Faltan cinco.

Wow...I'm coming home in 5 days.

I'm wondering what the change will be like. I remember coming home from Asbury for the first time and almost feeling like where I was wasn't home...not because I really felt that Lexington was not my home, but just because it was so strange. So it will be interesting to see what it will be like after three months in another country.

Right now I'm kind of swinging back and forth in terms of my...well, I guess I could say, "emotions," but I don't know if that's the right word. I am very ready to come home. But I also do not want to leave these boys. The past few weeks haven't really been filled with a bunch of major events to write about, but rather simply an increasing development in our relationships...I've started to feel very close to some them. I've been asked by a quite a few boys if I can take them back to the states with me. Believe me, when it comes down to it, I wouldn't hesitate...it's just pretty much impossible (and in some cases just wouldn't be the right thing to do) considering a vast amount of circumstances.

English has been going well with the boys I've been working with, although there has hardly been any structure. The original plan was for there to be an arranged time for me to teach that, along with piano, in the afternoon, but right after that was decided, I left the farm for two weeks (the first week because I was sick; the second week due to the eye surgery...which, btw, I just had my last follow-up appointment today, and everything is great). So I think those plans were kind of forgotten. Basically, what I've been doing in the afternoons is, besides quiet time, writing, etc., is developing a relationship with the boys and teaching English frequently, but very randomly (although there have been a few planned classes here and there, but I've had to figure out the boys' schedules for myself in order to do them). But the thing that makes me the happiest is that I have seen a vast amount of progress in Carlos and Yilmar's English over the past few months. I've even learned a lot about my own language...mainly how ridiculous it is, haha (not that I didn't already know that, but I didn't fully realize it until I tried to teach it). Spanish is an easy language to read and spell...I've found myself correcting native speakers' spelling on several occasions. I've tried to stop correcting people in English, but since I had never corrected people in Spanish before this trip, the temptation was just too difficult to resist.

Anyway, I think that teaching English as a second/foreign language is going to play a part in my future. I'm not going into detail about that.

Katherine is pregnant! About 6-7 weeks by this point, actually. I suppose there's nothing else major to say about that except to pray for her fatigue and nausea. I wasn't there when Katherine told her family for the first time, but Brian filmed their reaction, which was very "Latin" (which is like a synonym for "loud", haha). Katherine herself is not a very touchy person, so it's driving her crazy that everyone feels entitled to touching/pushing her belly without even asking...and it's pretty entertaining to hear her talk about it.

My Gollum/Smeagol impression has been revealed to the boys at the farm, and for any of you who were in Jamaica when I revealed my Spongebob impressions to the kids there, you can probably imagine what that is like. I showed it to a few boys one morning (I can't remember why...I think it's because we were having a "Senor de los Anillos" discussion...many of the boys are fans). Then, the next night after dinner, one of them was trying to get me to do it again and show some of the other boys, but I didn't really want to, because there were so many people there (and I don't like the pressure...I prefer to be spontaneous with my impressions). But finally, he pushed me over the edge, and I, without warning, pulled off my shirt and threw it to the side, and then proceeded to do the whole scene from The Two Towers when Gollum/Smeagol have the big argument with each other. By the time I was done, there were probably 15-20 boys standing around watching, and it ended in a wild round of applause. It was fun, but now some of the kids won't stop asking me to do the impression. One of the boys, Miguel, has given me a new nickname: Smeagolas. I like it.

I have had some major internal struggles while I've been here, some of which I have hinted at in past blogs...but I know that God has been using those struggles to strengthen and teach me, and I think even to show me part of what he has for me in the future...but I must continue to pray in those areas. My beliefs clash with many that I have heard and seen displayed among the Foundation (one of the smaller ones of which I have been writing about here and there, and may post something about before I leave), but I have mostly kept silent for reasons about which I will not go into detail, but I have felt like God has wanted me silent, and, as I just mentioned, to be taught...and, as I have mentioned in past blogs, to humble me.

This is most likely the last blog I will post here about what's actually going on in Medellin (although, as I mentioned earlier, I may post that other blog if I get the chance). I wish I could have posted more about the trip, and in more depth. I have left out much about the struggles I have felt here, mainly because I don't like my life being a completely open book online. Also, I have left out a few things that have occurred which I did not feel were suitable to post publicly for whatever reason. I'm sure that I will share with some of you more in depth when I return...hopefully many of those "sharings" will be over a plate of Don Juan's.

This week, I hope to have a party for the boys before I leave: Brian told me that most of the boys' favorite foods are pizza, lasagna, and pinto beans, haha. So I'm going to try to get the ingredients for the cook to make some lasagna (which would be a big-time aberration, believe me...I've never eaten so much rice in my lifetime...not that I'm complaining...I love rice).

I also doubt I will have time to post any more pictures before I come home, but I can once I get there. Yep.

I love you guys...see (most of) you within a week!!