Adulam

     On saturday we got to go to Adulam. Its an orphanage/community/safe house for kids and families that were previously living on the streets, in dangerous neighborhoods, and in precarious and dangerous situations. There were a bunch of houses, some shops, a soccer field, some gardens, a field or two with horses and ponies, a large dining and kitchen structure, and a central courtyard. As we pulled in, kids were yelling in joy and hopping up and down as the buses began to pull in. You woulda thought we were Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny to them. We were quickly divided up and put on different projects throughout the complex. Some of the jobs included: digging out a foundation for a house, digging latrines, organizing/cleaning out buildings, weeding gardens, making mulch, busting up old tvs/computers/typewriters/monitors and salvaging their precious metals, and playing with kids.
    These people live such simple lives, and are also some of the most gracious and happy and loving people I've ever met. There seems to be a correlation with that. The less you have, the happier you are. Hmmm, maybe us Americans should adopt that way of thinking.
   They lavished us with a feast at lunch. The food literally would not stop coming. With the little the had, they kept on and kept on giving. Even when we were about to leave, they made us get off the buses so they could give us one more precious treat- chocolate milk. We also got to see Pepperdine's Microfinance Club's hard work in effect. A year or two ago, the microfinance club was able to provide a man at Adulam with a Microfinance Loan to open up a leather goods shop. In there he sold mate gourds, monedo pouches, belts, little purses, and more. I got a monedo pouch.  We also got to play soccer with the kids, but with so many people it was kind of dysfunctional. It was still a ton of fun though. I would love to go back for a whole weekend sometime.
    On sunday i did my own lil church deal, went to the casa to eat Pizza Bum with everybody, went to San Telermo by myself and bought a mate gourde, studied and did hw at McDonalds, did one of my fields trips at Catedral-the catholic church, and then did more hw. Monday I had my first test here-spanish, sent a letter, exchanged fishing gear, worked out, had convo dinner at La Stampa, and packed for menBROza.
  I'm so stoked for our long weekend. BA is awesome, but i know i was meant to live more in nature rather than in urban sprawl. In nature is where i get renewed, refreshed, fulfilled, and in-tune with God. It'll also be a great time to get closer with the guys and have some real man-talk.
  Tomorrow, I venture forth.