this weekend was one of the best.
it came with its challenges but I wouldn’t trade one for 1000 perfect days.
we woke up saturday morning with NO rain and we planned to played hard, outside, doing everything you can’t do inside, until the drops of rain grew too large to dodge. then move into the empty tent and play indoor games until supper. we invited the parents of the children for supper and planned on picking them up at 4:30pm. a campfire would follow supper with lots of singing, marshmallows, and sharing.
lets just say that the first part of the day went off as planned.
three legged soccer
uvas {mexican version of sharks and minnows}
freeze dance 
some of you may remember the story about the family with the little boy with leukemia I shared a few weeks back. if not read about it {here}. I was so excited to welcome the three little sisters for the first time to {rancho Genesis}. I peppered them with kisses the whole day.
after lunch we started feeling little drops of water and decided to head into the tent to play table games.
it was so much fun to see the excitement in the kids faces as they waited outside the tent as we prepared all the games. you would have thought we just gave them tickets to {Disney Land}. and then… for a solid hour they played.
I played about one hundred games of uno [not]. I loved every minute of it. it was very peaceful sitting indian style on the floor, hearing raindrops on the tarp roof over head, jamming out to spanish tunes, and looking around watching the happiness, the love, the relationships forming between two cultures.
during our veggie tales, the rain let loose and the water started leaking {pouring} in at every nook and cranny. the kitchen had a literal river flowing through it. the carpets in the tents started to become soaked. the rain was so loud and hard you had to scream over the noise.
after some quick thinking and a roll of black garbage bags we packed all the niños, volunteers, and food baskets up in two 15 passenger vans and made the long wet trip back to the community.
this is where the pictures ended due to pure crazy-ness.
I was reflecting on two thoughts as I sloshed through 6-12 inches of water this weekend…
one---
rain once again took on a new meaning… it doesn’t just mean a picnic ruined. it means cold babies, sickness, standing water, dirt floors turned into mud floors, and so much more. the longer I live in Mexico I realize to a deeper extent the other world, outside of mine.
two---
we were prepared for the rain. we had all our bases covered. but all the preparation in the world couldn’t stop the storm. just like the storms of life it’s our job to be ready for them so that the water doesn’t carry us away. from there it is up to us how we respond to each situation and our choice in our reactions and attitudes. but the devastating damage that hurts and leaves you exhausted is real.
we dropped all the niños off at their homes, gave away all the food baskets, and prayed for each family. it was dark by then and the rain still hadn’t let up. our toes were wet and aching from the cold but no one complained. as we headed back to the ranch we were all thinking the same thing. {how can we complain about one disastrous saturday, when for these families this is a reality every time it rains?}
after supper we found half of a dry tent, put on some coffee and hot chocolate, wrapped up in blankets, worshipped Jesus in song and sharing where we saw Him that day. ending the day in I can’t remember how many games of mafia.
ahhh… good times!
I love fresh new mornings with no storms.
I’d love to hear how this story resonates with you.
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