Evelyn

a peace that surpasses
all understanding
she looks away from all
her body is demanding
not even sixteen
candles for blowing
secluded from the past
all because she's showing
the sins we all hide
she carries the weight
of me, of you, of sins untried
november dawns with news
a babe comes through
black fuses into grey--confusion
but lighter darkness too.

OdE tO a OnE-sIdEd LoVe

Mr. Motorbike was afraid to cry
He packed for a river ride and kissed his sis goodbye
He waited oh-so-long to make things right
And when he made her frown his heart was sliced
But it´s just platonic, I know you don´t think
Only too platonic, yeh, I really do think

It´s pure pain on your arrival day
It´s like seeing the tide with the one you hate
It´s like picking lice with a comb as a rake
And the wholes in her heart just get bigger
It really is platonic, I know you don´t think
I promise its platonic, yeh, I really do think

It´s a big sigh as she starts her day
It´s the church-door guarding & fate misplaced
It´s 10,000 sketches when all you give is strife
He thinks he´s the man of your dreams
You´d make such a beautiful wife

And it really is platonic, don´t you think
Only too platonic, No I wont go out for a drink
Isn´t it ironic, don´t you think
A little too ironic, yeh, I really do think.

a date for Juanita y Goyo

As I type this, Jan and Greg are out on a hot date in Managua. Their rules for me were No Strip Clubs, No Bars, and No Catholic Churches. Of course, they were just kidding...well some of it. So my plan with the boys tonight is out for a chicken burger, then eskimo (icecream!) and then off to the Masatepe Circus. Yes, that´s right. I hear there is a LION, yesterday I saw an ostrich...I wonder what tricks he has...and who knows what else to expect at the CiRcO de MaSaTePe.
Today I moved into the Millsaps house as Josh is returning tomorrow. It was quite a sight in this town to see a chelita walking down the street tugging behind her a big red suitcase on the bumpy roads. It reminded me of the time I had to walk what seemed like a thousand blocks in NYC with a huge suitcase that my wimpy arms could barely pull. Such is my life. Go Go Go whispers the wind in my ears. Si vaya, vaya con Dios.
Tomorrow I am preaching at the youth meeting, in front of about 100 people. That should be interesting as it is my first time preaching in spanish. I think I´ll probably write out every word. Lord help me! On Sunday I´ll be dancing at church while the youth pastors sing. The song says ¨Even though my eyes can´t see you I know you are here. Even though my hands can´t touch you I know you are here.¨ And on Tuesday at the women´s meeting I´ll be dancing again. Yesterday I met up with Luke, an old friend from my first trip here. He lived in Nicaragua for 9 years. Last time I saw him, he was much shorter than I am, and rattling off spanish as easy as a thirsty soccer player drinks water. Now, after about four years of being back in the States, his spanish still seems WAY better than mine, and he´s a lot taller than me now. It was great to see him, and catch up just a bit.

Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, tell me now
Why the dark before the dawn?

Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break

some lyrics from U2´s YAWEH

So things have changed just a bit. Not only have I retired from being the Lilac Quaterback (the shoulder pads on this uniform made me look like an all star football player) but my hair is a bit longer, and I have FINALLY figured out how to get around dumb technology (that I´ll never admit I rely so much on). This time I added the picture all by my lonesome, someone should give me a cookie. Thanks to an email from Shawna, we can all reminisce about the good ol´days of Nica 2004. Well the team has all dispersed now and I begin helping the PE classes tomorrow. Which means for me, no worries about having to wear the lilac jersey!

La Vida Nica

Finally a picture! Greg, my bestest friend in all the world and one in whom I greatly admire (and sometimes types his own stuff on my blog...) helped me out with blogger. So here I am with a few of my little friends!

Xena

So I just found out today that I am a warrior princess. Dori just happens to have the same middle name as I do, Louise, which she told me means warrior. Gena, I have been told, means queenly or fair lady. So put it together and you get the Warrior Queen. Kind of funny b-c the people here have seen Xena on TV so when they same my name, a lot of them say Gena, Cheena...b-c that is how they pronounce the TV show. Anyhow, VBS is complete. Friday we had more than 500 kids show up. It is pretty cool, on the way to school, all these kids come out from their homes and say, Gena! and run up and give me hugs. I love it. The McClures took off for Costa Rica today and Ashley and Dori head out soon, tomorrow we are off to see the Pacific Ocean, Tuesday is Sandanista day which means no school, and then Wednesday I´ll start helping out at the escuela and possibly resume my old position as preschool helper. I already have some soccer games set up for this week, as they say here in Nica, como no hombre. Which means, of course, man! I promise the pictures will come one of these days!

right

So sorry the past post had no pictures in it. For some reason I have no luck with computers no matter what country i am in. Too bad I didn´t take a picture of myself this morning at 10 am. I went to the school to play some soccer and we ended up playing in the street right in front of the school, it rained hard last night and needless to say there were many mud puddles. I had shorts on, so my legs were as brown as the darkest Nicaraguan here. Great fun. Today is the second-to-last day of VBS. I quite enjoy being in charge of sports. Hopefully soon I will be able to get a picture up, I might just need to ask someone for help. Last night while Josh, Dori, Ashley and I were in the internet cafe, it started to DOWNPOUR. We had to get home somehow so we ended up singing and dancing in the crrrrazy rain. We had quite a bit of fun on our way home. The streets of Nica are usually crowded with pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles, bicycle taxis, oxen, horses, and most certainly dogs. Last night, it was just the four of us, playing in the rain. Today before playing soccer I went to visit my former students who are now in first grade! I love them dearly. I got to sing the Wheels on the Bus with them and the Hokey Pokey. They were radiant! VBS again this afternoon, then of course, more soccer. This, I tell you, is the life.

vbs

We have had about 350 kids come each day. a number bigger than we expected, but God always seems to do more than our expectations. the other night I was so tired that when I was attempting to translate a part of the sermon for VBS, i said to Ashley and Josh, ¨Is it plural or feminine?¨ More to come soon, the internet cafe is closing....grrrr.

Where the Streets Have No Name

Estoy aqui! por fin. Finally, I am here. I have felt very welcome as anyone would who returns to this country. Already the team I am with has been preparing for this upcoming week. We will be having a version of vacation bible school for about two and a half hours for the next five days. I have seen one of my novios, Moises, (he´s 9 now!) but i have yet to see Job, my other novio. Last night was youth group and it felt so good to be back. The Nicaraguans surely know how to dance, and church always seems more like a party. I am still working on getting to know how to use this blog, so hopefully soon i´ll be able to get a picture or five up of life here. The water turns off during the night until about 7am. So last night I didn´t get home until about 10 30 and although drenched with sweat, I had to sleep with no shower. I´m already signed up to play on a soccer team with my favorita chica, Lena, who´s like 13 and an awesome soccer player. So today at 4pm, we´ll have a reunion of what we love to do best. Can´t wait. More to come soon!