Oh! And...

Don´t worry mom, we´ll be safe. :) i love you.

Ensenada! Tan linda!!

We are going to Ensenada for the weekend!! Very exciting. Lupita, Javi, Arturo, Sochi, Carina, and i are piling into a van and headed out tonight.... stars, friends, and guitars and singing around a fire...on the beach!! what more could a girl ask for??

that is one of my favorite things in the whole world. i am so blessed to be here, this moment.

Como Puedo Decirle?

Life is precious. So, so precious.
and delicate.

New Song...Una Cancion Nueva

i don't know what to think tonight
but i think that maybe thats alright
i don't know which path to take
or if they're all one and the same-
and i
have two loves, i have two lives
two parts of the same being
that don't seem to collide-
don't seem to reconcile...

And i am hanging by a thread
from everything i've ever KNOWN
and i am holding on as tightly as i can-
WITH OPEN HANDS.

i walk these streets unpaved and dusty
i see the people struggling just to survive-
how is it that i have learned of abundance and generosity
in the poorest place i've ever lived?
and how it is it that we have so much
and yet so little to give??
and i
have two lives, two different worlds
though only a border apart-
they don't seem to collide
don't seem to reconcile...

And i am hanging by a thread
from everything i've ever WANTED
and i am holding on as tightly as i can-
WITH OPEN HANDS.

i am learning every day not to expect
but to accept and love whatever comes my way,
and i know that when i leave this place
i will never be the same-
something is changing, something's shifted
and i see the world as never before...
and i
i have two eyes, i have two hands
one corazon and one path ahead-
how will my life collide?
how will it reconcile?

And i am hanging by a thread
from everything i've ever BEEN
and i am holding on as tightly as i can-
WITH OPEN HANDS,
with open hands,
WITH OPEN HANDS.

Mexicali

i love this place
the tierra
beneath my feet
that creeps under doors and into everything.

i love the sounds
the whistles, the laughter
the loud music with bass blaring
shaking the streets
and the windows in their panes
"heeey--lupe!"
"mamacita!"
and all the shouting of the school kids
as they walk home in the
afternoon sun

i love the various stinks and smells
of this place
the burning trash
the aroma of comida tan sabrosa
being cooked by loving hands
their smells wafting out into the street
and making my mouth
water

i love the children
beautiful and brown
with laughing eyes
and sometimes scowls
their skin delicious shades of
caramel
chocolate
and coffee.
i wish i could embrace them forever
dry all their tears
and make them laugh all day long.
sing them to sleep at night.

my family-
laughing and joking,
hitting and playing
praying together for providence
and mercy
for kindness and strength.
sitting up late nights and talking
about Life.
about everything.
imagine the best conversations of your life-
the most meaningful, the most touching,
all the time.

all the time.

i love this place.
and the people.
and the vividness of it all.
i feel like i am home.

Que Bonita La Vida Es?!? -dice Javi

Estoy aqui en Mexicali- y tan feliz!!! Estoy muy feliz estar con mi familia!! Tengo dos hermanas y un hermanito...que bonito el! Le adoro muchisisimo!!!

I am doing very well. Went a little overboard on my first night (last night) with eating-- comi mucho!!! some friends and i went to "La Fiesta del Sol" and i had mangoes con chile, churros, tacos de carne asada y today i ate pozole for lunch....going back home soon for pastel (homemade chocolate cake!!!!!!) yum!

Life here is so beautiful, such a different pace of living. Family is so important. I LOVE IT! So many beautiful friendships to come i can feel it, i will be very sad when i have to leave them again....but for now i am soaking it up with every fiber of my being!!

this place is a part of me.

Mexicali!!

I made it here, safe and sound. So happy to be surrounded by the language, the food, sounds, smells, people.
Can't write too much tonight....more tomorrow or monday.

My love to all!!

Engaging in Hopeful Activities...

Hello All! I am in San Diego with my good friend, Jenelle. We are off to bed soon...i will spend tomorrow here, most likely at the beach (GRIN.) and then off to Mexico with me on Saturday. i can't wait to see my family!

sad saying goodbye to everyone back home....i am blessed with such incredibly wonderful people in my life.

Ariel, if you are reading this, you are so dear to me. I love you.

My love to all--keep me in thought and prayer as i am off to Mexico soon....