Today didn't go anything like I expected... which, I guess I should have expected. Such is life.

Today I had opted to take my "free day" of the week, trading off of my usual Wednesdays, to perhaps go to the pool in Jinotega or do something fun and celebratory. However, both our Social Worker and our Psychologist (otherwise known as our entire daytime staff) were not here today. Additionally, Joy was in Jinotega for a conference on human trafficking all morning. So, the idea of the free day flew right out the window.

However, I had the best (and only adequate) pizza I've had since coming down to Central America today, made by the skilled hands of our cook, Doña Martita. The way it works is that on one's birthday, they may request their favorite meal, which will be served for lunch. I asked for pizza, fried plantains (HEAVEN!), and Coke. Because pizza needs Coke. Everyone knows this.

So, Martita is amazing, and my mouth's already watering, because tomorrow she's making lasagna in celebration of Irma's birthday. Irma's turning 17 tomorrow. Now that I come to think of it, I really have no idea how any of these people ever came to try lasagna, much less have it as their favorite meal! I guess the gringo influence here has been pretty strong over the years, though.

A few quick updates on what's new here:

-Joy has returned! Last Monday evening, Joy returned from a three-month absence from her home and ministry for the last four years. She had been spending the last several months back in the States with her family, as her mom was very sick, and recently passed away after a tough battle with cancer. Please keep her in your prayers as she's returning to a very demanding and isolating job with a lot on her mind and a lot of emotions to work through with the passing of her mother.

-School's out! As of last Friday, the kids have completed their scholastic year, and are now home for two months of vacation... yikes! The pace has shifted significantly and my nice, quiet afternoons while the kids were in school are no more.

-We gained one! Olvis (Olbeese), one of the teenage boys who lives at our other home has recently been transferred back here. He's been down at Los Cedros for the past year, but had not been adjusting well down there, and so the decision was recently made to bring him back here, where the staff know him and are better-equipped to help him with his emotional issues, which had begun to resurface more and more since his move to Los Cedros.

-We also lost one. But in this case, it's not a bad thing, it's a very good thing for her! Ana, the 10-year-old adopted daughter of one of Globe International's missionaries (the woman who started this home), has been living here with us at Hogar Amiguitos, under the care of Joy, who's like an aunt to her. Her learning disabilities had caused her to struggle significantly in the American school system, so her mother made the decision to send her back to Nicaragua to see how she fared in the Nicaraguan school system, and also to help her to improve her Spanish literacy (Orally, she's fully bilingual. Literarily, she struggles in two languages.) Now that the school year's over, she gets to go back to the States to spend the holidays with her family.

- I am already looking forward into the Christmas season (I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-NOG!'s Eve, anyone?) and the month of January, and chief on my list of concerns is whether or not I'll be able to find a consistent supply of plaintains back home in Winnipeg (think: larger, less sweet bananas). Fried plantains with cream is a dish that I fell in love with several years back in Guatemala, but now that they've been a steady part of my diet for the past two months, my feelings have only grown stronger and more sure. It's the real thing; I know it.

These are some of the most recent developments here at our home.

Today I turned twenty-four. My champagne birthday. And of course, under contract to the ministry here, I'm definitely not cracking any champagne in celebration of the occasion (which feels like a shame, in a way). It is, however, the perfect opportunity to share one of my favorite songs with my readership, written by Mr. Jon Foreman of Switchfoot in his twenty-fourth year under the sun. I first heard this song on my last three-month Central American foray, played by my friend Andrew Stock in a small room for a small group of Canadians in Guatemala, when I was 18 years old. I still love it to death.

It's called twenty-four. Please sit back, pour yourself a glass of champagne (or sparkling grape juice, according to your conscience), and enjoy.

Twenty four oceans, twenty four skies
Twenty four failures in twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me in twenty-fourth place,
with twenty four drop outs at the end of the day.
Life is not what I thought it was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing, "Spirit, take me up in arms with You."
And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing, "Spirit, take me up in arms with You."

There's twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong,
With all my excuses still twenty four strong.
You see I'm not copping out,
not copping out,
not copping out when You're raising the dead in me.
Oh, I am the second man - oh, I am the second man now.
Oh, I am the second man now.

And You're raising these twenty four voices with twenty four hearts.
All of my symphonies in twenty four parts.
But I want to be one today, centered and true.
I'm singing, "Spirit, take me up in arms with You" - You're raising the dead in me.

Oh, I am the second man - oh, I am the second man now.
Oh, I am the second man now, and You're raising the dead in me.

I want to see miracles; to see the world change.
I wrestled the angel for more than a name;
For more than a feeling; For more than a cause.
I'm singing, "Spirit take me up in arms with You" - And You're raising the dead in me.

Turn it up, close your eyes, and pray it.