Gospel, Gratitude, and Glory.

Happy November 1st everyone! It is Sunday morning and I have taken to spending this time every week listening to all the Gospel music I have in my Itunes library for inspiration. It’s quite nice…the only thing that could make it better would be if it was live. Oh the sacrifices we SALTers make. Ha. Anyway, the song that really caught my attention this morning is from the Sister Act II soundtrack (one of my favorite movies, see it if you haven’t). “So you think you got the answers to all that lies ahead, well in my mind I thought the same one time. And I hear you spoutin’ much talk ‘bout how you ain’t bein’ lead, ain’t no one tellin you what to do. But attitude will catch up with you, and keep you from your destiny. If you wanna be somebody, if you want to go somewhere, you’ve gotta wake up and pay attention. When the time is now or never, to make your dreams come true, you’ve gotta wake up and pay attention.” Here’s why. This morning I was supposed to accompany a group of youth to a workshop with another coworker but about an hour before hand she called to tell me we didn’t have to go; that our “boss” would arrange for someone else to accompany them. Fine, no biggie. Then I got a call from another coworker saying that the youth were calling her to tell her they were there, ready to go and angry that there was no body from the Association to chaperone them. Immediately I felt bad but didn’t really do anything about it because I was told I didn’t have to go. “Oh well,” I thought. “Isn’t my fault if things don’t go as planned.” So I stayed home. When my host mom got back from the market she asked why I hadn’t left and I told her why. Then she proceeded to encourage me to go anyway, on behalf of the youth, because they are the ones that really matter; who will suffer the consequences. Pom pom…nice little kick in the butt. Man, she is so right. I have been relying on my coworkers to do pretty much all of the leading, even when the youth aren’t their first interest. But as I have been here for about a month, I think this might just be the reminder that I am 25% of the work team and it is time I start taking more initiative; time to change my attitude. Amino. After all I am here for a reason and I won’t be around forever. When the time is now or never, to make your dreams come true, you’ve gotta wake up and pay attention.
With that being said, it has been an interesting line to walk; to let my coworkers do what they do and how they do it without wanting to take control and lead the way I prefer to work. I will admit that I have control-freak tendencies sometimes and have been fighting against the urge to just tell them what to do in some cases. However, MCC makes it very clear that we SALTers are not here to assume leadership positions, just to support those who have been working and will remain once we leave. In my opinion, they have it right on. We are not here to change things up but to better what already exists. As I have been trying to walk this very thin tight rope and flirting with the safety net below, I came across this quote in Henry Nouwen’s book Gracias. It encompasses precisely what I need to continue to work on and really what all volunteers around the world should strive for. Here goes, “Gratitude is the attitude which enables us to receive the hidden gifts of those we want to serve and to make these gifts visible to the community as a source of celebration.” Tortilla for thought.
Finally, this past marked the beginning of the town’s soccer tournament…which will last until just before la Navidad. I am playing on a team with one of my coworkers. Our team is called the Novices. Despite their name, they did quite well last year. They made it to the championship but lost by one goal and to boot, the goal differential was so close that this one goal determined there place as 3rd. Bummer. Anyway, we had our first game this past Tuesday and the whole day I had butterflies in my stomach like I used to in high school before soccer games. It was kind of a refreshing feeling and very nostalgic. I was so anxious that, and I’m totally serious, at lunch when I went home I tried on all my gear and when I went back to work I kept my sports bra on for good luck. Ha! So I showed up and all my team mates were in their cortes (traditional skirts) and heels. They changed before the game obviously but this is just another cultural difference that was obvious as I slide in and out of my oversized sweatpants and flip flops before and after the game. Good news, we won 5-0 and (I’m gonna brag a little) I scored 3 goals and assisted the other 2!  Anyway, it’s fun and a nice change in the routine. I’ll keep you updated on our standing…and if you have a baby blue shirt, where it tomorrow (Nov 2nd) at 6:30pm (Guate time) to show your support. We’re more than happy to have international fans to carry us to the championship this year. We are gunning for 1st place.
So we’ve come to the end. As always I hope that all who read this are doing so with happy hearts. And in true form, I’ll leave you with some song lyrics. This time they are from Sara Bareilles.
“I made up my mind when I was a young girl, I was given this one world…I won’t worry it away. Now and again I lose sight of the good life, I get stuck in a low light…then love comes in.” Sending love your way.