Checking In... by Christina Weibel

 I have 1 month and 3.5 weeks left in El Salvador. Since my time here is closing up, I've been doing my best to prepare for life in the states. I've been applying for college, scholarships, and trying to figure out my living situation and possibilities of work while trying to focus on life here. The World Race team left for Africa a couple weeks ago. They learned the bus system, visited centers, and made plenty of trips to the hospital after becoming mysteriously ill or ingesting questionable food/water. They are an interesting and diverse group of people; I really enjoyed having them here.
     Last Thursday we took over a girl's orphanage for the day. It's part of a yearly favor we do for the center so the complete staff can take off and have a Christmas party/lunch from early morning until mid afternoon. Although we still had to be cautious of those who might try to run away, we had a few extra volunteers which made this year more relaxed than the year before. When I arrived to the center, I was informed that on Monday one of my favorite girls ran away with four others. She is eleven years old. I was hoping to see her that day, but instead I spent part of my time keeping the other girls from fighting over the things she left behind.
     The section we were assigned was probably the easiest group of kids. We were only responsible for six people. Two of them were teenagers who spent the majority of the day sleeping. We spent our time hanging out, playing games, painting, making pipe cleaner ornaments, and watching a little TV.
       I love these days when we are not obligated to prepare a lesson and we can just spend time with the kids. This type of work has become so normal to me, I sometimes forget what a privilege it is to be here. Recently I've been finding myself distracted, wondering, and worrying about what type of life lies ahead in the states. I don't like this uncertainty. I don't like not having a definite plan. I don't feel ready and I don't know how I'll adjust back to "normal life". Please continue to pray for me, our team, and the kids in the centers we visit.

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