gave us instructions for what to do with the paper. First, we talked about how we all offered ourselves this week and what that looked like. She then told us that we would be writing encouraging notes about one another on these pieces of paper. The only catch was that you only had about a minute to do so. It was amazing to see all the nice things that everyone had to say about me, and it was just another thing to help us grow more together.

After debriefing, we all bought ice cream and diet pepsi and went through some of the pictures that I had put on my computer in the LBM. After laughing so hard and waking up some of the Austin, TX kids we moved into our dorm room and finished the slide show. By then it was about 12 am, so we all went to sleep still thinking about Sabinas, but ready for a new day and what that would bring.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith, in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me." -Galatians 2:20

-k10