Before I forget. . .

I just have to share a few key moments before I forget. There will be many, so I am simply going to list them.

1. On the drive from the airport to the ranch, we must have driven past a dozen or so "dumps" of different sizes. Most of these dumps were busy places. I had read about people living off of them but I searched for signs of these people being "workers." Nope, the workers were out in front stacking and organizing the dump. The scavengers were in it. I guess they were all living off the dump, at least in part.

2. Small children (ages 4-10?) were filling in deep potholes in the road with dirt and sand. They wanted to be compensated for their work. They stood in the middle of the street with one hand on their shovels or buckets and the other outstretched for their much-deserved donation.

3. The day before I arrived, the ranch "adopted" baby Scarlet. At first they thought she was three months old, but because of her developed personality and activity level, they are reconsidering and thinking she must be closer to five months old. Scarlet is the apple of everyone's eye. The little girls at mass just watched her the whole time.

4. Towards the end of the Saturday afternoon church service, they did a "blessing for the children." There was no priest available, so two of the "religious mentors" blessed them. While the musicians sang to guitar (which was really good!), kids of all ages from tiny to young adult, formed lines up in front to have a moment of blessing. The lines were quiet and even kind of reverent. The way the adults held each head was what struck me. They didn't pat their heads, or touch them, they cupped them in their hands and held them, lice ridden or not, and held them as precious human beings who are kept safe here~ for life.

I have having trouble uploading photos here and I am dying to share them. I'll try again tonight and if I don't succeed, I'll resort to FB. I just returned from a visit to the farm. Lunch soon. I like the food here, most of the time. It's usually a combination of rice, tortillas, chicken, eggs, and sweet warm milk which I really like.